If you need a little rain in your area, just schedule the 4-H county fair; it rains every year during our fair. And this year, just when we needed rain the most, the fair came to town…and like magic, we were no longer in a drought. The town enjoyed a pair of parades this week. That rain lasted for nearly two days and brought us some much-needed relief from the heat and humidity. Matt continued working in Zionsville while preparing to begin his new job in Indy in a few weeks. It was good to see him and Taylor this weekend for a few hours. We celebrated Ms. Taylor completing her master’s degree with a grad party at her folks’ home. Abby continued working in Greenwood and enjoyed spending time with her friends as well. Luke found odd jobs to keep him busy and spent time being a nineteen-year-old with his buddies in their last summer together before everyone goes their separate ways. Ann and I had short, fast weeks at work. I did decent with my diet but fell a little short on the exercise by less than two miles but I enjoyed playing 12 rounds (108 holes) of disc golf this week, but paid a heavy price in my final round, losing my favorite fairway driver. Although I already have a replacement for it, it won’t be the same. Ah well, life goes on, right? We enjoyed spending time with family this week and hope to do a lot more of it the rest of the summer. Hello again and welcome to the latest edition of the Scheu Family Blog.
We enjoyed sleeping in on Monday, as we all took the day off for Independence Day. We celebrated like we have for decades now – get up and go to the parade and then meet up with the family at Mom & Sandy’s house. Despite not having any children in the parade this year, we left early enough to get our good seats back. The past two years we’ve gotten up to our corner too late and wound up having to sit in the second row. Don’t they know that’s our spot? Anyhow, Ann & I brought Delilah with us in the truck as we headed downtown and set up chairs for us, along with two extras for Abby & Amy. We brought others in case others showed up unexpectedly, but no one did. Instead, Luke went with Oakley and a couple girls to Kings Island for the day. And what a beautiful day it was for them. Temps topped out around 90 but the humidity was low enough to make it bearable. I can’t wait to hear his stories from the day. Matt wasn’t feeling well and missed the 4th of July at home for the first time in his 26 years. Abby drove home from Lake Lemon and made it just in time to catch the parade. We parked Betty White at Amy’s house. Her dog Mabel wasn’t feeling well so Amy’s mom came over to doggie-sit for her. DJ & I went on up to our chairs. She was so excited to see all the people. Truth be told, she was probably a little over-stimulated at first, but by the time the parade started and Abby was with her, she was fine. Everyone had to stop and talk / pet her – which she loved as well. Ann & Amy joined us a few minutes before the start of the parade – which was a good one. Heck, I think it lasted about 20 minutes, which is a lot longer than it had been in recent years… There was a really cool ’64 Galaxie 500XL that I drooled over when it drove by. It reminded me so much of my car that I drove back in high school. It wasn’t nearly as nice as this one, but we sure made a ton of memories in that old girl. Afterward, Abby took Delilah up to see Gigi, who was broadcasting the parade live, on the air, up at the funeral home – where she has been for several years. It’s usually all the kids that go up for the annual picture, but this year it was just Abs and her dog that kept the streak alive. Afterward, Ann & I went to the store while Abby took the dog home. Ann made corn dip to take with us to lunch at Mom & Sandy’s – where things were still busy in the kitchen. Jamie made some pork sliders; Dee made a vat of mac & cheese and Gigi made burgers. Jamie also had three different types of queso. There were deviled eggs, lots of chips and even a peanut butter pie. We watched the annual hot dog eating contest, which Joey Chitwood again won easily, but did not set a new record this year. We came home and all took naps for much of the afternoon. Ann watched the Chicago Fire / PD crossover marathon on Ion TV the entire day. She read while I checked in all the new Hot Wheels that I picked up at Chris’ shop this past weekend. Abby showered and man; was she sunburned! Not only that, but she had bruises from getting beat up by Lauren’s jet ski. She was so sore that she had trouble moving. She’ll probably be stiff in the morning! Luke came home late that evening…and when he did, he let in that same bird again, who is obviously nesting in her wreath in on the front door. We eventually got it out of the house, but we also took down that damn wreath as well! …stupid bird… Luke, like his big sister, was sore, tired and sunburned badly. He will surely be sore in the morning as well. He said they wound up paying for the Fast Pass and were able to ride about 25 rides and do the water park as well. He said his favorite was probably the new one – called the Orion. Ann went to bed after the bird incident, so I turned on the USFL championship game and watched the first half before calling it a night myself. Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
It was back to work for the girls and I on Tuesday morning. It was a hot one that day with temps in the mid-nineties and the heat index (or “real feel??? topping out at 110°! I spent the morning just catching up on all the paperwork from the long weekend. By lunch, my stomach was growling but I was back on my fasting diet, so I just had a black cherry Zero and tried to move on. Justin, also on the fast that day, and I almost went to Five Guys but at the last moment found the strength to push through it – lol. I worked on IT stuff in the afternoon and distributed work orders from my rounds last week. After doing video surveillance rounds, I called it a day and went out into the sun and heat to play some frisbee golf. I had plenty of strength and having been inside the entire day, the heat actually felt nice…for a while anyhow. I did fine and my golf game was pretty solid, shooting a 1-over-par for the 18 holes (55). Ann had a nasty headache the entire day, which put a damper on things, to say the least. I asked if she needed to go home early, but she toughed it out and made it through the day. She said the last time she had a headache like this was when the family had Covid…yikes! ? I dropped Annie off at home that night and went out to the park to play another 18 holes of disc golf. Again, I shot pretty good – despite the conditions. Like Columbus, it was hot and humid, for sure and also like my previous two rounds, I dealt with strong gusts of wind, making things challenging at times. I still managed to throw a 49, which I was satisfied with. When I got home, it looked like I had just come out of a pool – dripping wet…but with sweat. The house felt great and after a cool shower, I felt much better as well. I took pix of the newest Hot Wheels and packaged them up and put them in storage. By the time I finished, I was ready to eat. The 24-hour fast isn’t nearly as gnarly as the 48. I still had the headache, but I think that may have been a symptom of dehydration…something I need to do better with next week. Ann & I binge-watched another few episodes of The Terminal List on Amazon Prime. Once the sun began to set, I went out back and watered the new grass, shrubs and Delilah – who was about as wet as the plants by the time she came in. She loves running through the hose water. We think she’d like a pool but I keep forgetting to pick one up at Walmart and now it may be too late in the season to even find a kiddy pool. Abby made us a couple of nightcap cocktails (Coca-Ritas) as she lunch prepped for the rest of the week. Luke had a couple of car details that day and then went out to Oakley’s house that night. He’s going on his Ride Along next week and is excited for it. He and Abby were both still sore and sunburned from their excursions this weekend, but being young, bounced back quickly. If that had been Ann & I, we’d still be hurtin’ for certain… On our way home that evening, we noticed that the fairgrounds were a buzz with activity and that several booths and the midway were already being set-up.
It was more of the same on Wednesday, temperature-wise. In fact, I heard it was even hotter than yesterday. I worked on IT stuff on and off all day, as well as a new project. Well, it’s actually an old project that is still ongoing – that of our parking lot needing updated. We not only need more parking spots but we need it repaired, resealed and re-striped…as well as a new sidewalk in the back. Justin received some big news that day that may impact our management team and facility as a whole if everything plays out just right. I called that morning to set up my triennial colonoscopy – joy! There was supposed to be rain so Justin didn’t stick around to play golf that afternoon, but I think it was just too hot for him. For sure, it was pretty intense out there. In fact, by the time I finished, I was a sweaty mess. Despite the temperature, humidity and sustained wind out of the southwest, I managed to pull off a 56. Not as good as yesterday, but I was happy with it – given the conditions. I picked up Ann, who was still battling a headache all day, and headed home. We stopped by her downtown office before I dropped her off at home and went out to play another two rounds of golf. I had a great 1st round, scoring a 21 but got worn down by the time I hit the island…and my scores started to slip. Still, I managed a 45 – my best score on 18 holes in a while. I was again soaking wet when I got home – even worst that yesterday and felt great after a cold shower. It was the coldest shower I’d had since we got the water heater replaced! I started talking about finding a nice water bottle to take with me after today. I looked at Yetis and Hydro Flasks but geez they’re a little pricy. We watched the rest of the Terminal List on Prime Video then tried to watch the next episode of Evil on Paramount+…but wound up falling asleep. We both did, in fact, and weirdly enough, we both woke up at the same time and went on to bed. We have a bunch of social media pictures to share this week.
Thursday was still hot and humid. It was overcast most of the day with sun only popping through a few times. The girls and I endured another day of work. Ann’s headache continued to haunt her all day. I worked on IT stuff in the morning and then did a bunch of filing that I desperately needed to do as well as scanning and some purchasing. Vic & I tried to go to our favorite Chinese place for lunch, but it was closed. And when we next door for Italian, there was a line a mile long. Instead, we just decided to go to Kroger for some chicken. It is still the cheapest lunch in town – about $8 for a big old meal. After work, Justin again ditched me so I played 18 holes of frisbee golf I was actually doing really well and headed to 8 at 1-under when it began to sprinkle. I had trouble controlling my disc and had back-to-back bogeys to finish the front 9 at 1 over. The rain stopped by the time I started the 2nd 9 and I wound up parring the rest of the course to finish with a 55. I was really sweaty and totally ready for Black Betty’s A/C. By the time we got home, I was cooled back down and ready for more frisbee golf. The only problem? The county fair began that night. It took me about 5 minutes just to get from the house to the course. I have really grown to dislike this week. To make matters worse, there were vehicles parked in three areas that impeded the course, making me alter my approach on 1, 2 and 6. And if that wasn’t enough…I wound up losing my favorite disc that I’ve been using for the last two months exclusively – my yellow Leopard. ? I don’t think it went into the pond, but I did lose it on 6, trying to go around a truck and wound up throwing it into the bushes on the bank of the pond – adjacent to the boat launch. I looked for about 10 minutes, but never could find the old thing. That makes it 9 discs lost to that damn pond now… I ended my round using only my Aviar and finished with a 47. I went home the long way (through town) to avoid the fair traffic. When I got home, I had a package waiting for me. It turns out, a new disc was waiting there to take the place of my trusty Leopard. This one has similar numbers and is called Archangel. I still need to order a new Leopard, but this will tide me over until it comes in. Ann had made broccoli fettuccine alfredo that really hit the spot. I had a big plate of it…after I showered…because I was a wet mess. We watched the rest of Evil on Paramount + then watched a couple more episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds before calling it a night.
Friday was a little slower, thankfully. Ya know, we’re in the grips of a nasty drought right now and have been for weeks. But you know the best way to cure a drought around here? The Decatur County fair. It rains every single year during fair week. This week was no exception. True to form, it rained all day that day. I’m not sure who much we got, but it was pretty heavy at times. It finally stopped about sundown or so. Abby & I got up early and went to work. Actually, she went to work in Greenwood while I got up and went to the family room. After she finished up working at Sly Fox that day, she went to a wedding and reception for her friend, up in Indy and wound up staying the night with Matt & Taylor that night. Luke enjoyed sleeping in then went to work out at the Y and wound up over in Columbus the rest of the day before ending up out at the fair then spend most of the evening at his other house – Oakley’s. LOL! Ann took the day off from work and enjoyed a day of taking naps, watching true crime shows and reading in her chair. I worked at my desk for about 8 hours that day, working on monthly and quarterly reports. I took a nap after work with Ann in the living room then she made us spicy Fireworks popcorn for dinner. I was hoping to get out and play some frisbee golf, but it was so wet and still coming down. Instead, I worked on the blog and music collection. We watched a couple movies on the big screen that evening that were pretty good. Both are recent releases – Memory (with Liam Neeson) and then The Contractor (with Chris Pine). Then we ended the night with a B-movie called X. I thought it was a different movie with the same name. This one was a horror movie set in the 70s and it was pretty bad…but it was such a wreck that I couldn’t stop watching it… ???? Here are pictures of recent additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
We enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday morning. Luke got up shortly before Jamie came over to pick him up and then went over to Dayton, OH for the annual Kickin’ Chicken Festival. They enjoyed chicken, of course, along with turkey and assorted beverages and lots of music. Luke said he had a great time. He came home to clean up then went back to the fair for a little while before going to Colin’s house and then spent the night with Oakley. Abby enjoyed spending the night with Matt & Taylor, eating all the ice cream in the house and playing video games until late. She drove over to Centerville, where she met up with us and Taylor’s family. Meanwhile, Ann got up and made coffee then took naps most of the morning. I did a couple things inside the house and once it stopped raining, I went out and worked in the yard. It still sprinkled on me for most of the time I spent outdoors. I looked at the lawn, but despite all the rain it still didn’t need mowed. It did make the lawn come back to life, so it might grow this week and need mowed next weekend. That allowed me to do a couple things that I’ve been wanting to get done. I trimmed the big Tulip tree in the backyard as well as the two neighbor trees on the fence line. All three are either touching the roof of our house or hanging so low that I run in to them when mowing. I still have a little work to do on the Tulip, but I didn’t want to trim too much out of it this early in the summer. I plan to do more trimming on it this fall once it begins to go dormant for the winter. After dragging all the limbs out to the road, I got the ladder and a couple buckets out and cleaned the gutters. We never did it last fall, apparently, so they were awfully full. Afterward, I got cleaned up and went to Walmart to get our weekly supplies. When I got back, I loaded Black Betty with chairs and a full cooer and Ann & I headed over to see Mom & Sandy. We swapped cars, fueled-up and grabbed slushies from Sonic to enjoy on our way up to Centerville. We actually beat the kids to the party, who all running late. Matt & Taylor were next, followed by Abby about 5 minutes behind them. Her parents had a big meal ready to go – nachos, hard shell tacos and soft-shell tacos. You could get ground beef or grilled chicken – along with all the fixings. Also, they had pulled pork, pulled chicken, mac & cheese and lots of other goodies. We talked with Todd & Amy as well as Amy’s parents as well as Taylor’s Aunt Sue – who we really liked. Actually, everyone was very nice and totally inviting. We enjoyed visiting and eating for a few hours. Matt got to see his old dog, Dallas, and took her for a walk. Todd & Amy’s property is absolutely beautiful – with a pond, lots of woods, walking/driving trails…and even goats (named Fred & Barney!). It’s very nicely landscaped and their house will be really cool when they get it done. We said out goodbyes and headed home. My new Leopard was waiting in the mailbox when we got there (gotta love Amazon Prime!). Abby grabbed some “Will time??? for a bit then she and I went outside to have some porch time and enjoy a fire with our new Solo stove fire pit. We enjoyed a few Pear-drop shots as well as a Pear Vodka Soda cocktails, followed by a Spicy Sour (made with George Dickel Tabasco whiskey!) and for a nightcap, we enjoyed a tall Savage Apple Buck (with the delicious Sailor Jerry apple rum – yum!). We came in after a couple hours and watched an episode of Family Guy while munching on some nachos and cheese. Abby went on to bed while I watched another episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds before forcing myself to go on to bed.
We enjoyed sleeping in until about mid-morning on Sunday. I felt bad that Ann picked up after Abs & I in the kitchen. I had planned to be up before her and get it done, but that obviously did not occur. Instead, I did a couple loads of laundry and loaded the dishwasher then took chairs and the gazebo in the truck and packed it in the front yard of WTRE, as we’ve done for a quarter century now, setting up our front row seats for the annual Fair Parade down Park Road. Luke came home while I was setting up and stopped to help me, which was cool. To thank him, we went out for breakfast at Big Boy, enjoying a few plates from their breakfast buffet. We came home afterward and he took a nap, along with Abby, Ann and I think I even closed my eyes a couple times while watching the NASCAR races that I recorded over the weekend. I worked on the blog, finishing up editing pictures, videos and uploading everything. I wrote out this week’s HTML blog before we walked over to WTRE to watch the parade. It was a good one again this year, lasting about 90 minutes or so – all told. There were about 50 entries and about a dozen floats. Sandy drove the Crossfire, representing the radio station. We saw several others we knew and brought back another sack full of candy. We saw lots of cool “classic??? cars, including the same gorgeous Galaxie 500 XL we saw in the 4th of July parade, earlier this week. That was the highlight of the parade for me…well that and the cherry popsicle. The gazebo definitely helped keep the sun off but it was still 90 degrees outside. Thankfully, the humidity had subsided. Let’s hope it stays away for a while. We did not go out to the fair, but instead Ann & I rode like Granny Clampett in the back of Betty White while Luke drove us home. ???? That evening, Luke went out to the fair for the night while Abby slept and Ann made cheesy Fireworks popcorn for dinner and we watched a couple movies on the big screen, including the new Jurassic Park movie and Doctor Strange movies. It was a relaxing way to wind down the weekend and a nice way to wrap up another fast week, here at the Scheu abode.
Next up is our Waybac segment, which continues to feature pictures from Deanna’s digital camera in 2007. Actually, we first lead off in December 2006 where we see Mom, Sandy & their dogs; then we move on to 2007…Mar – Sandy running for Mayor; Apr – George Jones concert in Nashville and Opening Day from a luxury box in Cincinnati; May – Memorial Day weekend; Jun – summer vacation fun; Jul – Eiteljorg museum in Indy, 4th of July activities, Grace’s bday; Tree City Car Show downtown, Keith & Rosie visit, and Sandy’s birthday; Aug – Minnie’s new home; Sep – Labor Day weekend; Oct – Van Halen concert in Indy; Nov – Maryann’s bday; Dec – Christmas Eve fun at church and then on to Gma & Gigi’s house.
Next up is our video section, 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