A Rant and a Love Story

Last week, I failed to upload My Everyday Life for the last week of October, as one of my readers reminded me. You can read it a week late right here:

My Everyday Life - October 25-31, 2026

Technology has left me befuddled and stressed. We have had a Kroger card for several years, but it was discontinued earlier this year. They have now offered a new Elite Rewards card, and I applied. Shortly after, I had a request from Imprint.com to verify my identity. They needed a photocopy of my driver's license (front and back) and a rotating headshot taken from left to right. At first, I didn't realize that Imprint had been hired by Kroger, so I had to make sure it wasn't spam before proceeding. The story is more involved, but here's the short version. I was able to get the photos taken on my iPad, but when I submitted them, they said I didn't meet their requirements. I talked to someone, and they were unable to tell what was missing from my application. Shouldn't they explain to applicants what was wrong with their submission? To make matters even more frustrating, I tried again, but this time I couldn't access the camera on my iPad, so I'm back to square one. My 72 hours to finish the application are about to expire. 

Another issue has been syncing my Fitbit and iPhone. When I'm out for a run, I hear the cues at 1 mile, 2 miles, etc., but when I get home and check my phone, it says I've only run 2+ miles. Since this is the route I usually take, I know that something went wrong even though I heard the "4 miles" cue but only see "2 miles" on my phone. I'm making sure everything is in sync before I leave the house to improve results.

Leaves ready for raking

On a happier note, we watched "Cycle of Love," a story of an Indian artist who traveled by bicycle nearly 6,000 miles to Sweden to find his girlfriend after she left India and returned to her homeland. It's worth a look if you enjoy true stories. 

We watched some of the LSU football game as the visiting Alabama team was victorious 31-13. Next Saturday, Texas visits LSU, and this might be a good game to watch. IU had a bye and didn't play yesterday. USC will visit IU next Saturday. Purdue lost to Maryland 34-29. On the last play of the game, Purdue was close to the goal line but couldn't convert for a touchdown. The Colts played a competitive game at home against the Dallas Cowboys but were unable to hold on, losing 27-23 and are 2-7 for the season

Pine Needles

We haven't watched any basketball games yet, but the season is young, and I'm sure we'll be watching quite a few when the opportunity arises. Do you care to make a guess who will make it to the Final Four?

My Everyday Life - November 1-17, 2026

Until next time, may you and your teams do better than ours! It should be easy to do that! Will we have a hard freeze this week? Tune in next week to find out.

Hello, November 2026

It's November, and we ended Daylight Saving Time last night, but I need to document what happened the last week of October. Last Sunday, our Director of Christian Education planned a Reformation-themed event. It was held outdoors and had five stations: Nailing of the 95 Theses to the church door; The Diet of Worms; Wartburg Castle; Burning of the Papal Bull; and the escape of Katie. It was a bright, sunny day, perfect for the event that included a light meal. 

The children "nailed" papers using tacky putty

The Greenwood Community Halloween Concert was scheduled for Sunday evening, but when we arrived, we learned it had been moved to another location. When we finally arrived at the correct site for the concert, which had already started, we were startled to see the conductor in a white wig and all the band members in costume. 

A Spooky Halloween Concert

One evening, we watched "Silver Screamers," a heartwarming and spine-tingling documentary that follows a group of spirited senior citizens as they embark on an extraordinary adventure far outside their comfort zones: creating a horror film. The documentary explained that the seniors were involved in all aspects of the production of "The Rug." The documentary was nearly two hours long, but the movie they made is only 11 minutes long. The next day, we found The Rug on YouTube and watched it. You can do the same if you're interested.

When shopping at Menard's, I hoped to purchase a daffodil bulb or two to fill in a spot next spring that had failed to come up again. The smallest amount I could find was a bag of 8 bulbs, so I planted the extras under our tree, which has a circle of stone edgers filled with dirt to protect the base of the tree from weed whips and lawn mowers. I'm excited to see them bloom next spring before the leaves come out on the tree.

We had a big expense, but one that we couldn't avoid. After talking to our son-in-law, Joe, I felt confident in purchasing tires for our car. We also had a new battery installed, and now we should be ready for winter. They also did an oil change, checked all fluids, and flushed the antifreeze.

We had a lovely visit with Dustin and his friend Josh on Thursday afternoon. We were celebrating his October birthday. Dustin and his co-workers are busy getting the Indianapolis road equipment ready for the winter season, determining if the snowplows are ready, and training new hires for their role at the Department of Transportation.

Yesterday, we did not observe Halloween; instead, we attended a service commemorating the Reformation at St. Peter's Lutheran Church. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door on October 31, 1517. St. Peter's is a historic 130-year-old church located on the east side of Indianapolis, about a 35-minute drive away. After the service, the congregation invited everyone to join them for Gemütlichkeit in the undercroft.

Exterior of St. Peter's Lutheran Church

If you haven't heard, Indiana University squeaked out a second OT win, this time against Minnesota on Saturday, 16-23. It was exciting! IU scored a touchdown quickly in OT and then had to defend against Minnesota's attack to win. Minnesota was close to scoring a TD, but on 4th down, IU sacked the Golden Gophers' quarterback, and the game was over.

Purdue was at Penn State and lost 17-31. We didn't get to see the game, but learned that this was Penn State's first Big 10 win of the season. Purdue has two Big 20 wins and is ahead of Penn State in the standings. LSU had a bye week and plays Alabama next Saturday.

This afternoon, the Colts lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 7-42. In the AFC South standings, there is one team worse than the Colts: the Tennessee Titans are 1-7, while the Colts are 2-6.

Until next time, may your November be filled with delicious food as we think ahead to Thanksgiving and fun activities.