Although midsummer eve isn’t even here yet, I’m well in the thrall of summer. Mom and I have gone on a number of bike rides in the Troy area, the latest one was 12.8 miles. I spent time at the Lake with
We’d been at the Lake for an hour or so when Judi needed to use the toilet, whereupon we discovered that there was water on the floor in the bathroom. Eep! I couldn’t see where the water was coming from (apparently, I’m blind because it was obvious the next day, according to Papa, that it was coming from the water softener) but I called the parental units and let them know. I cleaned up the mess as well as possible and it looked like we had the leak under control for now.
Elsa arrived later that evening, so after hugs and a bit of gossip, we headed to Brucken’s bar for supper. Having tried their “sex with the captain” cocktail before, I ordered it again. It’s basically a “sex on the beach” but with Captain Morgan’s spiced rum instead of vodka. I also got one of their Brucken burgers and ate Elsa’s fries. (She said I could!) Dessert was at the Dairy King around the corner.
The next day, I tried to start my “new summer regimen” of getting up early and talking a walk. (It’s been working sort of well so far. Some days are better than others!) The main plan for the day was for our Elsa dinner. She’s prepared some pork ribs before she drove down and I grilled them to her specifications. We also had grilled onions with a mustard sauce that she’d made, and her sour cream potato salad. The folks joined us for lunch (dad brought his World Famous Slaw) and we ate well.
While dad was there, he surveyed the leak, which seemed to be getting bigger, and saw its origins. He contacted the plumber who installed the softener and made arrangements for calling on Monday. Meanwhile, the girls and I would sleep in my house a couple of nights while the water was shut off at the Lake.
The original plan was for the three of us to go to my Aunt Becky’s for cards, but Elsa wasn’t have much luck with the task she was working on that evening, so she stayed behind while Judi and I went. So Judi got to meet Dona and Jill and see my Aunt’s new place. Sadly, Judy wasn’t there – I was hoping to introduce Judi to Judy. When we returned home, Elsa and Judi and I played the youth Trivial Pursuit that I’ve had since the ’80s and I wound up winning cuz I kept getting the easy questions. Heh. The next morning, we tried to have pancakes and sausage, but for a few issues: we’d forgotten to pack the sausage and Elsa’s grill. We improvised with mini scones and cereal and some OJ I bought at the local gas station. Then we were off to the Troy Strawberry Festival.
I’d taken Judi to the Strawberry festival before, but this was Elsa’s first time there. We parked at Meijer and took the shuttle (a school bus) to the festival. We found several things we wanted to purchase at the first few booths. I tried a very yummy strawberry sushi dish, had my usual strawberry lemon shake-up, had a strawberry empanada, and stood in line with Judi for ages for a pork chop sandwich. Elsa and I picked up the yard decorations we’d spotted at the start of the show and then returned to the shuttle.
After shopping a little at Meijer, we returned home to veg before we headed out later for dinner and a movie. IIRC, the dinner was Panera (yay for the strawberry poppyseed salad!) and the movie was Now You See Me. We all enjoyed the movie. Back at my house, Judi and I played Muppet Monopoly, which she eventually conceded to me. Go me!
Monday morning, we pack up the car again and headed to Bob Evans on our way back to the Lake. We got there late enough that we had brunch for breakfast. Heh. Dad was already at the Lake (as was the plumber) and when we arrived, he zipped off to lunch. We all just vegged at the Lake and eventually the bathroom was free for use of public (or whatever). For supper, I grilled a flank steak, which Elsa had prepared and later sliced. I also grilled some zucchini and baked a potato for Judi and I in the coals. Supper was very tasty. We then spent the evening by the fire.
Tuesday was Elsa’s last day with us. She made us blueberry pancakes and sausage (finally, success!). Then she packed up and headed back home. Judi was starting to get twitchy due to lack of Internet, so we went to the book store & coffee shop in New Breman for lunch. Then to Wagner’s grocery (which had better wifi than the coffee shop) for a few more odds and ends. That evening, we grilled hotdogs and had leftover potato salad and slaw.
Wednesday was a shopping day. We met the parental units at Kohl’s and both Judi and I found stuff (I got 5 pairs of shorts, all size 16, and a new swimsuit, size 18 – whee!) which we could then use my 30% off card. Then the folks drove us to Tipp City for lunch at Coldwater Cafe. I had their lobster and crabcake salad, which I love. I think Judi liked hers too. The folks returned us to the Kohl’s parking lot and Judi and I stopped in at the new cake shop, the Cakery, and bought a cupcake each. Mine was cookies and cream, Judi’s was key lime. Mine was good, I can say. We had leftover ribs for supper. And I think we got something ice creamy at The Dairy King.
Thursday was Winging It day. We had no real plans, other than a vague idea to go see Star Trek. We decided to have breakfast at Waffle House. On our way south to Sydney to the Waffle House, I had Judi check on her cell phone when Star Trek played at the Evil Puppy Mall. She also saw listings for the Greene, and I thought – well I’d never taken Judi there… There was an 11:10 IMAX showing according to her phone, so we headed on down after our WH breakfast and arrived at the theatre at 11:05. Which, apparently, was when the movie (not in IMAX mode) was showing. Tickets were only $4 each, so we went.
After the movie, which we both enjoyed (what can I say, I was expecting a popcorn movie and I got one!), we left the Greene (it was raining, so outdoor shopping was out) and headed for the Evil Puppy Mall. Sadly, Judi wasn’t allowed to hold any of the evil puppies (and thankfully they had no Pomeranians to tempt her). We then went to Red Slobster for lunch and then Best Buy. By then it had stopped raining, so we had time at the Lake to veg. But then we wanted just a bit of food to eat and decided to go to Dairy Queen. I had a burger and a blizzard (mint Oreo).
Friday morning we vegged some more and then eventually got the car loaded up. It was the day to return Judi to Chicago. We had lunch at the Friendly’s near the airport, then I dropped her off. I headed on to Troy where mom and I then took a bike ride. We finally got on the path north of Eldean road and it was lovely. It’ll be even nicer when they get that connected to the Piqua bike path. The folks and I then went to the Lost Creek Antique & Garden Show. We waited at the entrance for about 20 minutes waiting for them to open, then we made a bee-line for the flower vendor mom loves. She bought 4 plants which were all lovely (as every who later saw us carrying them said), and then we were able to look around the show. That night I got to sleep in my bed again with the kitties!
Saturday morning, I headed off to Troy again. This time the folks and I headed on to Yellow Springs for their Street Fair. We had lunch at Ha Ha Pizza (sadly, their calzones weren’t available due to the large crowds they always get at the Street Fair). I found a lovely wooden bowl at one of the vendors at the fair and it was still available when we were leaving, so I purchased it. Now I have a gorgeous bowl for my fruit.
Sunday was just going to be Clean Trina’s House and Do Tons of Laundry day, but that was changed slightly when mom called to say she had 2 tickets to see Dreamgirls and she’d buy my dinner if I joined her. What can I say? I’m a sucker for dinner and a Broadway show. We ate at The Spaghetti Warehouse (I had pesto on spaghetti with zucchini and grape tomatoes and a Mango Tango bellini) and then walked from there to the Schuster Center. The show was excellent – I’m glad we were able to see it.
Monday was Clean the Lake Day, which I did. I even had some time to see and relax while I was there. Tuesday, mom and I took our longest bike ride of the season so far (which was the aforementioned 12.8 mile ride). Today, I’ll be returning to the folks to spend a couple of nights. Tomorrow is water aerobics and WeightWatchers in the morning followed by Supper Club in the evening. And I’m sure we’ll do something fun on Saturday.
So this has been a great start to my vacation. Next week my two college courses start (one on stoichiometry demos, one on lab safety), so I hope to get those going well. Once I complete these, I’ll be at my Masters +15 and able to scoot up a little on the pay scale at work. Whee!