Bad Weather - Missing Cat (part 2)

 Does everyone remember last February when we got record low absolutely FREEZING weather and my stupid cat went missing?

And I cried and cried and cried. 

And finally after three days my wonderful husband found my stupid cat.

And I cried and cried and cried.

Remember?

Well.... 

Today we got our first true cold front of the year.  Dropping temperatures complete with rain.  The type of weather perfect for flannel pj's, a big pot of stew and a fire.  

And it was my early day at work, so I was scheduled to leave at 3:00.  (Although I never seem to leave when I am supposed to, but that's a story for a different day.)

Knowing I was getting out early and knowing the weather was crappy out, I had already planned my evening of hot shower and flannel pajamas.

Walking in the door and making sure everyone was all safe and snug from the weather, I noticed someone was missing.

Mitzi Gaynor.

The same stupid cat that went missing in the freezing temperatures of February.  

Where was she?

Y'all, this is an INSIDE cat.  She doesn't do outdoors.  Ever.  (Well, ok, once, but only for three days.)

So I start looking. 

Everywhere.

In closets.  Under beds.  Behind couches.  

Our house is not that big, and she is NOWHERE to be found.

Mark and I go outside in the cold rain looking.  

(This is definitely NOT how I had envisioned my evening!)

Mark even crawled under the deck.  (Where she was discovered last time.)  

No cat.

Grrrr.

Back inside.

Me:  Did you go into the attic today?

Mark:  Yes.

Me:  Then that has to be where she is! It's the only place left!

Mark goes up nto the attic for a look around.  No cat.

We eat dinner.  But as we are eating dinner, we decide that she just has to be in the attic.  This time I will go up, because she is more attached to me.

I go up.  Look around.  Walk around.  Meow.  Call her name.  Shake a bowl of cat food. Nothing.

About to give up, I glance around one more time and there she is.  In a far corner lying on the big puffy insulation.  

I can't get to her. 

I'll fall through.  

She is not coming to me.  

I shake the bowl.  She doesn't come.

What the crap??

Mark is also now in the attic.

We're calling and pssp pssping. 

Finally she comes.  Slowly and gingerly she walks across the insulation over to me.

I pick her up and take her down the steps of the attic ladder.  She repays me by scratching the crap out of me.

Now.... about 3.5 hours after I was supposed to get out of work, I can finally finish my evening the way I envisioned it all those hours ago.

 

I'm old

I have been thinking about this post for a few days, but I am not sure how to put it into words.  This may end up being nothing more than me rambling.  If so, enjoy having a look inside my head. 

Soon I will be 59.  59!!   How in the (insert bad word here) did I get to be 59??  I don't feel 59.  (What is 59 supposed to feel like!?) I love the little meme that says, "Act your age",  followed by the reply "I don't know how to act my age; I've never been this age before." That, my friends, is where I am.  

People joke about 30 being old. You can joke about it, because 30 does kind of seem old.  I mean, you're no longer "young".  People laugh about 40 being old. You can laugh about it, but people in their 40's are generally happy with their lives.  By then they have worked to get their life where it ought to be and things are, for the most part, swimming along in just the right way.  The kids are at a nice, easy age and people are usually on the path they want to be on career-wise.  People convince themselves that their 50's are no longer old. 50 is the new 40!  Modern medicine and all.  But y'all, I am this close ---><--- to 60, and no matter how you attempt to spin it, 60 is old. It just is.

I like the era into which I was born.  I hope you like yours too, but let's face it: I had Johnny Carson, you get Jimmy Kimmel.   I had Elvis Presley, you get Justin Bieber.  I had the Beatles, you get Nsync. Yeah, mine rocked!

I don't feel old.  I'm not stupid, or in denial. I know my age, and I know what it means... I just don't feel it.  Then I get a glimpse of my body, and I see how it has changed.  (Yeah, some of that is time and gravity, and some of that is me.  One of the nicest things about getting older is I don't even feel the slightest, tiniest desire to "be all I can be". I am more in the stage of "this is what it is" That doesn't mean I don't get any exercise or that I have completely let myself go, not at all.  It just means I get my exercise from activities involved in simply living my life and not trying to "stay in shape". There is a difference there. We don't sit around in our recliners eating cookies and ice cream.  (Well, not every night, at least.) We do care about our health.  As one gets older, health IS important.  We just no longer feel the desire to hit a gym and crunches are NOT on our "to do" list.)  Anyway, back to what I was thinking:  I do notice how time has changed my body, and not for the better.  I look in the mirror, I try not to do that one too often, but when I do, I no longer see a young (or even middle-aged) face looking back at me.  Mark and I don't take many selfies, but we did take one or two on our recent trip.  Looking at our photos, I thought, "We DO look like a little old couple." It was just weird.  Because, again, I don't FEEL it.

Talking about my age with some people the other day, and all I could say was "It's weird."  I said it a few times, because y'all, it IS weird.

I don't mind growing old.  As they say, it is a privilege not given to all.  

I had a GREAT friend in high-school.  We did not meet until my freshman year, and sadly we allowed life to drift us apart after high-school, but for those very important, very special "coming of age" years, the two of us were inseparable. She was eleven days older, and she acted as though it was eleven years.  (Maybe I am exaggerating) She would constantly do things and follow it up with "I can do this, because I am older than you." or "You'll understand when you are my age."  I would roll my eyes and tell her she was only eleven DAYS older than me, but this gave her no pause.  Her treating me as though I was so much younger would continue.  I told her I would get my revenge.  When we became little old ladies, I would remind her how old she was, and that I was SO much younger.  Oh how I would have fun with that!!  Only... she's not here.  She is not one who was given the privilege of growing old.  And that makes me so incredibly sad, because she was so fiercely full of life, and she missed out on so much.

Me?  I have lived.  I have had a GREAT life.  I have often thought the only person who might have had a better life than mine is HRH The Queen.  (But Kate Middleton is closing in.)

I have given birth to two beautiful babies.  I was fortunate enough to be a stay at home mom and be in their lives way more than either one probably wanted.  I got to be there for their school programs, and I got to be there for their sporting events.  I got to be the carpool mom and hear all the after school chatter.  I got to be room moms and chaperones.  Yeah, they probably wish I could have been a little less available, but I loved being there and cheering them on.  And sometimes, just sitting back and quietly observing.

I got to watch them grow... and become. And I loved each stage.  Oh, I would be saddened to see a stage end, but then I would quickly realize how much I loved this new stage we all just entered.  I loved my babies, my toddlers, my kids, my preteens, my teenagers, my young adults... I loved it all.

They say the best part of being a grandparent is the grandchildren.  Not for me.  The best part, for me, is watching my children be parents.  (Although those five precious little grandkids do have a hold on my heart!)  And now I get to watch my grandkids grow...and become.  Only this time I am not on the front lines. I am on the side lines and pushed back a bit.  But that's OK, because this time my kids get to be on the front lines.  I had my moment in the sun; now is the time for them.

And I have lived.  

So much.

I have been to all 50 states.  (Not just "through", but TO)  It was a goal for James to get the kids to all 50 before Jenni graduated high-school.  And we did.  

Jenni spent her 16th birthday on a private boat halibut fishing, whale watching, iceberg dodging, among other things, in the fat middle of nowhere Alaska.  No other people at all.  Just us and the Alaskan wildlife.  

I remember having to find an eye doctor in Hawaii so we could get Marshall some contacts because what good is scuba diving if one can't see without his glasses? And it all worked out wonderfully, as we were surprised with a school of dolphins swimming over our heads.

I have been to NYC and Washington DC, numerous times.  I have been to the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis 500. I have traveled the Pacific Coast Highway.  I have driven through a tree. Walked my butt off on trails at the Grand Canyon and on sidewalks of the Las Vegas strip. Swam in the Great Lakes (ok, just Michigan, but it was freaking cold!) I have seen, and heard, the majestic roaring waters of Niagra Falls. I have been to the Superbowl and the World Series.  I have been to Disney World and Disneyland.  A few times.  

Not only have I been to Mexico, I have been to all the obvious beaches, (Cancun, Cozumel, Acapulco, Cabo San Lucas) but we also drove to Cuernavaca going through Mexico City.  We even spent a night in Real de Catorce, which really was IN THE FAT MIDDLE  of nowhere.  I remember thinking the townspeople could kill us, ditch the Suburban and no one would ever know where to find us.  But, it was absolutely an adventure complete with walking into a restaurant and seeing a native Mexican Indian (Aztec?  Inca?) in full Indian regalia including his elaborate headdress simply eating his dinner. 

Funny what your mind remembers.  What your mind forgets.

I have been to Canada, and  I got to be one of the first Americans to go to Cuba after Fidel Castro and the Revolution. (Thank you Jimmy Carter!)

I have been to Europe.  I have been to the Middle East.  I have been to the Caribbean. I have been to the Mediterranean.  

I have been to Anne Frank's house and toured multiple concentration camps. (I am a bit obsessed with the Holocaust.) I have walked on some of the same roads Jesus was said to have walked on.  I went into Bethlehem when it was being advised as "too dangerous".  But it was Jesus' birthplace.  How does one not go?

I have walked the streets of Pompeii.  Ridden a gondola in Venice.  Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower.   Did a pub crawl in Ireland.  Viewed the Sistine Chapel. 

I got to travel to South Africa and see wildlife.  Up close and personal. I slept alone in a cabin while a pride of lions slept snoring just outside my door.  I got to see my son take down a Cape Buffalo with one perfect shot straight through the heart.  I made friends with an amazing woman on the opposite side of the world, and we still stay in touch.  

Not only have I traveled by planes, trains and automobiles, but I have also been in blimps and submarines.  

I have parasailed and scuba dived.  I have jumped out of a plane.  More than once. 

Some people have a bucket list.  I do not.  I have no idea what I would even add to it.  Of course there are things I haven't done and places I haven't been.  But of all the things I have truly wanted to do, I have done.  Of all the places I have truly wanted to go, I have been.

I have watched people die.  I have lost loved ones after a long, drawn out illness and had them snatched out of this world in the blink of an eye.  (Both suck, btw)

I have lived.

I have laughed.

I have loved.

I have no idea what the future holds.  Maybe I will be around many, many more years.  Maybe I will be gone by morning.  Maybe I will die.  Maybe Jesus will come first in all his glory.  I don't know.

But what I do know is that it has been one heck of a ride, and I will keep riding it out as long as the good Lord allows.  When the day finally comes that I leave this earth, I will be in the arms of my Lord and Savior.  And THAT will be my BEST DAY EVER!

Christmas 1965

 

Home ... and back at it

 Sort of 

I mean, yeah.  Yeah, I am.

Remember y'all, I initially did not want to go on this trip.  I love my home.  My animals.  My family.  My church.  My job.  My routine.  I am a homebody at heart.

I did, after all my apprehension, find myself enjoying our trip immensely.  Maybe this traveling isn't so bad.  

But by the time my backside had 4,242 miles of sitting in the truck, I was thrilled to see the Fayette County/Colorado County countryside.

(I liked the clouds on the last leg of our trip home.)

My manager worked with me so that we could be gone for ten days, but I only used five days of vacation. (I worked four long days leading up to the vacation, and then counting Sundays and my regular day off each week, it worked.) What that meant though, was no days to recuperate.   We left bright and early after my last day of work before our trip, and I went to work that Monday after getting home Sunday night.  

I may or may not have been my most productive self that day.

Ok.  Also remember.  The only reason I had peace of mind whilst gone was that I had a guy I work with animal and house sitting.  He's a great kid, but he's young.  I knew he could handle the house and all the animals.  I mean, as long as he didn't go crazy.  Our routine is our routine, but it's not his, after all.

He assured me he did not go crazy.  

The ONLY thing I was expecting from this young man was keeping our home safe and our animals alive.  

Walking into our home Sunday evening, my brain was going a mile a minute thinking of all the things I would need to do before getting back into work the next day.

Obviously unpacking the truck and TONS of laundry and cleaning and straightening the house .... and then I looked around the house.  Surprised.  I walked from room to room checking it all out.  

Our house was clean! 

I mean... our house was clean.

Towels and sheets washed.  Floors swept.  Popcorn machine immaculate.  Everything in its place.

Y'all we had four cats, three dogs and a kid who can't even legally drink alcohol yet in our house for TEN DAYS, and we came home to a clean, I didn't have to do anything, house!

That says a great deal about Rolo as a person and his character, and it says a lot about the parents who raised him.

When I talked with him after the fact, he said, "I wanted to leave it in the shape I found it."

How awesome is that!?

Huge shout out to Rolando!  He made, not only our trip possible, but our coming home easy.

Thank you!! So much.

Day 10...whew!

 My mom shared with me that she and my step-dad once stayed in a pretty bad hotel.  She said they slept in their clothes on top of the bed covers, and they took a shower wearing their shoes. Believe me, had we stayed in that hotel last night, I would have either slept on top of the bed in my clothes, or in our truck. And one of the things I told the woman when we were trying to get our money back was there was no way I was taking a shower in that room.   It was that bad.

Mark took a picture of the tub.  I wish we had taken more photos, because the curtains were torn and the bed spread had cigarette burns.

It was lovely.

Mark will be writing letters and reviews. 

When we did finally find a room last night, we fell into bed.  We slept in what we had been wearing all day;  we were that tired..

Woke up this morning refreshed, and the first thing we did was take showers to wash the previous day off.  

I believe it was the longest shower Mark took on this entire trip. Probably me too.

But we are revigorated and ready for the day!

Heading to Arlington and our last game .... for now.

Another big city with lots of traffic.  Grrrr.

Mark and I are both like "this can't all be for the Rangers.  I mean they aren't even that good this year."

Every team has their fans, and hopefully every team draws a crowd, but what is with all the traffic.?

Oh.  Crap.

The Cowboys are playing.

I send a text to my friend Alice: "Of course we would pick a Rangers game on the same day as the stupid Cowboys.  😄"

Alice replies with this photo and the text, "yeah baby!"

Isn't she the cutest? (Her husband was mentioned a couple posts ago when the Cardinals played the Tigers.)

Even with traffic we make it to Globe Life to watch the Rangers play the Astros.

I think it's really cool how Mark started this whole leg of his journey with his mom watching the Astros at home in Houston.... 

Only to finish with watching the Astros on the road in Arlington.

All these ballparks and all this food and the only hot dogs that were eaten were at the first game Mark went to with his mom ... and today.

Oh, a man overheard us talking about visiting the various ball fields and told me there is an app we can use to keep track of all the stadiums we visit.  As we are beginning our adventure, his is winding down.

The app is MLB road trip. Go figure. Downloaded  the app and put in the eight ballparks we visited on this maiden voyage.... only 22 to go!  (It looks like seven, because the two Chicagos overlap.)

Finally on our way home.

Let's hope we make it without any detours or excitement.

God willing. 

Hey... thank you to all of y'all who took this trek with us.  We thoroughly enjoyed sharing our road trip with you all.  It's been a blast!

And initially I didn't even want to leave my home.

Day 9, Part 2 ... the adventure continues

 Oh my gosh, y'all.  I wrote my blog post for my day, and I thought I was done.

I was not.  Our day continued. 

Not being sure how far he would feel like driving, we did not have reservations for tonight.  Mark was hoping to make it to Texarkana, but if we needed to stop sooner, we would.  If he felt good enough to keep going, we could.

On we went, whether we felt like it or not.  

Texarkana was booked solid.  We tried to find a hotel room only to be told the whole town was booked. 

What the crap?  What's going on?

Ida.

It's all the Louisiana people escaping a hurricane.

Oh crap.  

I mean, good that they are listening and evacuating, but what are we gonna do?

We actually finally found a room.  In a cheap motel, but with our day being so long and rooms being so scarce, we tried it.  

Nope.  Nope.  Nope.

I will spare y'all any photos, but let's just say NOPE!

Tried to get our money back, but they said, "Nope!"

We left anyway.

And drove to Dallas.

Y'all, Mark drove from north of Chicago to Dallas today.  Look it up on a map.  Feel his pain. 

I tried calling different hotels along the way only to be told they were all booked up solid.

Grrr.

Now if you're thinking our trip sounds wonderfully perfect and we get along so great, today and that cheap hotel was the day and time we somewhat unleashed our frustration out on one another.

He wasn't mad at me.  I wasn't mad at him.  But we were both tired.  Because it had been a long day, but because that long day had been spent almost entirely in the truck.   We were done.  

But here's a good thing to do when you are both frustrated:  find a common enemy.

Y'all I thought Mark was gonna get himself shot right there at that stupid, dirty little convenience store in Mt. Pleasant. 

FYI:  Mt. Pleasant? Not so pleasant.  Pretty trashy too. I was SO EXCITED to cross that state line back into Texas, and it was in Texas that our day turned to shit. 

First the booked up hotels.  Then the cheap, dirty hotel. And now we have to just keep driving and looking and calling so we can find a place to lay our heads.

Oh yeah. Back to Mark.

He decided if he was going to have to keep driving, he needed a fountain drink.  More to crunch on the ice than the actual soda.

So we are both pissy at the situation, but taking it out on each other when we find the thing that unites us back together.

We are pulling into a crappy, dirty convenience store; the only one we see, because, remember, Mt. Pleasant NOT pleasant. When all of a sudden the truck in front of us (also pulling into the store) just stops.  So Mark's big F250 is mostly in the parking lot of this store, with maybe a bit of his bed still hanging out behind us into the street, and this guy in front of us just STOPPED.

Now in his defense, he does not know the kind of evening we have had.

We wait a few seconds, and his reverse lights come on.

Me: He's backing up.  Honk!

Mark:  I am NOT backing up.

I, angrily, hop out of the truck to see what is blocking this other truck's way or why is he not moving 

There is nothing in front of them.  I give them the whole "what they hey" head and arm gesture.

Passenger rolls down her window and informs me that they missed their turn.  Could we back up so they can back out?

I tell her, in a tone almost as pleasant as the town, "He's not backing up into the street!"

She says he just needs to back up a little, and they start coming back.

Mark honks! Loud. And long.

I go back to Mark to relay the message.  Mark is adamant.  He is not backing up into oncoming traffic!

I figure at this point, Mark can handle it.  I hope he doesn't get shot, but hey, he's got his own gun.  He's got this.  I go on into the store hoping for the best.

As I enter the store I hear my husband yell, "THANKS FOR BLOCKING THE FU**ING WAY!!"

When I come out, Mark has his truck waiting for me right at the door, and ol' "we missed our turn and need you to back up" never did back out.  They drove to the gas pumps and filled up.

And after ALL THAT, the stupid, crappy store didn't even have a fountain drink for Mark.  Their ice machine was broken.

At this point though, Mark and I were no longer taking our frustration out on one another.  We were joined in talking bad about the stupid jerk at the crappy, dirty store with no ice, and we were back to enjoying our adventure together.

So... we're not always nice and we're not always Christ like.  Sometimes we are at the end of our rope and our selfish human side makes a GRAND appearance.  And when it does, it is not pretty.

So... after being on the road since 9am on Saturday, we were checked into a nice, clean hotel and able to crawl into bed at 2am on Sunday.

Fun times.

No pictures of all that fun, so enjoy a little Lutheran humor instead:

Day 9 .... another day, another drive

 It was time to say "good bye" and get ourselves on the road.  Never an easy task.

When we arrived in Elburn we did our shopping at the meat market.  We have the yeti for the ride home, but Janelle kept everything in her cooler until we were leaving.

Our first stop today was back to Ream's to collect our stash....

And then we drove.

And drove.

And even drove some more.

Somehow the drive home is never as fun and exciting as the beginning.

You don't want to GET home.  You want to BE home.

My bed. My shower.  My doggies.  My kitties.  My chickens.  My recliner.  My home. 

Ooops, I mean "ours", of course.  

When Mark's mom and dad made their tour of the ballparks, they collected a hat and a program from each game.  We didn't feel the need for that, so we haven't bought much on this trip. Well, except food and beer, but I digress....

There were, however, two shirts I did have to buy.

One for me.  One for Mark.

Oh... and guess what?

The Mighty Mississip.

Day 8... Chicago, Again

 One would think if you scored 13 runs in a baseball game, you would win.  One would be wrong.

But I am getting ahead of myself.

Another day with fewer photos and more time with family. 

When all this was first being planned by Mark, we did see the free time between stadiums.  See, here's the thing, just because we could be at a stadium on a certain day, doesn't mean there would be a game.  Sometimes the team is "on the road" or sometimes they even selfishly take a day off.  They do not play their games around our schedule;  we have to conform to theirs.  

Which I why we had to wait around the Chicago area for the White Sox. 

This time we would not be alone for the game; Janelle and Randy were coming with!

Our truck (finally!) got a rest as Randy drove us into the city.  

As I told you on our previous day, Randy and Janelle have a daughter, Jackie, who lives in the city.  Right now she, her husband and puppy are displaced due to an accident in their building.  Their condo, and a number of others in the building, got flooded because of a mishap by a fellow tenant.  While repairs are being made on Jackie's condo, she and family are staying in Janelle's condo.  

Which means we couldn't stay at the condo... but we could visit.  

Didn't get photos of Jackie.  Her husband.  Or even her puppy.  But I did get a picture of the view from Janelle and Randy's condo:

Priorities.  Right?

For all its issues, and every place has them, Chicago is an iconic city with a beautiful skyline.

As many wonderful meals as we have had on this trip, and as many foods as we have tried, the ONLY thing Mark had his heart set on was Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. 

He wanted it.  He got it.

It was a pleasant walk from the condo over to Giordano's.  Absolutely worth the walk.  Seriously, look at these pizzas.  And these are the small.

(The pizza and the visit were actually in the opposite order, but I wanted to explain the condo situation first, so I reversed them in my writing.) 

Lunch?  Check.

Help walk the puppy?  Check.

Visit?  Check.

Time to head to the stadium.

This was THE hardest park to find a parking spot for.  Initially.  We drove around and around the stadium where every single lot was "prepaid".  We were not prepaid parking people.  Even asked a security guard for directions to a lot.  He gave them.  They did not lead us to a lot.  Finally though we found the perfect lot and it was astonishingly close to the stadium with easy in and easy out parking.  It just took some circling around before we found it.

In we go.

This is the one ballpark Mark nor I got a picture of the front of the stadium.  We try to do that, but it just didn't work this time.  

For living outside Chicago and having a condo in the city, this was Janelle's first time at Comiskey.  She was having a great time walking around and scoping it all out.

We eventually found our seats.  Mark went and had his moment for his dad.  And we took one, and ONLY ONE, selfie.  (Remember that;  it will come into play later.)

If you don't see Mark in the above photo, his shirt blends with the wall.  He didn't even plan it!

There are only a few cities which have more than one team.  When the two teams play one another, it's definitely a huge deal for the baseball fans in those places.  New York has the "Subway Series".  L. A. has the "Freeway Series". Chicago has the "Crosstown Series."

The top of the first was such fun.  The Cubs are sucking this year.  The White Sox are in first place.  And after just half an inning, the fans are BOOING their hometown team as the lowly Cubs are leading 6-0!! 

Cub fans cannot believe it!

White Sox fans cannot believe it either.

Don't worry, fans, those scores will not stick.

So this was either our best game if you look at it offensively, or our worst game if you take the defensive POV.  It was definitely the most exciting.  We even got to see not one, but two!, fights break out and what we think was a proposal.  We're not sure.

Final score: Sox 17, Cubs 13

Ok, so we are not sure on this one.  We need some help.

How many selfies does one take at a ballgame?  We took one.  The girl next to Randy took closer to 400. She spent so much time taking pictures and videos of her time at the game we are all pretty sure she has  no idea what the score was.  We're not even sure she knows which teams were playing.  Pretty sure she never even looked at the field.  The night was all about her. You know, so she could show all her friends what a great Sox fan she is! 

Which brings up another point.  Forget vaxxed or unvaxxed, can we please start segregating people into "normal" and "way, way, way too much perfume?"  I bet we could get more people on board with this one.

Two teams.  Two games.

Time to leave Illinois.

What Day Is It?

 Oh yeah, I remember now, days 7 and 8.

Day 7:

I have been fortunate to travel to and through all 50 states.  I have often said the two states I believe to be underrated are Utah and Wisconsin. Northern Illinois would fall in that same category.  Let's face it, there are some states we hear about over and over;  some for the good and some for the bad.  And then there are those states just quietly minding their own business.  And yet they are absolutely stunningly beautiful when you pass through them.

Today we drove from Milwaukee back into Illinois.  The drive in both states was small towns and farmland;  it was peaceful and serene.  And gorgeous.  The green rolling country side was a much needed break from all the Cracker Barrels and Truck Stops of the Interstates.

Today was another "free" day, but also a day where we did not need to do much driving.  This is the first time in the entire ten days that we are somewhat settled for a day or two.  

So ... it worked out perfectly that I could visit my cousin Janelle and her husband Randy.  They live in the cutest little house with the cutest little doggie in the cutest little town outside of Chicago.  (They live outside Chicago like we live outside Houston; close enough to travel into the city, but far enough to be away from all the people and traffic and chaos.)

I don't have too many photos from the day or too much to report, because it was simply a fun family day of visiting, talking and catching up. We actually LIVED in the moment and didn't have our phones snapping pictures; for the most part.

Janelle and Randy own a meat market up here in their town.  Meat has been a part of the family for generations.  Randy's grandfather was a butcher, as was Randy's father.  

The Elburn Meat Market has been around since 1904, Randy's father bought the business in 1954, but it was Randy's vision that made the market what it is today.

The legal name for the business is some incorporated something or other using "Elburn Meat Market", but everyone in town simply knows it as "Ream's" after the family who owns it.  

And y'all it is amazing. I wish I had taken pictures inside the store; I was having too much fun just BEING in the store. They have the meat counter in the back of the store with all your different cuts of meat; up front is the deli with your homemade lunch meats, brats, jerky and bier stix.  (Randy's tried and true recipes!) They  sell wines, beer and select bourbon.  And if that isn't enough, they have pre-packaged  entrées and meals for easy serving.  Among miscellaneous other things.  

Oh... and jerky dip and bacon jam.  

For you bacon lovers I did snap this photo as we were taking a "behind the scenes" tour.

When the meat market needed expansion requiring a new building, Janelle and Randy still had their old building.  The building sat vacant for a couple years until they came up with an idea.

A fun little event spot for the town.  They began renovations and thus "The Old Elburn Hall" was born.  A cozy little bar with snacks and live music.  (Three guesses on where the snacks come from.)

**Janelle and Randy have three children.  Their daughter, Jackie, lives in Chicago with her husband and puppy.  Their two sons still live in the Elburn area and are instrumental in running both the meat market and the hall.**

Janelle and Randy are both musical as are all three of their children.  Randy and his sons often play at the hall.  Sadly, they were not playing tonight, but that actually worked out well, because we were able to visit and Stew was able to make me THE BEST old fashioned.  

We did get to hear a fun saxophone quartet.  Too bad for y'all that blogger says my videos are too large to upload, because I videoed both "Flight of the Bumblebee" and "Bohemian Rhapsody."  Too much fun!

It was such a perfect day spent with Janelle and Randy.  

Oh. I almost forgot the food.  Again, sorry, no photo this time, but when you eat supper at the home of a butcher you get an extremely excellent cut of meat that is grilled to perfection.  Randy was in charge of the steaks; Janelle made sure we had some Illinois sweet corn.  (Oh my gosh, it was all SO GOOD!)

I did grab a photo of the homemade chips that we had later while enjoying the live music.

Homemade.  

So addicting.

Janelle and Randy are such phenomenal hosts.  Opening their home and their meat market to us.  Making sure we were well fed and comfortable. Taking time out of their lives visiting with us.  (Mark and I are both yackers!) It was such a fun time and a much needed relaxing day.

Onward we go....

Day 6: hot, humid; feels like home

Something you should know about me, if you don't already:  I LOVE "While You Were Sleeping".  (I watch it almost every single day in December and have for years!)

So when we hit Chicago.....

Me:  The El!! 

Mark:  Maybe we can find the location where it was filmed.

Me:  And we can throw you down on the tracks, and I'll rescue you??

Mark: No.  I really don't want to be mugged and thrown down.  I was thinking we could just check it out.

Me: oh.

We didn't take the time to find it, but we did find something else:

I know things change.  I even know that oftentimes change is good.  But there is something to be said for the iconic old ballparks.  They just feel different.  The ambiance is different.  New ballparks are, at times, necessary, but you can just FEEL the history of the game when you step into the ancient ballparks from back in the day.

I'd eaten half the bag of peanuts before I noticed the name.  

I believe Wrigley and Fenway are the last two ballparks that change their scoreboard by hand.  I love it; so much fun to watch.  

This was a 2 game day for us: onto Milwaukee!

Me:  Milwaukee! Isn't that Laverne and Shirley?

Mark:  Yes.

Me:  Which one do you want to be?

Mark (giving me an extremely weird look):  um, neither.

When I was young watching Laverne mix Pepsi with milk, I thought it was the most disgusting thing. Ew. Yuck. Gross.  As an adult though,  one day I decided to (sort of) try it.  I mixed diet coke with chocolate milk.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Tasted a lot like the part of a coke float after all the ice cream has melted.  Trust me.  Try it.  Do it for Laverne.

Brewers playing Cincinnati, so we get to see The Reds twice on this trip. 

 I had someone mention how empty the stands look.  (Mom!)  She asked if the games were really that empty? Where are the people? 

Stadiums open 1 1/2 to 2 hours before the game.  We try to get there, God willing, as soon as the gates open.  We walk around the entire outside of each stadium taking it all in.  Once inside, Mark takes a moment to remember his dad.  I stay back giving Mark his time and space for his memorial.  After he is done, we scope out the inside of the stadium.  

My pictures do not reflect much of the actual game or even our seats.  By game time, the phone is put away, and we are watching the game.

Notice the young girl in the photo below.  We are watching batting practice when a ball soars straight for my head.  So I do what I always do when a baseball heads for me: I scream like a girl, close my eyes and duck, let the ball hit near me, scoop it up and give it to a nearby kid. She was happy she got a ball.  I was happy I didn't get bonked in the face.

After the game we went to the cutest bar for brats.  I loved this little bar.  If I lived closer, this would definitely be on my list of "go to" places.  Just a fun, little sports bar.  Too bad we didn't know of it sooner, because they have a free shuttle to all games which leaves two hours before game time.  

My brat had bacon, cheese and jalapeño;  Mark's had onions and sauerkraut.  We both had the cheese curds.  And y'all beware.  Once you start drinking water, your body WANTS water.  We got to this adorable sports bar, and the only thing I ordered to drink was, get this, water.  Ugh.  What is wrong with me??

A couple of things:

We decided on the truck for the trip.  The gas mileage is not even half as good as the car, but it has been so nice having the fuel box gas tank, and these roads would have torn up those puny tires on our car, but.... it has NOT been fun always finding a parking spot for a Ford F250 near some of these ballparks.  Especially Wrigley.  Fun times!  I meant to take a picture of that one, but completely forgot.  I had to get out of the truck before he parked it;  if that tells y'all anything.

Speaking of which, I am a bit tired of all these  stadiums being in such large cities.  The people.  The traffic.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I live in a town of 2200 for a reason, people!!!!

Also, after my apprehension of going into "mask" country, the ONLY place we have worn our mask is when we were inside the gift shop/museum at Big Bone Lick State Park, and that was because it is state owned.  Even in Chicago, no mask.

At least so far.

Ok.... back to Chicago;  they have two teams, doncha know, but before we get there, we have one more stop.......