Tuesday January 30, 2018

Tuesday January 30, 2018

Blog time 1120 at Panera

Temperature was 20 with no wind when first went out this morning.  Nancy headed out early for her Tuesday swim.  Breakfast and then waited for sunrise at 0757.  

My hip has been bothering me so I am trying to reduce my walk/run activity.  I rode my bike.  Took a short 3.5 mile ride to the Y.  Rowing 2K is now my aerobics exercise.  It takes about 9’35” and elevates my heart rate as recommended by the health folks.

I read in the Alpena News today that they have a Roller Derby Team and their season begins in the spring.  Roller Derby!  I do like Jim Crowe’s song Roller Derby Queen.

Early tomorrow morning we will have a Trifecta Lunar Eclipse.

Tonight President Trump makes his first State of the Union speech.  I hope he sticks with his script.

Pleasant bike ride home and then lunch.  After lunch I got in Escape and ran errands.  First stop Walgreen to buy a bottle of ibuprofen.  I will take the pills before bedtime to relieve hip pain.  Next stop Chow Hound to buy a bag of dry dog food for Ms P.  

Checked some email and started downloading new operating for iPhone before taking a nap.  Finished the afternoon with a walk around the block.

Nancy fixed meat sauce with pasta for dinner.  Very good.  We watched the news.  No paper copy of GRP today so I read it online.  The digital copy is quite good.

We watched the first hour of President Trump’s State of Union address.  I thought it was much too long.  

Looked at the moon before turning in and it was a big full moon.  Weather folks say it will be too cloudy tomorrow morning to see the trifecta moon.

Monday January 29, 2018

Monday January 29, 2018

Blog time at 1050 at Panera

It was cold, 23, and snowing when I first went out this morning.  Nancy headed out at 0800 to MVP.  She is meeting Kathi later this morning to work on a project.

No Y this morning for me.  I did my entire workout at home including the 2K row.  Showered and then walked to Panera.  It was snowing hard with wind chills in the teens.  I was bundled up so the walk was bearable.

I had an oatmeal breakfast at Panera.  Spent most of the time at Panera writing blogs.  I have to be home early because this afternoon the concrete wall repair folks are coming to reseal a crack in our basement wall.

Good grief will they never learn!  German automakers are getting heat for using human test subjects when testing the health effects of diesel exhaust.  

Global hummus shortage has resulted in huge spike in prices.  It wasn’t because of me.  I hate hummus!

Walking home from Panera I thought this is a great winter day.  Temps in 20s with a nice layer of new snow.  In my boyhood in the late 40s/early 50s this was the type of day that would be perfect for a father/son banquet.  These banquets were very popular during winter months.  They were usually held at a local church.  Typical menu was beans and franks.  The after dinner speaker from UM or MSU would talk about football.  The events were well attended.  Of course this was before TV and the political correctness police ruled the world.  

The concrete repair man came at 1300.  He epoxy sealed the crack.  It took about two hours.

I spent most of the afternoon writing emails to cousins and correcting the family tree.  Even called my sister, Helen, about the cousins and she got me squared away.  Finished the afternoon with a walk around the block.

Light dinner and then watched the news.  We changed our subscription to the GRP so that we get only the Sunday paper delivered.  I downloaded the digital app so I can read the weekly editions online.

We watched an episode of Call the MidWifes.  I hate to admit it but I like this chick flick.

Sunday January 28, 2018

Sunday January 28, 2018

Blog time 1015, Monday at Panera

Today is a special day in the Scott family.  It is daughter Melissa’s birthday.  It is a milestone birthday for Missy.  

Like all my kids I remember the day Missy was born.  We were living in Ann Arbor while I was in grad school.  Early Sunday morning Nancy said we had to get to the hospital quick,  the baby had finally decided that is was time.  We got in our VW Bug and headed to St Joseph Hospital.  It was cold and snowing hard.  The VW had a terrible heater so in addition to be cold the wipers quit working and I had to stop and try to clean the window.  Nancy yelled at me and said just roll down the window and get going.

Dropped Nancy off at the emergency entrance and parked the car.  I just arrived at the waiting room when the Doctor came out and said it was a girl.  

We just made it with no time to spare.  Some things you never forget.

This morning up at 0615 and got ready for the Y.  The Y was not crowded this morning.  Nancy said the pool was empty.

We headed home and changed clothes for church.  We attended the 1000 Celebration service.  Both the main male Pastors were attending conferences out of town.  The service was conducted by Pastor Karen and a visiting Pastor who was also female.  Pastor Karen gave a Great Homily.

Immediately after the service volunteers started setting up for a meal making bee.  The goal today is to make 10,000 prepackaged meals.  Thirty percent of the meals will go overseas to impoverished countries.  Thirty percent for disaster relief in foreign countries.  The remainder is held in the USA for use in disaster relief.  We had a lot of volunteers.  Nancy was a team leader.  We worked 2 1/2 hours.  

You know you are getting old when you have trouble picking up a 50# bag of rice.  Both Nancy and I were tired after our shift.  Trinity provided us with a light lunch.

At home I cleaned off my in basket and then a short nap.  We FaceTimed Missy to wish her a Happy Birthday.  She was walking the dog outside her condo.  It was in the 80s in LA.  

Quick walk around the block and then a very light dinner. We watched two episodes of Broadchurch on netflix.  We both headed to bed early.  It was a busy day.

Saturday January 27, 2018

Saturday January 27, 2018

Blog time 1120 sitting in Cascade Library

It was 50 when I went to bed and 50 when I first went out this morning.  However, the temperature will fall all day and will be below freezing when we get up tomorrow.

Nancy and I walked to Panera for breakfast.  The place was empty.  We both had our typical Saturday morning, oatmeal, banana, coffee and bagels.  

After breakfast Nancy headed straight home and I walked to Lake Michigan Credit Union.  I wanted to purchase a 12 month CD because interest rates had climbed to 1.6%.  Wow 1.6%!

Nancy had already started the laundry when I got home.  Nancy has a book waiting for pickup at the Cascade Library.  I grabbed my backpack and walked to the Library.  Picked up the book and now I am sitting in the reading room writing this blog.  You keep hearing that folks, especially young ones, don’t read.  How come the library is always crowded when I visit?

Lunch and then we grabbed Ms P and took our nature walk.  This probably will be the last time the cart path is snow free until March, at least that is what the weather folks say.  Before going inside I put out more corn for the deer.

Spent the afternoon messing around the office.  Finished with a short nap.

For dinner we drove to JT’s Pizza.  We split a medium Hawaiian pizza.  JT’s has the best pizza in town.  The place is always crowded with families.

Debbie FaceTimed us this evening.  We got caught up on events in San Jose.  

Finished the evening watching an Inspector Lewis episode on Amazon.

Friday January 26, 2018

Friday January 26, 2018

Blog time 1135 at Panera:

It was 30 degrees when I first went out this morning.  The weather folks say we will have a nice sunny day.  Sunny is always good.

Nancy headed to MVP for her class.  For lunch today she is meeting Mary Namey at Marco’s.

I waited for daylight before heading out.  Sure enough the sun was out.  It was such a nice day that I biked my normal warm weather 7 mile ride to the Y.  I figured that because of the increased length of the ride I would not have to Row 2K today.  I really don’t like stationary exercise machines.

I watch CNBC in the morning.  Today most of their was reporting from Davos, Switzerland.  It looks like a great place to have a meeting especially for fat cats.  

From the Daily Mail, UK Millennials watching the first Bond movies describe them as sexist and racist.  Good Grief, Commander Bond is sexist!  I first started reading the 007 books after reading that President Kennedy loved these books.  If it was good enough for JFK it was good enough for me.  I enjoyed them and watched most of the movies.  Sean Connery was my favorite Bond.

Times have sure changed in the corporate world.  GE use to be the model for good management and now its stock has tanked and management seems confused on its future direction.

The stocks to buy in the 60s included names like Xerox, IBM, Kodak and most auto and steel companies.  Now these firms have taken a back seat to the likes of Facebook, Amazon, Google and even Tesla.  Although I still don’t know why Tesla’s stock is so high it has never made a profit.

I took my time at Panera because Kim usually does not leave until 1300.  I don’t want to interfere with her cleaning.

The temperature had climbed to the low 50s when I finally left Panera.  I had a quick lunch and then Nancy and I took Ms P on her nature walk.  With the warm weather the cart path was cleared of snow.  Pleasant walk.

I took a short nap.  Nancy fixed me her world famous scrambled eggs for dinner.  At 1830 we headed out to the GR Art Museum to see the opening exhibit of Great Lakes Watercolors.  

Downtown was jammed.  We tried to park in three municipal ramps and they were all filled.  That had never happened before.  We finally parked at the GR City Center and walked to the GRAM.  The GRAM was also packed with folks wanting to see the new exhibit or maybe they came for the free snacks.  

We met Kathi Kothe and a friend and toured the exhibit with them.   The exhibit had some good watercolors of the Great Lakes and its flora and fauna.  We left at 2030.

It was still 50 degrees when we got home.  In fact the temperature will not start falling until late Saturday.  We watched a show on Amazon before turning in.

Thursday January 25, 2018

Thursday January 25, 2018

Blog time 1100 at Panera

Looked out the slider at 0400 and my movement scared off three deer feeding at my salt block.  Great to see them using the block.

It was 27 degrees when I first went out this morning.  Not much wind so I decided today I would ride the bike.

Nancy headed out early for her Thursday swim at MVP.  Later this morning she will have lunch with Kathi and she promised that tonight we would eat out.

I had breakfast and waited for daylight, 0805, before getting on bike.  I selected my five mile route for todays ride.  It was the right choice because anything above 5 miles would exceed my comfort level.

Standard workout at the Y.  Showered and then took the short ride to Panera.

Today’s blog is number 2,854.  Who woulda thought I could actually stick to something this long.  

Big news from the UK about over 300 fat cat men attending a male only charity event.  The event hired attractive women to work at the event.  The fat cats could not keep their hands to themselves.  Wealth or position are not an indicator of good behavior.  Once again I am amazed how dumb smart men are!

MSU’s Doctor Nassar has been sentenced to over 140 years in prison.  All the bad publicity has resulted in the resignation of MSU’s President.  Most folks say it should have happened years ago.

Friday POTUS will give his big speech at Davos.  It is supposed to about his America First agenda.  I don’t think most attendees like this theme.  Good news, so far he has not imploded.

I had my standard lunch, yogurt, hard boiled egg and an apple before heading out to run errands.

I am still on my experiment to switch from red wine to beer.  So far no conclusion has been reached.  Nancy thinks I am not slurring my words as much.  I really don’t know.  Will continue the experiment for another week so I drove to Meijer’s and bought more beer.  Also stopped at Grand Rapids Lighting center to buy a special three way bulb for our old lamp in my office.  GR Lighting is the only place I can buy this bulb.  

Stopped at home and switched cars.  I drove the Taurus to D&W for gas.  The Taurus is showing its age.  I want to trade it in but Nancy does not.

Despite the great weather no walk today.  I did take a nap.

For dinner we drove to Brann’s.  I had their lobster bisque with beer and Nancy a chicken sandwich with a margarita.   We like Brann’s and consistently give it a B.

We got home in time for the TV news.  I finished reading the GRP.  The GRP has really gone downhill.  Nancy objects to the high cost so yesterday we cancelled our Tuesday and Thursday paper and now only get the Sunday paper.  I will read the daily digital editions.  

We watched the final episode, second season, of The Crown.  The one take away I get from this series is that I can see why my ancestors bailed out of the UK.  The upperclass are certified Jerks.

The warm weather continues through the weekend.  If I was King I would never let temperatures get above 32 in January of February.

Wednesday January 24, 2018

Wednesday January 24, 2018

Blog time 0915 at Panera

Today is my easy Wednesday.  Cold this morning, 24, but light winds.  I decided last night that I would go swimming on Wednesday.  Packed my swim suit in the backpack and started walking to Panera.  By the time I got to Panera I decided that I really don’t want to go swimming.  Instead I will get out the bike and take a short ride.  Swimming on a cold day even if it is in a heated pool is not appealing, brr.

I had my standard oatmeal breakfast at Panera.  I will read the papers and write my blog.

Yesterday I made some negative comments on Turkey’s military actions in Syria.  I actually have fond memories of my dealings with the Turkish Navy.  In the late 50s I had several classmates at UM who were officers in the Turkish Navy.  The Turkish Navy had sent my classmates to UM to get both a BSE and MSE.  I had them in several classes.  The Turks were well liked.  Being members of a friendly military the Turks had privileges at the Ann Arbor American Legion.  They would invite their fellow civil engineers to the Legion.  It was fun toasting the Turkish Navy.

After graduating from UM I ended up joing the US Navy.  After OCS I attended the Navy’s Civil Engineering Corps school in Port Hueneme, Ca.  It was a two month’s indoctrination into the CEC.  Much to my surprise my Turkish classmates were also attending the school.  I now could invite them to the Officer’s Club.  We toasted the Navy’s Civil Engineers.  Good memories.

Is Amazon’s new no checkout store the wave of the future?  What happen’s to cashiers?

Animal stories from the Daily Mail:

Saudi Arabia is having a camel beauty contest.  Contestants were found giving their camels Botox.  Ugly is ugly how could Botox help?

An English snake lover was killed by his 8’ pet python.  Some pet.

Studies in UK show that brain function declines after retirement.  Readers of this blog would probably agree.

Bad winter weather is not confined to the USA.  The UK has had several bad winter storms creating massive mudslides and high winds.  90 mph winds were reported yesterday.

It was a pleasant walk home even though the temperature was 28.  The snow is gone and the lack of wind was a big plus.

As soon as I got home I grabbed a package Nancy wanted me to mail and put on my bike riding clothes.  Pumped up the bike tires and headed out.  First stop was Macatawa Bank to get money for Kim who cleans on Friday.  Next I stopped at D&W to mail a birthday package to AJ.  She will be 10 on Feb 4.  I took the long route home.  Total miles traveled, 5.  I concluded that riding a bike at 10mph is a lot colder than walking at 5mph.  And they say my brain function is declining.

Typical Wednesday afternoon,  Nancy working at the Gardens,  Bob takes out trash and does a load of laundry.  I also put out more corn for the deer.  Of course I took a nap.  

Light dinner tonight followed by the news and a Netflix/Acorn show.  We watched an episode of “Above Suspicion”.

Tuesday January 23, 2018

Tuesday January 23, 2018

Blog time 1150 at Panera

36 with light mist when I first went out this morning.  Nancy headed out early for her Tuesday swim at MVP.  I decided to wear my raincoat for the walk to the Y.  A strong west wind, 22mph, made the walk cold.

Followed my normal routine a the Y.  My goal is to row 2K in under 9’30”.  So far I have not reached it but am hoping for next week.  The walk home from Panera was aided by having the wind at my back.  The temperature had dropped to 30 and it was snowing.

At home Nancy told me that the concrete repair company hired by the Condo Association would stop by to check on our leaking wall crack.

Lunch and then I spent some time reading the WSJ and other outlets.  Some articles I found interesting:

Turkey is ignoring the USA’s concerns and has attacked our Kurd allies along the Syrian/Turkey border.  Erdogan, Turkey’s leader has become very dictatorial.  His actions have raised concerns with other NATO members.

POTUS is heading to Davos later this week.  I hope he shows some restraint.  

The East European countries of Hungary and Poland are bucking many EU rules.  They have strong anti immigrant positions that conflict with the EU.  It will be interesting so see how the EU resolves these problems.

The Government shut down was short lived.  Why did it have to happen?

MSU is getting a lot of heat over the USA Gymnastic’s team doctor who was a staff member at MSU.  The Doctor will probably spend the rest of his life in jail.  Many are call for MSU’s President to resign.

I still don’t know what a BITCOIN is?

The concrete repair contractor stopped by and said he would reseal the crack using an epoxy resin.  The work is scheduled for next Monday afternoon.

Nancy is fixing chicken noodle soup for dinner.  We will read the GRP and watch episodes of NCIS and Bull before turning in.

Monday January 22, 2018

Monday January 22, 2018

Blog time 0950 at Panera

I hate January thaws, it was raining with temps in mid 30s when I first went out.  Nancy headed out early for a class at MVP.  Quick breakfast and then I put on my rain gear and started walking to the Y.  About 1/2 mile into the walk the rain increased and I heard thunder and saw lightning.  I quickly changed plans and headed to the warmth of Panera.  Panera is about 1/2 way between the condo and Y.  I will do my calisthenics at home.  Yucky, yucky, yucky!

Great to hear that the U S Chamber of Commerce is proposing a $0.25 per gallon gas tax.  An increase is long overdue.  A gas tax is a utility fee just like your water or electric charge.  The more you use the utility the more you pay.  Our highways need work.  

Speaking of highways, ENR this morning reported on the expansion of California’s I405 in Orange County.  We spend a lot of time on the 405 when we visit CA.  The 405 is one of the USA’s busiest highways.  Driving on it is a challenge.

The Government shutdown dominates the news.  I don’t think most folks really care.  

Will Sunday’s Women Marches impact the 2018 elections.  They sure have commanded a lot of news coverage.

We have gained 36 minutes of daylight since the Solstice.  We now have 9h36’.  For comparison Edinburgh has only 8 hours of daylight today.  Why am I obsessed with length of days.  Cabin fever maybe?

Still raining when I left Panera.  I was throughly soaked when I got home.  At home I performed my normal Y routine.  Showered and then had a quick lunch.  

I ran errands this afternoon.  First stop Costco for eye drops and Dublinger cheese.  Next at Meijer’s I bought milk, denture cleaner and spray to get rid of mold.  Noted mold along a crack in our concrete basement wall.  The crack had been patched but appears to have opened allowing minor water seepage.  I called the Condo’s property manager about the reopened crack.  They will sent a repair man later this week.

I did take a short nap.  I needed a short walk to get my 10,000 steps in so I walked to corner.  It worked.

Being forced inside by the winter weather I have been working on the family tree.  Yesterday I checked my 23&me account.  I was informed that I have a 2nd Cousin DNA match.  I get a lot of DNA matches on both the 23&me site and My Heritage site.  Usually the match is a fourth Cousin or higher.  Daughter Melissa had her DNA done and it correctly listed her as my daughter.  The 2nd Cousin match is listed as an Anonymous Female.  I don’t have many female 2nd cousins and I would like to know who anonymous is?

Light dinner tonight.  I continue my experiment of drinking beer in lieu of red wine to see if the wine is contributing to my slurred speech.  My preliminary conclusion is the red wine has no impact.  Will continue drinking beer for the rest of the week.  What a sacrifice!

Light dinner, watched the news before switching to Netflix.  We watched an episode of Inspector Lewis.

Sunday January 21, 2018

Sunday January 21, 2018

Weekend Update;  blog time 1715 sitting in office

Saturday morning and temps in mid 30s with sun.  Slept in this morning.  Nancy had a bad night because of severe nerve pain in her foot.  She did not want to go to Panera.

I walked to Panera.  Most of the snow has gone so walking was very pleasant.  All the snow will be gone when the thaw ends on Tuesday.

I had my standard Saturday morning fare.  Scanned the papers before heading home.  Nancy started the laundry despite her foot pain.  What a trooper!

I got in the Escape and drove to the new Duluth Trading Company Store near Riverside Mall.  I have ordered clothing from this company online but this is my first visit to physical store.  Their market is construction workers who work outdoors.  Nice selection but I could not find the suspenders that I saw online.  Later in the day I made an online purchase.

At home I was going to take Ms P on a short walk but she seemed very energetic so we increased the walk to 1.3 miles.

Lunch and then I spent time in the office.  At 1400 Nancy was still in pain and we were considering canceling our dinner with our neighbor, Sonya.  However, at 1600 Nancy said things were improving so we did not cancel.  

At 1730 we all got in the Escape and headed to the Euro Bistro.  The Bistro is located about 1 mile from the condo.  Lucky we had reservations because the place was packed.  The food was excellent.  We all gave it an A.

Debbie FaceTimed us about 2000.  We had a nice talk.  Finished the evening watching an episode of Call the Midwife.

The only news I want to comment on is Congress’s miserable effort to fund the government.  Why do we have all these whining, whimpering elected officials.  Their excuses are an embarrassment.  Shame on the whole lot!  Enough said.

Sunday January 21, 2018:  Nancy was able to get a good nights sleep.  She was sleeping nicely when I headed to the Y.  The Y was holding an indoor triathlon this morning, a 15’ swim, 15’ stationary bike ride and 15’ run.  The pool was closed for this event so Nancy could not have used the pool if she wanted to.

On my way home stopped at Panera and bought coffee for Nancy and me.  I walked in and Nancy was dressed and ready for church.  Great news.

Today’s Homily was very appropriate.  I wish the folks in congress could have heard it.

We stopped at Meijer’s for supplies and gas.  At home we grabbed Ms P and we all took a walk around the block.  Temp was in high 30s and misting.

Quick lunch, read several sections of the GRP before taking my mandatory Sunday nap.  After the nap I took a walk around the block.  Today I got my 30 minutes in and also reached 10,000 steps.

Nancy is fixing her world famous scrambled eggs for dinner.  Tonight I am running an experiment.  Instead of my usual glass of red wine I am drinking a Guinness.  I read in the AARP magazine that red wine because of the sulfides might cause the inflammation causing my slurred speech.  Like I said it is just an experiment.

After dinner will finish reading the GRP and watch 60’ or the Viking/Eagles game.  We did face time Melissa.  Both Missy and AJ have a birthday in the next two weeks.   Nancy wanted to put everyone on notice to check their mail.  Finished the evening watching an episode of The Crown.

Monday morning, sitting in Panera proof reading yesterdays blog.  I usually post my daily blog the next day.  I find that I make a lot of mistakes and waiting until the next day allows me an opportunity to make corrections.  Should I let POTUS know of my practice.  Think it would help his Tweets?