Thursday, November 27, 2014

Thankful

Sometimes life can drag you down a bit.  To say that this Fall has been stressful is a definite understatement.  My mom is battling lung cancer, Mike had a very stressful Fall quarter of teaching, and I am having surgery in December.  Lots of stuff on our minds.

And when I'm struggling, I try to remember this verse from Psalms:

"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

When I think about this verse, I begin to focus on the things I'm thankful for, and some of the worries get pushed to the background.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for so many things.

A loving, caring husband.
A great family that is pulling together to help with mom's health situation.
Wonderful friends who enjoy life with us.
Mike and I "chooglin" which comes from a John Fogerty song and means raucous good time.
The professionalism, skill, kindness and caring of health care providers.
Financial security and a roof over our heads.
My belief and trust in God.
Laughter.
The great beauty of nature.



















I hope you have a great Thanksgiving with loved ones.  And don't forget the thankful part...

Diane

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Transition to winter

Beautiful sunsets

It's inevitable.  Fall leaves us and cold sets in.

We've had our first measurable snowfall, and I've already worn my heavy winter coat.

As much as I dislike the cold, there are a few things about this transition to winter that make me smile:








First snowfall
Leaf blowers?  Or terrorists?
Beautiful moon
Do we have to put the costumes away?
Make no mistake. Indy is a racing town!

And the temperature can change a lot between August and November.
105 degrees F.
27 degrees F.
Green bean man?  And I thought Halloween was over...

So instead of whining about this winter, I am going to TRY to embrace it.  Holy cow, now that's a lofty goal!

Take care, Diane

Monday, November 24, 2014

John Dillinger weekend

No, we did NOT have a shoot out, but it was an interesting "John Dillinger weekend" in Indianapolis.

With our friends at Napolese restaurant
One of the things we really enjoy about Indy is the variety of great restaurants.  So when our friends Gretchen and Craig came to town for the weekend, we introduced them to one of our favorite downtown restaurants, Napolese Artisanal Pizzeria.  It's a small, New York city style restaurant with an industrial chic feel.

And the food...very different from your normal pizza joint.  From our brussels sprout salad with apples, dried cherries and a balsamic redux, you get the general idea this is not your mom's cooking.  After savoring the brussels sprouts salad, a white beet salad and a Hamaker pizza and designer cocktails, we headed out to another of our favorite places, The Slippery Noodle Inn.  And that's where our John Dillinger weekend began.

I've mentioned the Slippery Noodle Inn in previous blogs.  We attend their Halloween contests (where Mike won first place last year in his Iron Man costume), listen to live bands and enjoy quick meals downtown when we are going to a concert or a Colts game.  But the place also has a history. It's the oldest continually operating bar in Indiana(since 1850),  and it's on National Register of Historic Places.

Drinks at the Slippery Noodle
And one of its' claims to fame is that during Prohibition, the Dillinger gang used the building in the back, originally built as a horse stable for the inn, for target practice.  Several of the slugs remain embedded in the back wall.  We enjoyed drinks in that very room, and you can still see the holes in the brick wall.  Wow!








And then on Saturday, Mike had the bright idea of going to Crown Hill Cemetery to find where John Dillinger is buried.  Crown Hill is a HUGE cemetery, and at 555 acres, it is the 5th largest cemetery in the United States.

Assuming Mike knew where Dillinger's grave was located, we agreed to this little sojourn and began to drive through the cemetery.  Or course he had never been to Dillinger's grave before and had NO IDEA where it was located.  So we drove around and around, and that's when we realized just how big 555 acres is.

And there were a few interesting signs along the way, things you just don't expect to read in a cemetery...




Cycling?

Tree tour?

But modern technology prevailed, and using my iPhone, we found the section and plot number.  Next we found the cemetery map and drove right to the tombstone.  Note that the tombstone is set in concrete so no one digs up this grave.



I've been in Indianapolis for two years now, and I continue to learn about our city.  Perhaps I should spend more time being a tourist...

Have a great week.
Diane

Monday, November 3, 2014

Halloween 2014

This was the year we recycled costumes.  With such a busy summer and Fall, we decided on EASY this year.  Enter Godzilla and Japanese school girl...

My costume was pretty simple since I already owned most of the clothes.  And talk about comfortable.  And the black wig.  What do you think?  My new look?

Mike originally created a dinosaur costume many years ago.  He morphed it into Godzilla by adding some scales to the back  (gloves stuffed and sewed on).  And he added teeth so in his words  "he looked more like a fierce Godzilla and less like a green Barney".

We held our annual Halloween Party the Saturday night before Halloween.  There is nothing better than getting together with your friends over food, drink, sitting outside on a cool evening around the camp fire, and of course s'mores!  And then there are the costumes...







Chris and Garth as rich and poor

Steve and Sara: Something wrong in the neighborhood...who you gonna call?


Chuck and Melanie in Steak and Shake ad


Bryan and Jane as "paradise"



John as not a scary clown


And after handing out candy to trick or treaters on a snowy Halloween night, we headed downtown with friends Kevin and Kathy.  In costume, of course...


Kevin and Kathy as Mr. and Mrs. Beetlejuice

Enjoying the evening at the Slippery Noodle Inn

This year's winner at the Slippery Noodle Inn...the Peanuts Gang.  Awesome costumes!


And so another Halloween has come and gone.  We kinda hate to say goodbye to our favorite holiday where the adults get to be kids again.  And we have such crazy, creative friends.  What's not to love?

Diane