We’ve had another busy week speed past us since we last touched base. My week centered around work, as we endured four days of surveys from two separate entities, including State Licensing and the Joint Commission. Everything for the last two weeks finally came to a head and although it was such a relief to get it past us, the reality is that I lost two weeks’ worth of work and now have to work twice as hard in the coming week to try and catch up. And on top of that, we have another survey the first week of October – hurray! Matt had a busy week, working up in Indy, Carmel & Zionsville. We were hoping to see him on Friday night, but he was too wiped-out to make it down for the football game. His name was called as part of the pre-game ceremony that honored his team – the last to win Sectional, so he was there in spirit! Abs had a busy work week as well and was happy to get a break from it this weekend. She came home this weekend and enjoyed a little down time with us. Luke spent his week working different jobs, buying a truck and hanging out with Samantha. Ann had a busy week at work and then enjoyed some time with her friends, scrapbooking in Lawrenceburg this weekend. Work impacted my entire week, including my diet (didn’t fast), exercise (I was nine miles short of my goal) and golf (I only played five rounds). In fact, it was the first time this season that I didn’t make it out to the park this week to play at least one round of golf. Adulting sucks. We passed several milestones this week with our anniversary (27th), Dad Scheu’s birthday (75), Keith’s birthday (56), the anniversary of Mom’s funeral (10), as well as Aunt Sharon’s birthday and Dee & Jamie’s anniversary. What a week! We also saw the summer officially come to an end this week – and with it, cooler temperatures arrived…as if the Earth knew that we were ready to autumn. It actually feels like football weather…FINALLY! Hello again and welcome to the latest edition of the Scheu Family Blog.
We had an early start on Monday morning, as we commuted into work an hour early to start the week. It had stormed overnight and was still raining when we headed out that morning in the pitch black. It eventually waned and by the time we got to work, the roads were pretty much dry. We began our triannual Joint Commission survey that day. I was only involved in the opening meeting where I found out that Tuesday would be my big day – where we would have the EOC tour in the morning and then go through my life safety and emergency management books that afternoon. I spent the rest of my day catching up on paperwork that I had neglected last week. Late in the day I finally started my monthly reports before calling it a day. I hadn’t been out the whole day and although it had stopped raining, it was overcast and humid. I went across the street and played a round of disc golf at the AirPark course. I didn’t have any 300’ tee shots, but I did have a couple in the 290’ range and my putting game was on the mark. I wound up with four birdies but bogeyed 4, which kept me from tying my PB – ending with a 24 (3-under par). I picked up Ann and we drove home, catching up on each other’s days. She had a typical, busy Monday and was glad it was done. When we got back to the ‘Burg, we went downtown to the funeral home where we paid our respects to our buddy Jimmy’s father. We got gas in Black Betty and picked up a couple slushes and came home. Luke worked out at the Y then followed me out to J & A Auto, where I dropped off Barney for Jerry to work on the brakes. Luke was again focused on purchasing a truck. He found another one he likes, which is located in Cincinnati. It would take all of his savings but he also worked on selling the Hot Rod Lincoln. We had him to look into what the hidden costs of this type of change would be for him as well – such as plates, registration, title transfer, insurance, etc. I worked on procuring pictures for this week’s blog entry and wound up with over 600 from last week! I wound up winning this week in fantasy football, edging Deanna – thanks in most part to an amazing performance by my backup QB, Tua. Ann & I both fell asleep while Luke was out running around with a friend that night. While Ann went to bed, I wound up watching the 1st two stages of the Bristol night race that the Cup boys ran this past Saturday night until finally calling it a night to get some rest before we have to be up early again in the morning. Here are pictures from Abby’s birthday party last weekend.
Tuesday was especially foggy. Not only was it thick on the way into work, slowing our commute to about an hour – but it lasted till almost noon. It eventually cleared up and with it, the temps escalated up into the 90s with high humidity again. It was day two of our JCAHO survey…and that meant it was EOC day – my day to shine. We had a pretty good tour that lasted about two hours. We discussed several things and the surveyor had some good insights for us. Julie ordered Domino’s for us and we ate in Jim’s office, waiting for the afternoon sessions to begin. We kicked off the afternoon with review of my books, which went really well – I think. He didn’t mention anything, but we’ll find out more in the morning. Afterward, we did the emergency management section and that too seemed to go really well with most of the EOC Safety Committee on-hand to talk about things. I was able to have about an hour and a half to work on paperwork and get back to my monthly reports before I headed out to go play a round of golf. It was hot and muggy, making me pretty sweaty afterward. It was good to unwind, and I threw just an OK round before the final hole. On 9, I not only threw my Katana 300’ but also hit a nearly perfect shot, landing just 6’ from the pin. I nailed the easy birdie and ended with a 26. I picked up Annie in hopes of getting a replacement watch but she wasn’t in the mood, so we just came home and cooled down in the A/C. We took it easy that evening. She worked on pictures for her scrapbook weekend while I edited pictures and videos for the blog. We watched a few TV shows until the inevitable – yep, I fell asleep early on the couch – LOL. Luke had a good day, working out details of buying a pickup truck. He has been focused on this for about a week or so and he finally found one that he can afford. He worked it out to go meet up with the buyer tomorrow and asked me to go with him, which I agreed. It’ll be a long drive, but it sounds like a decent vehicle for him. He worked out at the Y and had Sam over for a little bit that evening.
We were up early one more time on Wednesday morning. I really owe Ms. Ann a big one for dragging her out of bed an hour + earlier than normal. I know I had my alarm set for 445 these first few days this week. It was our final day of the JCAHO survey. We had the leadership section that I sat in on and then after a yummy lunch of McAllister’s, we toured the kitchen. I had a little down time that afternoon to catch up PO’s and make progress on my monthly reports before being called in for the exit conference. We did very well, as it turned out. The kitchen didn’t have any findings! As for my section, we had one small hit. We had our water shutoff valves labeled as inlet valves. Instead, he wanted specific wording. I didn’t argue the facts; I just created 3 sets of labels that say, “WATER SHUTOFF??? and hung them on the cold & hot water shutoffs in all three closets. I was everything completed – start to finish – in ten minutes. I was hoping for another perfect score, but I’ll take this and run with it. Truly, the experience was more than just a survey, it was the conversations we had with the surveyor – who was very wise. He helped me to look at a few things in a new appreciation. I got out in plenty of time to play a couple rounds of golf that afternoon, but it was a real hot one – for sure. I made a point to start using my new River disc that I got earlier this week, but it’s gonna take time to break it in… I birdied the first hole, despite a very strong wind. After that, I struggled on my tee shots and finished with a 1-under, 26. Instead of a 2nd round, I decided to leave a little early. So, I picked up Annie and we headed back to town so that I could get a head start on Luke & I’s road trip. Sandy allowed us to borrow her vehicle for the trip, which was very cool. The truck was located in a small town in southern Ohio. We passed through Cincy and even went into Kentucky for a little while. The gal selling it was very sweet and welcoming. She allowed us to test-drive the truck for about 20 minutes or so. It performed well. There are some issues that need dealt with – namely a new battery…but also an exhaust leak and a few other things. Overall, it is a good, functional vehicle for him to tinker with while still meeting his needs. Now, he has to get insurance, title it, and get plates and register it. He did all the leg work for that today, going to the bank, insurance company and BMV to understand everything. We got over there in good time, but it was starting to get dark. We looked it over and took it for a test drive. It was everything he hoped for and was overjoyed to buy it. ???? We had to shut it off to get the lady’s house keys off the ring and then it wouldn’t start. We knew it needed a new battery, so it wasn’t a surprise. We eventually got it jumped and drove it back. We missed a big storm, back at home and had a fairly clear and easy drive home – despite all the road construction. He had to show his mom the new toy and was still totally amped up when we got back. It took me a while to wind down and ended up staying up past midnight, making it a very long day for me… Here are random pictures from our recent adventures.
After that storm blew through last night, it really cooled things off overnight. I cleaned up the limbs in the front yard and the picked up the cushions in the backyard on Thursday morning before we headed back into work. I dealt with housekeeping staffing issues, touched base with the kitchen girls who got me a nice breakfast and then talked with Vic about a couple maintenance issues before finally heading up to the Penthouse to get started on my next report. I no sooner got upstairs (didn’t even put down my tray yet) and the phone started ringing. I had completely forgotten that I had a corporate IT visitor that day. He was cool and we met with Jim for a while then I took him on a tour of the facility and IT closets. We discussed some IT projects then went to lunch at the Hanger 5 (airport) restaurant. He left afterward and I hoped to finally get to my reports. However, I my way back from walking him out, Vic called me and needed my help. One of the girls climbed up the wall on her unit, broke out a ceiling tile and pulled a big wad of wires. It took down one of the mag-lock doors and took Vic and I (well, let’s be honest, it was Vic) about an hour to repair it. He then spent the last couple hours of his day trying to resecure the area so he didn’t get called back in to fix it again. State Licensing made a surprise, unannounced visit that day. We did very well I never did get to my report that day and got out of work a little late. I did have time for a quick round of disc golf, but it was sure challenging! The wind was super strong and sustained out of the north, but it affected every hole. I enjoyed the challenge, but didn’t do very well, scoring a 3-over-par after bogeying 4 holes that afternoon. I picked up Ann and we stopped at Needlers on the way through town. We picked up supplies for her to make her spicy sausage dip for Poker Night that evening. We ran into Bryan that evening, who was doing the same for his steak sandwich bites. I helped Ann then called Dad B that evening. He and Lynn are doing well and looking forward to heading back down to FLA in a few weeks. I spoke to Luke a few times that day, obviously centered around his new Ford F-150 (he had dubbed it the F-1-Shitty). I just call it the Tick Tock Truck (or Triple-T) because it makes a ticking noise, coming from somewhere in the exhaust. Ann made her sausage dip again for me to take that night as I met up with my good buddies at the Sunken Boat Bar to enjoy a night of football, cards and drinks – not necessarily in that order! ???? We had a great turnout with eight players that night. Indeed, the food was outstanding, the booze even better and I actually doubled my money that night! A great night by any measure…
We headed back into Columbus on Friday morning. Yesterday was the last day of summer, making today the first full day of autumn. It was weird how much cooler it was – so much so that I actually had started the car early to let it warm up and defrost the windshield! It was all the way down into the 40s. Ann had to work in Columbus, so I went into the office as well. I caught shit from Jim and management team about being in our flash meeting on a Friday- lol. I was able to get a good jump on my next report, but still have my big one yet to start. It’s due next week and it will be a very busy one for me so I’m not really sure how I’m going to make time for it…but I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Ann had a meeting that ran late and then Brent & I took her to Arni’s for lunch. We had fun getting to know my new roommate better. When we got back to town, I dropped off Ann and ran a few errands. I was hoping to go play a round of golf, but I simply ran out of time. Abby & Carly came down from Franklin to go with us to the high school football game that night. The last Greensburg team to win sectional (Matt’s sophomore team) was recognized before the game that evening. Matt, however, decided not to come to it that night. Too bad…many of his old buddies came back that night. We walked into the game late and sat with the Wests. Jamie joined us on a perfect night for football. The Pirates couldn’t muster much on offense. Sam was the only bright spot, as usual. They are really down this year. The defense stiffened and held Franklin County to two scores in the first half. The Pirateers performed, coached by Abby & Ann’s friend, Kuyhlia. The girls looked great and Abby made the comment that she wished they had danced like that when she was on the team. It was Homecoming that evening and so we watched the festivities. A couple kids that I didn’t recognize won the king & queen, though we knew several of the kids on the court, including Sam as well as the Osbourne’s daughter. There wasn’t much happening in the 2nd half. In fact, we decided to leave with about two minutes left, as there was no scores since the first half. Sure enough, we get out of the stands and the Pirates scored. They missed the extra point and could not recover the onside kick, dropping them to 1-5 on the season with a 6-14 loss. Luke came to the game and eventually made his way to sit with us in the 4th quarter. He met up with Ms. Samantha and they joined us for dinner with Abby & Carly at Wings & Rings. I got the fish & chips with an Octoberfest beer but ended up bringing half of it home that night. The girls wound up spending the night – all 3 of them! Abs, Carly & I had a cocktail and watched the new Rick & Morty. You can probably guess what happened next…yep, we all fell asleep. ???? I don’t even know what time it was when I finally went to bed. That day was Ann & I’s 27th wedding anniversary. As such, we got each other a couple things. I got Ann a nice bottle of anejo tequila that she really liked and she got me a new smart watch (thank God) and some Hot Wheels. We spoke to Matt that morning. He opted not to repair his 18-month-old Samsung TV because the repair was double what it would cause to buy a new one! Can you believe that shit!? We told Matt that if he could tough it out, we’d buy him a new one for Christmas, but he and Taylor already took steps to replace it – ordering a new one from Amazon. Shame on Samsung for not replacing their television… We have lots of social media pictures to share this week.
We were up way too early on Saturday to get Annie’s scrapbooking stuff loaded into Rhonda’s truck before the sunrise. I considered going back to bed but wound up staying up and editing the rest of the 450 pictures that we have in this week’s blog entry. Luke got up early also and went out to do a detail job. Sam went to get her nails done, here in town then she and Luke went to a pumpkin patch. Sam delivered Ann’s mums, so I will need to get those in the ground soon. Eventually the gals got up around noon. Abs took me to go pickup the Barneymobile from Jerry’s. The brakes are better but still need a little work. My driver’s side window was acting up as well and will likely need attention as well, unfortunately. We got our gear moved over and headed out to play some disc golf in Batesville. When we got to Liberty Park, we found it packed with nearly the entire population of the town! I’m not sure what was going on, but it had a tremendous turnout. There were cars and lawn chairs in the middle of the fairways, so there was no chance we could play there that day. Instead, we went around the corner to the Liberty Woods field and played a round there instead. It was only Abby’s 4th or 5th time playing this year and Carly’s first ever. We had fun on that cool little field. I threw a 25, Abs a 35 and Carly a 40. She was thrilled learn that she had beaten Will on his first time playing with us by one stroke (he had thrown a 41) – LOL. ???? We stayed there in town and went to lunch at Lil’ Charlie’s. They had their seafood dip back and it did not disappoint…mmm… I got the Bulldog Burger and had a couple cocktails, including one of their potent rum buckets. We stopped at our favorite liquor store and came out with an entire box of goodies, including beer, wine, liquor and a couple good cigars. When we got back to the house, Luke was out in the driveway, working on his truck. He’s finding lots of little issues with it, but that’s why it’s a project vehicle. He replaced the thermostat before taking Sam out for dinner at Pizza King. The girls and I re-watched the new Rick & Morty…and promptly fell asleep AGAIN! When we woke up, the girls packed their stuff and headed back to Franklin. Meanwhile, Ann had a good day with Shawna & Rhonda and actually won a nice package of swag to cap off the fun! Luke & Sammy helped me carry in Ann’s gear when they got back to town that night. I finally stayed awake on my 3rd attempt at the Rick & Morty show and then watched the 3rd new episode as well. I watched a few DVR’d shows before flipping over to the Purdue football game, under the lights at Ross-Aide Stadium for a prime time match up against Florida Atlantic University. It was another tightly contested ballgame – as all of the Boilers’ games have been this year. It was the school’s 100th homecoming. Luke said Oakley and a few of his other buddies were at the game that night. Luke & Sam visited with us for a while before retreating to the back of the house. Ann sat in her chair and was asleep within about 20 minutes. Here are pictures of recent additions to my Hot Wheels collection.
We finally enjoyed sleeping in on Sunday morning. We slowly got going on another gorgeous morning. It was very windy that morning and it didn’t stop all day. It topped out somewhere in the 70s as we enjoyed another day with the house opened up. Luke & Sam got up shortly after I did and went to get breakfast at McDonald’s. Later, she went on to practice while Luke took a long trip down to Kentucky to a junkyard to search for parts for his new truck. He continues to tinker with things on it and is still finding new issues with it. That’s the trouble with going down to look at a vehicle two hours away after work when it’s dark. Oh well…live and learn… Ann got up and made a batch of her yummy coffee cake. Sandy came over with Olive and enjoyed some porch time with Ann & Delilah for about an hour or so. I did my weekly household chores and wrote out my html code while watching Fantast Football Now to help set my lineup that day. I faced off with Ann this week. I told her that her win this week would be the final anniversary gift for her! My team is just awful with two starters on IR, one suspended and two others questionable/playing through major injuries. We watched the Colts win an exciting game against the Chiefs as we flipped between that game and RedZone to watch other exciting finishes to the early games. We napped during the boring afternoon games. Ann made a big batch of salsa with veggies from Mom O and Phyllis, which brought Gigi back over to get a bowl for her and Maryann. A storm tried to blow through town, but instead it blew over and the afternoon turned into a lovely evening with a steady, cool breeze that felt awesome in the house. By the time the late games ended, Ann was whipping my ass by 30 points and there was no way I could come back, so I surrendered and congratulated her on my beat-down. I shredded cheese and Annie made spicy Fireworks popcorn for dinner. Luke was so excited when he got home from his trip with Blake. He was able to find several replacement parts for his truck, including a tailgate and bumper. We turned off football that night and instead watched the 3-part Law & Order crossover event. It was a relaxing way to wind down the weekend and a great way to bring a tough week to a merciful end…
Next up is our Waybac section, which continues to feature pictures from Dee’s digital camera in 2006-2007. We lead off in December 2006 with pictures of Gma & Gigi’s dogs at the Main St home, including one with a little Lukey. Then we move on to 2007: In March we see scenes from Sandy’s run for mayor; in April, we see Gigi and dogs on Main St as well as Matt & Grace at the Reds game (it snowed that day!); in May we have a couple pictures of fun at our house on Memorial Day weekend; in June we see Luke in Abby’s room on his birthday; in July we see pix of the county fair, a bunch from the 4th of July festivities, Grace’s birthday and Sandy’s birthday; in October we have a couple pics of the Van Halen concert; in November there’s Maryann’s birthday and in December we see some fun pictures from Christmas Eve at Mom & Sandy’s house on Main Street.
We wrap up this week with 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 entry into 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