Friday September 6, 2013

Up at 0455 and on bike and heading to MAC at 0530. Not much traffic but all approaching cars had their brights on. I never use my brights in a city. Stopped at Starbucks in Gaslight for my coffee. I started cutting the grass at 1130 and finished at 1530. We had planned on staying home tonight but Nancy told me that Karen Horlings had called. We are meeting them for dinner at the Rio Grande at 1800. Karen and Hal had just returned from a Baltic cruise. They also spent 5 days driving in southern England. We enjoyed talking with them about their trip. After listening to Hal talk about driving in England I might be willing to try it.

Thursday September 5, 2013

I left home about 0730 in very bright sunshine. The temperature was in the 60s. I like to wear shorts when I ride my bike but I don't know how much longer the weather will allow me this luxury. I did my swim this morning. Nancy was also in the pool with me. She swims 20 laps on Thursday and I do 30. After the swim I did my calisthenics. On Thursday the MAC is empty. Most folks follow a MWF routine. I had coffee this morning at Starbucks in Gaslight Village. I thought the place would be crowded now that EGR HS has started. The shop is within a block of the school. However, the place seems less crowded since school started. I can always get a comfortable chair. How about those car sales. The booming car industry is good for MI. Good article in the WSJ on the removal of vacant homes in Detroit. I say plant trees and in a couple of years the place will be loaded with deer and other wild creatures. Some times good things happen after a disaster. After the accident at Chernobyl the USSR created a very large no mans land around the abandoned plant. Within a couple of years bears, buffalo, elk and wolves moved into the no mans land. These animals had not been seen in this area in hundreds of years. Apparently the animals have shown no health problems. Time will tell. We are having our new super duper back room chairs delivered on Saturday. After lunch I drove to Design Quest and paid our bill. I am looking forward to the new chairs. The chairs rock, swivel, and recline. Nancy and I had dinner at GL Shipping this evening. It was warm enough to sit outside. We have to make use of our remaining warm weather. The things you can find on the internet. I knew in 1938 that GGF Sanborn had a Lincoln-Zephyr. I found the Zephyr was listed as "a marque for the lower priced line of luxury cars in the Lincoln line". So says Google.

Wednesday September 4, 2013

I just got a notice that today's Grand Rapids Building Authority meeting has been canceled. We have not had a meeting all summer. We have not had a new project in several years. I think the bad economy has made new projects difficult to justify. The weather has been so nice that I have not had time to work on the computer. Today is the first time in several days that I have turned on my computer. I have been doing this blog on my iPhone. This morning I had Breakfast Club. Several years ago the membership was above 100 members. We got a new register today and the membership is down to 45. Age is beginning to catch up with many members. At my table of 8 I am the only one below the age of 80. The retired dentist that sits next to me talked about his days as a Navy Corpsman during WWII. The Dr is now 87 years old. He is in good shape and sharp as a tack. My role model. The Speaker this morning did not show up so a member who restores antique cars talked about his business. It was one of the most interesting talks all year. Nancy had to work at the Gardens this afternoon. After BC I stopped at Starbucks in Gaslight to read my paper. Today I loaded up my road bike and headed to the Muskatawa Trail. The parking lot was crowded. Most of the riders are retired folks like me. It was a great day for a ride. I did 24 miles in under 2 hr. When I got home I took Ms P on a walk and then took a short nap. We will have a light dinner and then watch some TV. The leaves are turning.

Tuesday September 3, 2013

First day back to school for most public schools in the GR area. I left home about 0730 and the traffic on Breton Ave has almost doubled. I will have to us another route to the MAC. I did my usual swim and calisthenics this morning. My time in the 1,500 has stabilized at between 42' and 43'. I had my coffee at the Kava House. Syria still dominates the news. It sure looks like the politicians are going to vote for some action. Nobody listens to me. I spent most of the afternoon being a fuddy duddy. I worked on my road and hybrid bikes. I also pedaled over to GR Bike to buy a mountable bike pump. I think I spent over 3 hours playing with my two bikes. Nancy fixed hamburgers for dinner. She also had a nice salad. We watched some TV and read a paper copy of the GRP. The evenings lately have been cool. No need for the AC.

Monday September 2, 2012

Last night bought Nancy her birthday soft ice cream cone. This morning we declared a no labor "Labor Day". Drove to Saugatuck for breakfast. It was a cool but pleasant morning. Took afternoon nap. We had a light dinner and watched some TV. Summer is over, school starts tomorrow.

Sunday September 1, 2013

September 1st already. The summer is gone. We got up at 0655 and headed to the MAC. Since it is a holiday weekend we only swam 1,000 yards instead of our normal 1,500. We did go to Meijer's. Most of our purchases were for the dog. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. I watched some tennis before taking my nap. I purchased in July a small TV for the basement. I watched the Today show while I was rowing. Since I am not rowing or working out at home I decided to move the TV set upstairs and replace our kitchen TV. The new TV has a bigger screen. Big mistake, I keep getting a message saying I am receiving no signal. I tried to call Comcast but they are experiencing technical difficulties. Nancy is fixing a super duper salad for dinner. We will read the GRP before heading upstairs. Tomorrow we will take the day off and plan on having breakfast in Saugatuck. A cold front is suppose to roll through in a couple of hours. The highs tomorrow is suppose to be in the low 70s.

Saturday August 31, 2013

Saturday the last day of August and the start of the Labor Day Weekend. We did not get up until 0830. Nancy and I had breakfast at the Wealthy Street Bakery. We each had a scone and coffee. The bakery is located at the corner of Union and Wealthy. It was very crowded. The day was hot and humid. I decided to take a bike ride. I loaded up my road bike and headed to Millennium Park. Today I wore my new shoes with the pedal clips. I rode 21 miles in 1h40'. It is easier to hill climb with the shoe clips, especially on a single speed bike. I took Ms P on her mile walk. At 1630 we got in the Taurus and headed to the movie theater at Knapp's Corner. We saw the "Butler". It was a good movie. We had hot dogs for dinner and watched the US Open tennis and some football game on TV. Today was the season opener for UM. They won but I think it is too early for football.