Friday May 8, 2015

Friday May 8, 2015 Up with the birds this morning and it looked like rain. The temp at 0700 was in the low 60s. Nancy headed out early for a class at MVP. I wanted to be on my bike by 0830. I quickly did the at home stuff and make my goal. I took my normal 14 mile ride. I was done by 1030. After a shower I drove to Panera for coffee and to read the paper. Nancy said she would call when the garage door man arrived. How about the elections in the UK! The Polls were wrong. The Labor party took a major hit. What do you expect when they hired David Axlerod as a consultant. I was surprised about the strength of the Scottish National Party. I am not for Scottish independence. I wanted to be home before 1100 because the overhead garage tech was coming some time between 1100 and 1400. We have had a rash of repair persons in house lately. The plumber cleaned our drain twice, new belts were installed in the dryer, EPS the Security firm repaired our alarm and installed an app on my iPhone, we had our furnace and AC checked out, my computer guru checked out all our Apple toys. Nancy car got its 50,000 mile checkup and new tires. I hope we are done for awhile. Kim cleaned the house today. At 1300 the garage door repair man arrived. He knew immediately what our problem was. He made a temporary repair and will return in several weeks to make permanent repairs. We drove to Fruitbasket this afternoon to look a some plant material. We only bought a flower box. Next stop was Lowe’s where we bought a Shepard’s Crooks. For dinner tonight we tried a new restaurant. It was called “The ADA Pour House Gastropub”. Nancy and I gave it a B+. On Tuesday we had a Statewide election to raise the state sales tax to get money for roads and schools. Our gutless legislators could have just raised the gas tax but they wanted to pass the buck. The proposal was very confusing. It was soundly defeated. Today is the 70th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day. I was seven years old on the original VE Day. I do not remember the day. I do remember during WW II that sugar, gas, silk, cigarettes, and rubber were rationed. Every one was required to have a ration card. I remember my Grandmother Hughes would limit me to only a small amount of sugar on my oatmeal. I think after WW II I went on a sugar binge. Maybe the reason I have been able to lose 20 pounds is that sugar was a major part of my diet. Eliminate sugar and the pounds disappear.

Thursday May 7, 2015

Thursday May 7, 2015: time is 1716, temperature is 84, the warmest day since August 2014. It is much warmer in GR than either LA or San Jose. Love it! Up at 0645 and went out in a short sleeve shirt and felt comfortable. Did the at home stuff and then put on my knickers and pedaled to Panera. Every one at Panera was talking about the power outage yesterday. It created a lot of inconvenience. Nancy could not prepare her meal for Book Club so she had to order pizza. We tried to get the garage door operating but no luck. At 0900 today I called the Overhead Door Company and set up a service call for 1100 tomorrow. Luckily I do not need the Cobalt. The pain in Nancy’s foot returned last night. She had difficulty sleeping. She did not go swimming this morning. She is much better now. After Panera I pedaled to MVP. The pool was empty when I got in. I did 20 laps using only the breast stroke. No shoulder pain but my neck gets sore. I will modify the program the next time I get in the pool. Stopped at Starbucks on way home to finish the WSJ. Took Ms P on a walk when I got home. Had a quick lunch and then puts some khakis in my backpack and headed to the tailor shop near by. Also stopped at bank to get some money for Kim. Kim will clean tomorrow. I read several chapters of US Grants book and then took a 30 minute nap. We are staying home tonight. We are having chili and some pizza left over from last night. On May 6, 1962 Ensign Scott wrote to his Mother in Alpena, Mi. I said it had been a while since I had written. Midway Island was now loaded with folks coming to monitor the upcoming nuclear bomb test on Johnson Island. I think Midway is the closest land mass to Johnson. I told Mom that I had been in the Navy about a year and have put on 20 pounds. My weight was now 158 pounds. The weather on Midway was getting warmer. I was surprised how mild the weather was on Midway. Midway is the same latitude as Tampa, FL. I had now spent about 6 months on Midway with 6 more to go. I commented on a letter my Sister, Helen, had sent. She also sent me two books, “Organization Man” and “Japanese Inn”. Helen said she was going to summer school at CMU. I said why not UM. UM has 3 boys for every girl and CMU has 3 girls for every boy. I was the Island’s Transportation Officer and was spending a lot of time getting ready for next weeks big inspection. The Inspectors were coming out of Pearl Harbor Public Works Center. I asked if my cousin Joan was still at UM. Glen Johnson, Dad’s cousin, was in the Navy and I asked what his rate was. Like a lot of home sick Navy guys I wanted to know how my Grandmothers were doing and about my Aunt Helen in Alma, Mi and Uncle Fred in FL. Mom and Dad had done some interior decorating and I asked if they liked their work. My Mother we a real serious bridge player and I asked how her game was. No FaceTime, email or cell phones in 1962. The only way to find out what was going on was to write a letter. An old Navy saying was “If you want happy troops, don’t mess with a sailor’s mail or pay”.

Wednesday May 6, 2015

Easy Wednesday, biked to Sundance for breakfast. After breakfast pedaled to Meijer's to buy bag of apples. Dropped off apples and then took 14 mile bike ride. Nancy worked at Gardens this afternoon. Took short nap and when I got up the power went off. Nancy won't be able to cook her dish for book club tonight. It took both of us to open the garage door. Nancy had to put car in garage so we had enough parking space for book club. Power not on at 1800 so Nancy ordered pizza. Tom Moleski drove me to Uccello's, Ed Namey was already there. I enjoy our monthly meetings. When we got the home the power had just come on. Tom and I on sat on deck until book club over. We can't get the garage door to open, have to call service tomorrow. Finished evening watching Netflix.

Tuesday May 5, 2015

Up at 0615, hustle to get at home routine done before 0730. Have to have Taurus to Ford dealer by 0800. Made it. Dealer has good waiting area. Read WSJ and drank coffee. Greece and Nepal quake has pushed Ukraine and Russia off front page. Big Election in MI today on funding road construction. Hope it passes. Ford said work won't be done until 1500. They gave me a ride home. At 1200 AC tech came and checked out AC. He also spent time explaining both AC and furnace operations. Finally a knowledgeable tech. They are worth their weight in gold. Ford called at 1500 to say car ready. Had 50,000 mile checkup and new tires. Rain finally stopped so took 3 mile walk. Temp in 50s all day. Nancy fixed chili for dinner. It was great. Watched NCIS and now watching Netflix.

Monday May 4, 2015

Heavy rain rolled through last night, Ms P went bonkers. Slept in until 0715. Nancy headed to MVP. I did at home routine, then walked to Panera for coffee. Took longer route home. At 1100 my computer guru stopped by and he helped me with all my apple devices. Cloud and all. Lunch and then took Ms P on her walk. Ran some errands, stopped at Costco bought water shoes and socks. Headed to Woodland and looked for cotton khaki blazer. No luck. At Apple Store and they checked out my beats headphones. They got them to work. I had some charger issues. Light dinner and then news. Nancy to bed early. I am watching "Hell on Wheels". It is now 2100 and temp is 66.

Sunday May 3, 2015

Weekend Update: We had just a beautiful weekend. Sunny and warm, it is now 1709 on Sunday and Nancy and I are sitting out on the deck drinking wine. The temp is 79. Perfect! Saturday morning and I now get up with the sun and the chirp of the birds. This morning I biked to Sundance Grill for their oatmeal breakfast. After breakfast I pedaled home and took Ms P on a walk. I then changed into my serious bike riding clothes. I loaded up the bike and headed to Millennium Park. First time this year. A sure sign of a nice day because the parking lot was full. I rode 18 miles. Millennium does not have the hills that Cascade Twp has so it was an easy ride. When I got home Nancy asked if I had felt any tremors. I said no. Our next door neighbor said she felt some shaking. Come to find out West MI had a 4.2 earth quake. Missy was on Facebook and all her GR friends were commenting on the earth quake. She called to see if we were all right. I told her neither Nancy or I had felt the quake. Good grief a 4.2 quake is an every day occurrence in CA. It was such a nice day that Nancy and I had an early dinner at Rose’s. We sat out on the deck and watched the boats on Reeds Lake. Debbie face timed us and we spent almost an hour catching up. I love face time. We watched a netflix show before turning in. Sunday May 3: Swim day for Bob and Nancy: The pool was not crowded this morning. We each had a lane. Nancy swam 25 laps and I did 20. Gas at Meijer’s today was $2.64. We made our weekly purchases at Meijer’s. Nancy fixed her world famous poached eggs for breakfast. After reading the funnies I took my Sunday nap. After I took Ms P on a nice walk and then went on a solo walk. I wanted to get my fitbit to go off. It did. Nancy is fixing hot dogs for dinner. This evening we will finish the GRP and watch 60 minutes. We usually watch Madame Secretary but I don’t like the show so maybe I will watch a netflix show on my iPad using my super duper head phones. On this date in 1938, Ossineke, Mi: My GGF Sanborn wrote that in the morning he drove to Alpena to deliver some chairs. He had lunch at Lorey’s. In the afternoon he hauled 110 bushels of leaves. I think he hauled the leaves to his garden. Reading today’s sports section of the GRP they reported on all the spring sports. When I was in high school I was on the tennis team. I really enjoyed playing tennis. In biology class one Monday in my sophomore year, after a weekend tournament in Midland, the girl who sat next to me said how cool my tan was. First time I knew girls liked guys with tans. I put that info in my girl file.

Friday May 1, 2015

May 1, 2015 Up with the bright sun today. I do the at home routine, eat breakfast and then walk to Panera for coffee. I have the alarm system tech coming to our house at 1030 so I do not have time for a bike ride. I walk home at 1000 and at exactly 1030 the tech arrives. I lucked out because I knew the tech. He installed our alarm system at 1555 Mackinaw. He was very familiar with the system at our condo. Our furnace, door locks, outside lights and alarm system are all interconnected. We spent over two hours going over the system. I think I finally got it. He also connected my iPhone to the system. I can now from CA or any remote site unlock the front door, arm and disarm the alarm system, raise or lower the temperature and turn on or off the outside lights. Don’t you just love all this tech stuff. I had a quick lunch and then put on my bike knickers and went on a 14 mile bike ride. I wore my knickers because the temp was in the low 70s. For the first time this year I worked up a heavy sweat on a bike ride. After my shower Nancy and I got in the Taurus and headed to Kohls. Nancy made a return and I bought some undergarments. Next we stopped at Costco. We bought cheese and quiche. Nancy is having her book club next week and she will serve the quiche. For dinner Nancy fixed a stir fry with whole wheat pasta, beans and shrimp. It was great. Nothing on network TV tonight so we will watch a netflix show. A big question in GR is did Floyd Mayweather finish 9th grade at OHHS?