Friday December 29, 2017

Friday December 29, 2017

Blog time 1130 at Panera

The cold weather continues.  Temperatures in the teens all day.

Nancy headed out early for a class at MVP.  I did the calisthenics and row at home.  Since I started rowing this week I have taken 30” off my 2K time.

I offered AJ the opportunity to go to iHop for some chocolate chip pancakes but she wanted to stay home.  I would never turn down chocolate chip waffles.

Kim and her daughter Brenna arrived at 1000 to start cleaning.  Nancy followed several minutes later.  Brenna is going to house sit while we are in CA next week.  Ms P likes her.

I walked to Panera today in order to get my 30 minutes in.  As soon as I got home Nancy said that AJ choice of afternoon activities was a movie.  I had a quick lunch and then we headed out to Celebration Cinema.  We saw Ferdinand.  Once again the cold weather has forced kids inside so the movie was jammed.  Noted a lot of Grandparents.  Nancy said the movie got bad reviews but AJ and I liked it.  So what do the critics know?

As promised I bought AJ an ice cream cone after the movie.  She had a cookies and cream cone.  It looked good.

Missy texted us today that her hearing aid was damaged.  She said the dog ate it!  I am sure the insurance agent would be skeptical when told the dog ate her aid.  Anyway she did find an old one that will have to serve until next year.

Nancy fixed chicken noodle soup for dinner.  We also finished the pizza from Wednesday.  

AJ watched a movie on the Disney Channel in the den.  Nancy and I sat in the living room and watched an episode of Inspectors Lewis.  The cold weather will continue for the next week.

Thursday December 28, 2017

Thursday December 28, 2017

Blog time 1150 at Panera

Up at 0700 and take Ms P out in the bitter cold.  It was -4 this morning.

I did all my calisthenics at home.  A 2K row is now included in my at home routine.

Shower and then breakfast.  Nancy made a quick run to Meijer’s for supplies.  AJ and Missy are sleeping in today.

Nancy noted water leaking from our water heater.  I called our plumber, Somerdyke, and to my surprise he was in the area.  He checked out the water heater and we scheduled to have a new one installed next Wednesday.  Apartment living is beginning to sound good.

Like a lot of folks we decided to pay our local property taxes before years end.  I drove to Cascade to pay our bill and had to get in line.  Apparently a lot of folks also got the memo.

I ended up going to Panera to write my blog.  Scanned the news and decided most folks are taking a chance to relax between Christmas and New Years.

Quick lunch at home and then I walked to Macatawa Bank to put stuff in our safe deposit box.  Took the long way home.  Total walk distance 2.6 miles.  With temps in single digits layers are the only way to dress.

Spent some time this afternoon doing year end stuff.  At 1600 I took Missy to the airport.  She has a 1800 flight to LA via Chicago.  

Tonight we had a light dinner.  Spent some time reading the GRP and watching the news.  Lately because of company we have been watching TV in our living room.  The living room has more chairs than the den.  Last night AJ watched cartoons in the den and we watched Call the MidWifes in the living room.  

I remember when we finally got cable TV in 56.  We only had one black and white TV and it was located in our parlor.   Only three networks, so deciding what to watch was not difficult.  

Presently we have four TVs all connected to cable.  The options are unlimited.

Does anyone know what a parlor is?  The parlor in my boyhood home adjoined the living room and was about the same size.  My Grandmother Hughes used the parlor to entertain her friends.  Until we got cable TV we seldom used the parlor.   I have not seen a modern home with a parlor.

We played message tag with Missy most of the evening.  Her flight out of GR was delayed an hour so she might not make her connection in Chicago.  She txt us that she had only several minutes to get to her plane in Chicago.  However, all planes were delayed because the cold weather required time consuming deicing.  She made her flight to LA with time to spare.  Despite modern tech Mother Nature still Rules!

Wednesday December 27, 2017

Wednesday December 27, 2017

Blog time Thursday 1119 at Panera

Wednesday normally my easy day but today might be different.  Lately I have been getting up at 0700, today being no exception.  Subzero temperature overnight and high temperature today will be in low teens.

I did modified calisthenics and a 2K row at home.  Missy and AJ slept in so Nancy and I had a quick breakfast.  I did get in the car and made a quick coffee run to Panera.  

This afternoon Nancy is working at the Gardens.  I will take Missy to the airport at 1100.  She is flying back to LA.  AJ will stay until we take her back on the 4th.  

I took a quick walk around the block before taking Missy to the airport.  Nancy left at 1230 for the Gardens had AJ had about 45 minutes left in a movie.  We planned on going to the GR Public Museum after she finished watching the movie.

At 1300 got a call from Missy saying her flight was canceled and would I pick her up.  So I grabbed AJ and Ms P and headed to the airport.  

Missy got a full refund from Frontier and bought a United ticket to LA for the same price as her refund.  She will leave tomorrow at 1800.

On way home stopped at McDonald’s to get AJ some chicken nuggets.  We had planned on going to JT’s Pizza on Thursday but now that Missy was home I decided tonight was a better time.  While waiting for Nancy I took another walk around the block.

Nancy was surprised to see Missy when she walked in.  We all piled into the Escape and headed to JT’s.  We consumed two medium ham and pineapple pizzas.  JT’s have great pizza.

We had just settled down to watching an episode of The Crown when someone rang our doorbell.  It was our neighbor, Sonya, she said her lock was frozen.  We gave Sonya a glass of wine and I took a key and match and headed next door.  Used the match to heat the key and sure enough it worked.  Of course her security alarm goes off so I ran back home to get the code.  Finally the alarm was silenced.  We knew to use a match to heat the key because Missy had googled how to thaw a lock.  Ah! the power of the internet.

We drank our wine and then I took Sonya home.  We finished watching The Crown before turning in.  Another cold winter’s day in GR.

Tuesday December 26, 2017

Tuesday December 26, 2017

Blog being written on Dec 27 sitting on living room couch.

Another cold day, temps barely reached double digits today.  AJ was the first one up, it must be jet lag.  I did my routine at home today including a 2K row.

AJ had breakfast at home, in fact we all had breakfast at home.  Missy and I did go to Starbucks for coffee.  We went to the Starbucks at the Cascade D&W.  They have nice booths and tables and is well lit.  Most Starbucks are dark.  We sat and talked a spell.

Lunch and then I take a quick walk around the block.  I needed to get my 30 minutes in.  

AJ, Missy and I left at 1300 for Celebration Cinema.  We saw Jumanji.  We all liked the movie.  Being too cold for outdoor activities the movie was packed with families.  Not many empty seats.

Nancy fixed chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes for dinner.  We also had pumpkin pie for dessert.  Great meal for a cold winter’s evening.

We all watched an episode of The Crown before turning in.  

Monday December 25, 2017

Monday December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas to everyone and Peace On Earth;

It was still snowing and cold when I first went out this morning.  Heavy winds are creating big drifts.  The temperature all day today will remain in the teens but will fall to single digits after midnight.

Missy and AJ are arriving in GR near midnight.  We hope their flight from LA is uneventful.  

We slept in this morning.  Nancy fixed me her world famous poached eggs this morning.  I had mine on a waffle.

I did go out and shovel our walk this morning.  Hope the street is plowed today.

Memories of past Christmas’s

Nancy’s first gift to husband Bob.  A Rolex watch.  I am still wearing it after 52 years.

Number of Christmas’s without family.  Two, both while in Navy, Midway Island and Vietnam.

After opening presents and breakfast our family: Mom, Dad, Helen and yours truly would visit my Uncle Jim Scott and family, Uncle Bill Hughes and family.  At each stop we would look over their presents and have cookies, peanut brittle and fruitcake.  Mom and Dad would have a cocktail at each stop.  Mom and Dad and their siblings were not opposed to having a drink and sometimes two.  Neither my Scott or Hughes Grandparents drank.  A sign of the times.

When I was eight my Dad spent hours making a dragline.  The dragline was on rollers so I could move it around.  The boom of the dragline was identical to a real one.  I could open and close the bucket.  Dad put some peas on the floor and showed me how to pick them up.  It was a work of art.  An exact replica of draglines you see in large quarries or gravel pits.  I was a real jerk because I never played with it or appreciated Dad’s efforts.  I was fifty before I told Dad what a great gift it was and thanked him.  

One year Dad taped 100 dollar bills together, folded them and placed them in a box with a slotted top.  When Mother grabbed the end of the stack she kept pulling and pulling until all bills were withdrawn.  I thought it was a clever idea.

Strange gifts:  one year when I was in my late teens I was given a full size double sided axe.  I worked on a survey crew and we would spend a lot of cutting and trimming trees along a survey line.  My Grandfather Scott customized the axe for me.  He took a razor blade and shaved the handle near the axe.  The reduced area of the handle gave it more flexibility.  Grandfather said all the lumberjacks would do this on their axes.

We spend a very quiet day.  I did walk around the block.  It snowed all day and our drive had not been plowed.  We had to pick up Missy and AJ at 2330.  I was worried we could not get out of the drive so I spend an hour shoveling.

Missy’s plane arrived on time.  She said their trip went without a hitch.  At home we opened presents and had an early morning snack before turning in.  God Bless You All!

Sunday December 24, 2017

Weekend Update:

Blog being written Christmas Day sitting in my office with the fireplace going full blast.  

Saturday December 23, 2017:  another gloomy day, cold but little wind.

Nancy and I walked to Panera for our usual Saturday morning fare.  Panera was not crowded.  We do know of two regulars who are now in Florida.

Once home Nancy started the laundry and I got out my winter bike and took an 11 mile ride.  All of the bike trails had been plowed and the sun had melted the remaining snow on those sections of the trails that were not surrounded by trees.  In the tree lined portions of the trail a thin layer of snow coated the trail.  The steel studded tires make riding easy but on the snow coated hilly sections, I learned that if I stand to pedal the back tire loses traction and starts spinning.  I have to remain seated which makes hill climbing difficult.

After lunch I head downstairs and started with several year end activities.  The most important is making our annual contributions to various charities.  It took some time to write checks and record the contributions.  Most organizations had provided an addressed envelope but in a few cases I had to provide the envelope, which took some time.  I completed the task right before Nancy called me to dinner.

For dinner we had beans and rice.  Love beans and rice.  Watched an episode of The Crown before turning in.

Sunday December 24, 2017, Christmas Eve.

Trinity Lutheran has six Christmas Eve services today.  Nancy and I decided on the 1700 service.

It was snowing with temps in the 20s when we headed out to the Y.  I was surprised but the Y was very crowded.  Nancy observed that today was Dad’s day to take care of the kids.  Was Mom home making cookies?

For breakfast we headed to Bob Evan’s.  Nancy had eggs, bacon and biscuits.  I had oatmeal, banana and toast.  Of course we also had coffee.  Bob Evan’s was crowded.  The food was good.  We gave it a A-.

After breakfast we headed to Meijer’s for supplies and gas.  Next we drove to Rose’s so Nancy could purchase a gift card and finally we stopped at FreshTyme for fruit.

I did take a short nap followed by a walk around the block.  We left for Trinity Lutheran at 1615 for the 1700 service.  Normally it is an easy 20 minute drive but with it still snowing we left early.  Good move!  The church was jammed.  They had to put up chairs in any open space.

Great service with all the traditional Christmas music.  The service ended with the congregation standing in a darkened Church holding candles and singing popular Christmas Carols.  Very inspirational.

As we left church, cars were streaming in for the 1900 service creating a traffic jam.  The drive home was difficult because the roads had not been cleared.

Light dinner and then we finished reading the GRP and watching news.  We ended the evening watching another episode of The Crown.  Great winter’s weekend! 

Friday December 22, 2017

Friday December 22, 2017

Blog time 1140 at Panera

Temps in high 20s with light snow when I first went out this morning.  Nancy headed out early to a class at MVP.  I pondered about riding my bike but it was still dark and snowing so I walked to the Y.  I should have ridden my bike.  Lately I have been having some hip pain when walking.  I probably should limit my walks.  Biking is easier on the joints.  Maybe next year I will start swimming more and walking less.

Scanned the papers but could not find anything I would like to comment on.  Lately it has been nearly 1300 when I leave Panera.  I spend over two hours reading the papers and writing this blog.  I might have to re-evaluate my time at Panera next year.  Why should a 79 year old man get so involved in reading about business and politics around the world?  

Lunch and a walk around the block before heading down to the office.  I spent several hours doing end of year stuff.

For dinner we drove to Sundance Grill.  We both had their ham-d-scram, very good.  On the way home we stopped a Walmart to get some food goodies for Missy and AJ who are coming for Christmas.

Debbie FaceTime us about 1900.  She was waiting for Steve’s family to arrive.  Steve’s family is spending the holiday with Debbie.

Nobody likes to spent Christmas alone.  I know because in 1957 I was on the UM Wrestling team and we were going to a tournament in Wilkes Barre, PA.  We were leaving AA on the 27th.  I decided that I did not have time to go home and still make it back in time for our departure.  UM left one dorm open for students with no place to go.  I moved in on the 23rd and the first night the place was so quiet and lonely I said the hell with this.  In the morning I got on a Greyhound bus and headed to Alpena.  I walked in about 2200 and Mom and Dad were playing cards in the living room.  First thing Dad said was “what the hell are you doing here”.  My reply was I wanted to be home with family for Christmas.  What a sissy!

Best Christmas gift I received as a young boy was a small RCA radio that I could put in my bedroom.  The radio opened up a whole world for me.  On cold winter evenings I would go to bed early and listen to a mystery or comedy show on the radio. 

Thursday December 21, 2017

Thursday December 21, 2017

Blog time 1130 at Panera

Happy Winter Solstice:  today is the shortest day of the year.  We have only nine hours of daylight in GR.  This is a happy day for me because tomorrow the days get longer meaning Spring can not be far away.

Temperature was 29 when I first went out this morning.  Cloudy but no snow predicted, another bike riding day.  

Sunrise was 0810 this morning so I took my time doing my at home routine.  I don’t like riding in the dark.  Nancy is not going to MVP this morning.  She did some stretching exercises at home.

Changed my winter route to the Y.  The short bike route I took yesterday is only 2.5 miles.  Today’s route was 3.5 miles.  The Y was not very crowded this morning.  The Y has been advertising a lot lately for new members.  Are they hurting for members?

Big announcement today that iphone batteries slow with age.  Why should that surprise anyone.  All batteries lose power with age.  In fact even human lose power with age as I can attest.

This evening Nancy and I are going out to dinner with our neighbor Sonya.  We are going to Bonefish Grill.  Great seafood menu.  Stay tuned.

The life expectancy in the USA dropped slightly to 78.6.  The life expectancy for men born in 1938, year of my birth, was 61.9.

The GOP is taking a victory lap after passage of the tax bill.  Only time will tell if it is successful.  The USA received a serious rebuke when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution criticizing our moving of the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.  

WWW the shoe company located in Rockford, Mi is under fire for dumping sludge from their sewage facility that contained a substance called PFAS.  PFAS is labeled toxic by health authorities.  The sludge was disposed of in dumps and gravel pits near their facility.  No solid waste laws existed at the time of the disposal in the 60s.  Now homes near the dump sites have been tested for PFAS.  WWW has provided filters and bottled water to the homes.  The best solution is to run municipal water to these homes.  

PFAS has dominated the news in west MI.  The lawyers are having a field day.  

A lot of finger pointing and folks saying why did they not know.  In fact it wasn’t until the 60s that we started getting serious about environmental problems.  Engineers and scientists just did not know the impact of their actions.  The long term effects of new chemicals or treatment practices just were not known.  Our learning curve was just getting started.  It is unfortunate but if you ask an engineer about his actions he probably would say “it seemed like a good idea at the time”.  

After a quick lunch I got in the Escape and finished my Christmas shopping.  Also took time to get the car washed.

As mentioned earlier we had dinner at the Bonefish Grill.  Thursday night and not an empty table in the place.  The wait time was 90 minutes.  We were lucky that Sonya had made reservations.  Great food, we all had shrimp and scallops.  We gave Bonefish an A.

At home we watched an episode of The Crown before turning in.  Snow predicted for tonight.

Wednesday December 20, 2017

Wednesday December 20,2017

Blog time 1130 at Panera

Breakfast Club Wednesday so I am up with the 0515 alarm.  It was cold this morning, 20s, but clear.  Dry pavement so an easy drive to the downtown U Club.

We had a great turnout today.  The Speaker was the GR Symphony’s Assistant Conductor John Varineau.  He has been with the symphony for 33 years.  He gave a great talk on the changes that have taken place in 33 years.  He explained how the symphony tries to attract younger folks without turning off their older base.

All reports indicates that the Washington train crash was caused by human error.   I sure wish POTUS would ease up on his immigration crackdown.  We need talent from other countries and his actions are counter productive.  I believe in almost unlimited immigration.

Finally, Congress has passed a tax bill.  I like the lower tax bracket for corporations but most folks say this bill is not a simplification.  Only time will tell.  I don’t agree with eliminating the individual payer mandate in the ACA.  Both the healthy and sick must partake to keep costs down.  

Drove straight home from Panera.   Nancy had already left for her shift at the Gardens.  I took Ms P on a short walk.

Lunch and then Wednesday chores, load of laundry, take out trash and this afternoon ran the dishwasher.  We don’t use many dishes but we usually run out of spoons or knives in several days.  

I took a nap followed by a walk around the block.  I did spent some time downloading a Fidelity account program.  Nancy and I recently opened a Fidelity account and now we can check it’s status online. 

Light dinner, followed by news and finally an episode of Inspector Lewis on Amazon Prime.  We downloaded the Amazon Prime app to our Apple TV.

Tuesday December 19, 2017

Tuesday December 19, 2017

Blog time 1130 at Panera:  today is blog #2,820

It was 40 degrees when we got up this morning.  Sunshine was predicted and their prediction was correct.

Nancy was up most of the night with foot pain.  She finally got to sleep about 0800.

I debated whether I should ride my bike today.  I decided to take a trial spin around the block and if the roads were clear I would continue.  The roads were clear and I took my new short route to the Y.  The distance is 2.5 miles.  Calisthenics and then a 1.6 mile/run walk.

Christmas music is being played everywhere.  The Y and Panera play only Christmas tunes.  We are both tuned into the channel 70 on XM radio their Holiday music station.  I am in a Christmas mood.  In fact I have only been skimming the news because who wants to be depressed.

Two days before the winter solstice.  Our days are very short 9 hours.

I had a quick lunch and then took the Escape to the Ford dealer for an oil change.  After the work on the Escape I drove home and picked up the Taurus and drove back to the Ford dealer.  They changed the oil on the Taurus.  Both cars are set until spring.  

Chicken noodle soup for dinner.  Watched the news and read the GRP before switching to Acorn and watching the last episode of Brokenwood.

Someone asked me how did we spend our evenings growing up with no TV.  My main evening activities as an elementary school student, in addition to home work, was reading and listening to the radio.  My main reading material were magazines like Life magazine because of the great photos, Boys Life, and National Geographic.  I also read comic books.  I liked Captain Marvel, Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes friends.  We had a big unfinished basement with a concrete floor so I would spend hours roller skating and dribbling a basketball.

 A lot of my classmates were into making making model boats and airplanes.  This was not my thing.  As I got older I started reading books.  When I got to high school I would spend many evenings playing hockey.  The city had a great skating area that consisted of a speed skating rink and an adjoining hockey rink.  They skating facility also had a big warming shelter with snack bar. It was about a mile from our home.  Tommy Collins and I would walk several times a week to the hockey rink.  We played in a rec league.  The league was sponsored by beer distributors.  Team names were Strohs, Goebels, Frankenmuth,and Pfeiffer all Michigan beers.  

The city merchants also sponsored a Junior and Senior team.  High School kids played on the Junior team.  We played Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  Great memories.

There were four elementary schools in Alpena.  Every year the schools would compete in speed skating races.  It was a big deal School was closed for the event.

Alpena was a great speed skating town.  Each year the City would hold a winter carnival.  The Michigan speed skating championships were held during the carnival.  A big weekend with skaters from all over the state.

Monday December 18, 2017

Weekend Update, blog being written in downstairs office on Sunday December 17, 2017 at 1730

A quiet weekend with the winter weather dominating.  I spent little time reading news so no rants about the ways of the world.

Saturday December 16, 2017:

Heavy snows overnight.  The temps were in the low 20s all day.  The roads, driveways or sidewalks had not been plowed.  Very difficult walking so we drove to Panera.  Glad we have an all wheel drive vehicle.  In fact I think all wheel drive is a necessity in MI.

We had our standard Saturday morning breakfast.  Oatmeal, bagels with peanut butter, bananas and of course coffee.  

At home Nancy started the laundry and I got in the Taurus and planned on goings to the Ford garage because Nancy said a warning light was on.  Actually the light was only a reminder that the Taurus should be serviced soon.  The car is used only in town and seldom driven on the freeway.  I decided to take it on a hard ride.  Clearing the freeways is the first priority of snow removal crews.  The crews did a great job because the roads were clear and I was able to drive 70.  I did stop at Cabela’s.  I bought a pair of lined jeans that were 50% off.

I stopped at Meijer’s and filled the Taurus up.  Gas was $2.44.  At home I switched cars and filled up the Escape.

Before lunch I took a walk around the block.  Walking in loose snow is like walking in loose sand at the beach.  

I shoveled our short walk to the garage.  Finally in early afternoon our drive was plowed.  Their plow company’s equipment does not allow them to get down to the bare pavement.  I spent some time shoveling the drive.  We now have the cleanest drive in the neighborhood.  I love shoveling snow.

Nancy and I left home about 1730 and headed downtown.  We met the Horlings at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant in the Amway Grand.  The Amway Grand was jammed with folks having Christmas parties.  We liked the food at the restaurant but thought it was very noisy.

After dinner we attended the Holiday Pops concert.  It was a great concert, very uplifting, something that most folks need.  We got home about 2200.

Sunday December 17, 2017

Trinity Lutheran has changed their worship times because of their annual Children’s concert.  We attended the 0800 service in the Sanctuary.  It is very formal and attended by old folks.  I prefer the Celebration service with brass band and lots of families.  Also like being able to drink coffee.

No Y today so we had breakfast at Anna’s.  We were able to get a table right away but 10 minutes after we arrived they had folks waiting outside.  

Nancy had French toast and I had eggs, hash browns, sausages, toast and coffee.  We overindulged but it was great.

Stopped at Meijer’s for some supplies.  At home we took Ms P on a short walk.  We had to walk in the street because of all the snow.  First time she has been on a walk in days.

I did take a short nap followed by a walk around the block.  The roads had been plowed so walking was easier.

Very light dinner and then we finished reading the GRP. Debbie FaceTimed us this evening.   We watched 60 Minutes and an episode of The MidWifes before turning in.