Friday February 6, 2015

Friday February 6, 2015 I set the alarm for 0600 because we have the electrician coming at 0830 to install several lightning fixtures. I completed the calisthenics, showered and ate breakfast just before the doorbell rang. It took Phil four hours to install three new ceiling fixtures, and remove or replace four fixtures. The most notable impact of the new fixtures is in the kitchen. The kitchen is now nice and bright. Nancy hated the plastic chandelier in the living room so it is gone. We have a nice new light over our dining room table. A track lighting fixture in the living room was moved downstairs. All in all a very successful morning. A downside to the new fixture is that we have some holes that need patching. We decided to repaint the living room ceiling. I called our painter and he was in the area so he stopped by and gave us an estimate. The painter will start February 23. We must get a plasterer soon to patch up the holes before painting. It was a very productive morning. I took a nap. I put on my GPS and walked another route. It was exactly 2.5 miles. We met the Moleski’s at 0645 at Arnies for dinner. After dinner we headed to Belknap Arena to see a college hockey game, Aquinas vs Calvin. The last time I was in Belknap was when Steve was a senior in high school, 1991. It had not changed much. It was fun to watch because you are so close to the ice. Aquinas won 3 to 2. We got home about 2300. It was a busy but enjoyable Friday.

Thursday February 5, 2015

Thursday February 5, 2015 Another single digit, 9, morning, Nancy goes swimming and I do calisthenics at home. I drive to Panera. I have 90 minutes until I can get in the pool so I read the WSJ from cover to cover. My retention is bad I can not remember what I read. I swam for 30 minutes. At home I grabbed my GPS and walked a new route, two miles. Took nap and then another walk. Got a call from Phil Dougherty, our electrician, he has a cancelation and wants to install our lights tomorrow. We hustled and cleared a path to our attic. Phil has to install five lights. We had dinner at Great Lakes Shipping. We started watching a British Crime drama on Netflix. We are hooked. I talked with my Sister, Helen, tonight. We both agreed that high school typing class served us well in recent years. I am writing this blog on my mini iPad using the hunt and peck method. I prefer using a keyboard. My worst grade in high school was in typing. I got a D.

Wednesday February 4, 2015

Happy 7th Birthday:Akerke! You are a joy to your Grandmother and me. The alarm goes off at 0530 because today is Breakfast Club. We got about 1/2” of snow last night. I took the expressway because it is the first road plowed. No problems. Despite the snow we had a good turnout. I know 3 members over 90 who drove this morning. The speaker talked about options open to seniors who need assisted living. I was surprised about the number of options available in West MI but one must be careful before making a permanent commitment. After BC I stopped at Berger Chevy and got my oil change. Chevy has a new AWD compact SUV. It looked good and the price was not bad. A good salesman could have sold me one this morning. I don’t think good salespeople exist anymore. At home I took a check and walked to Macatawa Bank to deposit it. I then walked to Panera for coffee. I like the WSJ on my iPad because unlike the Kendal version it has photos and videos. However, to get these features it requires a wi fi connection. Panera has a very weak wi fi system. Starbucks has an excellent wifi. Speaking of tech I wanted to pay for my coffee using Apple Pay. Panera says they accept Apple Pay but it is only on one of four registers. That register is usually not in service. Every day I find out new things to do with my iPhone. Last night we were watching a show on TV and they were playing a familiar song. Nancy asked what was the name of the tune. I called Siri on my phone and held the phone near the TV. Siri told us it was a song by Gordon Lightfoot. Missy sent me some info on the auto reminder feature on the iPhone. A good feature for us forgetful seniors. After Panera I took a 2 mile walk. I took a very short nap. I finished the afternoon with a walk around the block. I got my 30’ in and also my fitbit went off telling me I got my 10,000. Nancy worked at the Gardens this afternoon. She said they were not very busy. After a light dinner we will watch some TV. The temperature might get below zero this evening.

Tuesday February 3, 2015

Tuesday February 3, 2015 It was in single digits early this morning. Nancy headed to MVP for a swim. I stayed home and did the calisthenics and rowed for twelve minutes. I walked to Panera for coffee. I spent over an hour reading the WSJ. I cannot remember any thing important that I would like to comment on. After Panera I took a 2.5 mile walk. Cascade Township finally got the sidewalks plowed. We have a lot of new snow on the ground. I like to be outside in the winter if I am dressed properly. When I got home Nancy and I got in the Taurus and headed to Target. Actually Nancy went to Target and headed to Dick’s which is next door. For years I have been wearing WigWam wool socks. However, I have visited all GR’s sporting goods stores and cannot find them. I think they have been discontinued. I will call WigWam tomorrow. After lunch I took a short nap. What’s new! Every once in awhile I have to go out on our deck and clean our TV dish of accumulated snow. The snow on our deck is so deep that I decided to shovel a path to the dish. It was a bigger project than I thought. Our backyard is a beautiful white unmarked open space. I decided to take a walk in the backyard and mess it up with my tracks. The snow depth averaged about 15”. I did not see any human prints but I noticed several deer tracks. I trudged through the snow and thought this is perfect snowshoeing country. I might buy a pair. I followed what I thought was the old golf cart path. I made it to Charlevoix Drive and decided I had enough. I took plowed roads home. Nancy is fixing ham for dinner tonight. After dinner we will watch the news and NCIS. We also got a paper edition of the GRP. It takes about 15 minutes to read the GRP. We now have about an hour more of daylight. I also noticed that the sun is moving higher in the southern sky. Think Spring!

Monday February 2, 2015

The snow stopped about 0400. I had to shovel this morning. The condo folks had our driveway cleared early. Most of the schools in the area are closed. Our street was not plowed so I decided to not drive to MVP. I walked to Panera in bright sunshine. However, the temperature was still single digits. I had time to completely read the WSJ. I hope Germany does not bend in its insistence that the new Greek government shows some fiscal restraint. It looks to me that the only group in the Middle East that deserves our support are the Kurds. Super Bowl commercials were all the talk on MSNBC and Bloomberg this morning. Lately I have been watching Bloomberg. I think it provides unbiased reporting. After coffee I was going to walk over to Meijer's to pick up a prescription. However, the Township had not plowed the sidewalks. I decided to take a two mile walk on less traveled roads. When I got home Nancy wanted to drive to Meijer's for some grapes. We got in the Taurus and headed out. Our four wheel drive Taurus is perfect for driving on unplowed roads. After lunch I took a quick nap. My fitbit had not gone off so I walked around the block and sure enough it went off. We will have a light dinner and then watch some TV. It looks like a netflix evening. I got my thirty in today did you? Yes the Groundhog did see his shadow so winter until St Patrick's Day.

Sunday February 1, 2015

Sunday February 1, 2015 It started snowing about 0400. I walked out at 0700. The high winds, cold temps and heavy snow convinced me that today would be an easy day. The weather folks say it will snow all day with winds above 15 mph. No MVP today. Nancy and I got in the Taurus at 0800 and headed to Meijer’s. We wanted to get our shopping done early. Gas today was $2.07 per gallon. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. We finished breakfast early so I almost finished the GRP before taking a nap. I did watch the 2nd half of the UM/MSU BB game. UM ran out of gas in overtime. It is now 1630 and the snow and wind continue. I have shoveled the walk four times today. I think the combined time it took to shovel the walk will give me my 30 for today. I will not reach 10,000 steps on my fitbit. Nancy is fixing chicken noodle soup for dinner. We will watch the Super Bowl. I really don’t care who wins. The snow is suppose to stop about 0400 and Monday should be sunny. The groundhog will see his shadow. That means winter will end about ST Pat’s Day. Who needs a groundhog. I have always declared St Pat’s day to be the end of winter. Today is the birthday of my sister-in-law Judy Patton. Judy would be 74 today. She was a great lady and an even greater Aunt. Judy was in the first class at Harvard Business School that graduated women. Today is also the birthday of my Great Grand Mother Sanborn. She was 81 in 1938 (born 1857). GGM Sanborn lived to be 93.

Saturday January 31, 2015

Saturday January 31, 2015 The last day of January and no snow until February. This January was noted for a lack of snow and sun. I think we have had less than 15% of available sunshine. Nancy and I had breakfast at the Omelette Shop. We drove home and Nancy ran some errands and I walked to Starbucks. Is it just me or all restaurants cold? It was bright sunshine on my walk to Starbucks and dark and gloomy on my walk home. We have winter storm warning starting this evening. In preparation of more snow I drove to ACE Hardware and bought a bag of salt. I had a quick lunch and then took a nap. Actually I turned the electric blanket on so that I could get warm. This evening we are meeting the Moleskis at Van Andel Arena to see a hockey game. We arrived at the arena at 0630 and the Moleskis were waiting for us with the tickets. The game we well attended but the home team lost. We got home at 2200. No snow yet!