I have been following the FIFA World Cup as its progresses from the Group Stage to the Knockout Phase. There's been a few surprises and some great and not so great moments so far. When away from a TV screen, I follow it on the FotMob app on my phone.
Just over a week ago (27 June), Julie picked me up and we went to Mount Vernon, Illinois to attend her father's family reunion. After checking into a hotel, we went to another hotel in town where the relatives had a reception. It was very nice meeting Julie's relatives and reading up on her family history.
(Group photo courtesy of Julie Rodriguez)
The next morning (28 June), Julie and I had breakfast and checked out of the hotel in Mount Vernon. We then traveled to St. Charles Boromeo Catholic Church in DuBois, where Julie's ancestors attended services. It is a quite a beautiful church and one of its members told our group about the place.
Our group then traveled about one mile (0.6 km) east to the cemetery where some of the Rekosh ancestors are buried. After that visit, we traveled to Immaculate Conception Church in Tamaroa for Mass. After that, our group went to Immaculate Conception Cemetery to visit the graves of other ancestors.
Our reunion concluded in Du Quoin, with lunch at Tomahawk Bar & Grill. We had a nice lunch before saying our goodbyes. Julie then took me to where her mother grew up in down and to a pair of cemeteries where her family are buried. After the cemetery visits, Julie drove us home. Quite a wonderful weekend.
Last Monday (29 June), a package from Amazon was at my front door. It was three items I ordered the week before during Prime Days. Specifically, it was Gaahleri GHAD-39 airbrush, a 6-foot (1.8m) braided airbrush hose, and a Timbertech ABPST08 airbrush compressor from Airgoo. The airbrush had two needles (0.35mm and 0.5mm) for options in fine or large area painting. The compressor was a low noise unit with an air tank that can be filled up for constant air pressure. I trialed these items this weekend and they will be most useful for my scale modeling.
This past Wednesday (1 July) was busy even if it was my off day from work. A technician from Overhead Door came over to service the garage door, resetting the remote due to a recent power surge and lubricating the door springs. That afternoon, a plumber contacted via Taskrabbit repaired the master bedroom's toilet, replacing a leaking pump that caused water to keep running even after the toilet stopped flushing. It only took about 10 minutes for the job to get done.
That night, Julie and I went to 2nd Shift Brewing on the Hill for a watch party. We saw USA play Bosnia & Herzegovina in a FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match. Julie and I had dinner--I had the savory ducks and chips from Mess Hall, with 2nd Shift's Simon beer--and watched as USA won 2-0 to advance to the Round of 16 against Belgium tomorrow.
Back at work the next day (2 July), I and my branch mates dealt with high heat and humidity that day and Friday. Temperatures reached up to 95 degrees F (35 degrees C) and heat indices (temperature plus humidity) got up to 110 degrees F (43.3 degrees C). I took plenty of breaks in the air-conditioned office as possible and drank plenty of Gatorade. On the way to work, I refilled a 32-ounce (946.4 ml) jug at Quik Trip with the thirst quencher, and it definitely helped.
I stayed home yesterday (4 July) for Independence Day, the USA's 250th Birthday. It was too hot much of the day to go outside, and it got stormy late in the afternoon. Fortunately, no damage here and the power stayed on.
Later.
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