We’ve endured a cold snap, here in southern Indiana this week. While we endured temps well below freezing (it was barely in double digits today!), Dad & Lynn and Rob & Sharon are enjoying tropical weather. We talked with both couples early this week and wish everyone safe travels. Dad & Lynn are headed to the Amazon. …And I don’t mean going to a big warehouse in Seattle…I mean, headed to South America! What a cool trip!! Meanwhile, my brother and Shar are in the Caribbean! Yes; we’re a little jelly! At least we aren’t as bad off as Keith & Rosie, who wound up with over four feet of lake-effect snow! It reminded me of growing up in LaPorte when we’d get that lake-effect show off Lake Michigan. It could be brutal at times. We didn’t hear from Matt much this week. We know he was busy working from Carmel, coaching in Zionsville and then got away for a couple days with Taylor to Chicago! Abby had a rough week, working in Greenwood. She accidentally turned off her alarm one morning at the start of the week and then had a car accident during lunch at the end of the week. She and Will got out on the town a couple times but stayed in Franklin all week. Luke did a few odd jobs again this week and is considering applying out at Honda until he can get on at the fire department. He continued to attend Fire 2 classes with Alex, up in New Palestine and spent at least some time each day with Ms. Samantha – including some extra time due to her birthday this week. Those kids are funny and make a good pair – just like the other couples. All our kids have good taste… Ann spent time a little time with her friends, though she planned on doing a little more but it got cancelled. She and I both had good but long weeks at work. Despite the freezing temps, I still managed to play five rounds of disc golf. I did not play in Greensburg at all due to the high winds and pond. Although the cold and wind played havoc with me, with the absence of water it was a no harm/no foul situation. With the conditions, the time change and our schedule, I only managed to log a little over six miles of walking but enjoyed throwing a new distance driver called the Queen. It’s a 14-speed disc that I’m hoping will eventually allow me to throw it 350-400’! Although we had some snow late last week, we only saw flurries this week and nothing stuck. We are looking forward to spending time with family next week and can’t wait for those cold turkey sandwiches on Thursday night… Hello again and welcome to the latest chapter of the Scheu Family Blog.
We had a chilly start to the week on Monday morning with temps literally freezing. Needless to say, we let the Barneymobile warm up for a bit before making our daily commute into Columbus. I noticed Gigi left her door opener in the van after she came over yesterday to swap us back automobiles. I’ll have to try and get that back to her on our way to work tomorrow. It was a good day for Ann & I – sure, there were the typical Monday morning fires to put out, but once they were taken care of, we both had good days. I was able to get caught up on paperwork that morning. After a zoom IT meeting, Brent & I went to Kroger. I was on my 48-hour fast, so I was looking for a large cherry Diet Dr. Pepper while picking up a couple items for a resident. However, we found the whole area closed up. I guess they have lunch hours? It was well after 1, so if they do; then ya, they should’ve been closed as lunch was technically over. Instead, we wound up going to Steak N Shake and I broke my fast. Apparently, I was a little whiny and I know I had a nasty headache; so, I got a burger & fries…and chili…and a milk shake. Hey; if you’re gonna be bad, why not go all-in?? I got started on my final report that afternoon before calling it an early day to go look for the piece that fell off my golf cart on Thursday afternoon. I looked and looked over the entire course (getting in an extra quarter mile to my walking total in the process). Just when I had given up hope, I found it on the final hole – less than 20 feet from the pin. That’s just my luck, ya know?! I finished 1-under on a cool day around the 40-degree mark. I worked on editing pictures while we watched several DVR’d shows that evening and eventually wound up eating a few leftovers for dinner. Oh well, maybe next week my diet will be better… Meanwhile, after a busy weekend, Luke enjoyed sleeping in that day. When he did finally get moving, he worked out at the Y then spent the rest of the afternoon/evening cleaning his room and bitching that Ann didn’t make him dinner…poor baby. I think he was just going through Sam withdrawals – LOL! Here are pictures from Megan’s wedding last weekend.
Tuesday was supposedly warmer, but it sure felt colder to me. It was gray and overcast all day, so maybe that’s why… Ann & I both had good days at work again, not too busy and just steady enough to make the day go past quickly. The guys and I went out to the airport to eat lunch at Hangar 5. We hadn’t been there in a while, so it was a good change of pace. I attended meetings and wrote out reports all day. I got out a little late from work and only managed to play 9 holes of golf, finishing at par. I need a pair of playing gloves as it was a challenge to keep my fingers warm. There was no sun and a steady breeze out of the north that kept it frosty…oh, and it snowed / sprinkled the whole time which made it feel even colder. Ann & I forgot to go to Amoco and Sonic that night for whatever reason. It was pretty much dark by the time we got home that night. We got on our comfy clothes, had a find-your-own dinner night and curled up with the dogs and blankets and watched some DVR’d shows. Ann read and napped while I edited pictures & videos and napped. Luke worked with Chad all day then went to his Fire 2 class with Alex, up in Indy that night. When he came home and woke us up, we went on to bed and called it a night. One thing’s for sure: with this time change, we are certainly getting plenty of sleep! Here are pictures of last week’s lunar eclipse that I got on a few different settings in our backyard.
It was still spitting snow and misting as we made our way back to work on Wednesday morning. It was another overcast day as it snowed / rained all day but it didn’t amount to much. Before we left, I left a singing text for Mom O. It was her 84th birthday that day. Annie called her on the way into work and we sang to her again. She would get the trifecta later that evening when we hosted her birthday party. Ann and I had quick days again, thankfully. It’s actually been a pretty smooth week for us – which is a change of pace from the last couple weeks. Ann had such a big lunch that she didn’t even want to get slushes that night, so we put it off until tomorrow evening. Lenny made some really good street tacos at work so we stayed in for lunch that day. It allowed me to get my safety as well as a risk assessment done – ahead of tomorrow’s marathon meeting day. We left work early that afternoon and stopped by Kroger to get Ann’s contact-less order brought out to us and we were on our way back to the ‘Burg. We stopped downtown to get Maryann’s gift and came on home. I had planned to go play a cold round out at the park but it was snowing really hard when we got home and although it stopped several minutes later, it completely saturated the ground. It’s one thing to play in cold weather, but it’s another to play in cold weather with wet hands. No thanks. I did send Ann some ideas on some golf gloves. Although they won’t keep my hands real warm, it will keep them dry and help with grip – the two things I’m more concerned about. I can always throw a hand warmer bag in my sweatshirt pocket. We bought way too many of them for Senior Night, back in September – if I remember correctly… Instead, I helped out Ann (mostly stayed the hell out of her way) as she prepared a big dinner for Mom and the family that night. The house looked good after Julie had been there to clean it earlier. Annie 0made Maryann’s favorite – spaghetti, overnight salad and garlic toast. She also made spasagna, which should feed us well through the weekend! Just as Sam arrived at the house, Luke & I took his truck into the shop at Greensburg Sound to have the sound system upgraded. Matt & Taylor couldn’t make it that evening (though they did help sing to Memaw via Abby’s FaceTime – later that evening), but Abby (& Will via FaceTime), Luke & Sam, Mom, Sandy & the dogs and Dee, Jamie & Gracie all came over that evening to celebrate our family matriarch’s big day. During and after dinner, the gals sat in the kitchen and chit-chatted while the boys sat in the living room and watched last night’s big Boiler victory on the big screen. We had cake & ice cream after a…unique…version of the Birthday Song, with which we serenaded a very lucky Gma. ???? It was good to catch up a little with the fam that evening. After we said goodbye to everyone, we cleaned up a little, put the leftovers away and sat down to watch the FBI trilogy. I couldn’t keep my damn eyes open. I would fall asleep, rally and then fall asleep again. We played this game for a couple hours before we gave it up and just went on to bed. Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
It was downright frigid on Thursday morning with temps all the way down in the mid-twenties. Where was Dad & Lynn? They should’ve been there to enjoy that crisp air…but no; they had to sail the seven seas as they headed to their big expedition to the Amazon! We wish them safe travels and can’t wait to see all their fun pictures! All the moisture from yesterday had frozen to everything. Although Barney’s doors were a just a bit frozen shut, the streets were all dry and we safely made it into work…unlike yesterday where we nearly t-boned a vehicle that pulled out in front of us. Thankfully, we were paying attention because they clearly weren’t… It was a longer day that we anticipated as Ann had a busy day and I wound up doing a little more than I had anticipated that day. The State walked in again morning but thankfully we take pride in being ready every day. Although we weren’t perfect, we were in great shape (as always) and we did great. They were in and out and happy with us, so we went about our day. Vic, Brent & I went to Chicago’s Pizza for a filling lunch buffet before we attended the monthly Marathon Meeting Day. I took care of a few loose ends before getting outside to play a quick round of disc golf on a brisk afternoon. Thankfully, the sun was out the 30° afternoon, so it seemed warmer than it actually was. I enjoyed getting back out the course, despite the elements and did fairly well – ending with an even par. I could’ve likely broke par if I hadn’t had to take a penalty stroke on 3 when I threw straight into a darned tree and had to dig it out with my extension pole. Ann & I got gas at Amoco, which had gas marked $.80 less than the last time we got gas in the Barneymobile. We grabbed slushes at the Sonic drive thru before shopping at Needlers for Poker Night supplies. We had a big Coaches Meeting at the Sunken Boat Bar that evening. Ann did me up that night by making us Bang-Bang shrimp that I thoroughly enjoyed. We all voted that we wanted her to make that again. Bryan had some sort of cheese- filled sliced pork loin that was amazing. And Shawn’s bison cheese sauce that I couldn’t stay out of. It was so damn good! There was a bunch of other food as well. It was a feast! We had an excellent turnout that night and it was a great evening, for sure. Besides Bryan & I, we had Scott & Mark as well as Shawn, Bob, Alan, and Bryan’s brother and customer to give us nine players that night. Only Pat (who got stuck at work) and Rick (who’s flight was delayed from Cali) couldn’t make it that evening. We had a ton of food, a great football game, some awesome pots during cards and the infamous SBB spirits. With all those factors, it’s clear that the Band of Merry Men had a fun night of revelry. Although we won’t have a “coaches meeting??? next week, we do plan to meet up on Thanksgiving Eve at the Beach to enjoy some tunes by Grandpas McGee and Nothin’ Fancy. I was pretty wired when I got home that night and put on the two-hour season ten premiere of Oak Island. It was pretty cool and enjoyed an nightcap of Addictivo anejo tequila that was just perfect to round out a great night.
It was cold and snowy on Friday morning – but that was OK because it was nothing compared to what Keith & Rosie are experiencing. They Face-Timed last night to show us they had already accumulated a foot of snow that day. I never did hear how much they wound up with, but it was enough that it made us worry about the possibilities of them being able to drive home for Turkey Day next week. Some models show them receiving up to five FEET of snow over the next couple days! It was a busy morning for Ann & I. After Dunkin and dropping Annie off at the downtown office, I ran to Walmart for a few things then went to CVS to get a couple of vaccines. Next, I left town to go do inventory at work, which was BS. I had asked that we be allowed to do it on Thursday afternoon so I wouldn’t have to drive into work with gas prices being so damn high. However, the finance department wouldn’t budge, so I trekked across the countryside one more time this week. I can guarantee that we had the exact same inventory this morning that we had yesterday afternoon. But, whatever; I quickly knocked out the inventory, sent everything up to the accounting team and wrapped up a few things before heading out for the weekend. Vic & I went to lunch at the Fish House then I played 9 holes of disc golf at the AirPark. It was cold with a bitter wind out of the west. It made for pretty tough going on holes that set due west – like 1, 2 & 8. I made a couple of nice birdies but also had a pair of bogies in that wind but managed to finish at par – which I was happy with, While I was out playing, a couple of my buddies from the Airport Property ground crew stopped to say hello and let me try out a disc that one of them had. I made my way back to town and worked from home for a little while before finally calling it a week. Luke stayed at Sam’s house last night, after celebrating her birthday with her family last night. He worked a little on his truck before Sammi came over and after hanging out for a bit, they drove up to Indy to go to her birthday date/dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (her fave). Meanwhile, Ann caught a ride home with her co-worker and tried to take a nap. However, every time she started to nod off someone would call or come through the door. Abby called us in a panic. She was actually a little peeved because she has just had a head-on accident. Thankfully, it was a low speed, so it was just a fender-bender. Turns out the other drive was only 18 and driving mommy’s car. They eventually decided that it was just a few scratches and wasn’t worth calling the police or insurance companies. So, they swapped info and went about their days. That meant Abs went on to work, as she was driving back from getting lunch when the accident occurred. She was pissed because when she slammed on the brakes, all her food went flying and her drink spilled into her gear box. ? Annie & I got into our comfy clothes, grabbed a blanket and curled up with the dogs and watched the sun set while catching up on the Law & Order trilogy we taped yesterday. We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
Annie was up early and out the door on Saturday morning. She went to Shelbyville with Shawna and her buddies for a day of scrapbooking. I slept in a couple hours later than normal and would’ve probably gone longer…if not for Lola and her old bladder. I slowly got around to doing small things around the house while watching a couple DVR’d shows before putting on the Purdue game and jumping head-first into a project I’d been putting off for a while. Luke & Sam got up and went to Greenwood for the day. They went to Dick’s Last Resort for dinner and came back with some fancy head gear lots of good stories – LOL. Meanwhile, I pulled out the TV and audio equipment in the family room that Mom & Dad gave us, just before they moved to Florida. I enjoyed using it sporadically but the lack of a true mancave kept me from fully enjoying that setup. Instead, it has been relegated to an emergency backup TV and a place to store a few things I didn’t have anywhere else to put. We have a pair of full-size Pioneer speakers that are pretty good but I don’t even have them hooked up any longer. It’s probably time to sell it to someone who can appreciate that setup. I pulled out the TV, A/V system, bookshelf, Pachinko machine and all the photo albums and relocated it all. In its place, I moved in the bookshelves that Luke had in his room, previously. I know Ann wants to refinish them, but this was just a first step in that process. I got everything stored (somehow) in the garage and shed until the next big trash day / Tox-Away Day or Electronic Day to get rid of it all. Thanks to Dad for passing me the knowledge of how to fit a large amount of stuff into a limited area. It took a little doing, but I was determined. After several hours and lots of grunts and strains, I was finished and a little sore. So, I grabbed an Advil, made a few (maybe several?) Carmel Apple drinks with that one of those Salted Carmel bottles of Crown from my birthday and chilled-out. After watching the Boilers win on Senior Day and completely jamming out to the new KISS album (the Super Deluxe edition of Creatures of the Night) while working, I was ready to relax. I’m sure the new neighbors know like Kiss as well – LOL. That evening, I watched Smile on Paramount+ as I enjoyed a few rounds of Crown. That movie is a trip – not one to be missed if you like the creepy, curse/horror genre. I was hoping to take a nap. Usually, a movie is the surest way to conk me out. After the movie, I watched a few good tunes like Rick & Morty, Simpsons and Family Guy. Here are pictures of new additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
The dogs had me up early on Sunday morning. I had some work to finish up from Friday that I never got to, so I just went ahead and worked for about three hours – until Annie got up. Sandy texted, asking for my help. She had to come into the station because the heat had gone out and she had a repairman coming. While she was working, one of the monitors in the control room went out. We had an extra one that I brought over. I did some troubleshooting with her but there was no saving the monitor, unfortunately. The only one I could find was the one that Luke stole the stand off of for a TV. Unfortunately, Matt is currently borrowing that television. So, we rigged it up and made it work…upside down! LOL! I’ve got a dozen old monitors that need to be recycled at work, so I’ll grab the piece I need off one of those and get her set up until she can find a replacement. I checked fluids in the Barneymobile and started Black Betty for the first time in a month. I did a few loads of laundry that morning. The dishwasher has been acting up. It’ll run a good load then it will mess up two or three times. So, not sure if we need to have it looked at or just save that $ and replace it. When I got back from the station, Luke was making biscuits & gravy for breakfast, which was surprisingly good! ???? Luke & Sam went to the store for Ann and then Samantha went on home. Luke went to workout at the YMCA for a couple hours while Ann & I set our fantasy football lineups and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, I don’t think either of us even scored a hundred points that day. ? We watched football while Ann read and napped…well tried to anyhow…and I worked on the blog and napped. The Colts lost a heartbreaker to the #1 team in the NFC – the stupid Eagles. The Cowboys had a tough matchup with #2 team in the NFC – the Vikings. The defense looked outstanding and had like 7 or 8 sacks! The offense was equally up to the challenge. Before that game, I was slated to get about 80 points and by the time the 4th quarter came around I was slated to get 120 as I had Dak & Tony P playing and they hooked up for a couple of long passing TDs! It was the battle of the 3-7 teams as I faced Grace’s guy, Josh. One of us had to win! By the time the Cowboys game ended, I pretty much had it locked up and had bragging rights going into Thanksgiving lunch – LOL. Matt, on the other hand, said he might have to skip Turkey Day if Grace wound up beating him (and it looked like she would!). We realized that evening that we still hadn’t received our latest shipment of popcorn from Fireworks. We went back and tracked the package and it said it was delivered over a week ago! We reviewed our Ring security footage and saw the UPS truck drive by that day but never stopped. In fact, we didn’t receive any packages. Although that means we didn’t have a damn porch pirate, it did mean that it was delivered to someone else’s house and they just never bothered to bring it to us – which is pretty shitty if you ask me. We’ve taken numerous things to our neighbors (mail and packages) over the years. We were pretty disappointed. Not only did I not get to enjoy my traditional Sunday dinner, but now we have to figure out how to get our product or our money back. We contacted Fireworks, but we don’t expect to hear anything until tomorrow. Instead, I had a sandwich and Ann made corn with her backup stash (that I don’t care for as much). As if the popcorn thing wasn’t enough to piss me off…CBS stopped carrying the Cowboys game before the start of the 4th quarter. Granted, they had the second stringers playing, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to watch them play and mop the field in Minnesota, putting a 40-spot on the purple NFC Central leaders! As I went to go make my sandwich, I noticed that the dishwasher load from yesterday was still having issues and we think it’s the pump that’s taken a crap on us. So, I spent the next half hour or so unloading the dishwasher, washing, drying and putting them away then turning around and doing it for today’s load. Ann began looking for a replacement after we figured out that it was at least ten years old. It’s hard to believe we’ve had that since before Mom got sick… Later, Luke went out to go spend some time with Brayden and who knows what else. That evening, we turned off the football game and instead watched the new Yellowstone episode (which was good, as always) as well as the series finale of The Walking Dead. I’m really sad they’re killing the original, but at least we can still watch the spinoffs…even though they’re never as good as the original. Although the evening had its share of challenges, still…it was a relaxing way to wind down a much-needed, slower weekend and a great way to wrap up another week, here at the Scheu abode…
Next up is our Waybac segment which continues to feature pictures of our young family from 2006 & 2007. We lead off in Dec 2006 with pictures of the gals and their dogs, over on Main St. as well as a picture of Matt and Susan (Ms. Apple) and their intramural 5th grade team at the elementary school. Then, on to 2007, we have Sandy’s mayoral campaign in March; Memorial Day weekend in May; June has some good pix of girls and the dogs on Main St., Luke’s birthday and summer vacation fun at our house; in July we have the Decatur Co fair, the Eiteljorg museum in Indy, 4th of July weekend, Grace’s birthday, and the Tree City car show; a great pic of Dee and her daughter as well as Grace with her Gigi in August; September has a couple pictures from Labor Day weekend, yet another photo from the Van Halen concert in October and then more from 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 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 be safe out there. We miss ya, Mom.
Later, Scheu