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.
On the way home from the wedding the other night, we had a wee accident. On the way to the wedding, Justin had said that he trusted himself to be able to stop but he didn’t trust the guy behind him to stop if there was an accident. Little did we know that it was a prophetic statement.
We were on our way home, going from Kentucky to Ohio on 471 & the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge. Suddenly there were a lot of brake lights and cars swerving. Justin couldn’t swerve but he was able to stop. However, just as predicted, the guy behind him did NOT stop, and we got rear-ended. In the other car’s defense, he did try to brake and swerve, he just ultimately failed.
We pulled over to the shoulder as did the car that hit us. It was then that we were able to see what happened. A white Subaru Forester bounced off the median that split 71 & 471. The car spun out and ended up in the middle of the three-lane highway.
A couple of other bystanders had pulled over to help. One person appeared to have helped the driver out of the car and was standing with her on the side of the road. Another bystander stopped by our car to check to see if we were ok. He was an off-duty West Chester cop. He also checked on the car behind us. Later we found out that the man who hit us lived about a mile and a half away from us. It was a West Chester kind of night.
A fire truck, EMS and police arrived on scene shortly after. Each first responder stopped to make sure we were ok. I was so impressed by the care they showed. We saw the fire fighters check to make sure that the first car wasn’t leaking fuel. It must have been fine because they left first. I saw the EMS take away the driver of the Forester. She appeared to be an older woman who acted confused and hurt (for obvs reasons). My speculation is that she had some sort of medical emergency. Whether she got confused by the signs, lanes, or something more serious, I think that is the most likely scenario.
We sat on the highway for at least an hour when the tow truck showed up. I’ve never seen a car be pulled onto a flat bed. It was fascinating to watch. So, now the car had a way home, but what were we supposed to do? One nice police officer told us that a grumpy police officer would drive us over to the DORA section next to the stadium where they had a small station. We all tried to get in the back of an SUV designed for criminals, and not for women wearing dresses. Mom especially had a hell of time trying to get in the vehicle. Her bad hip was displeased. We quickly discovered that all three of us would NOT fit. Justin stayed behind with the nice police officer and the grumpy one drove us away. I talked to him a little bit and he seemed to warm up to us some. By the time we got out of the police car, he was almost friendly. We went to the little police station to wait for Justin.
Once Justin reached us, we had to call a Lyft. We stood in front of the Yard House to wait. The Lyft showed up and drove us home. I probably would have remembered Miranda’s wedding any way, but now I know it’s a night I’ll never forget.
A few weeks ago, we were invited to a wedding between Miranda & Ben. I was so excited and happy for them both. I bought the perfect dress, with the perfect shawl, shoes, and purse. I had to work nearly all day up to when we left. I was FRAZZLED. I had a shower earlier in the day, and then literally, 20 minutes before we left, I got dressed. Justin drove, thank goodness, and we were early, as usual. We walked over to the venue and I realized quickly that the frazzledness didn’t go away. My social anxiety went through the roof. I was shaking and nervous. But it was a was a wonderful wedding and the bride was beautiful, the groom was pretty handsome too. Unfortunately, my nerves forced us to leave a little early, but I’m so glad we were able to go. I loved being with family, but maybe my favorite moment of the wedding was when Justin tried to repeatedly take a pic of the two of us. “This is horseshit.” LOLOLOL
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.
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!
This is a really late post about Thanksgiving. It was a fabulous day. First, I was off work. That was glorious in itself. Then for lunch, we went to Buca di Beppo. At Buca, there is an option for a traditional turkey dinner and Italian dishes. If you don’t know, Buca is a family style restaurant. So, we ordered a massive amount of food. We ordered the traditional dinner which mom and Justin ate, I ate a little of it, but then we also ordered spaghetti for Justin and a cheese manicotti for me. Oh, and Justin ordered an entire bottle of wine. IT WAS SO MUCH FOOD. We had so many leftovers, I think it fed us like four or five more meals!
After lunch, we went back home, and I took a nap because I was in a food coma. I curled up in my chair and fell asleep and ignored the world for a couple of hours.
Then, we went to my friend’s house. They are more like family, so I often call them my cousins when talking with other people. Just makes it easier than explaining that they are cousins to my cousins on the other side of their family. They were so gracious to invite us over. Since it was just the three of us, me, mom, and Justin, it was nice to get to spend the day with our extended family. BUT the absolute best part of the day was that I got to hold a wee infant. She was so sweet. I got to hold her, and she was fussy but would keep falling back asleep as long as I kept patting her bottom while holding her in my arms. My arm was so sore on Friday from constant bottom patting. I’m still smiling from that day and can’t wait till I can hold her again.
My Plucky Life 