Another week has sped past us since we last touched base. The temps took a nosedive this week, getting colder as the week wore on. Matt worked from home in Carmel and spent his days with Taylor and the pussycats while driving to Zionsville for wrestling practice each afternoon. Abby worked in Greenwood this week then moved home after she and her beau split. Luke worked with Troy one day but otherwise focused on his fire classes and had a big test on the weekend. He enjoyed spending time with Ms. Samantha each day. After only working a half week previously, Ann & I had a full week of work – which we did not care for. It was a very busy one for me as I did my month-end rounds and finance and also did all the first-of-the-month ordering. Despite the wet and cold conditions and busy work week, I managed to log seven miles of exercise while playing six rounds of disc golf. I enjoyed spending a few hours with my friends but otherwise had a quiet week at home, enjoying our Christmas décor while trying to stay warm. The days are so short that it’s already dark by the time we get home at night. It’s hard to believe how fast this year has gone. We love this time of year but the one thing that would definitely make it better is a little snow on the ground, to be honest. Although we still don’t have our new dishwasher yet, we did get our new robot vacuum up and going. So, even though I am hand-washing all our dishes still…at least I’m not vacuuming too! Hello again and welcome to the newest edition of the Scheu Family Blog.
We slowly got up and got going on Monday morning. I was especially slow moving that morning. When we got into work, I was disappointed to see that I had gained nine pounds over the weekend! I spent the day catching up on all the paperwork from the last five days that had built up as I began my weekly fast. The day went really fast. We had the units on quarantine due an outbreak of flu. I’m glad I got my shot already this fall so that if I do end up getting it, it won’t knock me on my ass. On top of half the kids being sick, we have a few staff members out as well, so it’s a little busy out there right now. Ann said her day was really tough – very full and busy…but also went really fast, thankfully. She said a marketing person brought in a nice lunch for the staff that day. The weather was overcast all day, which is sort of the way I felt. After work, I got out on the disc golf course and walked a couple miles. I stopped in the middle of my second round as I was talking with a guy that does custom golf discs. He was delivering an order I placed with him. But first, we ran to Best Buy and Lowe’s to pickup Christmas gifts. I met up with Jason, the disc guy out in the Lowe’s parking lot. They turned-out great…but I had to turn them over to the Christmas present police… When we got back, Luke & Sam were just getting back from the store and wanted Ann’s help in making orange chicken. Ann helped with the meat but Luke & Samantha did the sauce, which I thought was pretty cool. After a brief nap, I edited all the pictures and videos for this week while watching the Colts on MNF. Abby & Will were there, enjoying his first NFL game. Strangely enough, they were only a few rows away from Jamie – who was there with a buddy. The Colts nearly pulled off the upset but forgot how to run the ball in the 4th quarter and wound up losing in their typical fashion again. Luke watched the end of the game as we followed our fantasy football players. I needed my guy to only get 9 points. He came up a little shy of that when he earned exactly 0. So, Robby wound up beating me while sipping cocktails on a white sand beach in the Caribbean! Matt began his first official wrestling practice that day. No more pre-season workouts for him and his team. All the recruiting he did in the past few weeks paid off as his numbers are now in the mid-fifties. In fact, there are so many wrestlers that he is worried about them all fitting into the wrestling room at the same time for practices. That’s a good problem to have if you ask me! He got me a copy of his schedule. I noticed that this year’s Battle of the Nest is a home game for him as he goes for his 4th win a row for the coveted Nest trophy. I was impressed to hear that he added a second girl to his roster, which is awesome that he is able to grow the sport the way he has – there at the school. She said that her brother convinced her to come out because he was, “an amazing coach??? and that she had, “never really met a nice coach.??? What a great compliment to his character. It makes his parents so proud of him… Here are pictures of the Christmas-related activities from last weekend.
Tuesday was an odd day. I wasn’t sure if I had a little touch of that flu bug going around or what but I felt funky. It might’ve been a little dehydration from my fast, but I had a few influenza symptoms as well that morning, so I decided to wear my mask all day – because you never know… It was a windy day but at least we finally saw a little sunshine that day. The wind got stronger as the day progressed. I had received a call from our fire alarm monitoring company in the middle of the night (which I didn’t hear). So, when I got in it was my first stop. Vic & I would spend the next three hours trying to figure out the issue with it. As it turned out, we had to initiate a fire watch until we could get a new part shipped and installed on our dry sprinkler system. I began my monthly EOC rounds despite the units still being under quarantine. Most of the kids, however, were on the mend; so I felt pretty confident. The management team met remotely again, just to keep everyone safe another day. After work, I had already amassed my goal of 10K steps. Ann said she was thankful to have a little slower day. And to top it off, one of her employees brought in lunch for everyone. I went out to play a round of disc golf across the street a little later than normal. I picked up on hole 5 – where I left off yesterday. It was crazy windy out there – probably the strongest gusts I’ve played in this year. I finished the round with a one-over in the wind and rain. Besides the elements, I was miserable due to not eating. I was a little light-headed and jittery as well. Honestly, I was at the point where I was looking at people and trying to decide if they were friend or food! ???? Thankfully, Ann was ready to leave a little early as well. We got gas at Amoco and went through the Sonic drive thru for a slush and one of their little Frito Burritos. I was glad to see that gas was staying down around the $3 mark. I think we paid $3.19 for our petrol that evening. When we got home, we both went to the family room. I ate, filed papers and submitted a rebate/gift card from Lowe’s for the installation of our new dishwasher as Ann continued putting out Christmas stuff. She got the mantle finished in there as well as the TV stand and end table in the living room. When she finished, I carried all the containers back out to the garage and got everything all put away for the rest of the season. Luke worked out at the YMCA and then returned to Fire 2 class with Alex, up in Indy. When I took out the trash that evening, I noticed that it was eerily warm – like ten or so degrees warmer than it was when we got home. You could also feel the power of a nasty storm brewing. I know the wind was so loud that it messed with the dogs. They were a stirring around, uneasily for part of the night. We watched some DVR’d shows and grabbed a find-your-own dinner that night. I’m not sure how long I lasted, but when I woke up on the couch later that night, I went on to bed.
It was noticeably colder on Wednesday morning. It was about 30 degrees and about 30 degrees cooler than it was when I was outside putting stuff away in the garage last night. I facilitated a Zoom interview with my cool boss, Jim, and a potential dietician. She seemed very nice and we’re hopeful that she will accept the position. The only downside (and the reason it’s been hard to fill it) of this job is the PRN nature of it. There’s just not a lot of hours due to our low census and low monthly turnover (we average about a dozen admits/discharges per month). I did a few IT things and ordered some emergency supplies due to all the flu cases in the last week. After lunch, I finished up my monthly EOC rounds and wrote-out all the work orders. Instead of leaving work to go play golf that afternoon, I stayed and facilitated a second shift orientation class. This is a new effort that we’re employing to try and get some PRN and 2nd shifters on our staff. I knew it was late when I came out and the sun had already set. It went down quickly and by the time I picked up Ann, dusk was gone and it was just plain dark. It was pitch black by the time we got home. I think that was the first time we had the headlights on from driveway to driveway this season. Ann said her day was fast like Monday, but not quite as stupid busy. Luke was over at Samantha’s house when we got home. He talked to us a little when he got home that night but didn’t stay up long. Ann and I watched a couple DVR’d shows with the dogs, trying to stay warm that night. I napped early after finishing up the last of our leftovers from Thanksgiving. I can never get enough of that wonderful, homemade food… I woke up win time to hear Ann sawing logs in her chair. So, I turned on the Purdue basketball game. After winning the Phil Knight Legacy tourney over the Thanksgiving weekend (for some reason the DVR didn’t record either of the last two games) and upsetting both Gonzaga and Duke in the process, leapfrogged up to the #5 position in the nation. They took on an under-manned Florida State team that had only won a single game all season. Although it was a close game, the Boilers pulled away in the 2nd half and easily won by double digits in the final Big Ten / ACC Challenge game. I switched over to watch the IU game and texted with Paul for a while. Both his boys are playing varsity basketball for Batesville this year – how cool is that? I hope we can get together with those guys sometime soon… Here are some random pictures from our recent adventures.
Thursday was a long day. We must’ve been a little late because the sun was coming up as we left the neighborhood. I had time to do a few things in the office, get readings from the vaccine fridge for the state and worked up some purchase orders. I went to morning meeting for a few minutes and then picked up Ann and went to see Jami. She did her hair a little different and it looked really nice! The afternoon went equally fast as we continued our hourly fire watch. I took monthly inventory and wrapped up a couple projects before heading out to play some golf across the street at the airport. It was really windy that afternoon and my scores showed it. Between keeping my hands and face warm and the wind playing havoc with my discs, it was a rough afternoon. At least I got some good exercise though. I took Ann over to the hospital for her quarterly meeting and I headed back to work. I did some finance stuff and got things set up for me to work from home. I did a couple fire watch rounds before Ann was ready done. We were almost back to town when I saw my first shooting star! Actually, as Ann pointed out, it was a falling star. It freaked me out just a little. I think I put on the brakes and began to slow down because my mind couldn’t quite process what was occurring. There was a whole line of traffic and I think we all saw the same thing because we all slowed down to watch it. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was bad ass! I had just read where conditions were right for seeing a few shooting stars this week. I dropped her off at the house, picked up a couple things and headed right back out. Hell, I didn’t even change into my lucky shirt that night! I went to the grocery store for a few things, picked up a takeout order at Wings & Rings that Ann ordered for me on the ride home. It was Poker Night and we all headed out to Alan’s house for the first time this year (well, for card night anyhow). He & Bryan really did a nice job of transforming that basement. We had a ton of great food as always, including spicy meatloaf, Super Big Boy casserole, crack dip, cheesy sausage dip and several other side dishes. And, of course, Al had the bar fully stocked. I enjoyed a few glasses of TX whiskey. It was my first time trying it and I have to say that I enjoyed it! I did really well, doubling my money. It could’ve been even more but I lost a $3 on a single turn of In-Between – Bryan’s favorite…not! We were really late getting started and only played about two hours or so. I got a call from Ann and noticed I had missed a call from Abby as well, which sort of freaked me out. Thankfully, she was fine – physically. Emotionally, she was not so good. Something happened with her and Will and she came home to spend the night. Thankfully, her momma was there to console her. They were still up when I got home but she didn’t really want to talk about it so she went on to bed. In fact, we wall went on to bed not long after I got home. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
Abby took the day off work on Friday and slept all day. I eventually got up got ready. I shaved my beard back down, after growing it out all last month. I ran a few errands after getting our Dunkin and dropping off Ann at her downtown office. I returned to the house and worked from home all day. I was able to coordinate the repair to our sprinkler system. Vic was my boots on the ground and he worked with the vendor to get everything working again – thank God! I did all the monthly ordering that day and then worked on a few other things before wrapping things up and calling it a day. As Ann napped in her chair and Abby slept with Delilah, I went out to the park to play some disc golf. It was cool and super windy. I nearly lost a disc on the second time on hole 6 but thankfully that was the only close call. But with the wind screaming, I didn’t have a very good round…but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Abs was still asleep when I got back. Ann was going to cook dinner for us, but we opted for cheesy Fireworks popcorn – since the replacement bucket came in the mail yesterday! Luke worked over at Gma & Gigi’s house then went to see Sam and do Christmas with one side of her family. We started binge-watching the 3rd season of Dead to Me but didn’t get through the third episode before I was asleep, so I just went on to bed. Luke had Sam over to spend the night and Ann messed with Abby, trying to get her out of bed but wasn’t successful.
We could hear that the wind was still howling outside on Saturday morning. When Ann got up to make sure Luke was awake for his big day, I got up and started my day. Even though it was an hour before sunrise, I had already slept over nine hours and was ready to get up to start my day. Luke & Sam left early that morning with Luke headed to an event with Alex where they (and their class) have their firefighting test…where they’ll put out actual fires. How exciting! He was so excited that he had no trouble getting up and getting out the door that morning. Ann & I enjoyed a slower day. We watched a couple DVR’d shows and then did a few things around the house. We put up the last of the outdoor decorations on the front porch, set up the new Roomba (our old one stopped working), reset our Ring doorbell and washed dishes. Megan came over and took Abby out to for lunch and to get their nails done. Ann & I spent the afternoon binge-watching the rest of season 3 of Dead to Me. When Luke came home, he had lots of stories tell of his time up in Indy. He had a little heat burn on his face from the intense fire, where his mask didn’t make a perfect seal at times. Luke went to Columbus with Alex to get lumber for a new furniture project he’s working on in his bedroom. Later, Abs went up to FC to remove all her belongings from the Sig house. Her sorority sisters met her up there and helped her load everything into Tonya and she moved home. Just as she arrived, Megan & Payton pulled up and helped Luke & I move Abs’ stuff inside. My gosh, where did all of this stuff come from?? They proceeded to take her out for dinner at Pizzalicious and then went out to look at Christmas lights. Ann & I watched the Big Ten championship game and rooted on the Boilers as they faced the #2 team in the nation – Michigan. Purdue held the Wolverines to just 14 points in the first half and trailed by one at the intermission. However, in the second half, we only scored a couple field goals and the Michigan pulled away in the 4th quarter and the Boilers lost by 3 TDs. ? Luke & Sam came back from the Dances late then ran to Taco Bell for 4th meal after midnight. Here are a few pictures of recent additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
Abby got home at some point of the wee hours on Sunday morning. Ann was up before the dawn to pee and couldn’t go back to sleep, so she went out to read in her chair and allowed me to sleep-in a couple hours. When I did wake up, I jumped on the weekly household chores because I wasn’t sure if Luke or Abby needed to use the washer & dryer. So, I knocked out laundry first then washed the dishes and picked up the house. I balanced the checkbook while Ann made cinnamon rolls. Abby came out of her room that morning only long enough to get food and coffee and otherwise retreated to her room and lie in bed. Luke & Sam got up to eat and then she left for the day. That allowed Luke & I to load up the elliptical machine into his truck and take it over to Julie & Danny’s house. Besides all of the shit that we just put in there of Abby’s yesterday, that room is starting to take shape. When we got back, Luke & I watched RedZone while Annie made fish tacos for us. Abby was supposed to clean her room and put away the stuff she dumped in other areas of the house. Dinner was outstanding. It was nice to have 2/3 of the kids at the dinner table with us, even though they still fought like they did when they were little. I guess some things never change… Afterwards, Luke went to Sam’s house for a Christmas thing with her family. I spent the next hour putting away the leftovers and doing all the dishes. That damn dishwashing machine can’t get here soon enough for me!! We watched the second half of RedZone and followed our hapless fantasy football teams. Ann read and worked on programming the new Roomba while I finished up the blog and logged in some new Hot Wheels before publishing both on our website. That evening, Ann made Fireworks popcorn and cut up some of her new fancy, cheddar cheese that I picked up for her at Aldi’s. Who knew they had such bougie cheese selections?? We enjoyed our corn while watching the night game, which featured my favorite two teams – the Colts at the Cowboys. Although all the announcers were saying it was going to be a romp, I wasn’t so sure that the Colts couldn’t pull off the upset. I had circled this game on the calendar when I saw it on the Colt’s schedule. I’ve been looking forward to it all year and was just hoping for a close game but an eventual Cowboys win. It was a great way to wrap up a fast weekend and a relaxing way to wind down another busy week…
Next up is our Waybac section which continues to feature pictures from Deanna’s digital camera when the kids were little. We lead off this week with a couple more pictures of Mom & Sandy’s dogs on Main St in December 2006 then move on to 2007: Sandy’s mayoral run in March; Memorial Day weekend in May; summer vacation fun in June; in July we see Eiteljorg museum, 4th of July, Grace’s birthday, and the Tree City car show; Grace & Gigi and Muffin in August; Abby’s birthday in September; the Indy Children’s Museum in November; and Christmas Eve in December.
Next up is our video segment, which features one new home movie this week as well as several from around the internet.
And 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
