Sunday June 30, 2013

The alarm goes off at 0645 and we all get up and get ready for the MAC. Today will be our last swim until next Sunday. The pool will be closed for it's annual cleaning. I swam 1,500 yards. For the first time I was uncomfortable with the pool's temperature. It was 85 degrees. Much too hot! After the swim we head to Meijer's for our weekly supplies. Gas today was $3.35 compared to over $4 last week. We like this time of year because of all the fresh fruit. We stocked up on melons, grapes and berries. Unlike last year Mi is having a bumper fruit crop. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. I took my afternoon nap. After the nap I walked to the PO to mail a package. I used my pedometer on my phone and it said I walked 1.82 miles. I then took Ms P on our mile walk. The pedometer said my total mileage was 3 miles. For dinner tonight Nancy is going to grill some burgers. Burgers, corn on the cob and melon what a meal. We will read the GRP and watch 60 Minutes before turning in. We have been lucky this year because we have only used our AC once. 75 years ago no one had AC. On warm summer evenings we would sit outside on our big porch. In fact we did not have a water heater. Mother would put several tea kettles on the stove and heat the water and mix it with tap water. As a boy I took a bath only on Saturdays. We did not have a shower. The first shower I took was in the fourth grade at McPhee School after gym class. Today on week days I take a minimum of two showers. 75 years ago today in Ossineke, MI. GGF Sanborn spent 2 hours in the garden. Rain stopped his work. He had dinner at the church. GGF picked up several church ladies and drove then to dinner. Proceeds from the dinner were $8.00.

Saturday June 29, 2013

The weather folks said rain but it did not look like rain at 0800. Nancy headed to the MAC for water aerobics and I pedaled to Bill's for my oatmeal breakfast. After breakfast I stopped at Rylee's to buy a small crescent wrench. I need this wrench in order to change a bike tire. Next I stopped at the Rental Shop on Fulton to see if they had tool that I could use to trim some branches that are about 12 feet over my head. They had such a tool. I need this tool to trim the branches that are getting close to the electric, phone and cable lines in our back yard. This will be my project for next week. The OHNA is having their annual garden tour so I pedaled around to see how many folks were attending. It looked like the attendance was good. The lawn and gardens in the OHN look great because of all the rain. The weather folks still said it was going to rain so I canceled my kayak trip and instead rode the bike around Reeds Lake, twice. I just pulled into the driveway when the rain started. I am looking for a pair of comfortable summer shoes. I got in the C2 and drove to Rockford to the WWW store. I was disappointed in their selection. I drove down 10 mile road on my way home. It has been several years since I have been on 10 mile between Rockford and 131. I could not get over all the development. They are even building a massive recreation area on Kent County land near the old 10 mile road landfill. When we tried to get permission to built the landfill in the early 1970s the opponents all said that the landfill would create a massive dead zone. They were wrong, really wrong. The place has developed so much that 3 traffic signals have been installed on Ten Mile. Tonight Nancy and I are going to Brick Oven Pizza on Wealthy Street. We have never been to this restaurant. In fact there are about 10 restaurants in the Wealthy St/Cherry area that we have never eaten at. Wealthy St between Madison and EGR has seen a lot of improvements in the last 10 years.

Friday June 28, 2013

Boy was it hot last night. The weather folks were wrong we did not get a cold front. I slept in until 0730. I did my calisthenics at home today. The sun was shining bright so I decided to go on a bike ride. I loaded up the single speed and headed to Millennium Park. I rode 21 miles in 1h47'. The trails were crowded. Once again,like swimmers, how come a lot of hard core bike riders are over weight? I asked the same question yesterday of swimmers. It was a great day for a bike ride. On my way home I stopped at wine and kitchen store on Wealthy. Nancy said they carried a wine we had at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. It was a MI wine called Mackinac Trails. The store did not carry the wine. At the Kava House I sat outside and read the WSJ. I find the situation in both Egypt and Turkey to be very confusing. I don't think our State Dept knows the right course of action. Maybe we should keep our nose out of other folks business? Nancy and Mary Namey drove to Grand Haven today to have lunch with a fellow GRPS English teacher. We had a brief thunder shower move through. After the shower I took Ms P on her mile walk. Tonight we are having dinner with Tom and Linda Moleski. We are going to a restaurant that serves liver and onions. Stay tuned.

Thursday June 27, 2013

I am writing this blog on Friday. I must remember to do my blog on the day I want to record. I cannot remember overnight what I did yesterday. So it goes with Thursday. I did sleep in until 0730. I did the at home routine and then headed to the MAC. Thursday is my tri day so I ran a mile and swam 1,000 yards. When I got to the MAC it was empty. The reason was that everyone was swimming. All four lanes had two swimmers. Swimming is suppose to be the best exercise for older folks. It is easy on the joints, etc., etc. How come all the hard core swimmers are overweight? I don't see overweight hard core runners. Thursday was a hot humid day with temps in the 80s. Did you know that we have not had a 90 degree day this year. Last year at this time we had 14. I ended up at the Kava House. I sat outside to read the WSJ and drink coffee. I got home about 1300. After a quick lunch I checked the email, read the GRP and took Ms P on her mile walk. At 1645 Nancy and I headed to Meijer's Garden. We are working tonights concert featuring Brandi Carlile. The concerts was sold out. Nancy ran the chair concession and I swiped tickets. We were done at 1930. Nancy fixed a picnic lunch so we sat in the back row and had our picnic and listened to the concert. It was a perfect evening for an outdoor concert. We got home about 2145. The house was hot but the weather folks said a cold front was moving through. Based on this info we did not turn on the AC. Bad idea.

Wednesday June 26, 2013

Today is Breakfast Club day. I got up at 0555 and got ready. We had a good attendance today. The Speaker was very good. He talked about Kent County's new Circuit Court that handles only business related legal matters. It seem to be working well. After BC I drove to the Fulton Street market. I bought some local honey and several pounds of rhubarb. I love rhubarb. I then stopped at Rylee's to get some weed sacker string and a 100 year light bulb. I also bought a new jack knife. I stopped at the Kava House. Since I have only an hour on the parking meter I was home at 1100. The TV was dominated by the SCOTUS decision on gay marriage. I really don't have a problem with gay marriage. I go home about 1100. Nancy was getting ready to leave for the Gardens. She works this afternoon. I got on the single speed and pedaled to the MAC. I swam 1,000 yards using only the breast stroke. My time was 31'. I don't like to drive the single speed with the skinny tires on sidewalks so I took a new route home using road with little traffic. I did stop at GR Bike in Gas Light to get my tire pressure checked. The single speed tires carry 120 psi. I filled them up a week ago and this morning the pressure had dropped to 85 psi. GR Bike will fill the tires up at no charge. I plan on stopping about once a week. I did take a short nap. It is now 1700 and I am going to take Ms P on her mile walk. Tonight we will have a light dinner and watch some TV before heading upstairs.

Tuesday June 25, 2013

We had heavy thunder storms roll through last night. Needless to say Ms P went bonkers. Today Nancy attended a Blue Cross seminar on our health plan. Before going I did my at home calisthenics at 50%. The event started at 0830 and we arrived on time and took part in their continental breakfast. The main speaker gave us a power point presentation and it was boring. However, the question and answer period was very useful. The new Federal Health law will not have much impact on our plan. The plan that Nancy and I have is with the school teachers. Folks who have Blue Cross individual plans do not have anywhere near the benefits that we have. We can use any doctor who accepts medicare which means almost 100%. Individual BC plans do not allow members to use a doctor who is not in their system. In GR we have a major problem with Spectrum Health which includes Butterworth and Blodgett Hospitals trying to force out St Mary's and Metro. Spectrum has their own health insurance. It is nasty. Nancy and I took part in the health testing that was offered. We had our blood sugar tested, a bone scan, skin check and lung capacity test. We were normal. BC provided us lunch. We left about 1300 in pouring rain. I took a short nap and then started cutting the grass. It took over three hours to get the lawn in shape. Nancy fixed me some tacos for dinner. We read the GRP and watched some TV before heading upstairs. We turned the AC off after the rain had lowered the temp about 10 degrees.

Monday June 24, 2013

Weekend update: On Sunday we got up at 0730 and headed to the Detroit area. We were heading to the Embassy Suites in Livonia. Hospital Gift Shop suppliers are having a show. Nancy is attending on behalf of the Blodgett Gift Shop. Sunday was very hot and humid so about every 20 minutes I would go out and turn on the AC to cool the car. Don't want Ms P to get overheated. Nancy spent about 90 minutes looking around. She bought several items for the shop. After the show we headed to Trader Joe's. We purchased some 2 buck, ginger snap cookies, soup and trail mix. Our final stop for our Sunday was the Discount Mall just west of Howell. I purchased a pair of running shorts and some khaki shorts at J Crew. We got home about 1700. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for supper. We watched 60 Minutes and read the GRP before heading upstairs. The AC has been on for 24 hours. Monday June 24: I slept in until 0715. After the typical Monday at-home routine I got on the single speed and headed to the MAC. Today for the first time in two (maybe 3) years I ran outside. The last time I ran outside I took a face plant. I had to have stitches in my nose and I banged up my shoulder. It took about 8 months to get back full use of my shoulder. I ended up at the Kava House for my coffee. The day is sunny and very warm. After lunch Nancy reminded me that the Taurus needed an oil change. I am writing this blog in the Ford Dealership. They have free WiFi and I see two folks working on their laptops. As a project I am compiling a list of things that have changed or were not in existence in 1938. Of course the lap top computer I am using to write the blog was not available in 38 nor was the dictionary on my iPhone. In 1938 the US only had 48 states. No ball point pens or TV. Automatic transmissions and turn signals did not happen until the late 40s. God was not mentioned in the Pledge. Stay tuned.

Saturday June 22, 2013

I went out at 0650 and you could cut the air with a knife. I thought we would have a rainy day. Since I will miss Sunday's and Tuesday's swim, I got on the single speed and headed to the MAC. A Saturday swim was not an original idea. The pool was crowded. Two folks in each lane. I swam 1,000 yards. After the swim I stopped at the Omelette Shop for breakfast. I had oatmeal and read the WSJ. On the way home I pedaled around Reeds Lake. The trail as always was very crowded. To round out the morning Ms P and I took our mile walk. The sun came out at noon and it has remained hot and humid all day. The Eastown Business Community had their annual Bizarre Bazaar today. They closed off a section of Wealthy Street and many Vendors set up their tents. It was interesting but we did not buy anything. For dinner tonight we went to Rose's on Reeds Lake. We sat outside and watched all the boats on the lake. The place was crowded. It is now 1930 and the temperature is in the mid 80s. We might have to turn on the AC for the first time. June 22, 1938, 75 years ago. On this day in Ossineke, Mi Ggf Sanborn spent the morning in the garden picking bugs and cultivating. In the afternoon Ggm Sanborn set out the tomatoes. In the evening they took a drive to the Hartmanns. Life was not complicated in 1938.

Friday June 21, 2013

Happy Solstice: We get 15h21' of daylight today. In Edinburgh they have 17h36' of daylight. Today although much warmer than the last couple of days was still a great day. After the morning calisthenics I load up the single speed road bike and head to White Pine Trail. I rode 25 miles in 2h08'. It was a great day. I had a fawn walk across the trail right in front of me. The trail was crowded with bikers and walkers. After the ride I stopped by the Kava House to read the WSJ. I got home at 1300 and had a quick lunch. Nancy is still not very mobile but she is getting better every day. I delivered a OHNA notice about the upcoming Dumpster Day. The OHNA hires a refuse hauler to leave dumpsters in the old Iroquois parking lot. Neighbors can bring all the bulk items they want to discard. It took me about an hour to deliver the notices because I stopped and talked to Tom Skaggs a neighbor who lives at 1555 Alexander. Tom was a Naval Officer who served with a construction outfit in Vietnam. We can talk all day about Vietnam. I took a shower and then a short nap. For dinner Nancy and I ate at Olga's in Gas Light Village. Recently Gas Light Village has added several restaurants and this has generated a lot of foot traffic. I just took Ms P around the block. We will watch some TV before heading upstairs.

Thursday June 20, 2013

Sadly it is the last day of spring. Summer starts at 0500 Friday. I love the long days. Today was a perfect gem. I did my normal Thursday routine. I can report that I set a PB for 2013 in my row and swim. I broke the 9' barrier in the 2K row and I set a PB in the 1,000 yard swim. Life is good. It was warm today so the AC was on in the Kava House. I sat in their non AC room. The WSJ had a good article on Chinese steel being used on some big USA bridge projects. The Verrazano-Narrow bridge and the SF/Oakland Bay bridge are two examples. It is too bad that US steel cannot compete . From everything I have read the Chinese do a good job in fabricating steel. The US steel industry has brought this on themselves. MI at one time had over 50 steel fabricators. Now only one remains. Providing steel for the auto industry is what the USA steel companies want to do. My one and only design of a railroad bridge involved fabricating 110" deep steel beams. The beams were made in OR and shipped cross country to GR. No midwestern fabricators were available. The SF/OK and Verrazano bridges are toll bridges that do not use Federal funds. If Federal funds were involved the Buy America program would require US steel. I do not like the Buy America program. I did not get home until 1330. I had a quick lunch and then took Ms P on our mile walk. Nancy had to work at the Hospital Gift Shop this afternoon. I spent several hours reading mail, paying bills and just catching up. Who wants to be inside on nice Spring days. Nancy and I had dinner at GL Shipping tonight. The place was not very crowded. We ate outside. The weather was sunny and warm, 84. It is now 2028 and the sun is shining bright. Sunset tonight is 2125.

Wednesday June 19, 2013

Yesterday's Today Show had a segment on the need for 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Lack of sleep causes all sorts of problems for us old folks. So in keeping with the recommendations of the Today Show I slept in until 0800 this morning. Today is my easy day so my first activity was to pedal to Bill's for a bowl of oatmeal. After breakfast I pedaled around Reeds Lake. When I got home I walked Ms P around the block. Nancy has a meeting at the Gardens this morning. The meeting includes a tour of the new Japanese Gardens. The Japanese Garden is about 50% complete and Nancy said it is going to be beautiful. I had some errands so I got in the C2 and headed to Riverside Mall. I made my purchase and had a slice of pizza for lunch. I was surprised at how crowded the mall was. My major chore this afternoon is to finish cutting the grass. I walked around the yard to see if our skunk had returned. No signs. I hope the skunk has abandoned our yard. It took about 30 minutes to finish cutting the yard. Actually it took 45 minutes if you add in the time I spent throwing the ball to Ms P. Ms P and I then took our daily mile walk. When we got home Nancy had already arrived. We will have a light dinner and then I hope to head to bed about 2115. The weather the past two days has been perfect. Sunny days with temperatures in the 70s and cool evenings. The weather folks say it will start warming up later this week. I hope all you working folks got your 30 in today.

Tuesday June 18, 2013

Another really nice day. The sun was shining bright and the temperature was in the high 60s when I got on the single speed road bike and headed to the MAC. Yesterday I put a new Brooks saddle on the bike and also added a speedometer. Today is my tri day so I swam my 1,000 yards. I also had to shave the head and face. I ended up at the Kava House. I had a quick lunch and then planned on spending some time working in the office. However, Nancy called me down stairs to look at a critter hiding in our bushes. Nancy noticed the critter because Ms P was barking at it. The critter was a skunk. Several days ago I noticed a big skunk walking across the back yard. It was probably the same skunk hiding in our bushes. We put Ms P in the house and I called Critter Control. They have not called back. It has been a week since I cut the grass so I decided to start doing the front yard. The skunk prevented me from doing the back yard. I finished the front yard at 1800. I looked in the bushes and our friend had departed. We still have to get rid of the skunk because I don't want to have to clean up Ms P. Last week our neighbor, Allen Bennett, had to clean his dog who tangled with a skunk. I think it was probably the same skunk that resides some place in our back yard. Allen cleaned his dog with tomato juice. I have heard that this is the best solution for getting rid of the skunk odor. Nancy fixed chicken and bean taco for dinner. They were real good. Nancy had to attend an OHNA Board meeting tonight. I stayed and watched some TV. Actually I fell asleep for about 40 minutes.

Monday June 17, 2013

Sunday morning and I am up at 0655 and ready to go for my swim. Nancy's foot still has not healed enough to let her swim. I thought I was tearing up the pool but my 1,500 time was 45" less than my average time. After the swim I stopped at home to pick up Nancy and Ms P. We headed to Meijer's for supplies. For the first time in several weeks the cost of gas was below $4. It was $3.94. Nancy had a blueberry pancake left over from yesterday so I had it with two fried eggs. I took my afternoon nap and then we got in the Taurus and headed to Saugatuck. The place was really crowded. I am alway surprised at the number of out-of-state cars. Saugatuck must be popular destination for folks in IN and IL. We spent about an hour walking around downtown. Nancy's mobility is limited because she wore her boot. The weather was great. We had bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches for dinner. Watched a little TV before going upstairs. Yesterday was Father's Day and I got a call from all the kids. It is alway good to hear from them. Monday June 17: I performed all my calisthenics at home. It was such a nice day that I loaded up my road bike on the C2 and headed to the Musketawa Trail. I pedaled from Marne to Ravenna. I did 24 miles in two hours. I have an old saddle on the bike so on my way home I stopped at GR Bike in Gaslight Village. I bought a Brooks saddle. While they were putting the saddle on I walked to Starbucks and read the WSJ. The WSJ had an article on the programs proposed by the new Emergency Financial Manager for Detroit. He is playing hardball. The workers will take a big hit on their pensions and health care. The bond holders of Detroit bonds will be asked to settle for pennies on the dollar. It is really grim but necessary. I got home about 1400 and drove Nancy to a Vendor's store so Nancy could pick up an order. When we got home I got on the road bike and pedaled to GR bike to buy a speedometer. We had a light dinner and then watched some TV. It is now 2030 and I am going to take Ms P around the block.

Saturday June 15, 2013

The heck with routine it's summer. This morning Nancy and I decided to go out for breakfast. We ate at Cheri Inn. We arrived at 0800 and had no trouble getting a table. Twenty minutes later you had to wait to get a table. I had poached eggs with corn beef hash and Nancy had blueberry pancakes. After breakfast we stopped at Martha's Vineyard on Union. MV is a great store. It is a wine shop and deli/bakery. We wanted to see if they had a Michigan Wine we had on Mackinaw Island. They did not but I did purchase a Michigan wine. We stopped home to get Ms P and then we headed to Walmart to get some mints. Nancy also bought some summer clothes. I got some lotion. We had light sprinkles all morning but I decided it was not raining hard enough to stop me from going on a bike ride. I loaded up the road bike and headed to Millennium Park. It stopped raining as soon as I got on the bike. The bike trail was crowded. I had a young deer cross my path and almost ran over a turtle. I pedaled 21 miles in 1H45'. It has been awhile since I have used the single speed but I made it up the two steep inclines with no problems. On my way home I stopped at Grand Rapids Bike shop to see if they had any Brooks bike saddles. They did, so on Monday I will buy one and put it on the road bike. Brooks are the best bike saddles. When I got home I took Ms P on her one mile walk. Nancy is grilling burgers for dinner. We are spending a quiet night at home.

Friday June 14, 2013

Another nice day in GR. Sun and warm temperatures were the norm. I took Ms P out at 0600 and then slept through my alarm until 0800. Today I am starting my Monday and Friday summer routine. I will do my normal calisthenics at home and then go on a long bike ride or kayak trip. Today I got on the bike and pedaled to Ada. The trip covered 20 miles. I did stop at the Kava House on my way home to get coffee and read the WSJ. It took me 90 minutes to read the WSJ. I have to think about making some changes to my reading habits. Kim, our cleaning lady, was still working when I got home. She washed all the windows. I took Ms P on our mile walk and then had a quick lunch. We have a new downtown farmer's market. It is suppose to be like Cleveland's West Side Market. The market partially opened last week. We drove to the market but they have not completed construction so all the streets were closed. We decided to wait another month before visiting. We have been talking about buying new chairs for our back room. We found the chairs that we like but had trouble deciding color and leather or cloth. So today on our third visit we purchased two leather chairs. The color is a dark burgundy (I think). The chairs rock, swivel and recline. We had dinner tonight at the Olive Garden. I forgot how good the food was. We are now just relaxing at home. The pills Nancy is taking for nerve pain knock her out so she will head upstairs early. It is now almost 2000 and the sun is shining bright. I love this time of year.

Thursday June 13, 2013

Boy did it rain hard last night. Ms P went bonkers. Yesterday at her doctor's appointment Nancy said that she was getting some nerve pain in her foot and it made sleep difficult. The Doctor gave her a prescription and it works. Nancy had the best sleep in weeks. She did not even know that it rained. Today the weather is prefect. Sunny skies with temperature in the low 70s. I rode my road bike to the MAC. After the MAC I dropped the bike off at Grand Rapids Bike in Gas Light Village. They put on a new straight handle bar and mirror. I didn't like the drop handle bars. While they were replacing the bars I walked over to the Starbucks on Wealthy. This Starbucks is really pleasant now that EGR HS is off for the summer. I did pick up one piece of information from the WSJ. Last year for the first time ever in the US more white folks died than were born. I hope the USA stays out of Syria. This is a first class can of worms. The Law of Unintended Consequences" will surely raise its ugly head. After a quick lunch I reviewed some calculations. I also went through my mail. I got a letter from my health insurance company (Medicare Plus Blue Group PPO) they are not paying as much as I thought for my recent skin cancer surgery. In two weeks Nancy and I are attending an all day conference with Blue Cross. They are going to explain the Affordable Care Act. My big question is why does it take all day? Ms P and I just finished our mile walk. Did you know that my eyes are getting so bad that I have to sit outside in the bright sunlight to cut my toenails? While outside I finally figured out how to make Nancy's built in opener work with our new opener. Tonight we are going to Great Lakes Shipping for dinner. After dinner we will stop by Breton Village Mall to get some supplies. I am reading a good book on Catherine the Great, the Russian Czar. The Czars did not treat their folks, especially the serfs, very well. You read these books and it just highlights how great the USA is.

Wednesday June 12, 2013

I got up at 0555 to get ready for Breakfast Club. Normal attendance when I first joint was over 50. The attendance today was about 30. I don't know how much longer they can hang on. Today's speaker was from the John Ball Zoo. He talked about changes at the zoo. It was interesting because they keep expanding. On my way home I stopped at Kava House to grab a quick cup. I had to get home because the installer for the garage door was suppose to check in at 0900. He showed up at 1100. It took about 2 hours for the installation. Nancy got her stitches out this morning. The Doctor gave her some medicine. Nancy has to work at the Gardens this afternoon. I headed to Costco to pick up her prescription. I walked Me P around the block and then took a short nap. Nancy has Book Club this evening so Tom Moleski and I are meeting at Vitale's for Pizza. It looks like we might get some thunder storms this evening. I decided to take Ms P for a mile walk to wear her down before the storm. We got about 75% through the walk when it started to thunder and rain. We ran home. I will watch some TV before heading to bed. I did get my 30 in today did you?

Tuesday June 11, 2013

The weather folks this morning said that temps would reach to low 80s today. The nice thing about warm weather is that all I need for clothes are shorts and a tee shirt. I don't even need socks. Today was my tri day and I thought I would set a PB in the swim. I was wrong. I try to do 1,000 yards in less than 30'. I do 500 yards using the breast stroke and 500 yards doing the crawl. After the MAC I headed to the Kava House. Today is free refill Tuesday. The WSJ had several articles on the problems in Turkey and Syria. I don't think anyone knows what the eventual outcome will be. I got home about 1330 and Nancy told me that it is suppose to rain all day Wednesday. Bummer, Wednesday is my grass cutting day. I decided to do the grass today. It took me about 3 hours. The heat gets to Ms P because after chasing the ball several times she has to take a break. After a quick shower I took a 20 minute nap. Nancy fixed her asian chicken salad for dinner. She makes this salad during warm weather. It is my favorite. I read the GRP (paper edition) and watched NCIS. I am going to bed early because I have to get up early for Breakfast Club.

Monday June 10, 2013

It rained hard last night but at 0600 it had stopped. It restarted about 0900 and was raining hard when I got ready to go to the MAC. I decided to take the C2. Just as I was ready to go it stopped so I took the bike. Lately I have been taking Breton Road because it is faster than my other routes. Usually the traffic at 0900 is heavy because of the two schools located on Breton. School is out so traffic was very light. On Mondays I shave my head. It takes about 5 minutes. I ended up at Kava House for my coffee. The WSJ has been talking about the reemergence of credit default swaps and derivatives. I know that these are risky investments but I still don't know how they work. Are you worried about the Feds monitoring your phones and computer? I have mixed emotions. I had a quick lunch and then took Ms P on her 1.12 mile walk. I then got in the C2 and headed to Berger Chevy to get my oil changed. I looked around the lot to see the new HHR and small pickup. The salesman told me Chevy no longer makes the HHR or a small pickup. After the oil change I stopped at the Chow Hound to get some new dry dog food. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get Google Earth on the Air. No luck. We had a light dinner and watched the news. We are now watching Major Crimes on TNT. I hope to be in bed by 2130.

Sunday June 9, 2013

Weekend update. Friday morning and it already looks like a great day. Nancy has trouble backing the car out of the west side of the garage so I backed it out for her. Our west side garage door opener still has not been repaired. I did the MAC thing and then pedaled to the Kava House for coffee and to find out what is going on in the world. I did not get home until 1330. Why do I read so slow? After a quick lunch I headed upstairs to catch up on my email and to clean the office. I did take time out to take Ms P on a walk. I also pedaled to the PO to mail my passport in for renewal. At 1700 we got into the Taurus and headed to Brann's. We attended Becky Verker's 70th birthday party. It was a surprise party and she indeed was surprised. We had dinner with the Mastins. It was a nice affair. Saturday: I slept in until about 0730. I had breakfast at Bill's. I had oatmeal with all the trimmings, toast, coffee and tomato juice. It cost $5.90. How that for a bargain? After breakfast I pedaled around Reeds Lake. The trail around the lake is always crowded on weekends. I am a big fan of linear parks. I spent some time getting setup for summer. I turned the outside water on and brought out the picnic table and patio chairs. I loaded up the kayak and headed to Reeds Lake. I paddled around the lake. It took about 80 minutes. This was my first kayak outing of the year. At 1730 we got in the Taurus and headed to the Moleski's for dinner. Tom grilled chicken and vegetable kabobs. It was such a nice evening we sat on their deck and had our meal. The mosquitos got pretty intense about 2000 so we headed inside. We got home about 2130. It was a nice summer's day. Sunday: The alarm went off at 0645 and I got up and headed to the MAC for my Sunday swim. Nancy's recent foot surgery prevents her from swimming. After the swim I picked Nancy up and we headed to the Meijer's on the East Beltline. I filled the Taurus up and gas was $4.25 a gallon. I headed to park the car when I saw Nancy standing outside. The store had to close because of a power outage. We then headed to the Cascade Meijer's. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. I took a short nap and then we headed to Blodgett's gift shop so Nancy could exchange a gift. The store was closed. I had trouble opening the garage door so I drove to the battery shop to get a new battery for the opener. It worked. It is now 1705 and I am going on a short walk before dinner. Nancy is fixing burger's. We will read the GRP and watch 60' before heading upstairs.

Thursday June 6, 2013

Today is the 69th anniversary of the D-day landing. I only saw one small article in the WSJ about the event. The youngest participant alive today is probably 88 years old. I have known several men who were part of the landing party. We got up at 0630. Nancy still has to sleep with the boot on. It is not very comfortable. It has rained most of the day. I wore my rain coat for my ride to the MAC. The temperature lately has been about 10 degrees below normal. So I have to wear layers on the upper body. It is June so I refuse to wear long pants when I ride the bike. Today I did my tri and my time in the row, run and swim were about average. I stopped at the Starbucks in D&W to get my morning coffee. The IRS, National Security Agency and Justice Dept still dominate the news. I still don't understand the mechanics of the stock market. The reason for yesterday's drop was very hard to understand. As soon as I got home we got in the Taurus and headed to Costco. I got my passport picture taken. We also bought peanut butter, sandwich rolls, eggs and wine. I ran into an old fraternity at Costco. We had a nice talk. I ended our stay with a hot dog. I was going to take Ms P for a walk but she refuses to walk in the rain. Tonight we are going to Great Lakes Shipping for dinner. We got a paper copy of the GRP so we will watch the news and read the GRP before heading upstairs.

Wednesday June 5, 2013

I got up with the alarm at 0630. Today is my easy day, exercise wise, but I have a busy agenda. I pedaled to Bill's for my oatmeal breakfast. I did read most of the WSJ. I gave up my Kindle subscription to the DFP because I can much more just by looking at their free web site. Currently I want to read about Turkey and Syria. Most TV news does not cover this story. I also like to follow stories about business and the economy. I was surprised to see a front page story about GR in the WSJ. A local group wants to create a white water kayak run in downtown GR. They want to remove the 6th Street dam and do some other river work. It will cost $27 million. I don't like the idea. We should spend our money on recreational projects that impact more folks. Not many white water kayakers in GR. After breakfast I head home and got ready for a 1030 Grand Rapids Building Authority meeting. Today we finished our last project and we have no projects in the hopper. After the meeting I checked my mail and then drove Nancy to Meijer Gardens. She has to work this afternoon. Nancy says she feels ready to start driving tomorrow. I got the mower out and got ready to cut the grass. But before I cut the grass I had a 1400 appointment at the skin doctor. She put liquid nitrogen on the spot on my nose. I stopped at Harmony Brewing to get my growler filled. It looked like rain when I started mowing so I had to hustle. Ms P also wanted to play ball. I managed to do both and get the grass cut just before the rain. It was raining when Ms P and I got in the Taurus to pick up Nancy. When we got home I took a shower and a 30 minute nap. We had a light dinner and then watched the news. It is now 1942 and as soon as I finish this blog I am heading downstairs. Lately, Nancy has been heading to bed early so I have been watching movies on the Military Channel and Encore's Western channel. I get hooked on the movies and don't get to bed until 2300. I hope everyone is taking advantage of these long days and spending time outside.

Tuesday June 4, 2013

Boy it has been awhile since I have written this blog. I checked and my last entry was Sunday April 28. I wrote the April 28 blog in CA. Nancy and I spent 10 days in the LA area. We spent 5 days with Missy and AJ and then visited Steve and his family. We left CA on Tuesday May 7. We have been having a lot of rain in GR so when we got home our lawn was about 6" high. On Wednesday May 8 we attended a fund raising event at Meijer Gardens. This was a formal event so we had to get dressed up. We spent about two weeks catching up. We did attend a Mother Days lunch at the Moleski's. I attended Breakfast Club on Wednesday the 15th. I think that we were totally back to our normal routine by the 18th. On the 22nd I visited my skin doctor and she took a sample of a spot on my nose. Thursday the 24th we attended a wine and cheese event at the Van Andel Institute. We got a tour of the facility. Wells Fargo our financial advisors sponsored the event. On the 24th we attended an OHNA monthly TGIF. It was held outdoors and despite the cold we had a good turnout. On Memorial Day Nancy and I got in the Taurus and headed to Mackinac Island. For my birthday Nancy got reservations for two nights at the Grand Hotel. The Grand Hotel is great. The rooms were big and nicely decorated. Breakfast and dinner were included in the package. The evening meal was 5 courses and the food was great. I did have to wear a sport coat and tie for dinner. The only downside was the weather. On Tuesday our only full day on the Island the temperature was in the low 40s with rain and high winds. We left Wednesday morning for home. We did stop in Gaylord to see Helen and Don. We also stopped in Cedar Springs to pick up Ms P. On Thursday morning I drove Nancy to St Mary's SE Medical Center. Nancy had surgery on her left foot. The Doctor removed a bone spur and lengthen her achilles. The Doctor told me everything went well. Nancy must wear a boot all day for the next three weeks. For the following three weeks she must wear the boot at night. Not being a great cook we have been eating take-out from the Outback and Russ's. We took the bandages off Monday morning and Nancy has two heavily stitched areas. Ms P has constantly been at her side. Our west side garage door opener stopped working so we are in the process of getting it replaced. This morning I drove Nancy to Blodgett for a gift shop meeting. I then went swimming. I picked her up at noon. Nancy fixed a great chicken noodle soup for dinner. The days are really long. Sunset is at 2117. I love this time of year.