Friday June 28, 2019

Friday June 28, 2019

Blog time 1125 at Panera

Nancy and I were up at 0600.  Nancy took Ms P out and returned to bed.  No intravenous medicine today, Hooray!

Today I have to take the Escape in for repair.  I loaded my bike in the Escape and headed to the Y.  Did the normal calisthenics and walked a mile.  My mile time today was less than 20’.  A good time for me.

Stopped at McDonald’s for a senior coffee.  The drive thru line had over 20 cars waiting.  Why not just park and walk in?  I never use the drive thru.  Today I saved 20 minutes.

At the Ford dealer I unloaded the bike and checked in.  They had no idea how long the repairs would take.  While at the dealer I stopped at the parts dept and got a new battery installed in Nancy’s Taurus key.

It is only three miles from the dealer to Panera.  Finished yesterday’s blog and read the news before heading home.

Quick shower and then lunch.  I ran one errand to the tailor.  My pants will not be done until tomorrow.

I had not heard from the Ford dealer at 1600.  Decided to take AJ to the 1700 movie at Woodland.  We saw Pokeman Detective.  I gave it a B.  I was surprised that it only cost $6.00 for AJ and I to see the movie.

I did get a call from the Ford Dealer saying my car will be ready first thing tomorrow.  They found a bolt in the tire.  Why didn’t the super duper tire pressure monitor let me know?

We got home at 1930.  Nancy fixed chicken noodle soup for dinner.  Very good.

We followed our new routine.  AJ watched Netflix in the den and Nancy and I watched a crime show, Line of Duty, on Acorn.  Finished the first season last night.  I gave it an A.  The sun and warm weather continues tomorrow.

Thursday June 27, 2019

Thursday June 27, 2019

Blog time 1640 sitting in living room

I thought I got up early at 0610 but Nancy was already up and starting her intravenous medicine.  Today she has an 1100 appointment with the Doctor.  She hope he will tell her no more intravenous medicine.

After breakfast I headed out about 30 minutes earlier than usual.  I took my 7 mile route to the Y.  Critter report, saw about twenty turkeys feeding.

Did calisthenics and a walk before heading home.  No Panera today.

Nancy left at 1000 for the Doctor’s office.  AJ and I headed to IHOP.  We both had pancakes and scrambled eggs.  Very good.

I ran a short errand, took some shirts to the laundry.  The laundry charges very little to wash and iron shirts.  I have just started using this service.  Trying to avoid looking like a slovenly old man.

GREAT NEWS, NANCY IS OFF THE INTRAVENOUS MEDICINE.  We are celebrating by going to the Olive Garden for dinner.

At noon Nancy and AJ headed to Kathi Kothe’s for a swim.  The temperature was in the mid 80s with bright sun.  I took a nap.

This and that;

Big disappointment that UM baseball team lost the NCAA World Series.

The US Supreme Court issued two important decisions.  One was about Gerrymandering and the other regarding the citizenship question on the 2020 census.  I agreed with both decisions.

Bad decision to allow sailors who were on ships off the shore of Vietnam apply for agent orange benefits.  I cannot believe these sailors were exposed.  I wish there was a full proof method of detecting chemicals in the body years after exposure.  

Nancy and AJ returned from swimming and informed me no Olive Garden tonight.  We are ordering pizza.  

I ordered a large pizza from JT’s.  The parking lot at JT’s was full.  Most folks had a pickup order.  Great pizza.  It hit the spot.

This evening AJ continued watching animated shows on Netflix.  Nancy and I watched Grantchester on Prime.  Lights out for Nancy and AJ at 2130.  I stayed up and watched a cop show. 

Wednesday June 26, 2019

Wednesday June 26, 2019

Blog time 1030 at Panera

Today is my easy Wednesday.  Woke at 0645 to bright sun.  Nancy had been up since 0600 and had already taken Ms P out.  She was in the process of starting her intravenous medicine.  Tomorrow she meets with her Doctor and maybe she can stop the intravenous medicine.

This afternoon Nancy is working at the Gardens.  AJ and I will go with her and walk around the Gardens.

After some light calisthenics, I left home a little after eight.  Took the short five mile route to Panera.  I had an oatmeal breakfast.  Finished yesterday’s blog and did some light reading.

Showered and had a quick lunch.  At 1230 we all got in the Escape and headed to the Gardens.  Nancy started her shift and AJ and I started walking around the Gardens.  AJ complained of some stomach pains so we headed home early.

At home I followed my normal Wednesday afternoon routine. Took out trash and recyclables and did a load of laundry.  At 1600 I drove to the Gardens to pick up Nancy.  She said the Gardens was busy.

We are in the middle of road construction season so getting around is a challenge.  We took two detours getting home.

Light dinner and then after the news we switched to Acorn and watched Midsomer Murders.  Temperature was in low 70s when headed to bed.  Summer has finally arrived.

Tuesday June 25, 2019

Tuesday June 25, 2019

Blog time 1000 on Wednesday sitting in Panera

We woke up to bright sun.  I did some light calisthenics before breakfast and then headed out on a long 11 mile bike ride.  At home I showered and shaved.  Drove to Panera for coffee.  I told AJ I would buy her a sweet treat but she was not interested.

Finished yesterday’s blog and read some papers.  Nancy is leaving at 1130 for lunch with friends.  I head home at 1100.

Quick lunch and then AJ and I headed to the John Ball Zoo.  Spent several hours walking around.

Nancy was already home when AJ and I arrived.  Nancy said she had a nice relaxing lunch with three friends.  They ate at the cafe in Schuyler’s Books.

This afternoon I took a nap and after fixed our apple snack.  

This afternoon I got a call from an old high school classmate, Mike McGirr.  Mike and I were in the same schools from K-12.  We had a nice 60 minute chat.  Mike called to remind me of a HS get together in late August.  After Mike retired from the Alpena Fire Department he spent several years on the professional Bass fishing tour.

For dinner Nancy fixed chicken with mashed potatoes.  Very good.  AJ loves mashed potatoes.

This evening AJ stayed in the den and watched an animated show on Netflix.  Nancy and I watched Wycliffe on Acorn in the living room.  

Nancy headed to bed at 2100 and I turned the lights out in the den at 2130.  I stayed up and watched another Acorn show.

About 1600 we started getting storm warning alerts on our TV and our iPads.  False alarm we got about 14 1/2 drops.  

Monday June 24, 2019

Monday June 24, 2019

Blog time 1220 on Tuesday, sitting in living room

Monday morning and I get up at 0630 and head down to the dinning area for an oatmeal breakfast.  Today is a travel day. We return to GR.

ADDITION TO SATURDAY’S BLOG;  I mentioned in Saturday’s blog at all the different occupations of folks attending Saturday’s wedding of Jennifer and Sean Finnegan..  I forgot to mention the two world class professional motocross racers.  Don Crandall’s daughter Shirley Short’s son and son-in-law were both professional racers.  Sorry for the oversight Guys.

We left Gaylord about 0900.  It rained until we got about 50 miles from GR.  At home emptied the car and then lunch.  It started to rain hard in GR about 1600.  

This afternoon I fixed our apple snack and took a short nap.  Light dinner followed by short walk.  

AJ watched a Netflix cartoon while Nancy and I watched a show on Acorn. Lights out at 2130.  Long day.

Sunday June 23, 2019

Sunday June 23, 2019

Blog time 0840 sitting with Nancy in hotel dining area, Gaylord, Mi. Looks like another bright sunny day.  Temperature will reach 80.

Blog continues on Monday June 24 sitting in hotel dining area, Gaylord;

Today will be a relaxing day for us.  No scheduled events this morning.  A 1100 we headed to Helen and Don’s farm.  Today the Crandall family and guests are celebrating Don Crandall’s 90 years.  

All of Don’s children and their families are in attendance as are many nieces and nephews.  Most of the nieces and nephews are from the Homer, Mi area.  I counted over 40 folks.  A very happy group.

Lunch consisted of pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans and all kinds of salads and drinks.  Ice cream with chocolate syrup and frosted cup cakes for dessert.  We have been well fed this weekend.  

Shirley Short gave a testimony about what a great dad Don was.  We all sang Happy Birthday.

After lunch the old folks sat outside and talked.  The young families played kick ball.   Great way to spend a beautiful summer Sunday.  

We returned to the hotel about 1730.  I purchased several small bottle of wine for us.  Nancy and I took a short walk. Spent the rest of the evening reading.  No TV thIs weekend, nice.

Saturday June 22, 2019

Saturday June 22, 2019

Blog time 0730 sitting in dining area, Fairfield Inn, Gaylord, Mi

Woke up at 0630 to bright sunshine.  Checked weather app and we will have sun all day.  Great news for the Finnegan/Crandall wedding this afternoon.

AJ was still sleeping.  Nancy was starting her intravenous medicine when I headed downstairs for breakfast.

The dining area was nearly empty.  Standard hotel complimentary breakfast.  I had oatmeal, banana and bagel.  The food is good.

0900 I drove AJ to the Crandall farm.  This morning AJ and her female cousins are frosting cupcakes and cookies.  I returned to hotel.

At hotel spent time reading papers before returning to Crandall’s to pick up AJ.  The cupcakes and cookies look great.  I did purchase a case of Coor’s light for the wedding reception.

We all took a shower and got ready for the wedding.  Left the hotel at 1500 and headed to the Finnegan farm in Johannesburg.  A large crowd had already assembled.  

The wedding was held outdoors.  Sean and Jennifer had rented tents for the reception in case of rain.  A pleasant setting for the wedding.  Family members from as far away as Texas, Colorado, California and Maryland attended.

The wedding ceremony started at 1700.  Don Crandall walked his daughter Jenny down the aisle.  Don has difficulty walking so Jennifer’s three daughters supported their Grandfather.  It was a very nice wedding.

The wedding meal consisted of hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken.  Also baked beans and salad.  

We spent a lot of time mingling and talking to guests.  A very eclectic mix of occupations, farmers, school teachers, truck drivers, factory workers and even an engineer, dentist and US Army Sargent.  Nancy even met an old sorority sister from Albion College.

The weather was great all day.  Nice way to spend the first day of summer in mid-America.  

Friday June 21, 2019

Friday June 21, 2019

Celebrate the Summer Solstice!

Blog time 0750 Saturday sitting in the dining area at Fairfield Inn in Gaylord, Mi

Friday morning we woke up to bright sunshine.  Nancy started her intravenous medicine while AJ and I had breakfast.  

Ms P knew something was up when she saw us loading the car.  Luckily she likes our house/dog sitter.

Finished loading the car and at 0800 we headed out. Stopped at Panera for coffee. Next stop was a rest area outside Cadillac.  I think sitting in a car is harder on my hip than ridding my bike.  I was really stiff getting out of the car.

It is 190 miles from our condo to Gaylord.  We thought our reservations were at Holiday Inn but they said no reservations in our name.  Called my sister and found out our reservations were at Fairfield.  Checked in and then had lunch at Five Guys.  Good burgers.

Summertime and Gaylord is a popular vacation destination.  Traffic was really heavy.

After lunch we headed to my sister’s house, big weekend coming up.  Tonight Helen is having a taco bar for dinner followed by fresh baked pie and ice cream.  On Saturday Helen’s daughter Jennifer is marrying Sean Finnegan.  The wedding takes place on Sean’s farm located in Johannesburg.  On Sunday Helen’s husband Don Crandall is celebrating his 90th birthday.

At dinner tonight the Scott, Crandall and Finnegan family’s were well represented.  

Don had all his children attend along with their spouses and kids. Also several nephews from Homer, Mi.

Good time was had by all this evening.  We arrived back home at 2200.      

Thursday June 20, 2019

Thursday June 20, 2019

Blog time 1420 sitting in living room.

It rained hard all night.  Still raining when took Ms P out at 0630.  Weather folks say rain won’t stop until late afternoon.

Nancy was just finishing her intravenous medicine when I drove to the Y.  I don’t bike in the rain.

After my calisthenics and a walk I headed home.  Nancy told me she had a beauty shop appointment for AJ at 1000.  I grabbed by iPad and headed to Panera.

Panera was super cold so after I read my email I headed back home.  Spend time reading and finishing blog.

Nancy and AJ got home at 1100.  We headed straight to Costco.  Bought cookies, bug spray, and water for our trip up north.  Also, dropped off a pair of khakis at tailor to be shortened.  

Before lunch I finished packing.  Lunch and then returned to reading;

This and that;

Iran’s downing of USA Drone, especially if it was in international air space, was dumb.  

72 police officers in Philadelphia were taken off street duty because of racist comment published online.  Why publish remark that are controversial online for all to see?

Will Boris Johnson be the UK’s next PM?

I cannot name one starter on the Tigers.

FedEx seems to be the most favored delivery service, by far, in our neighborhood.

We had a light dinner.  Nancy and AJ finished packing.  I loaded the car.

Watched some TV before heading to bed.  Travel day tomorrow.

Wednesday June 19, 2019

Wednesday June 19, 2019

Blog time 2200 sitting in living room.

Up with alarm at 0515; today is Breakfast Club Wednesday

Left home at 0615 in bright daylight.  Love these long days.  25 folks attended BC today.  The food was good.  Today’s speaker was from our local gas/electric company, DTE.  He spoke about DTE’s effort to add more wind and solar energy to their mix.  It was very interesting.  We are making the transition much faster than I imagined.

After BC I headed straight home.  In keeping with our routine Missy and I had coffee at D&W Starbucks.  

On Monday Missy and I compared our DNA results on Ancestry and 23&Me.  As expected both sites label Missy as my daughter.  Cousins on my site are also on Missy’s but a generation removed.  Missy has several first cousins that are not on my site.  We assume they are Nancy’s relatives.  Very interesting.

Nancy is working at the Gardens this afternoon.  It is Wednesday so I did a load of laundry and took out the trash.  Also took a short nap.

We had originally all planned on taking Missy to the airport at 1700.  However, her flight was delayed.  After a second delay, Missy and I drove to the airport to get a status report.  We were told Missy could still make her Denver connection.  She decided to remain at the airport.

At home I had a stout pie for dinner, AJ had mac&cheese and Nancy finished the Chinese chicken salad.

I attended the condo association’s annual meeting at Noto’s.  Good turnout no controversy or big problems.  The meeting ended at 1900.

AJ wanted to sleep upstairs so we blew up the air mattress and put it in the den.  AJ watched a show on Netflix and Nancy and I watched Unforgotten on Prime.  Lights out at 2200. 

Tuesday June 18, 2019

Tuesday June 18, 2019

Blog time 2150 on Wednesday sitting in living room.

My schedule is really screwed up.  I am 24 hours late in starting blog.  Tuesday morning I was up at 0615.  Did my normal morning routine.

Nancy was starting her intravenous medicine when I headed out.  Nancy has lunch at noon with Meijer’s crew.  This afternoon she has a doctor’s appointment to remove her stitches.  

No Y today, did the calisthenics at home.  I took a 10 mile bike ride.  After a quick shower Missy and I had coffee at the D&W Starbucks.

For lunch Missy, AJ and I ate at Olga’s in Woodland Mall.  Missy and I had the original Olga’s with a cup of peasant soup.  AJ had chicken fritters.

We spent a quiet afternoon at home.  Good news! the stitches are out and the Doctor said Nancy’s foot is healing well.

Nancy fixed a Chinese chicken salad for dinner.  For the first time this year we had dinner on the deck.  It was a perfect evening for sitting outside.

We all spent a quiet evening reading and watching some TV.  The nice weather continues through tomorrow.

Monday June 17, 2019

Monday June 17, 2019

Blog time 1200 sitting with Missy at Starbucks in D&W.

Up at 0615 and took Ms P out.  Nancy started her intravenous medicine.  A visiting nurse is stopping by this morning.  

Breakfast and then got on bike and took an eight mile ride.  No Y today.  At home I did my calisthenics.

Showered and then Missy and I went to Starbucks for coffee.  Spent time reading talking and checking emails.

At home we all got in Escape and headed to Woodland Mall.  AJ needed some new shoes.  She ended up with a new pair of New Balance shoes and sandals.

At home lunch and then I started errands.  Stopped at Macatawa Bank to get money for our house/dog sitter.  At Home Depot bought a gift card.  Costco, I checked on Ms P prescription, no luck, bought wine, Cheerios and peanut butter.

We had our normal light dinner.  Nancy and I watched some Apple TV.  Missy got hooked on Netflix show Secret City.  

Busy day everyone in bed early.  Missy and AJ are suffering from jet lag.  What did they call jet lag when we flew on prop planes? 

Sunday June 16, 2019

Saturday June 15, 2019

Blog time 1750 sitting in living room

Weekend Update for WE 16JUN19

Saturday June 15

I slept in until 0640.  Nancy was already up and preparing her intravenous drip.  Afternoon rain predicted.

We drove to Panera.  Walked in and the AC was going full blast.  The place was too cold so we left.

Stopped at Bob Evans.  I had an oatmeal breakfast and Nancy had ham and eggs.  Very good.

At home we called Missy to check on her arrival.  She and AJ will arrive tomorrow morning.  They are taking the red eye.  Good thing we called because we were 24 hours off.

Nancy started the laundry and I took a 10 mile bike ride.  Showered and shaved after the ride and then had a quick lunch.

This afternoon we attended the East Grand Rapids Art Fair.  This is an annual event.  The City closes Wealthy Ave through Gaslight Village.  This event was well attended.  The weather cooperated, no rain.  

At home I took a short nap and then headed downstairs to pay bills.  Walked to post box.  

Fixed our apple snack.  Nancy is now fixing dinner.  World famous poached eggs on toast.

Just checked ESPN and found out UM BB team won.

We had our after dinner snacks.  

Watched some Apple TV.  

Debbie FaceTimed us this evening.  We got caught up.

Sunday June 16, 2019

Up at 0630.  We debated whether to attend the 0800 or 0915 church service.  Missy and AJ are coming in at 1130 and we don’t want to be late.  Decided we can make their arrival on time if we attend the 0915 service.

Nancy gave herself her intravenous medicine.  I made a quick trip to Panera to get us each a coffee.  Light turnout at church this morning.  

We got to the airport at 1115.  The plane arrived at 1150.  AJ and Missy were tired from their flight.  Flying red eye will do that.

Every one crashed at home.  After lunch I took a nice long walk.  

For dinner we headed to Brann’s.  Being Father’s Day I got a free sizzler.  Nancy had soup, AJ chickens nuggets and Missy had a super duper burger.  Great food.

Both Debbie and Stephen contacted me today to wish me a Happy Father’s Day.  Nice gesture!

At home we watched some Apple TV before turning in.  Busy day!

Friday June 14, 2019

Friday June 14, 2019

Blog time 1130 at Panera

Woke up at 0630 with sun streaming through window.  Looks like a great day ahead.  Nancy had already taken Ms P out.  She was in the process of setting up her medicine delivery system.  She was done before I had finished breakfast.

Breakfast and then took the 7 mile route to Y.  I try to bike safely but this morning I got a scare.  I was crossing Burton Road with a Green Light when a right turning pickup nearly hit me.  I had the right-of-way but he did not slow down.  Another reminder to be careful crossing heavily traveled roads even if you have a green light.

Good grief June 14 already, the month is half over.  Slow down, June is my favorite month.

This and that;

Toronto wins NBA.  My first choice.

Who mined the oil tankers ?

Facebook is going to offer a bitcoin?  I really don’t understand this currency.

Michigan is in the College World Series.  I think first time since 62.

Kim cleaned today and the house looks great.  Just in time for Akerke and Missy’s visit.

Lunch and then we made a quick trip to Trader Joe’s to buy a bottle of wine.  We will take the wine with us when we have lunch on Sunday at Moleski’s.

Rest of day’s activities;

Nap

Apple snack

Short walk

Dinner, stout pie with corn for me and light dinner for Nancy.

After dinner cheese snack for Nancy and two oatmeal cookies for me.

Watched news and then Wycliffe on Acorn and I watched the Belgium crime show on Netflix.