We went to the Indianapolis Zoo for the first time since we went with Girl Scouts in elementary school. I thought it was a lovely zoo. In the front is a garden area and a conservatory that had butterflies. Then there were some seals, aquarium and dolphins. We went through the desert area and The Plains. And then we began our trek home. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend.
I needed to disconnect from life for a weekend. So, mom and I went to Metamora & Indianapolis for a weekend. We started our trip in Metamora, Indiana. Metamora is an old-fashioned type of town attraction on an historic Indiana canal. Metamora
We’ve been many times before. I remember back to childhood when we would take a day trip to Metamora. It’s not the same as it was 30 years ago, duh, but it’s still fun. There are handmade gift shops of different kinds: candy shops, wood shops, a shop dedicated to cookie jars, restaurants, antiques, and more.
Ma and I had a lot of fun. We bought some gifts for Justin, real, local maple syrup, I bought a t-shirt, and we had a good lunch of fish & chips with warm blackberry cobbler for dessert. We walked around and enjoyed the sunshine. It was in the 50s with a brisk breeze so we were chilly, but otherwise we really enjoyed our time at Metamora.
I have naturally curly-ish hair. If I use a “real” shampoo, one that isn’t medicated to prevent me from losing my hair, and I sleep on my hair wet, the curl is really prominent. If I wash it in the morning, and put curl gel on it, the curl is really prominent. But if I just use my medicated shampoo, and decide to sleep on my hair, all the curl is scrubbed out.
To solve this problem, mom and I (well, mostly mom) curled my hair. We put in soft curlers that would hold my hair as a I slept. I was expecting some loose curls or waves. I was completely surprised at the amount of curl I was able to achieve. Shirley Temple (I’m that old) has nothing over me.
Mom and I went to Playhouse in the Park to watch a play based on Dracula. I was in a version of Dracula in high school, and I thought it would be fun to see a professional play. We went to a Saturday matinee. I haven’t been to Playhouse in 20 years, so it was fun seeing how everything has changed.
However, the play, was horrific. I hate to bad mouth a live performance, but I felt like the acting was sub-par. The premise of a female Van Helsing was interesting (though, I think we might have had a woman play Van Helsing in our version). But they had the character be on her period. They kept making references to smelling her blood and knowing that she wasn’t the man she pretended to be. That in of itself could have been cool. But it just had a very unnecessary gross aspect. At one point the character leaks onto a chair and the Lucy character goes to the recently vacated chair to drink the blood. Ewwww. Maybe I’m just not mature enough for a play like that, but I did not like it. Mom wasn’t too impressed either and the couple sitting next to us had similar feelings. So, at least I wasn’t alone.
Although, I may have been disappointed in the show, it was a fun afternoon, just hanging out with ma.
It’s the sushi of the future! I know conveyor belt sushi has been around for ages, especially in Japan, obvs, but it finally came to Columbus, and we had to try it. We went a few weeks after they opened for my birthday dinner. We arrived nearly an hour early, we were not the only ones waiting. Most of us stayed in our cars because it was COLD. By the time we decided to get out of the car, there was a line of at least 30 people. And the line just continued to grow behind us. We spoke with a waitress, and she told us that there had been six hour waits at times since they opened. It was SO MUCH FUN. I have to admit I was worried. I had been anti-sushi for nearly a year. I had some gross day-old grocery store sushi that turned me off sushi for ages. But I was finally getting over it and it sounded tentatively good. We sat there and the conveyor belt started, and it just kept going round. I don’t remember what all rolls I had but it was so good. We also ordered some shrimp tempura and dessert.
We were at mom’s during our anniversary weekend. Justin looked up some food ideas and came up with ANOTHER conveyor belt sushi restaurant. It’s dangerously close to my mother’s. Less than 15 minutes away. We ate a little less this time than the last and it wasn’t quite as attraction-like as the restaurant in Columbus but I felt it was as much fun. Both had robots that would bring your drinks to you and smile. The plate contraption was a little easier to use at this place, but I’d say that the quality was pretty equivalent. The fun thing about this restaurant was that special orders were delivered by little “trains.” I still don’t remember the rolls that I had but we ordered dessert. Justin had green tea cheesecake. I had tempura fried Oreos which were pretty amazing. I don’t know that I would only eat conveyor belt sushi, but the next time I want an “experience” for dinner, this will definitely be a destination.
My baby decided to help me work / keep me company by using my laptop and mouse as pillows.
Shopping on Thriftbooks and found these. Can you spot the outliers?
Since I’ve moved in here, with my chunky cat, she has not once come upstairs to be with me while I work or come upstairs to sleep in the bed with me. She quit sitting on the ottoman (which was partially my fault because I use the ottoman like a coffee table) and instead she’d go curl up beside mom or fall asleep on the couch. If I had been going through a depressive episode, I would have been in tears thinking that she didn’t like me (I know from past experience). But Friday, it all changed. She came upstairs!! And then she spent all day in bed watching me work. Then she came to bed that night. And when I thought she had abandoned me to go eat kibble, I found her sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed. I thought it might have been a fluke but last night she came to bed again. My cat still likes me!
Happy New Year!
I used to do resolutions, usually “I’m going to lose weight,” but I don’t any more. By not setting resolutions, I don’t beat myself up for a lapse or complete failure of following a resolution. In the past few years it seems like I join a weight loss website or app every January. But it’s not really a resolution. The holidays are finally over and I can focus on my health again. This year, I’m trying to get back with my dietician and continue what I started last August. I gave up late October for the remainder of the year. After talking with family, therapist, and nurse practitioner, I decided that it was too much stress at the beginning of SAD. I think trying to start something on 1/1 that you wouldn’t start later in the year is asking for failure. 1/1 isn’t some magic date for me. It’s just another day.
Is January 1 significant to you? Have you ever kept a resolution? What helped?
I was going through my photos from this year. There were many memes and even more cat photos, some embroidery and some paintings, and a few other occasions too. Compared to previous years, my photos of the year were somewhat anemic, unless we were talking about the trips.
This year was marked by two wonderful trips. The first was a trip of a lifetime to Scotland and Ireland with my dear family. There was a transatlantic flight, a ride on the Harry Potter train in Scotland, a proposal, beautiful cliffs of the Wild Atlantic Way, and a trip to an aquarium in Dingle, Ireland. Later in the year was the cruise with Justin where we got to reconnect with each other after being apart for some time. A new year’s resolution for 2024 is to take more photos.
My Plucky Life 