Monday July 8, 2013

We had the AC on last night. It was 76 when Ms P and I went out at 0500. I got up at 0655 and the weather man said it would be raining by 1100. I did the at home stuff and then pedaled to the MAC. Today I ran 2 miles outside. It was very hot and humid. I raced the rain on my way to the Kava House. It started to rain when I was about 500 feet from my destination. The plane crash at SFO was really serious. I was surprised at how many folks survived. I read the story about the runaway train crash and fire in Canada. Apparently the crew stopped for coffee and they did not put the brakes on. Is this a tragic mistake or a criminal act? I got home about 1300. Our next door neighbor's daughter is home from the Peace Corps. She was in Panama and brought home a dog. The dog is having some adjustment problems. It got away and the whole family was out searching for it. Thank God Ms P does not run away. Nancy had a crown comes off her tooth so she had to go to the dentist this afternoon. I took a short nap and then played with my Air. Tonight Nancy and I are going to Meijer's Garden for a tour of the new Japanese Garden. The Japanese Garden is under construction. Stay tuned. 2135: The tour of the partially complete Japanese Garden was very interesting. It will be a great addition to the Gardens. It is scheduled to open in 2015. I had a light dinner and then watched some TV. We still have the AC on.

Sunday July 7, 2013

Weekend Update: Saturday 0730 I am ready to tell Nancy I am off to Bill's when she reminds me that today is dumpster day. The OHNA hires a trash hauler to provide dumpsters and neighbors can throw away all their bulky items. The event starts at 0800 and ends at noon. I decide to load up the C2. We cleaned up both the garage and basement. I made two loads. The car was dirty so I headed to the car wash. After the car wash I headed to the Omelette Shop. I had their oatmeal with all the fixings. When I got home I told Nancy that the trash hauler had a special trailer for electronics and books. We headed downstairs and loaded up about 50 books. It is amazing how much we have thrown away since Dumpster Day started about seven years ago. We are having the Namey's over after dinner tonight so I spent some time cleaning the patio. It was such a nice day that I loaded up the kayak and headed to Reeds Lake. I paddled around the lake a distance of 3.3 miles. It takes a little over an hour. Three new houses are being built on the lake. I am sure they cost at least $2M. At 1715 we got in the Taurus and headed to the Watermark Grill. Watermark is located on a golf course. We sat outside and had a nice meal. Nancy had a sandwich but the rest of us had the walleye. After dinner we gathered at our house for coffee, cheesecake and conversation. It was a great evening. Sunday July 7, we got up at 0655 and got ready for our Sunday swim. The pool has been closed for the past week for cleaning. We expected cold water because the heater has only been on a couple of hours. Actually it was quite pleasant. We both swam for 45'. We ended up at Meijer's for our weekly supply of groceries. Gas today was $3.45. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. We watched some of the Wimbledon finals. I took my Sunday nap and then Ms P and I went on our mile walk. It has been hot and humid the past several days. We might have to turn the AC on. Nancy is grilling burgers for dinner. We will read the GRP and watch some TV before heading upstairs. One of the amazing pieces of technology is the iPhone. As I type this blog I am listening to Merle Haggard on the phone. Occasionally I need to use the dictionary on the phone. I look up the word and the music keeps playing. I also check my calendar and emails.

Friday July 5, 2013

We did not get home from the Bostwick Lake fireworks until 2300 last night. I did not turn in until 2345. The fireworks party at Tom Appel's was great. We got to talk to some old neighbors, Tom Appel and Tom and Kathy Carnegie. We also got an update from Jim Walters, a retired OHHS teacher. Jim told us that Rick Jensen has adjusted to prison life and thinks that he will spend the rest of his life in the UP prison. His one disappointment was that for budget reasons the prison no longer has a hockey team. It seem weird but the people most disappointed at the discontinuing of hockey were the guards. Hockey let the prisoners let off steam. Nancy had serious foot pain last night so she slept in this morning. I got up at 0700. I did my normal calisthenics and then got on the 5 speed and rode to Ada. I rode 19 miles in 1h43'. After the ride I stopped at the Kava House. I did read several articles on the problems in Egypt. The problems in Turkey, Egypt and Brazil apparently are caused by elected Presidents who think that a victory at the polls allows they to rule as a dictator. That is my take. Am I right? I got home at 1300 and after a quick lunch I headed to the MAC. For several weeks I have had a deep groin muscle pull. I thought that if I spent some time in the cold and hot pools it would help get any inflammation down. I don't think this worked. After the MAC I headed to Woodland Mall. I was going to buy a pair of walking shoes but could not find a style I liked. I did stop in the Apple Store but did not stay because the place was jammed. Nancy worked at the Hospital Gift Shop this afternoon. She said that business was slow. Tonight we are staying home. Tomorrow night we are having dinner with the Nameys. It has been a nice summer day. The temperature now, 1800, is 84. This is warmer than both LA and Cupertino. I keep Edinburgh on my iphone's weather app. The temperature hardly every gets to 70. Remember folks get outside and enjoy the summer. In 1938 my 83 year old GGF Sanborn spent the morning working in his garden and the afternoon working in the Ossineke Post Office.

Thursday July 4, 2013

Happy 4th of July. Nancy and I got up at 0730 and at 0820 headed over to Iroquois to watch the 89th Hollyhock Parade. All our neighbors were in attendance and I thought today's crowd was large. We did attend the ceremony in the alley. Simon Vance served as the Master of Ceremony and did a great job. The speaker today was a local attorney who has been in several local theater productions, Jon March. His daughter was in Missy's class at OHHS. He gave a good and appropriate performance. When the ceremony was over we walked to the Brandywine for breakfast. The place was jammed so we had to wait. After breakfast we walked home. I did take a nap this afternoon. Ms P and I then took a mile walk. I also walked to the PO to mail a bill. Tonight Nancy and I are going to Tom Appel's cottage on Bostwick Lake to watch the fire works. Yesterday I talked about the Battle of Gettysburg ending on 03 July 1863. Did you know that the battle for Vicksburg, MS was won on July 4, 1863? These two victories turned the tide. Another July 4 fact. Both John Adams and Tom Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, 50 years after the signing. On this date in 1962 Ensign R H Scott's Public Works Division won the 4th of July float contest on Midway Island.

Wednesday July 3, 2013

Wednesday my easy day! No Breakfast Club, no GRBA meetings I look forward to this day. Unfortunately because of the rain I have to cut the grass today. Bummer! I did pedal to Bill's for an oatmeal breakfast. My Grandmother Hughes thought that every boy of Scottish ancestry should have oatmeal for breakfast. The only problem was that I started eating oatmeal in 1942 and sugar was rationed. Grandmother would not let me put sugar on the oatmeal because I would use too much. Oatmeal requires a generous serving of sugar. Now that I can put as much sugar as I want I am back eating oatmeal. On my way around Reeds Lake I stopped at GR Bike in Gas Light and had them put air in my tires. I have been using this free service about once a week. I put 120 psi in the tires and by the end of a week the pressure has dropped to 85 psi. It is much easier to ride a bike with 120 psi. When I got home I fired up the lawn mower and starting cutting. Ms P joined me. I spend about 25% of my time throwing her ball. The lawn got the full treatment today. I want our yard looking good for the 4th. After a quick shower Ms P and I got in the C2 and ran some errands. I stopped at D&W to purchase a six pack. Today I bought six 16 ounce Buds for $6, a real bargain. Nancy worked at the Gardens today. She said they were very busy. Tonight we will start the holiday off my having dinner at Great Lakes Shipping. 150 years ago today the Battle of Gettysburg ended. The South took a terrible beating. Eight thousand soldiers lost their lives. This was the turning point for the Civil War.

Tuesday July 2, 2013

We had a light rain last night. I was up for good at 0710 today. The pavements were wet and with more rain expected I rode my 5 speed urban bike today. It has better handling on wet pavement. I did not encounter any rain on my ride to the MAC. But I ran outside today and it started to rain hard half way through my 2 mile run. They are cleaning to pool at the MAC so no swimming. I also got wet on my ride to the Kava House. Today I wanted to cut the grass but it looked like the rain would squash my efforts. Instead of eating lunch at home today we all got in the Taurus and headed to Costco. All we needed were eggs but what else is there to do on a rainy day. Costco had a lot of free samples today. I think it is for all the holiday shoppers. Did you know that Costco is closed on the 4th? I think it is great for a big box store to let their employees have a holiday off. Way to go Costco. I purchased a hot dog. Nancy got the pepsi and I cut the ends of the dog for Ms P. Gas was $3.25 today. Tonight Nancy is fixing me a pork chop with stuffing. I will also have corn on the cob, melon and rhubarb sauce. Am I lucky or what! After dinner I will take Ms P on our mile walk if it is not raining. We get a paper GRP today so I will spent some time reading the paper and watching the news. Just two days to the 4th. When I was a boy we would spent the 4th at a big family picnic at my Grandparent Scott's Hubbard Lake farm. The farm was located on Scott Road, named for my GGF Scott, in Sanborn Twp, named for my GGF Sanborn. We had fried chicken and all sorts of fruits and vegetables from the garden. My Dad and Uncles would make ice cream. The men would play horse shoes and then my grandfather would get out his shot gun out and we would shoot clay pigeons. When I was about 10 or 11 they let me take some shots. My Grandfather liked to play croquet. He set up the wickets in the front lawn and we would all play. I think we had over 30 family members at the picnic. Good memories!

Monday July 1, 2013

Well the first half of 2013 is over. Time is moving too fast. On the first day of a new quarter I do the following: Start using a new tooth brush, replace razor blades, put in a new contact lens. I sometimes do a quarterly financial study. Anyway welcome to the second half of 13. This morning I got up at 0655. I followed my normal Monday routine except today I ran outside for two miles. This is my longest run of the year. I had no pain so maybe I will continue to run outside. I stopped running outside after my face plant several years ago. Running inside on a 6 lap track was getting very boring. I like to run outside but I am cautious because I don't want to have another face plant. Every Monday I shave my head and face. Today with the new blade I had to be careful because the blade is so sharp. The new fusion blades last 3 months. When I started shaving with a blade they would last one shave. The improvement in shaving technology over the last 60 years has been amazing. Today was a great summer's day. The temperature this morning was in the low 70s. I spent about 90 minutes reading the WSJ this morning. It is interesting to read about problems folks who don't have group health plans are having getting insurance. Nancy and I have a great plan through the teachers but if we had an individual plan with our same carrier, Blue Cross, we would have problems using doctor's or hospitals that our out of network. (did I talk about this issue on a previous blog?) I hope Congress addresses some of these problems. I want to see immigration law passed this year. I think immigrants are good for the country. Most people don't want amnesty for illegals. I just want illegals to be able to get citizenship quickly and with as little pain as possible. How can we fault folks that just want to work and support their families. My Grandfathers Scott and Hughes came to the US because of opportunity. I think they just walked across the border. The mideast is such a mess with the problems in Egypt and Syria. The WSJ had an article about the tribal feuding in Afghanistan as we pull out. We spent trillions for what? I did take Ms P for her mile walk today. Another thing we do on the first day of the month is give Ms P her pills. I was very tired this afternoon so I took a quick nap. We had a light dinner. Nancy cut up a melon today and also made some rhubarb sauce. I had both the rhubarb and melon this evening. Not much on TV this evening but I might watch "Major Crimes" today at 2100. I really like my new MacBook Air but I get confused by the MailBoxes. I am going to schedule a meeting with the Apple Store to have them explain the Mailbox and several other issues. I hope everyone got their 30 in today?