We’ve had a good week since we last touched base. The football playoffs are winding down and as I write this, the teams are set for the Super Bowl. College basketball is heating up as the temperatures dropped again this week. We are nearing the coldest stretch of the year from mid-January through February. We have another new president in office now. The transfer of power went smoothly, but DC sure looked like a war zone with all the barriers, razor wire and police. Let’s hope the social unrest can now begin to settle down…I just hope that the economy can continue to recover and that the country can move forward together without all the hate. Matt had a full week at Z-West but I’m not sure if he worked in the restaurant this week. Coach Scheu remains undefeated as he led the Eagles to another victory this week. We enjoyed seeing him and Taylor this week for a little while. We are hopeful that we will get to come see him coach at some point this year. Abby enjoyed her time off this week as she continues to hone her bartending skills. She spent time seeing friends and family and helping out around the house. We are all getting used to her being around…it’ll be a shock next weekend when she returns to school. I’m not sure who will miss her more…her parents or her pets! Gary surprised us by coming to spend time with us this weekend. Luke did not have any wrestling matches this week as he had not one but two tourneys cancelled – likely due to COVID and the threat it presents to next weekend’s Sectional tourney. He spent his week with school and practice as well as spending time with his friends and working. Ann & I had fast weeks at work. We both received our second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine this week. Although my diet was still not where it should be, I did increase my exercise load. On top of working out with Bryan twice, I also walked over eleven miles this week. I was sore for a few days this week but look forward to working out more at the Sunken Boat Gym and start losing some of this weight finally. Hello again and welcome to the latest installation of the Scheu Family Blog.
It was back to work on MLK Day. I felt much better that morning (praise God!) as I could actually walk up and down stairs – LOL! There was a about an inch or more of snow on the ground when we warmed up Barney that morning. I looked at Black Betty yesterday and it is still experiencing some electrical issues, so we will need to get her into Jerry to see what the heck is going on with her. Luke had shoveled and salted paths to the cars last night that really helped that morning. He enjoyed the day off by sleeping in at Ethan’s house. They got up and went to Greenwood to go shoe shopping. Abby went to North Vernon to get her eyebrows done (an annual thing) and found a liquor store there that carried her Rhinegeist sour ale! So, she picked up a couple six-packs and called it a good day – LOL. Ann and I both had good days in Columbus. I got my Safety Committee report finished and she put out fires all day. After work, I walked out and thought I could walk outdoors. But, by the time I got my shoes changed I had changed my mind. So, I wound up walking at the mall. I got in about three miles in a nearly empty space that is a sad shadow of its once glory. Even the arcade that had been open for decades was now closed. The new Indian restaurant that just opened last summer is now closed. We stopped by Walmart on our way home to get supplies. We came home and chatted with Abby and Luke for a while. Luke’s finger was really sore after wrestling practice that night still so he is going to have it looked at tomorrow. We found out that this weekend’s wrestling tourney in Milan had been cancelled. We think that it’s because of COVID and that contact tracing that has been knocking kids out all year. If someone gets contact traced this late in the season, there’s no way they would be eligible for Sectionals. Instead, Coach got us in a tourney at Switzerland County with different teams, which should be good for us. Ann & Abby got out their no-bake éclair cake – yum! After having the dessert, Ann then made Fireworks popcorn for dinner. We watched some DVR’d shows and fell asleep watching the Purdue bball game from the weekend. Although I was in and out of consciousness, I did see the final couple minutes where the Boilers tired to lose the game but held on to win by a couple points. Here are pictures from Luke’s wrestling matches this week, including Batesville and the EIAC tourney.
Ann and I drove Tonya into work on Tuesday morning. Abby wanted Barney that morning for her to take the dogs out to the groomer in Westport. She loaded up the pups and picked up Gma and they spent the day together. Luke got up a little late and drove over to Columbus. He saw the orthopedic doctor for his finger. He picked up Ann on his way. He was relieved to find out that it is just a bad jam and not a break. He has some exercises to do to get some flexibility back in the joint. He went into school late then went to wrestling practice. He was home long enough to shower before having to return to school to run one of the cameras for GTV at the boys’ varsity basketball game. Abby went to the store and picked up food for dinner that night. She wound up making blackened tilapia, parmesan cheese-encrusted broccoli and baked mini potatoes. Ann and I had fast days at work. The boys and I went to a late lunch at Arni’s. I was so looking forward to my favorite salad and pizza! Unfortunately, it was just OK. It was not up to their normal standards. Both Justin and I thought the same thing and we said we wouldn’t be back for quite a while. That afternoon, we found out that the wrestling tourney this weekend at Switzerland County was now cancelled – geez! So now Luke won’t have any wrestling action until the following weekend when Sectionals start… Damn you, COVID! The afternoon flew by and before I knew it, I was outside walking on a cool but sunny afternoon. I got in a little under three miles again that day. After we got home, I changed clothes and went out to the Sunken Boat Gym to work out with Bryan. Meanwhile, Ann had forgotten that she was going out to dinner with Amy. That left poor Abby, who was already cooking dinner, alone with the dogs! I had a good workout with Bryan and another guy named Mike. I wasn’t nearly as sore afterward. We had a beer at the bar afterward and then I came on home. I stopped at the grocery store on my way to pickup a six pack of club soda so that we could make Mojitos with dinner. Abby did a good job of bartending and dinner was delicious as well! Ann came home and got on her comfy clothes for the second time that evening. This time, though, she got to keep them on – LOL. Abs and I FINALLY got to watch an episode of the Simpsons…it was Tree House of Horror XXXI…that’s how far behind we are – we’re just now getting to the Halloween episode! Afterward, Abs played online games with first Matt and then Luke, who came home and got his food before disappearing into his room. I watched the Boilers take on the #15 Buckeyes. They hung in there until the end and when the freshman Ivey hit a step-back 3-pointer with only five seconds left in the game, it sealed the victory! Wow!!
It was back to school on Wednesday morning – the first time in five days for Mr. Luke. Ann & I headed into work on a noticeably chillier day…but the sun was out, so it was all good. We had a fast morning then I took Annie to get her second COVID shot. Afterward, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at Camilla’s. They were able to make me a trio of Mexican style tacos – with corn tortillas, grilled fish and topped with onion and cilantro – yum! I also had them grill me a jalapeno and bring me a dish of their mysterious, orange, house hot sauce. It was a good burn too – I was sweaty from head to toe! ???? We had a fast afternoon then Gigi texted me that she was in town to welcome home Vice President Pence. I couldn’t get out of work quick enough to see him that afternoon, but I did see the jet take off, which was cool. He wasn’t on it, of course, as his time in Washington is now done. The Presidential Inauguration was that day, so I guess technically he is out of job temporarily – lol! I got in just under 3 miles of walking again. The wind was sure cold but the sun kept me warm. When we got home that night, I swapped ladies. Ann was supposed to go to dinner with Shawna, but since they’re getting together to scrapbook this weekend (since Luke’s tourney is cancelled…again), they decided to just wait. While Ann came in to get into her comfy clothes, Abby joined me to run errands and then we grabbed dinner at ElRep. It was a thank you for her cleaning up the mess I made in the cabinet last night. When I pulled out the Stevia from the back of it, I spilled half the bag. Not only did she clean out the cabinet and counter but also made me homemade sugar-free simple sugar! We enjoyed a good dinner and a pitcher of their house margaritas. We ran into Kristen while we were out there and she joined us for a while. We nearly joined her in going on to the Taap afterward but instead came home. I sat down to watch a show with Ann and promptly fell asleep. Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
We were up early and back to work and school on Thursday morning. Abby enjoyed sleeping in then came to Columbus and brought her back for a Prom / After Prom meeting at the high school. They are really trying to have a prom this year, but they’re not sure, exactly, what it will look like at this point. After driving her home, Abby went up to the FC campus to stay the night with her friends while Ann enjoyed a quiet night with the dogs. Luke had a fast day of school and a good wrestling practice. Now that he knows what’s wrong with his finger, he has a new lease on life. We can only hope that this new enthusiasm carries over into the Sectional tourney next weekend. Meanwhile, I finished up at work and walked a 5K around the airport property. There were a lot less people out there that day, for sure. I came home and changed clothes before heading back out to the Sunken Boat Gym to meet up with Bryan. We worked out for about an hour and I could barely straighten my arms afterwards. That evening, we got the band of brothers together at the Bainbridge Casa for a night of cards and comradery. There may have been some spirits involved as well. I did not fare very well that evening when it came to keeping my cash but I sure had a great time losing it! ???? Ann texted me during the evening and said Lola had another episode. She woke up from a dead sleep and attacked Molly out of nowhere. She ordered her a muzzle to wear when she’s around others. We’re not sure what else to do with her at this point…
Ann I were up early on Friday morning for work. Luke slept in a bit as his classes start a little later on Fridays. We ran through Dunkin before I dropped her off at her downtown office and I stopped in to see Mom O and surprise her with coffee and a fritter. We talked for a bit then went over to the hospital to get my second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination. I ran a couple errands before returning home to do some work for a little while. Before long, Annie was calling and was ready to leave work. I picked her up and we grabbed lunch from A&W Root Beer stand and brought it home, along with a couple big jugs of their fresh, homemade root beer – yum! We got back just as Abs returned home from Franklin. We caught up with her real quick before she went to a dentist appointment, which turned out to be a really good checkup for her. After we finished our lunch, Annie took a nap in the living room while I went back to work in the family room. I stopped working just as it was getting dark outside and Luke returned home from wrestling practice. He got cleaned-up and went out to eat with his buddy Brayden at Pizzalicious in Westport that evening. I worked on editing pictures and videos while we got caught up on the newest episodes of some of our favorite DVR’ed shows like FBI Most Wanted, Prodigal Son, The Resident, Law & Order SVU and Name that Tune. That night, the girls made Fireworks popcorn and cheese for dinner and we watched a weird movie called The Fountain. Here are pictures of the latest additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
We were up early again on Saturday morning. It was my chance to sleep in but no…I had to wake up hours before I had to be up and couldn’t fall back to sleep. The girls got up and went to Wildflour Bakery for goodies and were thrilled to get there early enough to get some of their homemade hot chocolate! I got up and paid bills with the dogs. I was interrupted by a call from our monitoring company. I called work to see what was going on but they had no idea what was happening, so I spoke to Vic and he wound up going in to see what the deal was. It turned out to be nothing, thankfully. I took Annie uptown where she met up with her girlfriends at the office to enjoy a day of scrapbooking. That afternoon, Abby & I went to lunch and ran some errands. When we came back, she made us a round of whiskey sours with a new bottle of Gentleman Jack. I used the new diet simple syrup and it turned our really well – thanks Bu! ???? We put on the Simpsons and ended up sleeping on the couches with the dogs. Meanwhile, Luke got up early and went into wrestling practice. He had to do another weigh-in, which was successful so he will be allowed to now wrestle at next week’s Sectional tourney. He went to Greenwood with Brayden to try and exchange his broken necklace. He learned a hard lesson about salesmen and the line of crap they will spin just to get you to buy their product. They helped Brayden’s family move then came back to our house to hang out for a while and play games. After falling asleep in his room, they went to workout and then went out to dinner and ran around. Gary surprised us by coming over that evening to stay the night. We caught up with him for a while then the kids picked up takeout from Tarouya for dinner. We laughed and talked for a while before I fell asleep and went on to bed. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
The dogs had us up way too early on Sunday morning. Don’t they know it’s the weekend?! Luke got up and showered and went into work at Hibbett’s. Abby & Gary got up and went to the store to get breakfast supplies and Ann made bacon, egg & cheese biscuits. While we were waiting on them, we got to our weekly household chores, cleaning up the house and doing laundry. We watched a great episode of SNL from ’93 (season 19) that featured a ton of talent: Carvey, Farley, Hartman, McKean, Meadows, Myers, Nealon, Sandler, Schneider, Spade, Franken, MacDonald and Silverman along with Nicole Kidman and Stone Temple Pilots – wow! We talked to Dad & Lynn, who are now in Florida doing well. It snowed and sleeted all morning, making the roads slick. Thankfully, everyone made it safely to their destinations. That afternoon, we went over to Gma & Gigi’s house for Ann’s first birthday party. Mom O made her a special homemade cake that was out of this world – it was delicious even for Mom’s standards. It was butter pecan and carmel with big globs of chocolate…OMG… We played a couple games of euchre while we waited for Matt & Taylor to get down. Jamie and I won the first one but Gigi & Bu murdered us with a 10-0 white-washing – yikes! We hung out afterward and watched the NFC championship game. It was exciting and went down to the last minute of the game. We came back home to watch the end amd see Brady and the Bucs become the first team to have home field advantage in the Super Bowl! It will be Tom’s tenth time in the big game. After a round of adult root beer floats and some catching up, we said goodbye to Matt & Taylor. Poor Taylor has to work at like 4 am tomorrow morning, so they were on a tight timetable that day. Next up, we said goodbye to Gary (who let his car warm up for like 30 minutes, I think). Luke came back from work in a good mood and said only a few things to us before retreating to his room to play on his PS4. Once Gary left, Abby followed Luke’s lead and retreated to her room to play video games with her brothers. The AFC game started off good, but the Bills couldn’t keep up with the Chiefs and it will be KC playing Tampa in Super Bowl LV in a couple weeks. Ann made cheesy Fireworks popcorn for dinner. As she read the final book of the Outlander series, I finished up working on the blog as it wasn’t much of a game in the second half. It was, however, a relaxing way to wind down a good weekend. As we went to bed, the fog got thicker and we waited to hear if school would be on a delay in the morning due to the freezing rain and ice storm we were forecast to receive overnight…
Next up is our Waybac feature which continues to feature pix from Ann’s Uncle Red and Deanna’s first digital camera. We lead off with collection of oldies from Ann’s great uncle Red – 1931 – New Point’s freshman class as well as their Christian Bible School; Aug 1938 – an unnamed family member; ladies at a gravesite in May 1963; Edna at Tevis Falls in 1964; Lillian & Lindy making Mrs. Bierebey’s birthday supper in Aug. 1967; and Red, Ed, Cecile and Sissy Morrison at the Motel in Daytona, FL Sept 1975; then we move on to Dee’s pix in 2004 – Apr – Easter Day; May – Dixon Dance Revue; June – Luke’s birthday; July – 4th of July fun, Fair Parade, Grace’s birthday, Indy Blues Fest with Joe Bonamassa and Sandy’s birthday; Aug – Minnie & Charlie; Sept – Abby’s birthday; October – Matt’s broken arm; Nov – Thanksgiving Day; December – Christmas Eve and the Christmas parade evening.
And we wrap up with our video segment, which features one new home movie from this week as well as several from around the internet.
Well, that does it for this week’s episode 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