We had done some picking up the night before, clearing off a lot of kitchen counter space. Stacey had some Costco Egg Bites that I was eating for breakfast, but this morning I realized that both the microwave and coffee maker had been relocated to the guest room last night. So a quick run to Starbucks later, I’m back a the house looking for something to do to help.
It was a little touch and go, but we got the thing in my car! It had just started to rain when we got here, and I honestly gave us a 50/50 chance of it fitting or us needing to run back to the entrance.
As I as nearing her house, I was on I-465 headed East towards Meridian, when I spotted this. It was a bit dangerous, but I managed to snap a photo with my phone without careening off the road.
Group photo! Another masterclass in how to balance a phone precariously, for 10 seconds.
Closer to midnight. We opted to stay in, instead of going out to midnight service at St. John’s. I miss the ritual and tradition of it (and the singing), but welcomed time with my family… just hanging out.
My parents had brought over some champagne a day or two ago, which may have been for mimosas. But we ended up opening the bottle tonight. My dad wanted a toast, and wanted a family photo… so with a slight bit of balancing on the fireplace mantle, he got his Christmas wish.
Another lazy day today, not much to show. Putzed around the house and mostly relaxed. I’m sure there was a lot of TV watching. Perhaps a nap or two.
We did have one big family activity, but it took place much later in the day. We had a late evening (7PM) escape room booked, at Escape Room USA.
It was cold out, but we all braved the temps to seek out mulled wine and raclettes.
Liz, looking out for hardware pieces that match what we have in our house. She’s been on the hunt for literally years now.
Fast forward to Indy, several hours later. It’s late at night, we’ve unloaded the car, and are hanging out in the kitchen with Stacey and Shane. As a late nightcap, Shane offers me up a little moonshine.
Shane got a hold of all the various 8MM films that my parents had stored/kept, and brought them up (at my request). I probably shouldn’t have started to look into this, given how late it was (after midnight).
Nearby, between the restaurant and our car, we passed by a Puttshack. We saw what looked to be an indoor minigolf course, and decided to try our luck.
Despite how late it was, and despite how tired we were, Liz and I figured on stopping in to see if they had any open slots. Luckily for us, they did.
Jahnu, showing off the custom socks he got (featuring a photo of Kaya on the socks).
Note to self: next year, take this photo and print them on a new pair of socks. Repeat for the next 30 years.
I have vague memories of playing as a kid. And the sound of Mahjong tiles clacking together is something I hear, when imagining my grandmother’s house on the South Side of Indy. But while I think I know the rules, I never learned them officially.
We were thinking about using an upcoming weekend day to just relax and make cookies. But looking at our remaining time and our progress in the hallway, we realized we had more work and less free time than we anticipated.
So tonight, we made cookies. Or rather – everyone else made cookies, and I watched them. Liz brought a few recipes and was working on Oatmeal cookies and Sugar cookies.
One prompt in particular stands out. It was: “Politely tell your kidnapper that you need to go to the bathroom.” I forget who gave this answer, but the phrase “juice break” came up. And for the rest of the night (and the rest of our visit), that became a kind of in-joke that we kept going.