Yet another week has sped past us already. I can’t believe how fast this year is moving already…it’s almost June! Businesses continued to slowly re-open as the news cautioned us to be mindful and not move too quickly. I believe the saying went, “Just because you can go out doesn’t mean you should.??? Still, we’ve enjoyed doing a few more things like visiting with Mom & Sandy, going out to eat and spending time with friends in close proximity. As the businesses opened this week, we noted that not only was there more traffic on the road but that gas prices also rose. It was down around $1.25 for a few weeks but has slowly been creeping up towards $2.00, which is where it’s currently at now. We read that this is the summer that we’ll see the return of the seventeen-year cicadas and should be resurfacing in the very near future. This holiday weekend always brings so many memories flooding back. Its normally the time of year that we’d see Mom & Dad more often due to Mother’s Day, Week 19, Mom’s birthday as well as their anniversary. Once they moved to Florida and we didn’t see them as often, we would normally begin having friends and family over to swim in the pool and hang out…but now that’s all gone as well. Fast-forward to this year’s Memorial Day and you find that the kids were all working and not at the house and the Coronavirus pandemic was still looming over everything like a black cloud, keeping friends and family away – heck, not even the Indy 500 was on our radio and TV this year; which is so weird…it’s the first time in my life that I wasn’t eagerly waiting to watch the replay of the race late at night. We did receive our handgun carry permits this week, so now we’re eager to go to a range and shoot them in order to feel more comfortable carrying them with us…or maybe take some sort of class. This unofficial start to summer, which is the Memorial Day weekend, finds all three kids done with school. Matt wrapped up his online teaching and has recently got in touch with the old folks’ home, here in town. He plans to start working there this summer. This week, he house-sat for the same folks he did last year. This year, he won’t get locked out because they set up a hidden key for him outside – LOL! He and Taylor are still waiting to see if they will be called back to work at the bar they were both employed at only a day or two before the COVID shut it down. Abby wrapped up her sophomore year at Franklin. She thinks she missed straight-A’s by one stupid B+ in computer programming as she finished Finals Week via e-learning. She enjoyed seeing Gary as well as working fulltime at Wings & Rings. Luke also finished school this week. He’s officially a junior now! He also just missed an all-A’s report card, believing that Chemistry was a B+. He hasn’t seen his official grades yet, so there’s a glimmer of hope… Still, the e-learning did great for his GPA. We are hopeful that some form of football practice may resume in June for him, but we don’t know what it will look like yet. Ann had a pretty easy-peasy week, being off two and a half days this week as her company continues to have employees take time off to help with the bottom line. My company did the same with its employees as we, too, try to find our way through this mess the pandemic has left on our economy. I lost another couple pounds as I logged eleven miles of walking, falling short of my exercise goal yet again this week. Still, I averaged nearly 10K steps per day this week, so it was still quite active. Work was very busy and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, but at least it makes the days go fast! We continued playing Around the World again this week, enjoying several new recipes along our mixology journey. It makes the aging process less painful… Hello again and welcome to the newest entry into the Scheu Family Blog.
I was up early for work on Monday morning. Annie got up with me to help run Delilah to the vet, where she got spayed, received the next round of puppy shots and got her nails clipped. I had a fast, busy day at work. We were overjoyed to go to China Buffet on their grand reopening day. Unfortunately, it was only carry-out, so we were a little bummed about that. We had to wear a mask and gloves to get our food. But it was so good… I got out of work late and only got in a half mile before I left for home. I stopped at the big Cork on 25th St before I left town to pickup a few goodies, including Drambuie, Chambord, Crown Royal and Simmons rhubarb wine – yum! Ann had the day off and enjoyed reading and napping. She cooked a roast, potatoes and carrots in the crock pot for dinner that really hit the spot. Gail & Gary had finals, early that morning. After Gary went home, Abs went into work and didn’t get off till late. Luke slept in late before going to hang out with Jessica. Later, he went into work at Arby’s and then hung out with Kam until curfew. Amy & Baili came over to visit Ann. They practiced social distancing by standing on either side of the back fence with Ms. Mabel. Poor Delilah was a pitiful that whole evening. She wouldn’t move. We got her outside only after she had an accident in the house and she laid in the grass in the same spot the entire time. I ended up having to carry her inside and put her into her bed for the rest of the night. That evening was scotch night and we wound down the evening with a couple Rusty Nails drinks. After Ann went to bed, the kids & I watched the new Rick & Morty before I turned in for the night. Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
Ann grudgingly got up with me for work as we drove into Columbus in the rain. When I got to work, I facilitated an orientation class for new hires and then picked up Ann and headed over to Jami’s to get our hair cut. We had to wear masks and could only go in one at a time but our hair looked great. Afterward, we stopped at Five Guys to get takeout and eat back at our respective offices. We both had fast afternoons and I got out of work late again. Thankfully, it had finally stopped raining and I got out and walked a 5K – which felt great. When we got home, Luke was gone from the house again. He had spent a few hours studying with Kam for their last test of the year. He ended up spending time with Ms. Jessica that afternoon and then went back to Kam’s house to hang out in the man cave. Meanwhile, Abby had another two finals and did very well. She cared for little Delilah, who was pitiful all day. Bu finally got her to eat some broth and drink a little…but she wouldn’t walk. She would take a step or two and just flop on the floor – all in a dramatic style. Abs eventually got her outside but had to carry her. When we got home, she took her out again and although she did run around a little, she eventually refused to walk – just like she did at the vet yesterday – and had to be carried back in…poor, big baby! It was Taco Tuesday as well as Tequila Tuesday. We got takeout from ElRep (Mexican-style tacos) and made Blue Hawaiian cocktails – yum! We took it easy that evening, napping on and off and then while Annie read, I finished watching The Last Dance. As Abs went to her room to study that night and Luke & Kam came back to the house to play PS4 (and Kam spent the night), Ann & I went on to bed, worn out from the long day.
Ann had to take another furlough day on Wednesday morning. I wasn’t as lucky, as I drug my weary butt out of bed on a cold but dry morning. I had a fast day at work, thankfully. Justin, Vic & I went to Riviera Maya for lunch, which had just opened its dining room to half capacity. I got out of work a little late and only got in about two miles in a half an hour. Ann took it easy, shopping with Abby that afternoon but otherwise enjoyed reading and napping on her forced day off. Abs had another couple finals that morning and finished off her year…so she is now officially done with her sophomore year (technically, her junior year)! She worked at BWR again that evening. Luke finished his geometry class that morning after he took Kam home. He spent some time with Jessica before he worked that night at Arby’s again. He came home briefly afterwards before heading back over to Kam’s house to “study??? for chemistry class. When I got home that evening, I was thrilled to see Delilah was feeling much better. She was still out of sorts this morning when I left, but that night she was her old, chipper self again. I had to do some work that night when I got home and then I fixed the garage door that’s been giving us fits for a few weeks now. I flipped back and forth between the NASCAR race at Darlington and my DVR’d shows while editing pictures and videos for this week’s blog entry. That evening, we opted out of bourbon night for gin (don’t tell Bryan!), mixing up Tom Collins cocktails. Here are some pictures of recent additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
We woke up to another cold, overcast Thursday. I don’t think the sun ever came out that day. Ann & I both had fast days before our four-day weekend. The boys and I returned to the China Buff. We thought we were going to have to do carry out again but we were thrilled to see that the dining room was actually open! The afternoon flew by and I got out and walked about two and a half miles on a muggy afternoon. Luke officially finished up his sophomore year of high school. He got up early that morning to have breakfast with Jessica then finished up his final assignment. He worked at Arby’s then came home for dinner before heading out with Kam until late. Meanwhile, Abs hung out with the dogs, who helped her clean her room before heading up to New Castle to stay the night with Gary and his family. Ann cooked dinner, making corn on the cob and roasted red potatoes as I cooked chicken on the grill. We had made a couple Angry Moons and enjoyed a little patio time while we waited on the meat. We enjoyed a quiet evening, binge-watching a Netflix show called Dead to Me with Christina Applegate.
Although I had the day off, I got up with Annie and drove her into work on a cool, foggy Friday morning. Luke slept in then got up and went to hang out with Kam, enjoying the day off from work. They had Jessica and her friend over to hang out in the man cave. They came to the house for a few minutes to drop off some firewood but that was all we saw of the boys that day. Abs drove home from New Castle that morning. I picked up Annie and mowed the back yard when Bu got home. The girls and I went up town to look for an old piece of furniture that we could re-purpose as a liquor cabinet but didn’t have any luck. We tried to go into Tarouya for lunch, but their dining room wasn’t open yet so we wound up at BWR for lunch. We saw Kristin and Mary out there and visited with the girls while we ate. We came home and I mowed the rest of the yard and trimmed before coming in to get cleaned-up. Abby went into work at Wings as Ann & I napped while watching some TV shows. After loud Jim woke us up, we got dressed and went out to the Lowe’s family barn to set up for tomorrow night’s faux Prom. We got the lights and sound ready to go and prayed that it won’t rain tomorrow. We had fun hanging out with our friends for the first time in forever and are excited about the big party for the kids…it looks really cool out there. It’s been a lot of work, but it’ll so be worth it. When we got home, Abby had just gotten off work. Mary was with her and she wound up staying the night with us. We were all hungry except Ann, who was worn out. So, as Ann went to bed, the rest of us piled into Tonya and went to Taco Bell for fourth meal. When we got there, who did we see? Luke, Kam and friends – who had ridden bikes from Kam’s house where they were staying the night. We talked to them briefly and then they took off. Apparently, they were out past Kam’s curfew and when they got back to his house, he got grounded and the boys all had to go home. So, about the same time the girls and I got home, Luke pulled up as well. We ended up watching an episode of Family Guy off the DVR as well as the new Star Wars parody on Robot Chicken – it was pretty damn funny. None of us saw the end of it, so we turned it off and went to bed. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
We were up early on a lovely, sunny Saturday. The girls made their weekly pilgrimage to Wildflour in St. Paul for goodies while I slept in a little. We ate breakfast then I checked fluids in all the vehicles – except Tonya. As I was opening the hood, Abs came running out – saying she was late and had to go to work. She wound up working a double shift at Wings and by the time we got back home that night, she was already asleep in bed. When I finished with the vehicles, I loaded up Betty White and headed over to Mom & Sandy’s house to mow and trim. As I was pulling out, Luke came walking out. Ann & I had tried to get him up for about an hour so I assumed I was just going it alone. I was happy to have my assistant with me. Although it wasn’t overly hot, it sure was humid! We talked to Mom for a little while before coming home to put our yard tools away and get cleaned-up. Luke was hungry, so he ran to Taco Bell for us and then we binge-watched SVU while trying to nap as Luke ran errands around town for us, enjoying another day off from work. Unfortunately, he had lots of questions, so we never actually got those naps… When he got home, he insisted on turning on the A/C. I figured since it was Memorial Day weekend and it was so humid, we could fire it up. Although it rained for a little that afternoon, it was dry by the time we started getting ready to head out to the Lowe’s farmhouse. When we got there, we helped set up last minute things before it started raining again. It rained right up to the time they scheduled walk-ins. Sure enough, about five minutes before everything started, the skies parted and there was a big rainbow. Bryan and I provided shuttle services to and from the muddy parking lot in his and Shawn’s Honda UTVs for the attendees as well as the valets. We had a great turnout of about 40 couples. We also had several parents turn up to watch the kids walk into the party in their fancy clothes (just like they do at Prom). We had snacky-type foods inside the barn, such as a nacho bar, popcorn, snow-cones and soda; as well as a photo booth, dance floor and plenty of seating for the kids. I fell in love with Bryan’s new Bluetooth speaker that was powerful enough to power an entire band’s concert – he said. I jokingly told Ann I was going to get it for “her??? for our anniversary. LOL! She didn’t find it amusing… Luke spent the day with Kam again, going swimming and hanging out at the man cave. Ann & I forgot to grab chairs and Lukey ran them out to us. He decided he didn’t want to attend the dance or even the after party. He ended up swapping out the Lincoln for the truck when he got back to town and spent the night at Kam’s house. Drew came out with Drayden and some buddies to go mudding in one of the fields but ended up getting his truck stuck and had to be pulled out. It was so muddy! After the dance portion died down, we moved outside, behind the barn for an After Prom-type of event, where Alan had a huge bonfire and Shawn had smoked pork chops and meatloaf balls for hours. The food was sooo good! We hung out for a couple hours, enjoying a few cold beverages before the party started to break up and we began cleaning up. We got everything picked up and put back away as well as pack-up Black Betty and came home. We just left everything in the car for the night and came in to relax. It didn’t take long before we were both zonked-out and finally called it a night.
We enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. It was the loud dogs that eventually woke us up. Abby went in early to BWR to work another double shift. We slowly got up and flopped on the couch, relaxing and recovering from the last couple days’ worth of activity and cold beer. We were both pretty sore. Eventually, I got motivated to do a couple things around the house, including installing the A/Cs in our bedroom and the family room. It was so weird not flipping on the TV to watch the crowds arrive in Speedway for the Indy 500. To try and make it somewhat “normal,??? ABC ended up airing last year’s race, but it wasn’t the same… It was another hot & humid day. In fact, it was hotter than it has been in quite some time – easily the hottest day of the year so far – and so ungodly muggy. We binge-watched the rest of season 1 Dead to Me on Netflix. We really ended up liking that show and are looking forward to watching season 2 next week. Afterwards, I unloaded the car and then began the process of installing the air conditioners as we do each year on this holiday weekend. As I went around to get the ladder out of the shed, I noticed that part of a downspout had come loose and was on the ground. Where it had been was stuffed full of wet leaves. So, I got up and put it back together and noticed that the gutters were full. Luke and I had cleaned them out in the fall, but obviously we did it too soon. I got them cleaned out as Luke returned home. He had been out fishing and running around in the truck all day. He helped me get the A/Cs in and I’m glad he did. I was hot and sweating profusely by that time and I don’t think I could’ve gotten them in by myself. After we got that done, he got cleaned up and went in to work at Arby’s. I finished reattaching the gutters, put everything away and got in the shower. When I sat back down, it wasn’t long before I was asleep. When I awoke, Ann was calling me for dinner. She had a clean-out-the-fridge dinner. Afterwards, Ann read while I binge-watched a few episodes of Picard on Prime Video. Matt called in a panic that night. The poor kid had accidentally broken the shower head in the home where he was house-sitting with Taylor. He said he got in the shower and simply moved the head to the right and it came off in his hands. He felt terrible but we assured him that he did nothing wrong and it’ll be ok – they’re easy enough to replace… Luke got off work, came home to shower and decided to go stay the night with Kameron again. Abby finally got off work after midnight then ran a co-worker home. We waited up for her to make sure she made it home safely, give her time to decompress and just sit and talk for a bit since we haven’t seen her in a couple days… Turns out she got pulled over…again. That’s the second time this week! Well technically Garrett got pulled over in Tonya when they were up in New Castle earlier this week – but this was her tonight. She changed lanes without a turn signal so she got off with just a warning, but we’re sure they have that car flagged or something by now! We wound down the evening by watching a new series on Prime Video called Interrogation. It was a relaxing way to wrap up the week… but we’re looking forward to the day off tomorrow for sure…gotta love four-day weekends!
Next up is our Waybac segment. It continues to feature Chad & Dee’s digital pictures from 2003: we begin in June – hanging with Gma & Gigi on Main St and Luke’s birth in Columbus; in July we see the 4th of July fun (parade downtown, lunch on Main St and then pool & fireworks in Ryle); Sandy’s bday party on Main St; and then hanging with Mom & Sandy; in October the kids came trick-or-treating at Gma & Gigi’s house; in November, we have Danny’s 50th bday party and then we hosted Thanxmas; and in December we had the Owens’ Christmas Eve at our house.
And we wrap up this week with our video segment which features one new home movie this week (including some classic clips from 2003!) as well as several from around the internet…
UHS Healthcare Heroes Tribute Video from UHS on Vimeo.
And that does it for this week’s edition of the Scheu Family Blog. Thanks for keeping up with us this time out and we’ll catch up with you again next time. Until then, have a good one and stay safe out there. We miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu