Notre Dame Football from Juniper Road

 

NBC did not broadcast ND's first football game of the season.  It was streamed on Peacock and we chose not to subcribe just for that game.  So I listened to ND radio on my phone  in the bedroom while Jim watched other games on TV in the living room of our South Haven condo. 

 At 5 pm, he asked if I wanted a glass of wine and I declined to have it alone in the bedroom.  Jim said I could bring the radio broadcast into the living room.  He hates listening to games.  I think it is because he feels a loss of control!  Later I found out he was not happy with my exclamations of joy and disgust emanating from the bedroom.  

ND pulled it off in a game that should not have been so close.  The new quarterback was sacked six times.  It was not pretty but it was a W as Jimmy Valvano used to say during his Wolfpack days years ago.  (32-29 over Toledo)

We were concerned about getting back that night into our rental house on Juniper Road which is usually one way traffic heading out of ND's campus post game.  So we stayed in South Haven until 7:30--1 1/2 hours after game time--and then headed home.  There was no problem heading towards campus at 8:30 so we were fine.

Sunday we observed chalk lines on the neighbor's lawn where they must have sold parking places.  The lease for our house specifically said that we were not allowed to use our lawn for football parking.  

Preparations for the home game were underway early in the week as we saw rows of Joy's Johns at the edge of parking lots all over campus--not just near the stadium.  There were signs telling people how to access their mobile tickets--a first game without paper tickets.  I wonder if the usual scalpers were at their places on Angela Boulevard this year.  Apparently the stadium was not full--60,000 in attendance instead of 80,000.  

We will see what happens next week when Purdue comes to ND.    We have a special hang tag that is supposed to allow us to move around campus streets but if the streets are one way into campus pre-game and one way out of campus post-game that will not make it easy to make our usual Saturday grocery shopping trip.  We will be able to watch the game on NBC and we might take in some of the pre-game excitement and rituals on campus.  

Go Irish! ---------------I walked outside to get rid of the garbage and heard music. It was the ND band practicing in the fields across Douglas Road and it was the Irish Fight Song I was hearing!

South Haven: Packing and Unpacking

Today we made our second trip this week back to South Bend from South Haven.  Jim had a candidate's job talk and  recruitment dinner on Tuesday and today and tomorrow he is leading his seminar.  Some people commute an hour daily so doing this twice in a week is not so bad!  I decided not to stay in South Haven alone without a car so I kept Jim company on the trip and during those afternoon and evening hours on Juniper Road just north of the Notre Dame campus.

I have been a bit overwhelmed by the constant packing and unpacking however.  Today we left Jim's shampoo in the shower in South Haven and my favorite pillow must be there because it is not here!  I have had more trouble with insomnia this week and I am attributing that to the transitions--and wanting to enjoy South Haven so much.  Plus we are constantly problem solving to get wifi access, run the TV remotes and turn the kitchen fan off. (a new remote battery was the answer)  Yes, these are first world problems but they are a challenge for two 75 year olds! 

Last night's sunset over Lake Michigan was worth the confusion of our many transitions.     We walked to town and waited 20 minutes as early as 5:30 for a table at Clementine's, a favorite and always busy restaurant.  We were walking home at 7:30 when I said to Jim, "I think it is beginning to rain."  Within three minutes, there was no doubt.  It was a downpour.  We took shelter at the entrance to the Maritime Museum and checked our weather app which said it would stop in 20 minutes.  It did lighten up and we walked the rest of the way home.  It was good to put on dry clothes.  Our shoes were still wet this morning. But then the sun came out over the lake and the sunset was glorious.  The sky was pink for miles north of us and the water reflected that pink sky.

The condo we rent in South Haven is so lovely.  And it is well equipped unlike this Notre Dame rental.  There was plenty of toilet paper, hand soap, paper towels,--even a bottle of Merlot and a container of coffee.  The owner gave us a $25 gift card to Bunde's Bakery, another favorite place two blocks away, but sadly they will only be open on Saturday and Sunday mornings for a few hours each.  This is the Covid story--staff shortages everywhere.  We'll get ourselves a treat and then leave the card for housekeeping to use. 

Jim and one of his favorite golfing buddies, Uncle John Lukaart, golfed at Hawkshead while my sister Lois and I did a bit of shopping.  We were happy to see our favorite women's apparel store, Janny's Beach House, was still open and I left with a shopping bag in my hand.  

It has been too windy and cool to enjoy the beach and the pool.  But the best part of renting #301 at 225 North Shore Drive is looking out at the lake which is always beautiful.  We will head out there again tomorrow afternoon for another 24 hours and maybe another beautiful sunset. We have to time our return to South Bend carefully however because Juniper Road has always been one way traffic on game days--coming into campus pre-game and leaving post-game.  

Patience

The Professor 

 It has not been an easy two weeks.  Packing up to make this temporary move to South Bend was stressful.  Our first week here was uncomfortable in the heat and with inadequate air conditioning.

We have finished our second week away from home.  Jim is teaching his fourth class as I write and it has gone well.  He is thinking of ways to get class participation so it is not his lecturing for a three hour session.   One student had a family crisis and is now in Columbia but other students are arranging  Zoom participation for him. 

I left my webbed chaise lounge chair at home in Princeton even though I knew I would like to have it here to sit outside.  There was no room in the car.  We couldn't find one here at a decent price, or really at any price, so I ordered one from Amazon thinking it was quite the extravagance when I knew it was just for six weeks.   And then it did not arrive as promised.  The update said it was coming late--and then it was possibly lost in transit--and then today, nine days after I ordered it and a week after it was promised, it arrived.  I'm glad I did not ask for the refund they offered.  I sat outside in the back yard and revelled in the breeze and being able to look at the tall trees--just like I did when we lived on Deerfield Loop.  I could hear insects but not the shrill sound of our Princeton 17 year cicadas.  I could hear distant traffic but it was not as loud as it can seem at night with the windows open.  (The toll road is within sight down Juniper Road.)  

In two days we will leave for a week at our condo rental in South Haven.  I look forward to seeing sunsets on Lake Michigan and to enjoying a decent shower and larger bathroom.  I have some concerns about being out there alone without a car when Jim has to commute to Notre Dame so I may come back with him for those two nights. It will be another transition and I am thinking that we are getting too old to keep changing our routines like this.  

A funny example of our need to cope and adjust was the fact that we did not know the dishwasher was a portable one and had to be hooked up to the sink.  No wonder it burned the food on the plates and silverware as it generated heat but no water.  Now we know but it may still be easier just to do the dishes by hand.  That is Jim's job but in his absence today, I did a few meals' worth and felt so good to do it for him!  Jim was musing about the fact that someone should have told us that it needed to be hooked up; it was certainly unfamiliar to us. 

 I have to be patient with myself and try to live in the present moment.  It was lovely sitting outside in the back yard in my new chair.  We have made progress in being comfortable in the last week with cooler weather and a better air conditioner and windows that maintenance was able to chip open.  

I have some sense of how I felt at the beginning of the pandemic over a year ago when I had to learn to be content with accomplishing very little in a day.  A load of wash, a trip to the grocery store, a book to read--it has to be enough.  I used to worry that solitude would be the curse of my old age because I craved it so much when I was busy with work and family.  Now I need to enjoy that solitude.  A good book, a blog to write, a chair in the backyard--all ways to try to be contented and patient.  I am trying to live in the present moment and to enjoy it and thank God for it.

Going to Church (and not from our living room sofa)

 

Yesterday we drove to Church of The Savior, formerly known as the South Bend Christian Reformed Church, put on our masks, and found socially distanced seats in the sanctuary.  As we greeted a few people outside, a young man came up on his skateboard and wondered if it was safe to leave it outside.  I was hesitant but went into my church lady mode and asked him if he was a visitor.  He was--his second time at church--and an exchange student from the Netherlands.  I was not sorry I asked and later gave him our phone numbers.  

Worshipping and singing with a mask on was uncomfortable.  But it was good to worship with others and to hear the familiar voice of Chris Mihut leading the liturgy and John Haas preaching and to hear the amazing David Banga on the piano enlivening the hymns.  We look forward to hearing Pastor Chris Rea preach next week. Our first Sunday back at "our church" was the church picnic so we had lots of opportunity to visit at the tables under the shade trees and to enjoy burgers and a variety of potluck salads and desserts.  

The babies are now all two years old.  A few more mothers are visibly pregnant again.  We missed three dear friends who passed away in the last two years.  We missed several others who may have been on vacation or just unwilling to be in large groups of people.  We'll look for them next week when a special back to school blessing service will be held outside.  

It was good to worship in community again especially a community in which we knew almost everyone.  It was good to see and meet a few newcomers as well--in a church which has always been a transitional place for the academic community here in South Bend.  May God bless the Church of the Savior, small but mighty!

Four Days and Four NIghts in our New Home

 We have made progress in settling into our little white house at the end of the long driveway off Juniper Road.  Thank God!  The first photo is of our 5 pm happy hour with our improvised table.

Steve, the head of maintenance, is my new best friend in South Bend.  He was kind enough to say that he talked to his wife and thought about how he would feel if he was in our position.  The ladies in the theology office gave us a gift package of chocolate covered fruit with a note saying how they didn't mean for us to feel like the first years of our marriage--in student life again. And that is the way it feels!  

It will be very hot for three more days and then cool off next week.   The a/c which replaced the one that died is just not enough to cool off the bedrooms down the hall.  But by 11 pm the temperature has gone down below the 84 it is in the bedrooms so we can open windows and be comfortable enough.  I don't like the constant white noise of a room a/c but have to tolerate it during the day.

I have one load of wash started and it is so good to have that option in our house.  The dishwasher managed to bake the food on the dishes so we (Jim) will just do those by hand.  The bathroom does not have an exhaust fan and the wet towels get very smelly quickly.  I have towels in the dryer right now--after our showers.  

How luxurious our apartment will seem when we get home!  We have appreciated it before but will do so even more in October!

I had lunch with one of my friends from church yesterday and we had plenty to talk about for two hours--the time went very quickly.  I popped into TJ Maxx and tried on clothes for the first time in 18 months.  Sadly, the dresses looked cute on the hangers and terrible on me!  But it was fun to shop a bit!  We are going to a favorite restaurant tonight to celebrate our anniversary a few days earlier--and the end of our first week here.  Grand Mere Inn in Stevensville is an unpretentious place right on Lake Michigan--with great seafood and a wonderful pate and bread served before the meal.  Hope they still do that!

A few observations about ways South Bend differs from Princeton.   We had forgotten about triple trailer trucks on the toll road.  They are enormous and a bit scary.  Then there are the multiple roundabouts on the edge of campus.  We go through three of them on Douglas Road  alone to get to our house.  There are beggars on the street corners with signs proclaiming their homelessness and need for money. The trees are all green right to the edges of the branches. There is no sign of the omnipresent "flagging" left by our Princeton cicadas.   We did not see posters requesting mask wearing at the Dollar Tree.  Many people are not wearing masks although I have not been looking with great care for observance of that precaution.  We wear masks at least. I was the only one in Salon Rouge yesterday wearing a mask.  My stylist had been vaccinated.  

So we have made progress this week.  Jim met his class for the first time and seemed pleased with the students.  One of them asked him if he came to ND just for this class and thanked him!   Another one has a wife who is doing graduate work in Princeton.  Still another needs to be excused to travel to Columbia because his grandmother just succumbed to Covid.  He asked if Jim would be OK with a Zoom presence which another classmate will set up.  Jim is fine with that as long as he is not the person in charge. 

So progress is made.   Another installment in our retirement journey!

24 Hours in our New (temporary) Home

 

We had two good days of travel but the long trip from Princeton to South Bend (700 miles)  made me thankful that we are not making that trip regularly to see our children and grandchildren.  From Princeton, we travel 10 minutes, one hour, or 2 1/2 hours to see the three families and that is wonderful!

We arrived on the Notre Dame campus around 1 pm.  Jim popped into the theology departmental office to get our house key and welcome packet.  We quickly found the white house set back from Juniper Road down a long driveway.  All good until we tried to open the front door.  The key went in but the door would not open.  Fortunately we had a garage door opener and were able to get in that way.

First impressions were that the house was clean.  We were happy to have a bathroom available but there was no toilet paper.  Or soap.  There was a standing room air conditioner going full blast in the living room to cool the entire house and it was very, very noisy.  We quickly checked to see if we could get wifi and were told our password was incorrect.  We were not off to a good start!  We called Steffany, our Bradley Rental contact, and she put in a maintenance order and said she would come by later to check the password.

Steve, the maintenance person, came within a few hours and saw that the door needed to be sanded in order to open.  He said he would come back in the morning with tools and to make a list of anything else we needed.  It didn't take long to come up with a list.

Steffany also came by within a few hours and determined that she had given us a wrong password--by one number.  So we were connected with her apologies!  She was unable to decipher our TV remote access so told us to ask Steve about that too.

It was 83 in the bedrooms and the a/c unit was too loud for me to sleep through the noise.  The windows were stuck and impossible to open.  But we made it through our first night and Steve came in the morning and fixed the front door.  He also fixed the ceiling fan in the living room to get us some moving air and with difficulty he opened the bedroom windows so at least when it cools off at night we can open windows.  He and his helper Jack were very jolly about our needs and commiserated with us as to why Notre Dame cannot afford to put central a/c in their rental units.  We expressed our appreciation to him for his quick response to our requests.  Jim figured out the remote last night so we were able to watch the Cubs on their own network-and their win with a walk-off home run.

So this morning I am more optimistic about spending six weeks in this house on the edge of campus.  It is clean and it is quiet--at least with windows shut the traffic sounds are not disturbing.  I could hear some motorcycles in the midnight hour but not later. We lived for the first 30 years of our lives without air conditioning and soon it will be cooler--maybe in another week or so.  

We have been to "our Martin's" grocery store twice already and found it spacious and bright--unlike our rather crowded McCaffrey's in Princeton.  We got Jim's watch battery replaced easily at the nearby and familiar Batteries Plus location--a problem for us in Princeton. 

It's our 54th wedding anniversary today and I have a sense of our being newly weds starting over in a new place.  We have done that many times and even if this house is less than ideal, it is temporary and we will go back to our lovely, luxurious apartment in Princeton in several weeks.  

Making Lists (or Losing Control)

 We are leaving for South Bend on Sunday--in five days.  We will be gone from Princeton for six weeks.  Jim will be teaching an intensive seminar at Notre Dame which will meet double time in half of a semester.  The Theology department is renting us a house on Juniper Street, just next to the campus and the football parking lot--and in Jim's happy mind, next to the Warren Golf Course.

I am stressed.  I am thinking about what has to be done before we leave and what to pack for the next six weeks.  

Last week during our happy hour I created a document that listed our incomes and our regular bills.  Jim is in charge of our finances and it made me feel much better to see it written down.  However, for now I am happy he is in charge of that aspect of our lives.

Then earlier this week I created another document listing my prescriptions with available refills and due dates.  That also made me feel more secure because there is a lot to keep track of.  We will have to request refills from the Princeton CVS for the South Bend CVS.  We were told that should be easy enough with all records online.  I hope that is true! 

Then there is my little notebook in which I am keeping lists of items I want to pack--other than the usual clothes and books.  Thinks like our bathroom scale (lest I gain weight by not keeping track of it daily), our blender (for our lunch smoothies), an electric heating pad (just in case there are aches and pains), a flashlight, our clock, etc.   And we thought it would be good to have our passports and of course, our vaccination records (although we have taken photos of them and I have a Docket app that can access mine on my phone.)  

And what else?  What am I forgetting?  Some medical records.   Our checkbook.  A scissors.  Phone and laptop chargers.  Our calendar.  Jackets.  

I made a reservation for Sunday night at a Hampton Inn in Streetsboro, Ohio where we have stayed many times.  Hope the Ruby Tuesdays there is open for business.  If not, there is a McDonald's nearby! 

It will be good to be settled in--a week from now--when we will know what our temporary home will be like.  It will be good to see friends and family again--and also to enjoy a week in South Haven.  

We can do this!   It's good to have a change of scenery and then I know we will be glad to be back home in Princeton in October in our lovely apartment.  

------------------Saturday, August 21--Suitcases are half-packed.  Refrigerator is close to empty.  Freezer likewise.  Bedding washed.  Are we packing too many items of clothing or not enough?  One sports coat or two?  Will we have a washer and dryer or will we have to use a laundromat?  Do we need warmer clothes before October 8?  Too many decisions.  We considered leaving today in light of the hurricane striking the east coast tomorrow but think we will be safe enough heading west.