Time to Pay the Piper

Sunday Ted worked a shooting event as a puller/caller.  He pocket dialed me and I could hear the shots and his call of "two dead."  So I just hung up.  I had agreed to play cards Monday so I had plenty impetus to get things done.  When we returned Saturday everything was put away so on Sunday I had the refrigerator things to put away and a few loads of laundry.  I stripped the bed on our last morning so that and what was in the hamper needed attention.  By Monday I was in good shape.

I subbed in a Shanghai group in the afternoon after a busy morning going to the doctor where I paid the bill that had arrived, made Ted an appointment for next week, and picked up my last blood test results to take to the cardiologist in a few weeks.  Then I took my watch to get a new battery at Batteries Plus where we have free batteries for life for registered watches.  Then I took my cocktail ring to the jeweler to have a small diamond replaced.  It is a marquis shaped ring and this is the smallest diamond on one of the two points.  The replacement cost is minimal but all the prongs that need to be reworked on both my rings is substantial!  She said I was lucky to have lost the smallest diamind and not either of my large diamonds.  

Our card game was enjoyable.  It was so nice to be out and about with friends.  Most everyone had bad hands and the scores were so high (you want to be low)!  But it is $2.30 at most you can lose so it is all in fun.  

A trip to the dentist was called for as I had pain return on my upper right side.  I had it checked 6 months ago but the tooth was sound.  It stopped bothering me and I didn’t think about it until last weekend.  I was seen right away but he said pretty much the same thing.  I was directed to an endodondist in case a root canal is needed.  I have a crown which is hiding what may be wrong.  So I have to wait 10 days drinking from a straw and eating on one side of my mouth.  Always something!

I have been cleaning out closets and tossing some extraneous stuff we have gathered in 56 years.  I did the linen closets, bathroom cabinets and bedroom closets.  It looks better but we still have lots that can go!

Home Sweet Home

We left Cincinnati Tuesday morning and drove to Marion, IL.  We chose a new way home due to I-75 construction and the I-40 bridge over the Mississippi at Memphis was closed when we initially made our plans and reservations.  The bridge opened a few days before we left but we let the reservations stand.  It was a nice, new to us, park and we would stay there again.

We gained an hour so left about 8 on Wednesday morning with a destination of Little Rock to another new to us park.  We have driven the Little Rock to Memphis route a zillion times but always used the bypass to the east so never went past it to the north to stay at the county Riverfront RV park.  Due to covid they telephoned very good driving instructions and our reservation pact was outside of the office.  It is all concrete pads with a ribbon of gravel on either side.  The only grass is along the river but it had the biggest sites we have ever parked in.  There was room for 4 cars plus our motorhome in a pull thru spot.  Easiest parking ever!

There were 6 bridges visible from the bench at the river.  One was a foot bridge you could take from the park to the Clinton Library.  However, it would be a good, long walk.  We passed!  Because we didn’t want to unhook the car we ate in the motorhome each night.  

Next stop was Carthage TX RV park.  Our windshield got hit with something that flew off a truck that had no tarp over its contents.  We arrived early enough to try to get someone to come fix the window but we had no luck.  Safelite had no appts. clear out to October 10!  I just stopped looking then.  We wanted to get the ding fixed before it spread.  We had a $2700 claim last year from a shattered window unit and I sure didn’t want another one.  I went on Yelp and created a request for when we arrived home at the park near our home.  I got an immediate response and an appt. was set for 5 pm.  Sure enough he and his son arrived on time, explained that it was a pretty big “ding” so their primary intent was to keep it from spreading.  They did a good job and we were happy.  

We had been loading our pantry items, clothes, meds, etc. to take home before they arrived.  We had time to put some away, minimizing the “mess” at home.  What we didn’t expect was all 5 smoke alarms to be chirping! There were no 9 volt batteries in my basket so Ted went out bought a  4 pack.  Problem was, we needed 5.  So back out he went for another pack.  The noise was deafening at times.  They are all located in the small hallway and bedrooms.  We could hardly determine which was chirping when.  I was sure glad when they all quieted down.  

We slept at home and headed back to the campground in the morning.  Ted was going to finish washing the front of the motorhome while I emptied the refrigerator and cleaned it.  Pretty soon we were putting it away until the next time.  

I continued working at home, Ted took both cars to the car wash and we finally made it to Mass at 5 followed by dinner at the Mexican restaurant without Terry and Carol.  While we were gone, they sold their house and headed to Alabama to look for a new home.  So far, nothing!  

Our Week in Cincinnati

Tuesday I went to have my nails done since they had grown so long.  Then we just hung out until it was time to go meet up with some school friends of mine.  There were about a dozen friends who met for dinner and much reminiscing and catching up occurred over the next 3+ hours. We didn’t take any photos though!  Donna and Cookie, my two kindergarten 1950 friends were there.  Hard to realize we have been friends for 71 years!  Karen who sat next to me in training at P&G in 1963 came too.  That’s a pretty long friendship also.  She followed us to the campground afterwards to see the motorhome because it was on her way home.  She stayed for a nice visit which we all enjoyed.  I love friends that can just pick up where you left off last time you were together.

Wednesday was family night for Ted.  After scores of my relatives and friends, we went to his brother Kevin’s house, and what a beauty it is.  His wife Barb has the eye, the talent and the energy to make everything she does turn out so beautifully.  Her decorating, gardening, cooking!  I don’t think she has the number of any handymen, painters, lawn guys, caterers, etc.  She gets the job done herself!  I now have some seeds to plant at home!  Please Lord don’t make me tell her I failed at growing something!   

It was Mexican night complete with Margaritas!  We always have such a good time with his siblings and this evening was no exception.  We were delighted to hear his priest cousin Fr. Terry (who said our 40th anniversary Mass 16 years ago and baptized granddaughter Morgan 17 years ago) was coming in from Chicago to officiate at a wedding in Louisville!  Which brings me to the next evening!

We were due at Mahoney’s Pub at 6 pm to visit with Fr, Terry!  There we found brothers Dan and Kevin, sister Kathy and Mike, cousins Jay, Jim, Kevin, cousin Julie (and spouse) and nephew Sam (plus date).  The party was on!  To add to the festivities the Reds were playing and winning and the awesome Field of Dreams game was playing too.  Five hours and two Angry Orchard Talls later we headed home.  I had ordered a quesadilla but Ted held out for White Castle on the way home!  What a serendipitous evening!

Friday found us heading to Elk Lake in Owenton KY to see all the construction going on at niece Cindy’and Tim’s lake house, their permanent home for the time being.  It is a tremendously big addition but will be awesome when it is finished.  We eventually took a boat ride to see the changes around the lake.  There is lots of tearing down and starting over on lakefront lots.  Climbing prices have hit vacation homes too!  Their son Ronny arrived in late afternoon because he was fishing with Tim the next morning in a tournament.  The 5 of us went to Elk Creek Winery for dinner.  I had made a cobbler for dessert but to avoid going back to their house afterwards we took it to the restaurant and no one there seemed to care!  We took paper plates, held on to our forks and we ate the whole thing.  Bad weather appeared to be moving in so I just took my empty dish home from the restaurant.

Saturday we relaxed while doing laundry and then went to church.  We had dinner before heading to the casino in Lawrenceburg, IN.  We are by no means gamblers but we each took $50 to play.  I miss pulling the handle on slot machines, hearing the clank of coins into the tray, and carrying a tub of coins around.  Pushing a button repeatedly just isn’t fulfilling.  Not to mention there are no penny, nickel, dime or quarter machines!  They may say they are but the lowest bet I saw was 30 cents!  I like to change my amount and/or number of lines for variety but even that 30 cent machine jumps to 60, 90, $1.20,  $1.50 and so on.  Another new thing for me was the "side bet."  I noticed my money going down more than I thought it should.  Upon further investigation I saw a square with dice that were thrown each time you bet (for an additional sum).  It paid out according to a table.  You had to push Turn Off Side Bet each time!  Eventually I went to find Ted who had doubled his money on the poker machine.  So we left with $103 and called it a night.  

As we approached our car, a car pulled in next to us driven by my good friend Donna.  What are those odds?  So we had an opportunity to say goodbye once again.  

Ted went shooting on Sunday morning.  When he returned my cousin Jim and Sharon arrived to see the motorhome and to go to an early dinner.  We had a great visit with them and discussed their plans for our reunion in 2023.  A place in West Virginia looks very promising.  

Our last day was spent pulling outside shades off the windows, emptying tanks and meeting another good friend, Marilyn, and her sister.  They are both widows now but Marilyn and her husband Jim were great camping friends when we lived in Cincinnati.  Both of them are having difficulty walking now but made it in and out of the motorhome.  We had such a great visit before having lunch and continuing on at the restaurant.  We have seen so many friends and relatives this trip!

We leave in the morning heading to Marion, IL as our first overnight.  

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter

Canterbury Village in Oxford, MI was having a Harry Potter event and everyone wanted to go so we agreed to go along.  The kids all wore their HP robes and carried their wands.  

There were other photo ops too.  I don’t know the characters so you are on your own there.  

Imagine the Renaissance Festival with muggles and witches but no wenches!  Other photos of the day.

We decided to do the scavenger hunt but if you didn’t know all there is to know about HP, you would be lost like me.  I could help in determining what store the clue was in but they had to tell me what we were looking for.  Some were rather small and some were well hidden.  We got down to the last two when we decided to leave because Ted and I were going to church at 4.  On the way out we found one of the two where I thought it would be and Kristin had figured out the other.  But we just went on.

After church we all went back to Kara’s for pizza.  We said our goodbyes, which is always hard, and returned to the campground.

We left around 9 o’clock Sunday morning and arrived in Shipshewana around 1:30.  Eileen and Tom were there already.  We decided to go to Walmart, a rite of passage when changing campgrounds.  When we bought the tenderloin, we also received about 2# of ground trimmings from when they dressed it, what awesome burgers it made!  An ear of corn for Ted and broccoli salad for me with the last pieces of chocolate eclair cake to finish off our meal.  Yum!

We got caught up on their  trip to Cincinnati, their washer repair and their visit to Decatur to get some part for their motorhome.  We shared our reunion and family pictures with them, called it a night, came in and eventually went to bed.

The days at Shipshewana all run together now, a week later.  We did go to Newmar in Nappanee to get two things from Newmar.  We stopped in Middlebury at Das Essenhaus to 1) get Irene coffee 

and 2) to have lunch. The food was better than Lancaster but still not as good as Frankenmuth.  We visited Lambright Custom Chairs because I want to replace our recliners in the motorhome,  I don’t care for the dark brown and find the separate footrests cumbersome and in the way.  We took 100s of samples home, chose one and then went back and ordered two recliners.  They will make them next spring for us to pick up next June.

There is a flea market on Tuesday and we spent time there one of those days.  We bought only a few bungee cords, some dishcloths, and a few other small things that were so important I can’t remember what they are.  We stopped at a thrift store for my constant search for planters for a friend.  She propagates violets and transplants them into small planters as gifts for hospital patients.  She prefers Madonna ones but this time I found “blessings.”  

We left Thursday morning for Medina, OH to attend the Ohio Sporting Clay Championships.  Ted was joining his TX friend, Tal, and my brother Dan in the competition and Tal was inducted into the Ohio Hall of Fame.  Ted won a gun bag as a door prize.

Tom and Eileen went to Canton Football Hall of Fame and loved it.  They left for SC the next morning.  We took Sue and Dan to dinner for their 33rd anniversary.  Saturday was a big dinner celebration for the whole group.  It was very good for such a large crowd.  Ted won a door prize, a new gun bag.  Tal and Cindy were so appreciative of our making the effort to attend.  We wouldn’t have missed it for anything. 

Ted finished shooting Sunday after church.  I just stayed home and did something’s around the motorhome and read a book.  We did our outside chores so we had little to do Monday morning.

We left at 9 on the dot and pulled into our Cincinnati campground at 1:30.  The roads are no better in Ohio than any where else!  We are settled, have had dinner and ready to meet up with family and friends!

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