Found in Fishers

A view from the top

I haven't participated in the activities of the marching band since Mark graduated last year. Until last weekend. HSE sponsors a band invitational in the fall. It was that time of year and I decided to volunteer. After all, I ran the concession stand two years in a row so there was no other job that could have been more time consuming and exhausting that day.

Much to my excitement I was asked to be the assistant to the scorekeeper. I know, you're thinking how amazing that was. Me too. They needed a math expert. I arrived at the press box after helping set up the concession stand. Our friend, Randy, needed someone to manually check the scores and wanted someone he could tolerate to be around for four consecutive hours. That was me!  I came with my solar calculator in hand. It's the same calculator I used 20-plus years ago to average grades when I was teaching.

Once in the press box, Randy explained how I was to add the scores by hand. What I did not have was a highlighter because there are several different scores and when certain ones are added up they create the final scores for categories like music and general effect, etc. I am not a former band geek so those details never concerned me. Until that night. Fortunately I was thinking quickly and made a code on my sheets with stars, circles and triangles representing which columns had to be added together. Randy, on the other hand, had an Excel spreadsheet on his computer.

Everything was working just great. I had a cushioned chair. I got to see all of the bands. There were band kids offering me all sorts of snacks and drinks. I had great conversation with Randy. And we were having fun! I was thinking that the lack of highlighters would be my only challenge until it got dark! The judges decided they liked it better with the lights off in the booth. Uh, oh. Solar calculator!

In between bands I would quickly add scores before the lights went off. Once they did, I was challenged by my old eyes and cell phone calculator. Randy and I had a great system going. We even found 2 errors in addition that the judges made. But my strive for perfection ended about 9:00 when I made 1 mistake. Remember...I have issues with perfection. But come on, it was dark in the booth. Fortunately Randy and I had a system of checks and balances. He entered the scores in the computer, I did it by hand and we compared our results.

Note to self: Definitely sign up for that job again next year. Bring a light or at least get a battery operated calculator. Plan to enjoy lots of yummy snacks while watching the bands for free!

Roadhouse for the weary

We keep telling folks that if they're ever in the area to stop by. There's always extra room and besides, when we do run low on guest beds, we evict Mark from his room and he sets up shop in the loft. Juan's friend Matt stopped by to rest on his way down to Tampa where he starts a new gig on Monday morning. Meanwhile, his family is still up in the Chicago 'burbs and will join him over the next couple of weeks. Matt is one of our first house guests to truly appreciate our special guest pillow. Wanna know what the guest pillow is? The only way to find out is to be a guest!

John and Matt did their residency together at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. A year before that, John and Matt's soon-to-be-wife, Margie, were interns together at Rush. John photographed their wedding in Texas and their daughter's baptism in Chicago. He plans to visit them in the Tampa area next June when we're in central Florida's famous Mouseland for our 25th wedding anniversary and our brother-in-law's 40th birthday. The two of them went to Texas Roadhouse for a late dinner and to solve the problems of the world. Last we heard: World 1, John & Matt 0. But that won't keep them from trying.

Don't be a stranger; but we do welcome strange people. The perks: A comfy bed, the guest pillow mystery revealed and your photo on the front porch on our blog. Oh...did we mention charming and wonderful hosts? Hope to see you soon, too.

This is ridiculous!

I like to spend weekends catching up on the shows I DVR during the week. My favorites are the Ellen and Oprah shows. Ellen is the show I watch faithfully. Oprah I DVR them all but only watch about half.
The best part of Ellen is that there is not an episode that does not make me laugh. She has the best sense of humor. I hope to be part of her show one day. I have this awful "Worst Picture I Paid For" that would be perfect for her show. I was modeling for my dad when we was doing portraits. It is just terrible looking. I am dressed up in this goofy dress holding an umbrella.

The funny thing about watching my shows over the weekend is how I clean during the commercials. Do some quick dusting, vacuuming, etc. What is silly is that I could be skipping the commercials but instead I jump up and clean. It is part of my routine. This weekend my routine was a bit altered.

I started catching up on shows Friday night while doing laundry and getting ready to go to my sister's for the weekend.

I grabbed the remote and started to look through which shows I wanted to watch when I noticed an odd recording. Guiding Light. This is ridiculous! Who watches Guiding Light? Well, that would by my Johnny Boy. Yup. He taped the Guiding Light. Why? Because it was on TV for more than 70 years and his mom watched it. Ok, what is that suppose to mean. Really. How do you watch the last episode of a soap opera that you have never seen before! I don't get it.What the heck! When I asked John about it, he admitted to taping the episode but I have this funny feeling it will sit unwatched for weeks hogging precious space on the DVR.

It's time to find a new hobby

I'm serious. I need a hobby. I just have not found the one I want. For those of you who know me well, I love to be busy. Not just a little busy but mega busy. I'm having a hard time adjusting to not being involved in what my kids are doing. Darn it, it kept me busy for almost 20 years!

With both kids out of high school I am struggling with things to keep my mind busy at night. My garden does not have a single weed in it but my closets are still a mess and I actually do have quite a few pictures to scrapbook. But I need something else. Something that is challenging.

After getting my doctorate I honestly was planning to go on to law school. I thought about it frequently while I was finishing up my dissertation. I have taken a couple classes since then to renew my license. I guess I just like to go to school. Then as the years passed I grew concerned that I am not committed to the tremendous amount of studying that I would need to do.

I thought about different kinds of classes I might take and now am looking into cooking classes. I think I will start out with some classes at a local gourmet shop to be sure that is what I would like to do. The cooking class I want is several Saturdays in a row. That is not going to work until late October for me. I am actually thinking about a retirement kind of job that I could take some classes for and start as a hobby. Sarah and I talk about owning a bed and breakfast.

So what am I doing now? Goofy stuff! I started to train my dogs to walk on the treadmill. In Mark's words, "How ridiculous you look walking a dog on a treadmill when you can be outside with them!" Okay, I know. Bbut sometimes it's just a pain to walk Sally outside when she barks at anything that moves. What can I say, I'm goofy.

Let them eat cake!

It seems hard to believe that the unofficial end of summer is already here. When Labor Day weekend arrives I feel like it's time to say goodbye to summer. I decided to go up north and spend some time with my family. We needed a reason to have cake!

Mom and Dad celebrate a birthday pretty close to each other. Dad at the end of August; Mom in early September. It just seemed natural to celebrate while I was up in da Region for the weekend. And it gave Sarah and I the perfect excuse for ordering another Calumet Bakery cake. Sarah has been talking about this Tres Leche Cake so she ordered it for their birthday celebration. Besides, the cost is not as painful when two people pitch in.

The cake was gorgeous: Whipped cream icing with glazed strawberries. Inside were two layers of tres leche cake with strawberry mousse. It was incredible! I don't know how they were able to make a two-layered cake with milk drizzled in, but who am I to challenge their technique when the cake tastes so delicious and looks perfect.

By the time the weekend was over I had consumed way too much sugar. We didn't do a whole lot either. I think I spent more time on the couch dozing off all weekend than anything else. I got plenty of sleep. During the night I had some wild dreams. Must have been the sugar. Now I need to start thinking of another reason to order a cake.  I'm not sure Sarah really needs an excuse.