A Quiet Week

    Last Sunday evening, I wrote about calling for roadside assistance on Thursday when the car wouldn't start while parked in the garage.  I ended the paragraph by saying that we drove the car for a while to ensure the battery was fully charged, and we haven't had a problem since.

    After writing that, we were ready to head to the Y for pickleball the following day, but the car wouldn't start! Again, I called for roadside assistance to jumpstart it. We drove to Express Pro, where the car was serviced before. They checked the battery, found nothing wrong, and suggested replacing the battery terminal, which we did. We haven't had any problems since. Now, I often say a prayer of thanks that the car started!

     When we got home from having the battery tested, we turned on the TV and watched the festivities in Washington during President Trump's inauguration. The rest of the week has been without incident.

    We only had to contend with the below-average temperatures in central Indiana. We listened in amazement to the report of snow falling on the southern border. They had more snow than we had earlier this month. I heard one report of a south Indiana community sending several snow plows to New Orleans to help clear the streets.

Enjoy some hot chocolate on these cold evenings!

    In an hour or so, we'll know who will play in Superbowl LIX, which will take place in two weeks in New Orleans. Philadelphia won its division over the Washington Commanders earlier today. Kansas City has an opportunity to make history if it plays in the Superbowl, but first, it needs to beat the Buffalo Bills.

Dry January and Other Stories

     Early this month, while listening to a news program, the broadcaster explained that a certain number of people abstain from alcohol during January. I've heard of this in previous years but decided this was the year I would join. Just recently, the news surfaced that any amount of alcohol was detrimental, another incentive for me. I also remembered talking to my nephew, Ross, from California, during our Christmas reunion. He lives in wine country and told me that wine consumption is down for various reasons, which is a concern for the economy of those businesses. For all the above reasons, it makes sense to abstain from alcohol this month. I've never consumed much alcohol, and maybe my Dry January will continue into February and longer.

    Last Fall, we heard about a dementia support group meeting at a local retirement village. We attended one or two sessions before they disbanded for the month of December. This past week, we met again and watched a PowerPoint, "Brain Changes Part 1," where we learned some common dementia symptoms and changes. The second half of the session was devoted to sharing and asking questions. Living with dementia has its challenges, but at this time, Ray and I still do many things together. How long? I am preparing myself for the changes and figuring out how to cope.

    When we returned from our workout on Thursday morning, I noticed that the tire signal light indicated that our tire had low pressure. Ray tried to add air to the tire while I was showering to leave to play bridge at 1 p.m. We have an air compressor that plugs into the car's lighter, but it drained the battery, and when we wanted to leave for bridge, the car didn't start. We called for emergency road assistance and had a jump start about 90 minutes later. I asked the young man who came if he could add air to the tire, and he accommodated. I gave him a tip for this extra service. We drove the car for a while to ensure the battery was fully charged, and we haven't had a problem since.

    We enjoyed salad and pizza at church on Friday evening for the monthly game night. Then, we played a game with letter tiles, attempting to make a crossword using all 15 tiles. We had six players, and some were fast at making words. I didn't fare well, but I did succeed in one round of play. We came home with several slices of pizza, which we enjoyed for lunch the next day.

    The final college football game of the season is tomorrow when Notre Dame will play Ohio State for the National College Championship. The Indy stations have sports reporters in Atlanta who keep us updated. 

A Tale of Car Repairs and More

    Ray and I were heading home from the gym in mid-November after playing pickleball, but I could not shift into gear when I started the car. The shift was locked in the "park" position. As we sat in the car, we called the local Nissan dealer, and in a few minutes, we spoke to someone from the service department. He directed us to how we could solve the problem. He also suggested that we make an appointment to evaluate the situation if it continued to be a problem. However, when we arrived for our appointment a few days later, the gear shift was working as it should. The service person said we could cancel without a charge, and we didn't stay.

    As you may have already guessed, the gear shift problem returned. To unlock the shift from the park position, I had to insert a house key in a slot to get the gear out of the park position. It was easy but also an inconvenience. A month later, we were at Joe's house watching a game, and I asked him if he had an idea of how much the repair would cost. He understood the problem and called a car parts dealer, where he ordered what was needed. The following Friday, Joe tried to install the replacement part, but it didn't fit. (We were able to get a refund for this part.) He called Nissan and ordered a genuine Nissan replacement part, and on Sunday, December 22, we were back to see if this would fix the problem.

    The Nissan replacement part fit perfectly, but it didn't solve the problem. The shift was still locked in the park position. Joe informed us that the entire gear shift system needed replacing. At the same time, we had another problem. The inside door handle on the passenger side stopped working. As the driver, I had to exit and open the passenger door from the outside. 

    The next day, we left for Scottsdale and the Christmas Reunion. Joe said he would look for replacement parts for our two problems while we were away. The following Sunday, after we returned from Scottsdale, I made Italian beef to take to Joe's house for a visit with Kylie, Jayden, and Dustin. Joe reported that he had parts for the door handle and the gear shift system for $25.00! Joe wasn't working the next afternoon, so he installed the parts. He took the car to his friend's garage to make the repairs. Bob's garage is heated, and we thank these guys for their generous help. How much did we save? Hundreds of dollars, I'm sure. I'm still considering how to thank Joe other than my "thank you" and a big hug.

    Wow! It took four paragraphs to tell the story of our car repair. Here's another story: Yesterday, we repaired the blinds in our guest bedroom. I had raised them to the highest point when the Christmas lights were on, but I couldn't get them to lower when I took down the lights. I looked at YouTube videos for ideas on how to unstick the blinds. With several tries and Ray's help, we lowered the blinds by following the instructions from the video! It was a big win!

    I will finish this post by writing about two snowstorms in one week. Last Sunday, Bible class and Sunday School were canceled after the worship service so everyone could get home, as the predicted snowstorm had started while we were in church. About six inches of snow covered our patio table. We knew our driveway and sidewalk would eventually be cleared, but that didn't happen until mid-afternoon on Tuesday. 

    On Wednesday morning, I almost got stuck backing out because some snow from our driveway had pushed into the street. The snow near our mailbox was deep, so I shoveled for a while to make it clear for the mail truck. In the afternoon, we received our first mail of the week. 

    As we left the Y on Friday morning, snow began falling again. There was enough snow on our driveway that the wheels were slipping, and I had to back up and try three times to get into the garage. (Our driveway has a 15-20% grade--just a guess.) Snow removal was quicker this time, and our driveway and sidewalk were cleared on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't have quilt knotting as planned. 

    One final note before ending this long-winded epistle. Did you watch the college football semi-championship games? We were rooting for Notre Dame and Texas. However, seeing which mid-west team can win the championship next week will be interesting. 

Here's a gnome enjoying the winter weather.
I hope you are, too!

First Post of 2025

    I have been putting off writing this post because I'm not sure where to begin or what to include. For many of the people who read this, it might seem repetitive. But for other readers who aren't part of the family and weren't at the 13th Seddelmeyer Reunion in Scottsdale, Arizona, I hope you'll enjoy reading about our adventure.

    As I wrote last time, our flight was scheduled for 6:15 p.m., December 23, and we arrived on time in Phoenix. As arranged, we met Bart and his family at the Avis car rental and began the 30-minute trip to Scottsdale. Apparently, we drove only with parking lights. Since we were unfamiliar with the car, no one could figure out how to turn on the headlights. We made it to our destination without incident, and after deciding who was sleeping where, we went to bed. It was 1:00 a.m. Indiana time.

    The following day, Bart and I went to Albertson's to buy something for breakfast, lunch, and some items we needed for Thursday. Ray and I played many games of cornhole in the afternoon. I managed to win a few games. Christy and Persephone enjoyed the sun and spent some time in the heated pool. Christy's mother spent time reading on the patio near the pool. Bart drove to meet a friend but was back before we left for the Christmas Eve service.

Enjoying the sunshine

    The church service was held in a combined United Methodist and Lutheran church. Strings, handbells, a large choir, and a candle-lighting ceremony were used during the service. 

    After the service, we joined the Fowler clan at their rental, greeted everyone for the first time, and enjoyed a delicious meal. (See My Everyday Life below for a group photo.)

The Seddelmeyer Sisters

    Ray and I walked a mile through Scottsdale's streets on Christmas morning. There are few green lawns, but we saw some groomed using a rake and different types of cacti during our stroll. Bart and I prepped some of the food we planned for Thursday, and Ray and I played more games of cornhole.

    The Edwards hosted dinner at their rental on Christmas evening. Again, the food was delicious, beginning with appetizers and charcuterie by Abi.

Abi's charcuterie

    After enjoying Christmas cookies, the adventurous tried duckpin bowling. Ray rolled a few balls, and the camera caught him making a spare.

    On Thursday morning, Bart, Christy, and I went shopping for the rest of the food we needed to host the group's evening meal. Thanks to Ross's generosity, we all had tickets for Scottsdale's Musical Instrument Museum. It's an impressive place with displays from around the world. We all wore headphones that automatically played music associated with the area we were in. 

    After visiting MIM, we returned home to prepare for our guests. When everyone arrived, Bart played the video from our 2019 reunion. It was fun to watch, brought back memories, and even had closed captioning. 

    For appetizers, we had cheese balls, hummus, and dippers. Bart made jambalaya, which was accompanied by tossed salad and bread.

    The alarm was set for 5 a.m. the following day, and we were on our way to the airport by 5:30. Bart and his family had an early flight, so Ray and I had time for breakfast at the airport. We returned to rain and cloudy conditions, picked up our car, and returned home by 5:00 p.m. (Indiana time).

My Everyday Life - December 22-28

    When I started recording My Everyday Life a year ago, I wasn't sure I'd be able to complete an entire year. Week 52 will be my last, and I'm proud of my accomplishment. I have other tasks that I need to work on in 2025, but I plan to continue this blog. I would like to do something similar to MEL, but I'm unsure what it will look like.

    Happy New Year to all my readers. My wish for you is good health, fun times, and love!