Monday October 5, 2015

Monday morning and the alarm was set so Nancy could get to her early class at MVP. However, Nancy was up before the alarm so I also got up. It was foggy and misty this morning. Temps were in the mid-fifties so I wore my knickers. Pumped up the bike tires and headed out on a 14 mile ride. I turned on my front and rear lights because of the fog. I made one stop and that was to the SE YMCA. A new Y is opening in December at the corner of Burton and Knapp approximately 1.5 miles from our condo. This is about 2 miles closer to us than MVP. The facility is huge and has an eight lane pool along with a thermal pool. MVP has the same but their pool only has five lanes. Another feature I like is an indoor running track. The Y opens Dec 7 and the cost is the same as MVP. Nancy and I will join in November. After the bike ride I showered and walked over to Panera for my morning coffee. It looks like the Pacific Nations Trade Pact is coming together. I am all for free trade and am glad the President has strongly supported the pact. I also like the President’s overtures to Cuba. His efforts in the middle east, however, have been a disaster. Nancy made a trip to Trader Joe’s this morning. I took Ms P on her walk and took a quick nap. I ordered corduroy pants and wool rag socks from LL Bean. It it now 1709 and I am heading out for a two mile walk. Stay turned. I finished my walk just in time for dinner. We are now watching the PBS News Hour and at 2000 we will watch Big Bang. Finish our waking hours with a netflix show.

Sunday October 4, 2015

Weekend Update: October 4, 2015 Big weekend news, today October 4 Lucas A. Scott turned 10. Happy Birthday Lucas, Grandpa and Grandma think you are great. Saturday October 3 I slept in until 0730. It was cold and blustery all day. The temp was in the low 40s early with a wind chill of 36. Winds blew all day, with average speeds of mid 20s. I walked to Panera for an oatmeal breakfast and a chance to read the WSJ and some news stories on Apple’s new app called “News”. I have been reading articles from the Guardian and Economist. I like the UK point of view. After breakfast I took the long road home. We have a dehumidifier that is not working so I stopped by Sears and asked if they can repair it. They said yes. This was good news because today Cascade Twp was having their large item disposal day. I was planning to drop it off and buy a new unit. I buy a lot of clothes from the online Orvis store. Orvis just opened a store in Breton Village so I paid it a visit. They had a great selection of men’s clothing. I will stop by next week with the coupon they sent me. I especially want to buy a pair of moleskin pants. Since I slept in this morning I did not need a nap. Took Ms P on her walk and spent some time putting away summer items and getting out fall clothes. I did watch some of the UM and MSU games. I ended the afternoon with a long walk. It started to rain halfway through my walk. I was glad I wore my raincoat. The Health app on my iPhone said I had walked a total of 10 miles today. I like this app. Nancy fixed a sliced apple/pork chop dish with a sweet potato for dinner. It was great. Nothing on TV so we watched Philomena on netflix. Both Nancy and I liked the movie. Every time we go on a trip folks tell Nancy she looks like Judi Dench. I think Nancy is better looking. Sunday October 4, 2015: Lucas A. Scott is ten so it is a fine day. Alarm goes off at 0646 and are up and ready for our 0800 swim at MVP. Nancy and I were the first in the pool. I swam my 30 minutes and Nancy did much more. High test gas today was $2.94 at Meijer’s. Like MVP Meijer’s this morning was not very crowded. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning. We watch some morning news shows and I read the funnies. At noon we called Lucas to wish him a Happy Birthday. I took my Sunday nap and then took Ms P on her walk. It is now 1709 and I will take a short walk before dinner. Nancy is fixing beans and rice for dinner. We will watch 60 Minutes and then Madame Secretary before turning in.

Friday October 2, 2015

Friday morning and I set the alarm for 0640. Nancy has two classes at MVP this morning and she had to leave early. I did the at home routine and then bundled up for a cold bike ride. Temps this morning were in the low 40s. Despite the cold it was a great fall day for a ride. I rode 14 miles. The colors are still a week away from their peak. You know it is fall because all the sprinkler companies are driving around the neighborhood with their air compressors. They are blowing out the lines so they won’t freeze. Kim was still cleaning when I got home so I showered and headed to Panera. The shootings in Roseburg, Or have dominated the news. In the summer of 1956 I worked for a timber cutting firm that sold logs to the Roseburg Lumber Company. I have been to Roseburg many times. It is a beautiful area. In 1956 large stands of Douglas Fir dominated the landscape. It just shows you crazies are not confined to urban areas. When I got home Kim was still cleaning so Nancy and I got in the Taurus and headed to Costco. Costco had a lightweight down jacket for $20 so I bought it. I have been looking for a down jacket to wear on my bike rides during cold weather. Most of the jackets I looked at were in the $100 range. Time will tell if I made a good decision. Took a short nap and then walked to Macatawa Bank to get some cash. Nancy and I had dinner at Brann’s tonight. We both had a salad. Brann’s has great salads. We watched the news and then netflix. Missy FaceTimed us tonight. She and AJ are still living in a hotel while her condo is being repaired. Her condo was damaged by an upstairs water break.

Thursday October 1, 2015

October 1, the start of the last quarter of the year and it came in blustery and cool. High temp today was 61 but it was in the low 40s when I left for Panera after the at home stuff. I was layered up. Russia's actions in Syria has made the US and its allies look weak. However, I think Russia has made a big mistake by inserting itself in the Syrian quagmire. Assad is hated by the majority of the Syrian people. I have alway thought that we should not be in the Middle East, period. We have spent billions for failed policies. We have never had a plan. I watched Jeb Bush this morning on Morning Joe. He has some good ideas. My favorite is still the Ohio Gov. I encountered some high winds on my bike ride to MVP. The pool had one empty lane when I arrived so I took it. I swam for 30 minutes. Took a long route home. My iphone said I put 10 miles on the bike. With colder weather coming I spent some time getting my warm weather tees out and sorted. I was surprise how many tees I had. I like the lightweight wool/poly blends. They are warm without being bulky. After lunch I took Ms P on her walk. I was going to take a short nap but slept for over 90 minutes. Tomorrow Kim comes to clean so I walked over to Macatawa Bank to get some money. Nancy fixed a beef Irish pie frozen dinner from Trader Joe's for dinner. It was very good. We watched some TV and now are watching Rosemary and Thyme on netflix. Temps should get down to low 40s tonight. This date in 1938, Ossineke, MI. Great grandfather Sanborn said today was the first day of duck season. Great Uncle Guy and his son David shot six. GGF Sanborn split 33 bu of wood for his upstairs stove. It was a clear day but frost was expected tonight.

Wednesday September 30, 2015

Breakfast Club Wednesday and I had to get up at 0545. It was pitch black when I left at 0630. We had a good turnout at today's meeting. In addition to scrambled eggs they had biscuits and gravy. I had to sample the biscuits and gravy. It is my plebeian upbringing. The speaker today was the Kent County Drain Commissioner. He talked about his office. It was a good presentation. With winter coming I stopped at Mr Thanh to get some wool pants taken in. The weight loss is getting expensive. A new Orvis store has opened in Breton Village. I wear a lot of Orvis clothes so I thought I would stop by and see what they had. I arrived at 0930 and the store did not open until 1000. I did not want to wait so I drove to Woodland Mall. The stores were not yet open so I had a coffee at the Mall's Starbucks. I am looking for corduroy pants, pants not jeans. I stopped at Sears, J. Crew, Penney's, American Eagle and Macy's and none of the stores had cords. Bummer. On the way home I stopped at Costco to see if they had their wool blend long sleeve tees in. I love these shirts for cold weather. No luck. With Art Prize in full swing the Gardens has been very crowded with parking at a premium. Nancy worked this afternoon so I drove her. When I got home I took Ms P on her walk. After lunch I took a short nap. At 1600 picked up Nancy at the Gardens. She said over 2,500 folks visited the Gardens today. I ended the afternoon with a 2.5 mile walk. Nancy fixed poached eggs for dinner tonight. We are now watching Mysteries of Laura. We will end the evening with a short netflex show.

Tuesday September 29, 2015

Tuesday morning and I am up at 0645 which is my normal time. I do the at home stuff and then have breakfast. Helen left this morning around 0900. We really enjoyed her visit. Helen showed me some stuff about my iphone that I did not know. It looked liked rain so I packed my raincoat and headed to Panera. The new iphone operating system has an app called News. I have been reading sections of the Guardian and NY Times. The news is all about the UN meeting and Russia's intrusion into Syria. President Obama and SS Kerry seem very confused. It was not raining so I left the raincoat in my backpack and headed to MVP. Today the pool was empty. I swam for 30 minutes. It was raining when I headed out so I put on my raincoat and headed home. I changed my clothes and then Nancy and I drove to Kohl's. I was looking for corduroy pants but they did not have any. Nancy did buy some clothes. I had a quick lunch and then took a nap. It had stopped raining so I took Ms P on her walk. I spent some time cleaning my desk. Also got out my winter clothes and put away warm weather clothes. Fall weather has finally arrived. No 70 degree days in sight. We had a light dinner. Watched the news and then NCIS. Finished the evening watching The Glades on netflix.

Monday September 28, 2015

Monday morning and we all slept in. I did do my at home calisthenics before taking Ms P on her walk. I had my normal breakfast. We headed out at 1030 and parked in the Campau Square structure. We walked across the Blue Bridge over the Grand River and visited the exhibits at the GR Public Museum and the Gerald Ford Museum. Walked back over the Grand River and visited the GR Convention Center. We ended our tour at the GR Art Museum. We were all tired so we headed home. Our Heart App said we only walked 3.5 miles. I did take a nap. For dinner we headed to Panera for soup and a sandwich. We were all tired so we spent a quiet evening watching TV.