Monday October 14, 2013

Today was a bright sunny day. It was cool, the temperature was in the 40s when I left for the MAC at 0530. It is now 1618 and temperature is 63. I got in the pool at 0615 and had the entire pool to myself for my entire 41' swim. Locker room talk centered on UM blowing the PSU game and the Tigers big loss in Boston. Read the WSJ and had coffee at the Kava House. The WSJ did not have any article that I would comment on. I got home about 1100. My first task was to move furniture and other obstacles that might be in the way of the furnace folks. The furnace folks started installing the new furnace at 1230 and were done by 1600. I think they did a good job. While they were working I took a mile walk. Ms P is still at Kim's so I made the walk in good time. Tonight we will have a light dinner. No paper GRP today. Will watch some TV before heading upstairs.

Sunday October 13, 2013

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Express in Marshall. We had their breakfast and shortly after 0800 we headed home. Hal had learned overnight that his mother had passed. Our prayers go out to Hal and Karen. Not much traffic today so we got home near 1030. Hal and Karen immediately headed home. They will leave for Toronto before noon. We unpacked and then I took a 3.75 mile walk. It is about 20 degrees cooler today than yesterday. It is now 1755 and the temperature is 63. We will have a light dinner and read the GRP and watch 60 Minutes before heading upstairs.

Saturday October 12, 2013

We all got up early. Today we are going to Albion College to attend the 50th reunion for the Class of 1963. Nancy, Helen and Karen Horlings were members of this class. It was a beautiful fall day. At 0815 Hal and Karen Horlings arrived. We put their bags in the Taurus and headed to Albion. Helen and Don drove their own car. We got to Albion before they started registering attendees at 1030. We walked around campus and even watched the Homecoming Parade. The College set up a huge tent for lunch. They had a great lunch. It was great day to eat outside. The football game started at 1300. The Albion side of the field was full. Unfortunately the sun was very hot. The temperature reached 80 during the game. In fact it was too hot for Helen and Don and they sought shade before half time. Nancy and Karen left at half time. Hal and I watched the whole game. Albion played Trine. It was a great game with several long runs and pass plays. Albion won by 14 points. In addition to being Nancy's 50 reunion today is also Debbie's 25th reunion. Debbie could not make it. One of Nancy's High School classmates was Andy Hess. Andy and his family lived two doors from us. Andy's son played TE for Trine. He had a lot of playing time. The Class of 1963 had dinner at Win Shuler's in Marshall. Shuler's is a well known eating place in Mi. The Class of 63 had over 150 folks for dinner. There were 250 members in the Class. We had prime rib and it was great. The Class had a short program and provided prizes for the graduate who traveled the furthest. the graduate with the most kids, grandkids, great grandkids etc. One questions that I thought interesting was about the folks who had met their spouse at Albion. At lot of hands were raised. When they asked how many had their 50 Wedding Anniversary this year. About 20 hands were raised. On a sad note Hal Horlings was notified during dinner that his mother had taken ill. She lives near Toronto and is 92. We plan on leaving early tomorrow so Hal and Karen can drive to Toronto on Sunday.

Friday October 11, 2013

Today is an early rising day. Up at 0455 and headed out at 0530 for the MAC. It is pitch black but at 0530 traffic is very light. I did have one incidence. I forgot that East Grand Rapids allows residents to put their leaves in the gutter. The City picks up the leaves free of charge. As I was pedaling south on Breton I moved over to the gutter to let a car pass. I drove through a big pile of leaves. Luckily, the pile was small and only leaves. I remember as a boy, my friends and I would ride our bike to school and whenever we found a pile of leaves we would ride through it scattering leaves. It was great sport. One day grouchy old Mr Bertran got tired of our sport so he buried a concrete block in the pile. Bob Oliver hit the block and went over his handle bars. It cured us. It was standard practice to burn the leaves in the gutter. A lot of folks liked the smell of burning leaves but environmental laws stopped this practice. After the MAC I had coffee at the Kava House. Friday is grass cutting day. As soon as I got home I fired up the mower and started cutting grass. At 1300 the salesman from Jacobson's arrived and gave me a price for a new furnace. The price was reasonable so we purchased a new furnace. It will be installed Monday. At 1400 Kim came and picked up Ms P. She will keep Ms P until next Tuesday. I finished cutting about 1500. I took a quick shower. As I was drying off my sister, Helen, and Don arrived. I gave Don a beer and Helen and I had a glass of wine. Nancy fixed a nice dinner for all of us. We spent the evening talking.

Thursday October 10, 2013

R H Scott's Forest Gump moment: Tonight on the news I heard that Astronaut Scott Carpenter had passed away. Navy Commander Carpenter made one space flight in May of 1962. He orbited the earth 3 times. I immediately thought that Ensign R H Scott was involved in the pick up of the Mercury Space Capsule. I was wrong. Carpenter landed in the Atlantic. I did further research and found that in October 1962 another Mercury capsule was launched and this flight was commanded by Navy Pilot Wally Schirra. The Sigma 7 spacecraft orbited the earth 6 times. The landing was near perfect. Astronaut Schirra did not have to exit the capsule but instead the Aircraft Carrier Kearsarge hoisted the capsule up to the flight deck and then Schirra exited the capsule. The Kearsarge was near the US Navy Base at Midway Island. Midway dispatched a tug to the Kearsarge and the capsule was loaded on the tug. When the tug reached Midway, Ensign RH Scott and his crack Seabee Team using a mobile crane unloaded the capsule and put it on one of our low boys for transfer to a waiting aircraft. The unloading, moving and loading of the capsule went without a hitch. This was a big event on Midway. Our team of Seabees were dressed in their dress whites and really showed a lot of spit and polish in making this move. The island was loaded with news folks and some of the guys thought maybe we would make Life magazine. No such luck. Anyway I was there 51 years ago. Today was another nice fall day. The weather was perfect. I slept in until 0715. Nancy is still under the weather so she did not go to the MAC. I was in the pool at 0815. My swim time today was 1 minute slower that normal. I don't know why. After the MAC I headed to the Starbucks in Gaslight Village for my morning coffee. I could not dawdle because the furnace man is coming some time after noon. I was home at noon. I had a quick lunch and then got out the trimmer and started trimming the grass. I want to get this work done because tomorrow I have to cut the grass. I want to be done with my chores before my sister comes in the afternoon. I was almost done when the furnace man arrived. He checked out the furnace and informed me that we need a new furnace. The existing furnace is 23 years old. The furnace man detected high levels of CO. Not a good thing. The sales man is coming tomorrow. In the past 12 months we have replaced our washer, hot water heater and now our furnace. Nancy and I had dinner tonight at Great Lakes Shipping. Not much on TV so I am going to bed early. Tomorrow I get up at 0455 so I can get in the pool before the old folks. I also have to cut the grass and get ready for my Sister' visit.

Wednesday October 9, 2013

Today is my easy day. I love my easy days. I woke at 0730 and then pedaled to Bill's for their oatmeal breakfast Since it is my easy day I had time to read all sections of the WSJ. How about those folks in DC? The news media is having a feeding frenzy. The media is really the messenger of bad dope. Stick with the facts! Today is another perfect fall day. Bob Condon who lives down the street from us is selling his house. For the past two days he has had an estate sale. The street has been lined with cars. When I got home I loaded up my road bike and headed to Millennium Park. I rode 19 miles in 1h33'. The trail was crowded with old folks like me. Nancy worked at the Gardens this afternoon. Tonight she has book club. I am meeting Tom Moleski for beer and pizza. Nancy and I have been looking at possible tours for this winter. We found a tour of Panama and the Canal that looks good. The price is reasonable and it is only a week long. We would like to take another overseas trip next fall. Rural England, Ireland or France are on my list. I would like to rent a car but driving in England has me worried.

Tuesday October 8, 2013

The weather folks said it was going to be a beautiful fall day. They were right. It was perfect. I slept in until 0715 this morning. Nancy still has her sore throat so she is taking it easy today. I was in the pool at 0800 but as soon as I got a few laps in my goggles started leaking. I put on the goggles I bought in Aruba and they fogged up. Since my routine was out of kilter I tried using the training swim fins I bought many years ago. The fins caused more stress on my knees and ankles than I wanted so I stopped using them after 10 laps. I ended up swimming 33 laps (1650 yards) in record slow time. My calisthenics went off without a hitch. On my way out of the MAC I stopped at their little store and purchased a new pair of goggles. They are identical to the ones I have been using for about 5 years. I had my coffee this morning at the Starbucks in Gas Light. The man behind me in line was impressed with the Starbucks app on my iPhone. I showed him how to download the app. Who says old guys are not tech savvy. Speaking of Apple I think at least 80% of the phones and computers I see at Starbucks and the Kava House are Apples. Young folks love their Apples. The WSJ today was full of interesting articles. It took me extra long to read. I did not get home until 1300. I notice that I use "I" all the time in this blog. A recent article stated that folks that use "I" a lot have low self esteem. After lunch today I took Ms P on her mile walk. Nancy read an article stating that one of the best things you can do for an aging dog is to take it for a walk. She also read that older dogs can catch cold easily. A dog sweater is advised. I ran some errands this afternoon. I stopped by the MAC to put a jar of skin lotion in my locker. I also brought home my swim fins. I have to have a tooth extracted next Tuesday so I checked on the location of the oral surgeon's office. Don't want to be late. Nancy fixed a great dinner tonight. I call it a stir fry with pasta, chicken and green beans. It was very tasty. Tonight is a great TV night. At 2000 I will watch NCIS and then NCIS LA and finally Person of Interest. Tomorrow is my easy day so I can sleep in. I don't like to watch shows that start at 2200. I have trouble staying awake and it is hard to get up in the morning. I would like to watch 2200 TV shows on my Apple Air during the day. I think it can be done. Maybe someone can give me a clue? Remember 39 minutes outside every day!