Storage wars?

Mike and Santa saluting in the "before" picture

While organizing our storage units, I thought about the reality TV show, Storage Wars.

If you haven't seen the show, it's based in California, and the contents of a storage unit are auctioned off if the storage unit rent hasn't been paid for 3 months.  Prospective buyers get to see the contents for only 5 minutes, and then they bid on the contents, hoping to find valuable items and make a profit.

And if you could view our storage unit for only 5 minutes, what would you find?

• U-Haul boxes (and if they could read my amazing labeling would know they contain books, art and photos)
• See through plastic bins of Christmas decorations, towels, blankets and books
• Carpet remnants
• A bike
• Furniture including a buffet, sewing machine, oak whisky barrel, rocking chair and small benches
• Large Plastic Santa and Snowman
• A wooden door (where I started removing the paint about 5 years ago)
• A garden hose
• An old gas can

And, the biggest prize of all...a 1973 Dodge Challenger!

And why do we have all of this stuff in storage?  Well, it's the story of merging 2 complete households into 1 house and needing space for those items that didn't fit.  When I first moved here after selling my house in Iowa we had 3 storage units.  Later we consolidated into 2 storage units, and now the finish line is in view:  only 1 storage unit.

And unlike those people who forget about what they have in storage, we know what's there.  AND we try to organize it.

So Mike had the idea of building metal shelves for vertical storage and parking the Challenger under it.  I know, I thought it was crazy too when I first heard the idea.

But after a weekend of building shelves and moving stuff around, I have to say IT WORKED!

Mike doing a trial run of the shelves outside the storage unit

Holding shelves to see if trunk lid could open

Metal shelves in place and Challenger parked under it!

Front view of Challenger

And yes, we still have the second storage unit which contains all the items we plan to sell on Craig's list.  And if they don't sell, off to Goodwill or St. Vincent dePaul they go.  And then....we will just have one storage unit!   The end is in sight.

Fun and unexpected

Strange way to advertise margaritas?

Sometimes unusual things bring a smile to my face.  Here are a few that recently caught my fancy.

Towing a rock out of the parking lot?

Flowers as big as your head?

  Great-niece Alice in full pirate regalia.

I still have "the moves".  A game of kick ball with great-nephew Rhys.

Look closely to see the train hood ornament.

Interesting sign in a food court...

New use for embroidery hoops!

Chef Mikie?  Not sure about that pillow around his head...

I hope you are finding the fun and unexpected in each day!

Diane

The Ohio State University

Recently we had a little family get together in Columbus, Ohio to see where my niece and nephew attend college.  Alex is a junior and Richie is a freshman, and they love the school.  After a weekend there, I can understand why.

Beautiful red brick college campus with Columbus in the background

The campus sprawls for miles and miles and is absolutely beautiful.  It is one of the largest colleges in the country in both student population and campus size.  There are over 40,000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs, and the city of Columbus has a population of over 1 million people.









Unfortunately the weather wasn't very cooperative with rain, sleet and snow, but we made the best of it.
Alex's friend Brian gave us an amazing driving tour of the campus, and Brian and Richie then gave a walking tour of the Rec Center and the Library.  Here's  a quick glimpse of what we saw:

Central campus

Library "quiet room"

Floors of books

Nephews Richie and Dane hanging in library

Mike and nephew Adam in library

The multi-floor Rec Center with a walking track on the top floor

And of course we had to visit the bookstore, where hats were all the rage...

And we enjoyed lots of laughter, food, drink and OF COURSE NCAA basketball..

Angie, Peggy and Gary watching basketball

Eric and Adam watching the game

Peggy, George, Mom and Pam at the hotel

Pam, Brian and Alex at breakfast

Mike, George, Richie and Pam at breakfast

On Sunday everyone headed back home, but Mike and I took advantage of a sunny day and checked out the antiques in Columbus.  And our final stop before leaving town was lunch at "Melt".  They specialize in grilled cheese sandwiches, and they have been featured on the Travel Channel and awarded one the 21 best sandwich shops in the country.  The sandwiches were amazing. Mike tried the "Philly steak" grilled cheese, and I had the basic "Kindergarten" grilled cheese.  

Undoubtedly the best grilled cheese ever, and the decor was fun too...

And why not decorate for all seasons?

So if you are looking for a Midwest travel weekend, I would suggest you head to Columbus.  And definitely eat at "The Melt".

Diane

What's klutz got to do with it?

Ok, I admit it.  I am not and never will be a ballerina.

 I took a class once when I was in college, and the teacher's words are indelibly etched in my head:  "PLIE' DIANE, PLIE'!  

I know, you are wondering "how hard can that be"?  I was a failure in every sense of the word, including the definition:
Bent, bending. A bending of the knee or knees. This is an exercise to render the joints and muscles soft and pliable and the tendons flexible andelastic, and to develop a sense of balance. 


You see, I have no sense of balance.  Or, in other words, I am a bit of a klutz.  My friends and family just understand this about me.  I move fast, I don't always look before I turn or walk backwards, I drop stuff, I trip over things and fall more than anyone should.  Generally I'm a bit of a nuisance to be around.

This past week showed my true klutz colors.



First of all, we were walking downtown with friends on a beautiful Friday evening, and I ran into a parking sign.  Why it was in the middle of the sidewalk I'll never know. Generally they are right next to the curb, but Noooooooo. Not when I'm innocently walking down this sidewalk watching the sights around me.  This sign was just about waist high, and so I now have a nice vertical bruise right above my belly button.

And Gilbert had the audacity to chomp off a blossom

And lately I've had a bit of Spring Fever, meaning I want to change up the furniture and decorations around the house.  So, I added some beautiful flowers to an old crock and was placing this in front of the fireplace.  As I arranged the flowers, I would then step back to look at them.


Well, I forgot Mike's backpack was right in the middle of the floor, and I stepped on it while walking backwards.  Next thing I know, I'm falling backwards onto the floor, flat on my back.  Good thing I was by myself given the choice words that came out of my mouth.  After moving around a bit to make sure nothing was broken, I pulled myself off the floor and promptly moved (maybe threw?) that backpack to a safer place.  So far I've only developed a bruise on my hand from that fall.







And you may have heard me talk about my new iPhone.  On Saturday after lunch we were getting into the car, and I heard some words from my iPhone inside my purse.  Possibly I had pushed the SIRI button, but here's what I saw on the screen:


Now really, I did not tell SIRI "I love you".  Maybe I said "I love my iPhone", or "I love you sweetie", but I did not use those words with SIRI.  But we laughed long and hard at the answer "I value you".  Who programs this stuff anyway?  Fortunately no bruises came with this klutzy move...



So as a word of warning... if you are anywhere near me, you may want to watch your step.

Diane

Catching up with friends and family

Sunset and clouds

It has definitely been the "winter of our discontent" to quote Shakespeare.   Like many others across the country, we have been plagued this winter by very cold temperatures and too much snow.  And the phrase "I'm tired of being inside" resonates with everyone.

We have been longing for warmer temperatures and a hint of Spring.  And I think we're finally getting there.  Our temps now vacillate between the teens and upper 50's, and any new snow melts within a couple of days.  Now we actually see people in the neighborhood walking and riding their bikes even though it's still a bit brisk.

And after this long hibernation period of curling up on the couch at night with a blanket and a book or TV show, people are finally ready to socialize again.  And so we've been busy catching up with friends and family...

Thursday my brother Gary and sister-in-law Peggy were in town for the Big Ten Basketball Tournament.  They are huge basketball fans, and had a great time despite losses by Indiana University and Purdue.  Mike and I met up with them for dinner at one of our favorite places in Broad Ripple, Twenty Tap.  They spent the night at our house and headed back home on Friday morning.

I then met up with my friend Elena on Friday for lunch and shopping.  We enjoyed getting caught up on work and hobbies and vacation plans.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the downtown area was all hustle and bustle, which I hadn't seen since Christmas.

Chris and Garth during the Italian Tapas meal

And Saturday evening was an event that I will long remember.  Our friends Chris and Garth invited us and two other couples to their home for an Italian Tapas meal.  Chris is an amazing cook, and she prepared all the dishes for a 5 course meal.  As good as any meal in a fine restaurant,  here is a glimpse of the food she prepared:  antipasto, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed dates, ravioli and gnocchi.

Chuck and Melanie

And the wine...  Garth served two different Italian wines with each course, which were paired perfectly with the food.  We ended the dinner with a choice of pistachio liqueur or raspberry liqueur and a lovely tiramisu that Chris whipped up.

Dinner lasted for 5 hours, and we had so much savoring the food and enjoying the stories and laughing with our friends.  It was an incredible evening.

Tiramisu

Joyce and Emma

We slept in on Sunday and then headed to lunch with my friend Joyce. She and I worked together for about 10 years in Des Moines, and she was in town to take her son back to college after Spring Break.  Over a great pizza lunch, Mike and I enjoyed talking with Joyce and getting to know her son Chad, daughter Emma and Chad's girlfriend, Hannah.

Joyce and I had a great chance to catch up a bit on how happy she is at her new job managing technology at a Des Moines Company.  She updated me on some health issues she faced last year, and I am so happy that she has recovered and is doing well.  I could have talked with her for hours, and we agreed to get together when I return to DM later this Spring.

Hannah and Chad

Kathy and Kevin

And while we were at lunch, we got a text from our friends Kevin and Kathy from Illinois asking if we had anything going on Sunday as they wanted to get together.  So we said "come on over", and we spent the evening in downtown Indy at the Slippery Noodle enjoying a great meal and music by one of our favorite guitar players, Chris Shaffer.

And by Monday morning, I was EXHAUSTED but smiling at the events of the past several days.  Rarely is there so much going on, but we loved visiting with our peeps...

Surely signs of Spring are in the air...

Diane