Friday February 28, 2014

Finally the last day of February. It has been a tough winter. We are already in second place for snowfall. This morning is was -12. -12 is a real number and not wind chill. I went out at 0500 with Ms P. Back to bed and up at 0730. Monday I start setting the alarm for 0630. Nancy had spent a restful night but she said that all the pain medicine from yesterday has left her body. She has been taking her pain pill every four hours. I got to the Hall Street Bakery at 0900 and read the WSJ until 0930. I had trouble finding a parking space at MVP. My first thought was that the pool would be crowded. No problem I did not have to share a lane. I cannot increase my time for the 1,500 meter. It is always between 42' and 43'. I got home at noon and Kim was still here. Nancy had done several loads of laundry. I told her not to overdue it but I don't think she was listening. We are staying home this evening. I will heat up the rest of the stew we had last night. Nancy said all she wants is yogurt. It is now 1634 and as soon as I finish this sentence I will take a 2.5 mile walk.

Thursday February 27,2014

The alarm goes off at 0545. We have to be at the surgery center by 0700. We had about 1" of new snow overnight. I shoveled just the drive. It was snowing and very cold when we left at 0630. We encountered white out conditions on the freeway that made driving an adventure. Nancy's surgery was scheduled for 0830. The surgery took about 20 minutes. Nancy was heavily sedated so it took about 60 minutes for her to recover. The Doctor talked to me about the surgery and said everything went fine. She can put weight on her knee and does not have any mobility issues. She cannot drive for about a week. No PT is required but they recommend swimming and using a stationary bike. The snow had stopped and the sun was out so our drive home was pleasant. I was surprised that Nancy could climb stairs. She rested in her recliner in the back room. We put ice on the knee and kept it elevated. I had to run several errand. My first stop was Costco to pick up a prescription and buy some milk. Next I stopped at the bank to get some money for Kim who is coming tomorrow. Nancy spent most of the day resting and reading. About 1700 I went on a 2.5 mile walk. Nancy's friend had prepared a stew to eat after the surgery. I heated it up in the microwave. She also gave us some biscuits that I had to bake. Yes folks I did some cooking. Wonders never cease. We had a nice dinner. For dessert we had the chocolate chip ice cream that Kathi had given us. We also used the chocolate sauce that Kathi had provided. It was a great meal. Who is counting calories? We watched sone TV on Netflix. Nancy was very tired so she headed upstairs about 2100. The surgery center was new and had all the new technology. Over a billion dollars has been spent in the GR region on new medical facilities. I wonder do we have a potential medical bubble? Who is going to pay for all this new construction? I hope the medical folks have done a market study.

Wednesday February 26, 2014

Wednesday my easy day. I slept in until 0700 and then took Ms P out to do her bidness. We had a light dusting of snow so in keeping with my bare pavement policy I shoveled. Today I had to drive Nancy to a 1100 doctors appointment. I walked over to Wolfgang's for breakfast. I chose Wolfgang's because it was closest. Every year Wolfgang's is voted the best breakfast restaurant in GR. I don't think it is that great. Todays breakfast of potatoes, eggs, sausage and toast was not that great. The same breakfast at Bill's cost less, $2, and has bigger portions and better potatoes. It has been very cold today. The high today was 14. We got to the doctors right at 1100 and we did not have to wait long. I did have time to finish the WSJ. I still don't know what a bitcoin is? Part of the reason for the visit is Nancy has been having high blood pressure readings. She wanted the Doctor's ok to have her knee surgery tomorrow. Nancy was all smiles when she left the office. It looks like our BP machine might be broken. Her BP was fine this morning. Our next medical purchase will be a BP machine. Nancy is working at the Gardens this afternoon. It was almost time for her shift to start so instead of driving home and then back to the Gardens we stopped at Meijer's Thrifty Acres so I could buy some Guiness beer. Last Saturday at the Spinnaker I had a Guiness with dinner. It was very good. I bought an eight pack. I dropped Nancy off and then came right home. I checked my email and took a short nap. It is now 1530 and I am leaving to pick up Nancy. Nancy was waiting for us as we pulled up. As soon as I got home I went on a 2.5 mile walk. The weather folks said the wind chill was below zero and I believe them. We had a light dinner. We watched the news are starting to watch Jeopardy. As soon as I finish this blog we will watch Inspector Morse and then House of Cards on Netflix. We have to get to bed early because Nancy has to be at the hospital at 0700.

Tuesday February 25, 2014

Tuesday February 25, 2014 Woke up today with a light dusting of snow. I had my coffee at the Hall Street Bakery. They had packaged some of yesterday’s bakery items at 50% off. I bought a bag of breakfast cookies. They were real good. I picked Nancy up at 0930 and drove her to the hospital. She is meeting Vendors today. The pool was crowded but I did not have to share a lane. After the swim I bought a coffee and sat in MVP’s lounge area and finished the WSJ. I am still having problems getting sections of the WSJ to download even when connected to the internet. I really don’t understand what is happening in the Ukraine. If fact I am now looking at a map of the country. It looks like the Roman and Orthodox branches of the Catholic church are not playing nice. The Michigan papers have been reporting on Detroit’s bankruptcy woes. Nobody is a winner. After lunch I headed upstairs to clean up some items. I tried to get an appointment with a specialist I have used in the past. The earliest I can get in is the middle of April. I called my GP and I will see him next week. All I wanted to do was get a prescription refilled. Speaking of health care there have been some receint articles of middle class folks who have a health plan that is paying for their expensive cancer treatments. The folks have this plan cancelled because it is in noncompliance with the ACA. The replacement is much more expensive. The ACA is not getting good reviews. What do you expect with a law that is thounsand of pages long. I am sure over times most of the problems with be corrected. At least that is my hope. It is now 1500 and Nancy has not called me to pick her up. I asked her how many hours she spents working for the gift shop. She does not know but I bet it is at least 20 a week. Nancy called and we picked her up at 1600. I finished the afternoon off with a 1.5 mile walk. For dinner we finished the sloppy joes and soup. Today is Nancy’s sister, Peg, birthday. Nancy gave her a call. Everything is going well with the Middletons. We watched NCIS and then a new episode of House of Cards before heading upstairs. I got my 30 in today.

Monday February 24, 2014

The Polar Vortex attacks. Today is the first of five very cold days. In fact it is cold enough to drain the battery in my iPhone. I just got back from a 2.5 mile walk and I had the phone in my coat pocket. I understand that the cold weather also drains the batteries in electric cars. On Saturday Nancy was looking out the window and saw four robins in the backyard. I hope they have found a warm place to stay during this cold spell. Today I took Ms P out at 0600. I did calisthenics and then had coffee at the Hall Street Bakery. I was surprised after last weeks big crowds that the place was empty this morning. I picked Nancy up at 0915 and drove her to the hospital. She has a board meeting this morning. The pool at MVP is available at 0955. I arrived at 0955 and found an empty lane. I mixed up my routine this morning but still swam 1,500 meter. I left MVP at 1115 and drove to the hospital to pick up Nancy. We stopped at home to get our Costco shopping list and Ms P. Costco was not very crowded. After Costco we stopped at the Dollar Tree so Nancy could buy some items. I had a quick lunch and then took a short nap. As mentioned earlier I took a walk. We will have a light dinner, watch the news and then one of the last Inspector Lewis episodes on Netflix. I saw in today's WSJ that Netflix and Comcast have reached a cost agreement. Will our Netflix bill go up?

Sunday February 23, 2014

We got up at 0700 this morning. When Ms P and I went out the sun was just starting to rise. It looks like another nice winter's day. The expected high today is 25. The average high for this date is 36 and the low is 21. Our cold continues. For the next week the highs will not get out of the teens. Our days are getting longer. Today we have 11 hours of daylight. We can expect 12 on March 21 and 15 on June 21. The pool was crowded today. Every lane had two swimmers. Nancy and I shared a lane. I swam my normal 1,500 meters. After the swim we headed to Meijer's. Gas today was $3.65. That is $0.20 more than yesterday. Nancy loaded up on grapes today. Most of our fruit comes from South America. It is good to have fresh fruit in the winter. In my boyhood fresh fruit was not available in winter. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. I read a section of the paper and then took my Sunday nap. I slept through the UM/MSU game. UM won. It is now 1600 and as soon as I finish this blog I am going on a 2.5 mile walk. Nancy is fixing sloppy joe's for dinner. We will watch the news and read the GRP. We will end the evening with another episode of Inspector Lewis. Are we predictable? This date in 1938, Ossineke, Mi. Great grandfather Sanborn wrote that they had just received over 6 inches of snow. The temp was 28 all day. GGF Sanborn was a business man who dabbled in real estate. Today he sold some timber land to a man called Brilinski. He recorded it in his ledger, page 179.

Saturday February 22, 2013

Saturday February 22, 2014 We all slept in until 0800. Nancy and I decided to go out to breakfast. We ended up at the Omelette Shop. The place was crowded, we had to wait about 10 minutes. I had the corn beef hash with eggs. Nancy had eggs, bacon and toast. We both decided that we should stick with the oatmeal. They ruined the corn beef hash. They should use the Navy’s recipe. We headed home to pick up Ms P and then headed out to look at some condos. Our first stop was Sabal Point. Several units were for sale so we drove by them. We then headed to Centennial Point to look the place over. They also have some nice looking units. Nancy and I agree that we need to get a realtor to help us. Later in the afternoon I took a four mile walk. Another nice winter’s day walk. I took a shower and then a quick nap. At 1730 we got in the Taurus and headed to the Spinnaker for dinner with the Moleksi’s. The place was empty. We were surprised because it has great food and surroundings. The place is noted for seafood but only Tom and I had a fish plate. It was a pleasant evening. We got home at 2000 and watched an Inspector Lewis episode on Netflix. We did not head up until nearly 2300.

Friday February 21, 2014

Winter returns with a vengeance. The wind was howling all night. The wind speeds were in the 30s. It started to snow when I entered the Hall Street Bakery at 0830. After spending about 40' reading the WSJ I headed home to pick up Nancy. She is working at the Hospital Gift Shop today. I was in the pool at 0955 and had my choice of lanes. I think most folks have a hard time swimming when we have blizzard conditions outside. After a quick lunch Ms P and I get in the Taurus and head to the hospital to pick up Nancy. Nancy had to have some blood work done for her upcoming surgery so we head for the lab. It was treacherous going because the East Beltline was iced over. After the lab we stopped at Nancy's friend Kathi's house so I could help her load up her van. Kathi has a shoulder problem from all the recent snow shoveling. I loaded all her heavy bags into the van. We also picked up some food Kathi had prepared for Nancy after her surgery. Apparently no one thinks I can cook. The weather conditions are so bad that we decide to stay home this evening. I put the car in and shoveled the walk. We got about 1" of snow. We now have over 100" of snowfall this year. A couple more inches and we will be in second place for winter snowfall. The record is 134" set in the 50s. I don't think we will reach that amount. Nancy warmed up the hamburg bake bean casserole for dinner. We also had hot dogs. We have not watched much Olympics because we are hooked on Inspector Lewis on Netflix. We were in bed by 2200.

Thursday February 20, 2014

I slept in until 0600. No snow overnight, in fact heavy rain is predicted for today. Much to my surprise the end of the drive was plugged with snow. All the recent snows have narrowed the roads. Some roads were so narrow only single lane traffic was possible. The City was sending out big plows to widen the roads. Last night they widened Mackinaw Road by putting all the snow in our drive. It took me 45 minutes to clear the drive. I had coffee at Hall Street Bakery. The parking lot was full so I had to park in the Church lot across the street. The Bakery I think has been successful. The place is crowded and the bakery items are popular. Unlike the Kava House, Hall Street has an older crowd. It has a diverse customer base. I got in the pool at 1045 and swam my 1,500 meters. I got a dose of athletes foot so I am blaming MVP. I started wearing my crocs today. Athletes foot use to be very common in gyms. In high school they use to have a tray of disinfectant you stepped in after your shower. Nancy went out to lunch with her friend Kathi today. After lunch Nancy and I ran some errands. We stopped at the Dog Hospital to buy some medicine for Ms P. We also drove to Pet Smart to get some joint medicine. Nancy and I had dinner at Great Lakes Shipping tonight. It was raining hard, in fact, it has been raining since noon. The rain must have kept folks at home because GLS was empty. We watched the news. It is now 2000 and as soon as I finish this blog we will fire up Netflix and watch another episode of Inspector Lewis.

Wednesday February 19, 2014

Today was Breakfast Club. I got up at 0600 and made it to BC by 0700. The speaker today was from Opera GR. She has only been the Director for about three weeks but she gave a great talk. In fact I was so impressed I am taking Nancy to a March 7 performance. RHS to an opera! On my way home I stopped at the Wealthy Street Bakery to have a coffee and read the WSJ. The world is not a safe place. I really hope we stay out of the trouble in Syria, Venezuela, Thailand and the Ukraine. Nancy has to work at the Gardens this afternoon. I am driving her. We left early so that we could drive through several condos that friends told us we might like. We liked two condo units that are near the intersection of East Paris and Burton. We have a lot research to do. On the way home I stopped at D&W to get some milk. I have added more milk to my diet. Us old folks need calcium. I picked Nancy up at 1615. The weather folks say we could get an inch of rain tomorrow. We might get some local flooding. I spent about 30 minutes uncovering our storm drain. We had a light dinner and now at 2000 we are watching an Inspector Lewis episode on Netflix.

Tuesday February 18, 2014

Last night before going to bed I spent about an hour shoveling the walks. I got up at 0600 and spent another hour shoveling. With all the shoveling activity I only performed my calisthenics at 50%. I had coffee at the Hall Street Bakery. I left at 0925 and stopped at home to take Nancy to work at the hospital. With all the snow on the roads I really like our four wheel drive Taurus. It gets us through all the snow covered roads. Today I swam my 1,500 meters and for the first time broke 43 minutes. I finished reading the WSJ at MVP. I purchased a cup of coffee and sat in one of their comfortable chairs. I had a quick lunch and then picked Nancy up at 1300. We drove to her knee doctor. Nancy is scheduled for surgery a week from Thursday. I took a short nap and then headed outside to make sure our walks were ice free. Tonight the OHNA Board is meeting at our house. Nancy fixed a stir fry pasta, chicken, green bean dish for supper. It was good. Nancy baked cookies for the meeting. She also had coffee and water. I fired up the fireplace. The meeting started at 1900 and all Board members arrived before 1900. Folks must have cabin fever because they have a good turnout. Ms P and I are up in my office writing this blog. The temperature finally got above 32. This is the first time in February. In fact we might get some rain tomorrow. The days are getting longer. Today we have 10h42' of daylight. This is 1h42' more daylight than on Dec 21. Spring is coming!

Monday February 17, 2014

It was cold this morning, 15. When I was young the only time we got off from school after New Year's was Good Friday and Easter Monday. That's all. Now in addition to spring break schools also have what is known as the mid-winter break. East Grand Rapids has a week mid-winter break. Most other schools might have a 4 day weekend. Today when I went for my coffee at the Hall Street Bakery the place was crowded with school kids and their parents. I asked what gives and was told it is mid-winter break. Today is President's Day so no WSJ because the stock market was closed. Despite all the kids at MVP I did not have to share a lane. After my swim I stopped at Macatawa Bank and purchased some dollar coins. I always pay for my coffee with the dollar coins. In fact I think the mint should stop printing dollar bills. I also think they should stop minting pennies. Pennies are a pain. The weather folks say a major winter storm is coming our way this afternoon. They predict 3 to 5 inches. After lunch I took a quick nap so I would be fresh to shovel snow. The Weather service was right at 1500 we had received about 3 inches. The Gold Medal snow shoveling team of Nancy and Bob headed out at 1500 and cleared the walks. It was very cold and the snow was continuing to fall. Ms P came out for about 15 minutes but she soon wanted to go in. Age is catching up with her. It took us about an hour to clear the walks. I plan on going out about 1900 to shovel again. It is easier to shovel 3 inches than waiting until we have 5 inches. We are having a light dinner. We will watch some olympics and maybe a Netflix show before heading upstairs. We have to be fresh to finish shoveling tomorrow morning.

Sunday February 16, 2014

Sunday is our swim day. I took Ms P out at 0500 and had to shovel. We got about 1/4" of snow. We got up for good at 0700. Nancy and I were the first folks through the door. Nancy got in the pool before me but we were lucky and did not have to share a lane. After the swim we headed to Meijer's for our weekly supplies. Today was the first time in three weeks that we purchased gas. Spent over $50. We also bought about $100 worth of groceries. Yesterday Nancy defrosted the downstairs freezer. She said she bought a lot of food so we could fill up the unit. It worked. I had to shovel the walk again. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. It was tasty. After breakfast I read the funnies and then headed upstairs for my Sunday nap. I watched the last of the UM/UW game. Waste of time1 It is now 1600 and as soon as I finish I will walk Ms P around the block and then take a 2.5 mile walk. Nancy is fixing hamburg/baked bean casserole for dinner. We will watch some of the Olympics and then maybe another episode of Inspector on Netflix. Don't let winter eat you alive. Get outside for 30 minutes each day.

Saturday February 15, 2014

Slept in until 0700. Walked to Omelette Shop for their oatmeal breakfast. It was cold this morning but the sun was bright with not a cloud in the sky. I have not figured out how to get the WSJ completely downloaded to the mini iPad. I download at home. If I go to a place with no internet I get through the first section and then get a message saying they cannot download the rest of the WSJ because no internet is available. I don't know how the download works. Is part of the WSJ stored in the cloud? I will have to experiment with saving. The walk home was very pleasant. Bright cloudless sky and the snow crunching as I walked. A perfect winter's day. It was so nice that when I got home I told Nancy we had to go for a drive. We got in the Taurus and headed to Holland beach. Not an original idea. Major traffic jam. Everyone must have had cabin fever. We finally found a parking place and took Ms P on a short walk. The ice extends as far as the eye can see. No open water was visible. About 1600 I took another 2.5 mile walk. For dinner I went to Subway and got each of us a sandwich. We watched Inspector on Netflix.

Friday February 14, 2014

Happy St. Valentine's Day. In elementary school we use to exchange Valentine cards. I think each card cost about $0.02 each. You would exchange with everyone in your class. It was fun to spend any evening going over cards to see if perhaps a card from some girl in your class had a special meaning. Never happened! I think about this time of year we also had a dance called the "Sadie Hawkins". Sadie Hawkins was a character from the Lil Abner comic strip. For this dance the girls invited the boys. It was not a formal dance like a prom. I think everyone dressed as Hillbillys. I went to several and had fun. Winter continues. I went out at 0600 and had to shovel a thin layer of snow. I had my coffee at Hall St Bakery. I only have an hour so I cannot finish the WSJ. I really felt good in the pool today but my time was about the same as always. The plows had come through and blocked our driveway entrance. I spent some time removing this snow. I took the C2 to the Chevy dealer to get an oil change. I also got the car washed. After a short nap I drove Nancy to Meijer's to get some sale items. I finished the afternoon with a 2.5 mile walk. Tonight Nancy is fixing chili and pork sandwiches. We plan on watching a movie on Netflix. Valentine's Day in Ossineke, Michigan 1938. Great Grandfather Sanborn reported that it was colder and they received 2" of snow overnight. Recent rains had caused flooding in southern Mi and Cheboygan.

Thursday February 13, 2014

Got up at 0500 and was surprised that it was a warm 20. Back to bed and then up for good at 0700. I cannot get into the pool until 1045 so I took my time doing the calisthenics. I had coffee again at the new bakery at Hall and Fuller. The bakery is called "Hall Street Bakery". They have a liquor license and a limited evening menu. Nancy and I will have to try out the place some evening. I was in the pool at 1045 and today I swam 30 laps, 1500 meter, in 43'. After my swim I came right home and had a quick lunch. When Nancy got home at 1300, we grabbed Ms P and headed to Costco. We have been buying Costco's cheap wine in 1.5 liter bottles. It is pretty good, Costco's answer to Trader Joe's "Two Buck Chuck". I did take a short nap. It was warm enough today, mid 20s, so I took Ms P on her first outside walk in two weeks. I then took a 1.5 mile walk. Nancy and I had dinner at Great Lakes Shipping. The place was jammed. It is now 2130 and we are watching the Olympics. The weather folks say that next week we will have temperatures above 32. We need some snow melt. I have not seen grass in our yard since mid December. What happened to Global Warming!

Wednesday February 12, 2014

Ms P is back which means I get up at 0500 to take her out. It was about -3 this morning. Today is my easy day. I got up at 0730 and bundled up for my 2.5 mile walk to the Omelette Shop. It was cold but the sun was out. I had their oatmeal breakfast. After breakfast I walked home and then spent some time cleaning my desk. Nancy has a busy day at Meijer's Garden. She starts with a 1100 meeting and then takes her normal shift at the front desk. I did take a short nap. At 1430 I got in the C2 and headed to my skin doctor, Dr May Yurko. She looked at a growth on my back and decided to peel it off and get a biopsy done. When I got home I started assembling our tax info. Tonight Nancy has book club so Tom Moleski and I are going out for beer and pizza. When I get home I will watch some Olympics. I have decided that I don't like any event that has judges. All this snow boarding is boring. The Olympics originally had a military overtone. I don't think figure skating or snowboarding meet this criteria. I got my 30' in today. I hope you did too.

Tuesday February 11, 2014

Up at 0630 and do my calisthenics before breakfast. My new breakfast is a piece of toast with peanut butter, five dried prunes and a glass of milk. I cannot get in the pool until 1000 so I left at 0815 and had coffee at a new coffee shop at the corner of Hall and Fuller. It is owned by the folks that own the Wealthy Street Bakery. They have been open since Feb 8. They did a great job in fixing up the old meat market. Nice wood floors and furniture. They have a full line of bakery items that are made on-site each day. I only had a coffee and read the WSJ. I think this might be my new coffee shop. I got to MVP early. They had a class that ran until 0955. I got to the pool at 0954. At exactly 0955 the class ended and I got the lane of my choice. Today I tried swimming without my nose plug. I think they have a better handle on the proper dosage of chlorine than the MAC. If I don't plug up this afternoon I will discontinue use of the plug. After my swim I sat in the lobby and finished reading the WSJ. I got home about 1200 and who should greet me but Ms P. I think she was a little moody because we left her for a week. Nancy worked at the hospital gift shop from 1000 to 1600. She said she had a lot of catching up to do. I did a load of laundry and other chores this afternoon. I also cleaned my desk and caught up on reading back issues of Canoe and Kayak. The mailman dropped off a week's worth of mail. I sorted the mail and now have about 50 items to read. I will toss about 95%. I finished the afternoon with a 2.5 mile walk. The temperature was in the high teens but the sun was out. Sunshine alway trumps cold. Nancy is fixing a pork chop and baked potato for dinner. We will watch the Olympics before heading upstairs.

Monday February 10, 2014

I got up at 0700 and did my calisthenics (50%). I had coffee at Starbucks in Gaslight and left at 0930 in order to get in the pool by 1000. I swam 1600 meters. This afternoon I walked to the Post Office to mail Valentines. We have a lot of snow on the ground. It probably has been a tough winter for squirrels and other local critters. The temperature did not reach 20 today. The average high for this time of year is 32. The temperature will drop to 3 tonight.

Sunday February 9, 2014

Up at 0500 and get ready for 0600 shuttle to airport. Our flights from Miami to Chicago to GR went off without a hitch. It was 14 when I fired up the C2. It started with no problems. When we got home I had to shovel about 1" of new snow. Nancy fixed chili for dinner. It was good to be home. We watched some of the Olympics. The nice thing about going to Panama, no jet lag. Panama is in the same time zone as GR.

Saturday February 8, 2014

Saturday February 8: travel day, bus picked us up at 1000 for trip to airport. Flight to Miami was smooth. Took shuttle to holiday inn express. Dinner at nearby sports bar. Arranged for 0600 shuttle.

Friday February 7, 2014

Thursday February 6: busy day on canal. Up at 0530. Put bags out at 0600. Had quick breakfast and boarded bus at 0630 for trip to boat. Today we are starting at the Pacific end and traveling north to Atlantic. The full length of canal. We left at sea level climbed 85 feet through a series of locks traversed the upper lake and then dropped 85 feet to Atlantic. We docked at1700. We are staying at a Melia Resort. Dinner at 1900 and then to room.

Thursday February 6, 2014

Thursday February 6: busy day on canal. Up at 0530. Put bags out at 0600. Had quick breakfast and boarded bus at 0630 for trip to boat. Today we are starting at the Pacific end and traveling north to Atlantic. The full length of canal. We left at sea level climbed 85 feet through a series of locks traversed the upper lake and then dropped 85 feet to Atlantic. We docked at1700. We are staying at a Melia Resort. Dinner at 1900 and then to room.

Wednesday,February 5, 2014

Wednesday February 05, up at 0630, breakfast buffet and then boarded large bus for a busy day with a land tour along the canal. We visited the rain forest, a major dam that creates the canal's upper lake. Lunch overlooking major river. We stopped at Miraflores Lock. Viewed 3D movie about canal. Watched huge cruise ship pass through lock. Dinner at restaurant in lock visitor center. Got back to hotel about 2000. Busy day! Nancy went right to bed, I had beer in bar.

Tuesday February 4, 2014

Tuesday February 4: Happy Birthday Akerke. Today she is six, grandmother and wish her the best. This is our first morning in Panama. We are up at 0630 have a buffet breakfast and then attend an orientation lecture. Later we leave by bus for Panama City. We tour the old city visit a museum, and take a walk to see the pacific side of the canal. We had a buffet lunch and then Nancy and I went for a swim. Dinner tonight was by the pool. Of course it was a buffet. We had nice dinner companions. We have 51 folks in our group. At least are six civil engineers.

Sunday February 2, 2014

Sunday, Groundhog Day , a busy travel day for nancy and bob. Up at 0430 and load the c2 for our trip to the airport. I was glad I had shoveled before going to bed last night. No problem getting to the airport. Our trip to Chicago was uneventful. We had to run through o'hare to get to our gate, not a minute to spare. No problems getting to Houston. We landed with only minutes to get the flight to Miami. I never saw nancy walk so fast. We were lucky because several folks on our flight were also going to Miami. They flew by us and we told them to hold the plane for the old folks. They did. The flight was not crowded so we had an empty seat between us. It was 75 in Miami. After checking in we walked over to a sports bar. I forgot the Super Bowl. We told them we were not staying for the game so we got a table. We did watch the SB and then turned in. It was a busy day.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Monday, February 3: travel day. Up at 0630, free hotel breakfast, 0930 catch shuttle to airport, terminal is new, flight to panama smooth, high 80s, arrive at hotel at 1700. Rooms view ocean and pool. Nancy and I take a walk to pier. Watch ships enter canal. Had dinner at local waterfront bar. Sat outside. Great way to end day. Writing blog on mini iPad using pages. Will post later. 0400 Tuesday.

Saturday February 1, 2014

Saturday the first of February and it was snowing hard this morning. I started to walk to Wolfgang’s when I got a call saying our flight this morning was canceled. Wolfgang’s was full so I walked to the Kava House. I got another call saying United has booked on a flight tomorrow from GR to Chicago to Houston to Miami. I hope these flights are not canceled. Despite being a snowy morning the Kava House was also crowded. I had coffee and a scone and I also bought one to take home to Nancy. Nancy and I spent about an hour shoveling the walk. I tried to get my seat assignment on tomorrow’s flight using my cell phone. No luck I had to use the Apple Air. We are leaving GR at 0700 tomorrow. I did take a short nap and then spent several hours reading SI. I am almost caught up. It has snowed all day and I might have to shovel before retiring. We are staying home this evening. Nancy is fixing fried egg sandwiches. We will watch a movie on Netflix before retiring.

Friday January 31, 2014

The last day of January and most folks are glad it is over. Last night at 0300 the temperature was 32 and at 0500 it was 19. I did not have to shovel. I had my coffee at Starbucks and then drove to MVP for my 1000 swim. The pool was not crowded. Maybe all the New Year’s Resolution folks have quit. Kim came today to clean. She also took Ms P. I think Ms P is getting tired of being farmed out. Nancy has to work at the hospital this afternoon. I will finish packing. We have hired a neighbor to shovel the walk. 6” of new snow tomorrow, I hope after we have gone. When Nancy got home she looked out the window and saw a robin. That is right, a robin. Not a very bright robin. We will have an early dinner at Great Lakes. It is 93 in Panama. We watched the last episode of Wallendar. Nancy went to bed and I stayed up and watched another Swedish show. The star is a woman crime reporter. It has English subscripts. Nancy hates subscripts. I thought it was a great show. Tomorrow we head to warm Maimi.