Yes, I am FINALLY able to get some computer time and catch you all up on how our Indiana trip went last weekend! *whew* It's been quite a week!
SO - - here we go - -
We left last Saturday morning, pulling out at 6:00 a.m. *yawn* But we figured we needed that much time for stops along the way for breakfast, gas, maybe an antique shop or three, so evern though I was looking through an early morning fog (inside my head, that is), off we went.
We stopped in Sullivan at a little cafe on the Square called "The Spot", which is the local gathering place for all the farmers in the area to drink their coffee and talk about the weather. It also has great food. Our waitress was a cute little thing, and she knew it. She kept giving Dear Hubby Steve the eye when she thought I wasn't looking. He kept denying it, but couldn't any longer when she brought us our check, and had drawn a heart next to his order! (heh heh heh). When we finally got out to the Jeep, he looked REAL uncomfortable, and I couldn't quit laughing. What can I say? He's an attractive man, and I would be crazy to deny it, or get mad if someone else notices it. But his reaction was priceless.
HOWEVER - -
As we got ready to pull off, I turned around and noticed the sign above the front door of the cafe, that advertised their specials - - which gave us an idea of what kind of weekend this was going to be . . . . .
Folks, you can't make this stuff up . . . . wonder if the local police noticed . . . . :-)The next stop was in Charleston - - at the Rural King store, of course (yeah yeah - - the FARM STORE again!). And, as usual, I found whole lots of nifty "stuff". It also gave us time to stretch our legs and walk off a bit of our breakfast.
Then it was time to get back on the road and head for the Indiana border. The weather was beautiful, a little cool, partly sunny, and we made very good time. We stopped again in Terre Haute at a great Antique Mall, run by a very nice young couple. After wandering around and finding a few little "treasures", we got back on the road again.
We stopped for lunch in the little town of Linton, Indiana, at the local Dairy Queen. We like the little locally-owned franchises in small towns, because the food is usually really good. We weren't disappointed this time, either. As we were leaving Linton, we noticed a small antique store, and decided to pull in. It was an old three-story house, with every floor full of neat stuff, and the basement was full also. We found lots of little goodies there, and had a great time talking with the owner, a really nice older lady with a delightful sense of humor.
One thing about really small towns - - you usually find some pretty neat places to see, and sometimes meet some really great folks - - but I would NEVER, EVER want to live in one - - EVER AGAIN! Been there, done that - - will NOT repeat the experience. :-)
We got to the Church for the Anniversary party right at 1:00. It was a nice time, but the only people there that I knew were my in-laws, and another couple from Highland who knew the guests of honor.
Now - - I have been told in the past that a "Bored Liz Is Trouble" . . .
SO - - not wanting to disappoint, I set off amusing myself - - at my mother-in-law's expense, of course . . . that poor lady - - she is SUCH fun to pick on! :-)
I thought I was being pretty quiet and sneaky about things, but then Linda, one-half of the guests of honor, came up to our table and asked me, "Have you been having fun playing?" I turned beet red, and Linda had a good laugh at my expense. Apparently she had been watching the antics going on at our table, and was having a lot of fun with it.
Oh well - - at least the time went faster!
After the party, we headed out to their house for a brief visit, We got there before they did, which gave me a chance to make friends with a couple of their barn cats. What lovable little things they were! Then everyone else showed up to the house, so we had a chance to chat a bit before leaving to head up to Indianapolis.
I'll tell about the second leg of the trip in the next post. Again, thanks for stopping by, and comments are always welcome! :-)
Is it any wonder I have so much trouble typing - - when I am getting THIS kind of help?
But - - HOW can I resist that face????? NOT possible . . . *sigh*
Carmichael is such a Mama's boy . . . :-)
Yeah yeah - - I know - - I promised to post about our weekend trip.
But it's been a TOTALLY hectic week, and I get home from work frazzled, and facing bunches of stuff to do in the house and the yard.
But I have a 4-day weekend coming up, so things will get caught up.
They WILL get caught up.
Really.
(I hope)
Well, we are back home.
It was a great trip, and lots of fun. Spent time with good people, saw lots of interesting "stuff", did lots of fun things. BUT - - isn't it amazing that now matter how much fun you have, it always feels so darned good to be back HOME????
The kittycats are excited - - their "people" are home, so they now have laps to curl up on!
I have lots of things to post about our trip, but - - I'm bushed. So it's off to bed for a good night's rest, and I will post about the trip tomorrow, either on my lunch hour, or after work/gym.
So stop by later to see how it all went!
Well, unfortunately the races this weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park have been cancelled due to the nasty weather. We have had TORRENTIAL rains last night and all day today! And by TORRENTIAL, I mean at the rate of 2-plus inches per hour!
Nasty stuff.
But - - Dear Hubby and I are still heading to Indiana. We will still go to the 50th Wedding Anniversary party. We pondered the idea of just coming on back home Saturday evening, but then decided that since we already have the room reserved, we may as well take advantage of it!
So we will still be heading up to Indianapolis Saturday evening to stay overnight, and there are lots of things we can check out in the Indy area on Sunday before heading back home.
We're together - - so it will definitely be fun! :-)
P.S. Bill - - beg to differ with ya - - "burning rubber" does NOT mix well with my morning cup of tea . . . . *laugh*
We must REALLY like Indiana. I mean, we have been there more in the last 6 months than we have been the last 10 years!
Yes, this weekend, we are Indiana-bound, one more time.
Saturday we are pulling out at 6:00. Yeah, I mean A.M. *yawn* We will be heading about 2 hours southeast of Terre Haute, to a little spot-in-the-road named Odon, Indiana, for a 50th Wedding Anniversary party. Dear Hubby Steve's Dad served in the Navy with the husband, and they have kept in touch ever since they were discharged. Nice family, and it should be a good time.
Saturday evening we are heading up to Indianapolis to stay the night, then Sunday morning up at 5:00 a.m. (*sheesh* I'm NOT liking the pattern that is emerging here!) so we can hit the gates of Indianapolis Raceway Park in time for the 7:00 a.m. Time Trials.
Folks, I'm NOT getting any younger here - - and these early hours are getting rough on this tired old body of mine . . . *laugh*
But what the heck - - Dear Hubby and I will have fun. I'm not really into races, but he loves them, and it's been years since we have gone over there. In fact, the last time I was at this speedway was when we were dating, so we are talking over 20 years ago!
What the heck - - I can make the sacrifice every 20 years or so for him . . . :-)
I'll let you know how it goes - - should be a fun weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!
Dear Hubby Steve and I had planned on going to Mattoon (about 40 miles away) to do some browsing and stuff Sunday, but when we woke up, the weather did NOT look promising. Rain, wind, thunder, lightning . . .
But then the sky cleared, and even though it was WINDY and VERY cool, we decided to head on out. The forecast called for some pretty bad storms, but they were forecast for later in the afternoon.
SO - - after shaking off the "groggies" from losing the hour from clock-resetting (curse you, Daylight Savings Time!), we finished up breakfast and the paper, got ready, and headed on out.
Our first stop was Rural King. Oh, I can hear you now - - WOW, a FARM store - - you guys really know how to live life on the edge, don't ya?
Stop that.
That is ONE FUN STORE! In fact, I always find more in there than Steve does! They have food, kitchen stuff, clothes, candles, garden and lawn decorations, and all kinds of neat "stuff".
So just stop.
And - - just for the record - - I ain't no farm girl! And I have cousins in New York City who will help me prove my point! ^-^
ANYWAY.
After Rural King, we went to lunch at McHugh's, which is kinda like a Krekel's (but if you don't live in my town, you have no idea what the helll I'm talking about!) They are mostly burgers and fries and drinks, and it's strictly drive-thru, and it's CHEAP . . .
And the hamburgers were awesome! We had never eaten there before, but Steve's cousin always raves about it. So we tried it. She was right!
If you are ever in Mattoon or Charleston and just want a quick, cheap meal, I highly recommend McHugh's.
After lunch, we went to Big Lots, where I found BUNCHES of stuff. That store is huge, and ever aisle we saw something we wanted. I bought mostly stuff for the house, and got lots of ideas for the new house.
We then went to Cross-County Mall, and looked around there a bit. They have an Elder-Beerman store there, and that place is expensive! But I managed to find some cute little clearance items (the ONLY way to buy) and bought some for gifts for friends' birthdays.
We also went to the Home Depot. We don't have one in our city, so we like to look through them when we get a chance. And Dear Hubby found a wonderful bargain - - a outdoor power washer. It will really come in handy when we start getting this place ready put on the market. The siding need cleaning badly! It will also help with cleaning the patio, and any outbuildings we will have at the new place.
AND - - it was on sale. For a GREAT price. He would have been crazy to pass it up!
Well. He IS crazy. But not that way - - the power washer came home with us. Can't wait to try it out.
We finally decided to start on our way back home, and it's a good thing we did. The closer we got to home, the darker the sky started turning. By the time we got home, it was getting darker, and the wind started picking up.
We had been home about 30 minutes, and it started looking really ominous. The cats started pacing. So did I.
Then the tornado sirens went off.
It was a pretty nasty storm. We got lots of rain and wind, but no tornadoes in our immediate area and no wind damage.
So Sunday ended on a not so nice note.
But spending the day with Dear Hubby was a blast, as always. Yes, even in a "farm store" and "Big Lots" and "Home Depot".
I spent it with him, and that's all that mattered! :-)
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank goodness - -
There was MORE bad weather this weekend. Springfield got hit AGAIN by tornadoes! And in some of the same areas!
It's only been Spring for 2-3 weeks. Those people have NOT had good luck so far.
Some of the smaller towns in the area got a lot of damage also. Taylorville (about 30 miles south of us) had lots of businesses and homes damaged. Harristown had some damage (just a couple of miles from us) and Warrensburg (a little ways down from Harristown) lost their restaurant to the storm.
I get the feeling we are in for a ROUGH Spring . . . *sigh*
Keep ya posted . . .
Got my other blog all updated (finally!) with some new "stuff" that has been going on.
You can check that out here.
Thanks for stopping by! :-)
Remember my big project? The Data Book? All 185 pages of it??
WELL - -
It's been put on hold until the MAY Board Meeting.
So I have another month to finalize it.
HALLE-DAMN-LUIA!!!!! :-)
I can finally breathe . . .
And also maybe get a couple of posts done on my other blog, which is woefully behind the times - - I have a couple of interesting things to add to it, but haven't had the time.
I'll post here when the other one is updated. Stay tuned . . .
Go to this site - - and you will see what I mean:
This is the homepage where other games can be accessed: vectorpark
I am NOT a fan of computer games, but - - "Levers" grabs me and will NOT let go!
*sigh*
But it's FUN! Check it out . . .
Yes, even though it is SUNDAY - -
I was in the office.
Working on the Data Book.
It was a good time to get things completed, though - - during the week, there are so many interruptions - - phone calls, people coming in, and the general everyday work that needs done - - that it makes it impossible to get through all th minute details that this book involves.
SO - - since yesterday was Nephew Sam's Birthday party (and I was NOT going to miss THAT!) - - that meant Sunday was designated as "Data Book Day".
I spent a total of 5 hours in the office, and accomplished so much - - got the whole book proofread one more time, got all the pages numbered correctly, filled in the page numbers on the Table of Contents for each section (all 9 of them) - - created the Index/Glossary section and got it alphabetized - - *whew*
Then I went through the 6-page Fact Sheet and got it corrected with accurate information.
Tomorrow I should be ready to fix the one survey page that still needs revising, and also correct that info on the Fact Sheet - -
Once that is all done, all the sections will get converted to PDF to preserve formatting when it's sent to the Copy Center - -
Then (hopefully) we will be ready to print. Thank goodness.
It's been a long hard trek - - but it will look fantastic when presented to the Board in April.
This project is my "baby" - - my "pride and joy" - -
I take great pains to make sure it is all accurate and formatted properly and looks as good as possible. It has the College's name on it, as well as my boss's name, and MY name. I want it to be a publication that the College can be proud of.
And once it's all printed and done for this year - - I will go home, look in the mirror, and count all the new white hairs it has caused me - - and then go visit Lady Clairol for a touch-up! :-)
Dear Hubby and I went to his brother's new house in Bloomington today for nephew Sam's 10th Birthday party.
Pizza Hut pizza, Scotcheroos - - yummmmm!
And - - Nephew Travis and his girlfriend Renee were there also! It was good to see both of them!
This was also a nice treat for me, because I had not seen their new house yet, having had that nasty stomach flu a few weeks ago and having to miss all the moving day activities. So Debbie took me on the "grand tour", and it is a gorgeous house! The "parlor" is small and cozy, and would be perfect for curling up with a good book and a couple of cats . . . :-) . . . and the Master Bedroom is HUGE!! The whole house is wonderful. I'm sure they will be very happy living there.
Sam was having fun and got lots of neat presents.
All in all, it was a good time - - and it was great to be able to spend time with all of them!
So - - HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY, SAM!!!
Love,
"M-Unc" Steve and Aunt Liz
Well, the Banana Chocolate Chip Bread is baked.
The Blueberry Bread is baking as I am typing this.
The whole house smells WONDERFUL!! :-)
Both cats are asleep on the bed - - I did Callie's favorite thing - - folding her favorite fuzzy throw into 4ths, then placing the heating pad between the layers (only turned up to 2 on the heat dial). She LOVES that! She has spent most of the day on it, and has even been so kind as to share part of it with Carmichael! They look so cute curled up sleeping together - - it's tempting to go join them for a nap!
But I still have Blueberry Bread baking, so it's probably best to stay awake . . ..
The snow and wind have died down quite a bit now. At 10:30 a.m. we were downgraded from a Blizzard Warning to a Winter Weather Advisory until 4:00 p.m. We have probably 10 inches of the cold white stuff out there, and some pretty awesome drifts! And it just looks cold out there. *brrr*
I've only been out of the house twice - - once to step over to the garage and get something from the freezer, and the other time to do some "maintenance" - - we lost Satellite signal. No TV? Oh no!! SO - - I put on my coat, gloves, boots, and hiked around the corner of the house. Sure enough, the dish was full of snow - - brushed it all out, went back inside - - picture was back! That's one of the very few times we have lost signal since we got the Satellite dish last May. Some people may consider it a pain to have to go out and do that, but the good things GREATLY outweigh the bad! 180 channels, plus a whole bunch of Sirius Satellite Radio stations . . . and it's cheaper than our expanded basic cable cost us. (Hey, I'm no fool!)
Well, the timer just went off - - need to go check the Blueberry Bread!
Well, I got my wish.
For the first time in three winters, the College is closed for a SNOW DAY!
I'm going to baka Banana Chocolate Chip Bread (Banana Bread with mini chocolate chips stirred in - - yummmm!), and I have some blueberries from a late summer farmer's market thawing out for Blueberry Bread (no chocolate chips in that, though!).
I'm also going to do a bit of filing in my home office - - just a little bit - -
And THEN - -
I'm going to pile down on the couch and spend some "quality time" with my two fur-babies! Callie and Carmichael are looking forward to it, I can tell - - they keep following me around the house, waiting for me to sit down and create a lap they can curl up in!
FINALLY - - a SNOW DAY - -
But one is plenty - - I want to make it back to work tomorrow, before "cabin fever" starts to set in! :-)
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If you haven't already noticed, there are a couple of new things on my sidebar. I've joined BlogMad and hope to get some more "hits" from that, and maybe some new readers? And some more commenters? Keeping my fingers crossed . . . .
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I also adopted a "virtual pet" from BunnyHero Labs. He looked so much like my kitty Carmichael, I just had to have him! When you click on the "More" tab at the lower right corner, it brings up a toy to play with, a ball and string on a stick. You can move it around, and he will stick his paw out of the basket and try to catch it. It's just TOO MUCH like my real Carmie . . .
Anyway - - Check out the site - - once you get to the homepage, click on the "CyberPets" link - - you can customize and "adopt" your own!
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Well, it's off to enjoy my "SNOW DAY" - - I hear the oven calling - - time to go start Banana Bread - - the whole house is going to smell yummy! :-)
Well, we were under a Winter Storm Warning.
That has now been cancelled.
It has now been upgraded to a BLIZZARD WARNING.
Oh joy.
They are forecasting freezing rain, sleet, and hunderstorms this evening, and 1-2 inches of snow per hour from Midnight through 7:00 a.m. Tuesday.
Along with all that nice "stuff" will be 25-35 MPH winds.
Fun.
SO - - I may have my longed-for snow day yet! :-)
Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes just a week ago - -
And now this - - on the FIRST DAY OF SPRING, no less . . .
Ah yes - - weather in Central Illinois . . .. :-)
Keep ya posted . . .
Springfield had LOTS of damage from the two F2 tornadoes that hit last Sunday night/Monday morning. One of the local radio stations, WNNS Lite Rock, has a slide show of storm damage photos on their website. You can access the photos HERE.
Some of the people in Springfield are STILL without power, and some will not get it back until next Wednesday. The really bad thing is, they are calling for pretty cold temps from tonight on, and a very good chance of an accumulating snow by Wednesday.
I'm saying my prayers for them.
Well, I promised to post about last weekend's little "road trip" - - and now that this HECTIC week is FINALLY over, there is finally time to do just that! :-)
Dear Hubby had two gun safe doors to pick up in Ohio (one for himself, and one for a co-worker) - - so he was taking a Friday and Saturday to make the trip to pick them up. Would I care to go along?
Hmmmm - - riding 6-1/2 hours, in the cab of a pickup, pulling a trailer all the way out there, and pulling the trailer and an additional 1,500 pounds (more or less) all the way back - - bumpy, rough, LONG . . .
Heck yeah - - I want to go - -
Seriously.
Because - - no matter what it is, it seems that if he and I are doing it together, it's always FUN! :-)
And it was . . . .
We pulled out last Friday morning at 5:00 a.m. Yes, that is 5:00 in the MORNING. Yes, I'm crazy . . .
We stopped in Rantoul for a quick breakfast, at the local Hardee's, where it seemed all the local farmers gathered. Listening to them pick at each other was pretty amusing as we sat there and ate. Then it was back on the road.
We stopped for lunch in a small town just across the Indiana/Ohio border called Antwerp, at a Friendly's. If you have never eaten at a Friendly's, I highly recommend it! The only time I had been to one was in New York City, and all I had was Italian ice or ice cream. As it turns out, their FOOD is great! We will definitely stop at a Friendly's again on future trips.
We finally made it to the small town of Tontogawa, just north of Bowling Green, Ohio, to pick up the safe doors. After about 45 minutes of loading and securing, they were ready to go, and we were on out way back towards Ft. Wayne, Indiana to spend the night.
This is where the REAL fun began . . . . . :-)
We pulled into Ft. Wayne, which is a fair-sized city. Of course we got lost trying to find the Red Roof Inn. Finally found it, turned to go to it - - and of course wound up on a street with NO entrance to it. *sigh*
SO - - it's time to backtrack and take another stab at it.
As we get back to the intersection and are waiting to turn left, we look about 1/2 block up, and see a very LARGE neon sign - - of a girl dancing on a pole. The sign with it said "Brandy's Exotic Dancers". I looked at Steve, and he immediately said, "I'm innocent here! I've never been in Ft. Wayne before! Honest!"
I just started laughing . . .
So he is still protesting his innocence as the light turns green, and he proceeds to turn left. As he does, we look next door to the Red Roof Inn - - -
and there is "Showgirls I Gentlemen's Club". Right next door.
I bust out laughing even harder.
Steve just says, "Aw S**T! I can't win here!"
But then it got even better - - we had to pull into Showgirls drive and go THROUGH THEIR PARKING LOT to get to our hotel.
He was mortified. I couldn't quit laughing at him.
Poor guy.
I tried to smooth things over - - I even pointed out to him that we didn't even have to drive anywhere for supper, because their sign advertised "Free Buffet until 7:00 p.m."
He didn't go for that, for some reason . . . . :-)
Oh well - - it was all fun. At his expense. *snicker*
The next morning we found a GREAT bakery for breakfast - - Richard's Bakery. They are kind of a small place, looking pretty plain and unassuming, but when you drive by, you can see they have wedding cakes and all kinds of other things they make. So, we decided to stop and try a couple of doughnuts.
Oh. My. God. Those were SO good.
We got two apiece, but they were so BIG and so FILLING, I could only eat one. Steve managed both of his, somehow. But I kept mine wrapped up in the bag and saved it for Sunday (which, by the way, it tasted just as good and just as fresh-baked as the one the day before).
Ever in Ft. Wayne - - stop at Richard's. You will NOT be disappointed. That's a promise.
After breakfast, we headed up to Auburn, Indiana, the home of the Auburn-Cord-Deusenberg Car Museum. It is located in the original manufacturer's building, which has been totally restored to its original grandeur, including the Art Deco designs on the walls, floors, and ceilings. Absolutely amazing! And the cars - - oh my, the CARS - - are awesome. Completely restored Auburns, in all their bright, bright colors; Cords, and of course, Deusys. BEAUTIFUL works of art.
We loved every bit of that place, and will definitely go back again some day.
After a couple of hours of browsing fun, it was time to start heading back towards Illinois. We made it to Champaign right at supper time, so of course that meant stopping at our all-time favorite Barbeque place, Li'l Porgy's. They are one of the best!
Finally made it back home, just in time for a pounding thunderstorm. LOTS of fun unloading in the rain . . . *sigh*
But, we were home, and that's all that mattered.
It was fun going away with Dear Hubby for a couple of days, but it was even better being home with him and the fur-babies (who, by the way, were VERY glad to see us!)
SO - - that is the "Reader's Digest Condensed" version of the weekend trip. There were lots more things that we saw, and some more things that we did, but too much to go into right now. It's been a helluva week, and it's not over yet. I'll be in the office tomorrow trying to finish up my yearly Data Book (about 175 pages or more), which is due the first part of April. It's extremely difficult to get it finished up during the week, with phone calls and numerous interruptions, so tomorrow will be a good time to do it. It may take some time on Sunday also . . . oh well, I may have a weekend SOMETIME . . .
Thanks for stopping by. I'll post more over the weekend. :-)
Yes, I promised to post our trip highlights today.
I lied.
Not intentionally, though. It's just that it's been "one of those days" at work, and tomorrow is another L-O-O-O-N-G day, due to teaching Part 2 of the Intermediate Excel class tomorrow.
I think the reason for the bad day at work is due to the weather - - we just had those violent storms - - now it's COLD (29 degrees!) - - and they are calling for rain again tomorrow and Thursday.
My sinuses don't know WHAT to think! And so, as usually is the case when this happens, they decide to THROB. And HURT. Since they don't know what else to do. (Like take a nap or something . . . )
SO - - it's some aspirin and an early bedtime for me tonight.
And I will get the trip highlights posted by the weekend.
Promise.
Thanks for stopping by - - 'night . . . *yawn*
Well, last night was quite an adventure.
After I shut down the computer around 8:30 or so, the wind started really picking up, and the lightning was just absolutely awesome! We had quite a little windstorm blow through, and dump quite a bit of rain on us, but it seemed to pass pretty quickly.
Other areas around us didn't fare so well, though - - there was quite a bit of tornado damage in Springfield and the surrounding areas. In fact, my favorite Gordman's store lost their roof! :-(
I am officially in mourning over that loss. . . . .
BUT - - just when you think all the fun is over - - Mother Nature turns around and give you a BIG surprise!
We were wakened up at 3:00 a.m. this morning with the tornado sirens going off, wind blowing, thunder and lightning - - the whole show. We turned on the scanner and started hearing reports of tornadoes on the ground over by Springfield again. We turned on the TV, and the local station had their weather reports cranking out non-stop, showing the places of rotation, and where things were heading. From the looks of it, all the really bad stuff was going to skirt by just West of us - - which it did.
But it was STILL a pretty spectacular light show! :-)
SO - - I have been awake since 3:00 a.m. I'm teaching Intermediate Excel tonight, and will not get out of here until 9:00 p.m.
Can't wait to get home and get some SLEEP!!
I'll post my trip highlights tomorrow . . . I'll be WAY too tired to do that when I get home from work!
Thanks for stopping by!
Folks, you can't make this stuff up . . . . wonder if the local police noticed . . . . :-)
