Friday May 23, 2014

The recuperation continues. I have been sleeping in and last night was no exception. After breakfast I got on my bike and pedaled to the Kava House. This was my first time on the bike is over a week. I read the first section of the WSJ. For Africa's largest economy Nigeria seems to have a military that is totally incompetent. They cannot protect their own people. I read an article on the Pope's visit to the Middle East. The Christian population in this area has declined drastically in the past 50 years. In my lifetime will the birthplace of the Christian faith be devoid of Christians? Russia and China have signed a big deal for Russia to sell gas from Siberia to China. Russian is having problems getting Russians to live in Siberia. Will China claim that since there are more Chinese living in Siberia than Russians that this area should become part of China? This is the same reasoning that Russia used in Crimea. What goes around comes around? After coffee I pedaled home and rounded up Nancy and Ms P. Kim is cleaning today and she brought Ms P back after a week at her house. We headed to Art Van furniture and bought a new mattress and box spring for our bed. We will have it delivered when we move. We also stopped at Costco to load up on some supplies like peanut butter, cereal and sandwich rolls. Lunch today was a Costco hot dog. I took a nap this afternoon. After the nap I took Ms P around the block. We are having a stretch of really nice weather and it should continue through the holiday weekend. For dinner tonight we are having a Costco chicken. I hope to take a mile walk after dinner. Sunset is after 2100. I love the long days. This is my favorite time of year.

Thursday May 22, 2014

Nancy and I arrived back in GR yesterday about 1500. We spent Monday and Tuesday at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. The following is a brief summary of our trip. Monday May 19: We left GR a little before 0800. It was a bright sunny day. When we got to Gaylord we stopped to see Helen and Don. They really looked relaxed and fully recovered from their 9 day road trip from AZ to MI. We left off a brick of swiss cheese that we can now get in GR. We were introduced to this cheese my Missy when she lived in Cleveland. The cheese is made in an Amish Community outside Cleveland. We got to Mackinaw City in time to catch the 1330 ferry to the Island. Our bags were checked through to the Grand and so we had a pleasant walk to the Hotel. Tourist season has not started yet so the Island was not crowded. I like the clip-clop of the horses. I am still not fully recovered from the pneumonia so I took a short nap. Nancy and I attended a 1830 wine and cheese get together. We met Ed and Mary Namey who arrived shortly after we did. After the wine and cheese we headed to the main dining area and had a great five course meal. After dinner we sat in the main lounge area and listed to harp music. We retired early. Tuesday May 20: The rain moved in last night. It was cloudy and cold with the temperature never getting above 45. We had breakfast in the main dining area. Breakfast was great. The nice thing about the GH is that no tipping is allowed. We had a small break in the rain and Nancy and I walked downtown to buy some fudge. We nearly froze to death. We did spend a lot of time reading. In fact I finished my book. About 1600 we walked upstairs to a bar on top of the hotel. It is called the Cupola Bar. The view of the Straits of Mackinaw is great. We met the Namey's at 1900 for dinner. We had another fine meal. The Grand Hotel is a fine dining experience. While we were freezing in Mackinac it was nearly 80 in GR. Wednesday May 21: We had another fine breakfast. We caught the 1000 ferry to Mackinaw City and then drove home. It was 80 when we got home at 1500. We had a light dinner and then headed upstairs early. All the eating and drinking of the past two days tired us out. Thursday May 22: I slept in until 0800. I had coffee at Hall Street. I did buy a bag of day old scones at 50% off. We love Hall Street's scones but not at full price. I stopped at the bank to make a deposit. I also got the Taurus washed. Nancy continues to pack. I cleared my in-basket and paid some bills. We filled out a form for the condo association and we are now waiting for our Realtor to pick it up. We had to fill out a form asking permission to have our dog, Petunia, stay with us. Would the condo association deny our request? Dinner tonight will be at Great Lakes Shipping. Every day in every way I am feeling better and better.

Sunday May 18, 2014

Saturday May 17; A pleasant cool spring day. I drove to Bill's for breakfast. I ordered the Super Breakfast because I am feeding my pneumonia. Today was an easy day for Bob and Nancy. I took a long afternoon nap and spent some time reading. I did fire up my ACAD Lite and starting drawing our new condo. As soon as I have the rooms laid out to scale I will see how to arrange various pieces of furniture in each room. About 1730 we got in the Taurus and picked up Nancy's friend Kathi. We had dinner at Brann's. Tonight instead of sitting in the bar was ate in the main lounge. We all had the sizzler. We gave Brann's Main Lounge a C. It does not get dark until 2100 so we spent some time riding around the neighborhood. We are going to miss Ottawa Hills. Sunday May 18: A bright sunny day with temps in the low 60s. I drove to Kava House for coffee and scones. Spent most of the morning reading the GRP. I did take my Sunday afternoon nap and then I packed for our trip to Mackinac Island tomorrow. It did not take long. The sprinklers went off this afternoon. The sprinkler man' setting was off by 12 hours. The system should have gone off at 4:30 AM and not 4 PM. This is a good argument for the 24 hr clock. I took my last pill this morning and I hope all this medicine will lead to a speedy recovery. I have really been taking it easy. Nancy is fixing her world famous scrambled eggs for dinner tonight. We will watch 60' and then a netflix show.

Friday May 16, 2014

The recuperation continues as does the cold weather. The normal high for this date in May is 70 and today it was in the low 50s. I slept in and then had coffee at Hall Street Bakery. I took some time to give the WSJ a good read. Confusion in the Middle East, Iran recruits Afghan young men to fight in Syria. India has new leaders and who knows what is happening in Thailand. Vietnam is pushing back against China. Japan is moving towards a stronger defense to combat Chinese moves against some rocks in the East China Sea. The Europeans don't know how to handle their primary energy supplier Russia. Who can figure it all out. Today we spent some time going to our Credit Unions to get some money for our May 30 closing on our condo. It is really not that complicated we just have to get all our financial ducks in a row. We have about 30 days between purchasing the condo and selling our house. In those 30 days we must carry insurance on two homes. Our Realtor is providing us a check list to help navigate the transition period. Kim came about 1300 and picked up Ms P. She will be with Kim and family for a week. I did take a nice long nap. We had fried egg sandwiches and then headed downtown to the GR Art Museum. We saw the exhibit on Michigan design. It covered everything from auto manufacturing, furniture design and architectural designs unique to Michigan. Everything from the Keeler House on Reeds Lake to the design of Ford Rouge River complex. It was very interesting. We finished the evening by watching Midsomer Murder on Netflix. Frost warnings are up for tonight. Bummer!

Thursday May 15, 2014

Catch up time: Monday the tossing and pitching continues. More trips to Goodwill. My chest cold continues to get worse. The house is looking good. Tuesday we put the finishing touches on our cleanup. Nancy got good news from Dr Sprik. Her second biopsy has come back clear. The score is 1-1, so we are in a wait and see mode. It was cold and rainy all day. I continued to read and throw out old magazines. One more day and I will have caught up. My chest cold takes a bad turn so I call our GP and get the on call Doctor. He said come in early tomorrow. I called the Realtor at 1945 and asked if the house was on the market. He said he was just finishing up and would post the house later. At 2145 the Realtor put the house on the market. Wednesday: Busy, busy day. Nancy had to drive herself to the Doctor to get the last of her knee shots. I called the GP and got 1530 appointment. The Realtor called and said that the first showing was scheduled at 1300. Nancy and I quickly put the finishing touches on the house. At 1100 I go to the skin doctor to get my stitches removed. At 1130 the "For Sale" sign goes up. At 1230 we all get in the Taurus head to Meijer's Garden. Nancy is working today. Ms P and I drive around until it is time for the GP appointment. The Realtor keeps texting me about request for visits. Eight showings are scheduled for tonight with the last one ending at 1930. The GP checks me over and said I have pneumonia. He gave me a prescription for a strong antibiotic. We pick up Nancy at Meijer's. We stop at Meijer's to pick up my medicine. For dinner we stop at Russ's. Nancy has soup and a burger. I have a hot turkey sandwich. We get home at 2000. The Realtor calls at 2100 saying we have an offer for the house. Nancy and I review offer. It looks good. The Realtor stopped by with some papers that have to be signed. The house has sold in less than 24 hours. Thursday: We all sleep in today. There are several showings scheduled for this afternoon but they are canceled. The estimator from "Two Men and a Truck" stops by to see what we want moved. He will give us an estimate on Friday. Bob and Nancy crashed this afternoon. Dinner tonight at Great Lakes Shipping. The Buyer's have scheduled an inspection of the house on Monday. Nancy and I will be at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island for a well deserved rest.

Sunday May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day: Nancy and Bob's first Mother's Day was spent in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Nancy fixed a picnic lunch and we were taking Debbie to the Zoo. The animals did not mean much to Debbie but she sure liked watching the pigeons. It was very cold so we ate our lunch rapidly. Today in GR we had a beautiful Mother's Day. Sunshine and temperatures in the low 80s. I still can't swim so we headed to Cheri Inn for breakfast. We got there at 0800 and had no trouble getting a table. Ten minutes later and we would have had to wait. After breakfast we headed to Meijer's. Gas today was $3.66. We did not purchase much because we don't want to take a lot of food when we move. I read several sections of the GRP before heading upstairs for my Sunday nap. After the nap I cleaned out my nightstand. I was surprised at how many big books that I had. I tossed most. I finished the afternoon with a mile walk. We are having a light dinner tonight, cold cut sandwich. We will watch 60' and a netflix show before heading upstairs. I did find a poem Missy wrote to me on my 42nd birthday. It was nice and I am keeping it. Last night we had a long enjoyable FaceTime conversation with Debbie. I love FaceTime.

Saturday May 10, 2014

I thought the flu and cold season was over. I developed a cold last night so I slept in until 0800. Nancy did not want to go out for breakfast so I got on the bike and pedaled to Bill's for oatmeal. After breakfast I pedaled around Reeds Lake. When I got home Nancy was busy cleaning out the upstairs cedar closet. I must have made 25 trips out to the garage with bags of trash or bags for Goodwill. Once the car was filled and headed to Goodwill. It was 1400 when Nancy declared the job done. She deserves a medal. I was tired so I took a shower and then a nap. We are replacing the mattress and box springs on our bed. I just texted Debbie and she told me the brand of her new mattress and box springs. Today has been a beautiful spring day. The leaves on the trees are 90% out and the temperature was a perfect 66. For dinner tonight we are going to Brann's or Sundance. Both are near our new condo. After dinner we will watch some Netflix.