Saturday November 7, 2015

Normal fall weather returns with temps in the low 40s this morning. It was breezy with intermittent sun. I slept in until 0745 this morning. Bundled up and pedaled to Panera. I had their oatmeal and sourdough toast. On Saturday I have time to read most sections of the WSJ. Health care, Syria, plane crash in Egypt, China's economy, Keystone pipeline and of course presidential politics dominates. After breakfast I stopped at Macatawa Bank to make a deposit. The jacket I was wearing needed to be cleaned so Nancy recommended Kim's in a mall at the 28th and Cascade intersection. Kim's was closed so I pedaled around and finally found a Sheldon Cleaners. I pedaled around the neighborhood and got home at 1200. Nancy has to work at the Christmas Sale at the Gardens this afternoon so I drove her. Ms P and I took our nature walk and about 1/2 way through we encountered a hail storm. It lasted only about 15 minutes but spooked Ms P. I had lunch, put away my laundry, checked some family history before taking a very short nap. At 1630 I drove back to the Gardens. I met Ed Namey in the lobby and waited for Mary and Nancy to finish their shift. We all had dinner at Kitchen 67. It was very good. It is now 2000 and we are watching the MSU/Nebraska game. Did you know that the most successful Nebraska Football Coach, Bob Devaney, was the football coach at AHS? He left after my freshman year. His starting salary at Nebraska in 1961 was $17,000. My salary as a young engineer just out of college was $6,500. My how times have changed.

Friday November 6, 2015

What a difference a day makes, it was dark and gloomy this morning with high winds and temperature dropping all day. It rained last night but had stopped when I headed to the Y. I had to buck a 20 mph wind but I had a tail wind going home. I now do all my calisthenics at the Y. After showering I got back on the bike and headed to Panera. Everyone has an opinion what caused the Russian plane to crash in Egypt. I think a lot of the speculation is premature. I disagree with the President’s veto of the Keystone pipe line. However, I am for the Trade Agreement with Asian countries. I really get mad at GOP legislators in DC and MI. We all know money is needed for roads. The gas tax is a utility fee. Why not pay for roads by just raising this tax. No the GOP creates complicated funding using smoke and mirrors. As soon as I got home at 1230 I took Ms P on her walk. Had a quick lunch and then headed downstairs. I spent most of the afternoon going through all my family files. It was fun looking at all the photos that my Dad had taken over the years. Nancy and Kathi Kothe are attending a pre Christmas Sale at Meijer Gardens this evening. The sale is only open to members. Tomorrow the sale is open to the public. Nancy and Mary Namey are working at the sale tomorrow. For dinner tonight I walked over to Panera and had a bowl of clam chowder and a tuna sandwich. It is now 1925 and I am watching TV and writing this blog.

Thursday November 5, 2015

The great weather continues. We had another November day with temperature above 70. I have not figured out how to dress for this weather. I took off two layers this morning but still was dripping wet when I got to the Y. I did the calisthenics at the Y, showered and headed to Panera. The GOP folks have been talking about anchor babies and how folks are gaming the system to get US citizenship. Today’s WSJ had an article about wealthy Chinese coming to Costa Mesa, Ca to have their babies. The Women arrive on tourist visas and return after the birth to China. The babies have dual citizenship. During their stay in Costa Mesa the women spend lots and lots of money. It is all legal. After Panera I took Ms P on her walk. We did the nature trail. I spent a lot of time in the office paying bills and reviewing family history. I was surprised at how much data I have. I also upgraded Nancy’s iMac's operating system. It took over two hours. For dinner we headed to Russ’s. Nancy had split pea soup and I had their Hot Turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy. This evening we read the GRP and watched Big Bang and then Tuesday’s NCIS that Nancy recorded. Nancy also spent some time this evening talking with Missy. Despite our warm weather, folks are getting ready for winter. Cascade Township crews have been out putting stakes on the edge of the bike path so the snow plows do not rip up lawns. We are also getting a lot of Christmas catalogs. Today we got LL Bean’s.

Wednesday November 4, 2015

The great weather continues. The temperature today reached the mid 70s with blue skies. Today's temp is about 15 degrees above normal. Our peak fall colors have passed. The recent winds have left many trees bare of leaves. Wednesday is my easy day. I got on the bike and pedaled to Breton Village for breakfast at the Omelette Shop. I had their oatmeal and gave it a C. Read the WSJ but can not recall any thing I would comment on. I got home about 1130 and immediately took Ms P on her walk. At 1215 we got in the Taurus and headed to Holland. Nancy is going to pick up her necklace. Nancy tried the necklace on and determined some adjustments had to be made. The adjustments would take an hour so we walked around downtown Holland. Holland has done a great job fixing up their downtown. It is pedestrian friendly and has many nice small stores. Nancy checked the adjustment and declared it perfect. As soon as we got home I did some chores including taking out the trash. Had a quick lunch and then took a nap. Finished the afternoon with a walk around the block. We had a light dinner and watched some TV. Nancy headed to bed early and now I am watching Sons of Anarchy on netflix. On November 4, 1955 the Alpena High Wildcats football team played Bay City Handy in Bay City. Even after 60 years I remember the game. AHS won but the best thing I remember was that my Uncle Harold and Aunt Helen Woodley drove over from Alma to the game. Family was important.

Tuesday November 3, 2015

Tuesday morning and another warm sunny day is on tap. Quick breakfast and then biked to the Y. It is 9 miles from the condo to the Y on my preferred bike route. The Y was not very crowded. I did my calisthenics, showered and headed to Panera. Even thought I took off my jacket it had warmed up so much that I broke out in a sweat. I don’t know much about Common Core. Missy sent us a sample math problems that AJ had to performs. I thought it was a silly way to solve problems. Since my initial reaction I am having second thoughts. I actually use the same procedure outlined for AJ when I mentally solve problems. Maybe I was too hasty. Anyway the WSJ had an article on the problems school districts are having starting Common Core. It requires special training and computers. Common Core is expensive to get started so some school districts decline to use it. Another story caught my eye. The death rate for Middle-Aged Whites is rising. Suicide, Alcohol abuse and drug over doses are apparently rampart among the 45-55 age group. I have a hard time believing this because I think I was my most productive during this age period. As soon as I got home I took Ms P on her walk. I had a quick lunch and then headed downstairs to dig out some old family photos to send to my Grandson. We have a new printer and I found that I can scan old photos to my email address. Isn’t tech fun! I am waiting for Phil Dougherty, our electrician, to stop by. We are having problems with a fan in the master bath. I also want to know if it is possible to put a heat lamp in the downstairs bath. Phil looked at the master bath fan and ordered a new one. He also talked me out of a heat lamp. Phil is a great guy and electrician. Tonight Nancy and I are going to a condo association dinner. It is at Noto’s about 0.3 miles from the condo. Sonya our next door neighbor is riding with us. Stay tuned. Wednesday at 1945: About 30 folks attended the dinner last night. The food was very good and it is always nice to talk to neighbors. We got home about 2030 and watched a show on netflix.

Monday November 2, 2015

Monday morning and today I start a new routine. No calisthenics at home today, I ate breakfast got on the bike and started on my normal route. I stopped at the SE YMCA and did the morning calisthenics. The SE Y is getting a little long in the tooth. It will be replaced by a new state of the art Y on Dec 7. I found the Y clean and had everything I need. MVP does not have locker rental but the Y does. I like having a locker to keep lotion, shoes and swim gear. With a locker my backpack is lighter. The SE Y is about mile 9 on my 14 mile ride. On my way home I stopped at Panera for coffee. I have been skipping all articles on the presidential race. I did read several articles on the election in Turkey. The results will give President Erdogan’s more power. The Turks are our ally and a member of NATO. They want to get ride of Assad but also are fighting the Kurds. We are supporting the Kurds. It is so confusing that we should just get out. Lately there have been stories on the gold standard. I really don’t understand the pros and cons of the gold standard. Before lunch I took Ms P on her walk. After lunch I got in the Cobalt and ran errands. First stop was my skin doctor’s office. I made an appointment. At Rylee’s Hardware I bought a 20# bag of bird seed. Next stop was the Vet’s. I wanted to buy some heart worm pills but could not because next week Ms P must have her annual checkup. Finally I stopped at the Animal Shelter to renew Ms P’s license. Grandson Lucas has a school project on his family tree. I spent some time assembling family data. The weather man said we had the second warmest Nov 2 on record. The record was Nov 2, 1938. I checked GGF Sanborn’s diary for this day and he only stated that it was a summer’s day. It is now 1950 and at 2000 we will watch Big Bang and then a netflix show. I got my 30 in today, did you?

Sunday November 1, 2015

The first day of November and we are back on EST. Sun came up at 0716. Swim day and we left home at 0745. We both swam 20 laps. I filled up the Taurus for less than $25. Think the SS folks were right, low inflation and cheap gas makes a cost of living increase unnecessary. I returned bottles today. Now that I am drinking wine and not beer our bottle count is way down. Meijer’s has installed new recycle machines and they are real slick. Nancy fixed her world famous poached eggs this morning. I had mine on a waffle and Nancy had hers on an English muffin. Read the funnies and sports page before taking my nap. Ms P and I took our walk, 1.25 miles. I spent some time doing outdoor chores. Put the winter cover on our deck table, changed an outside light bulb on the garage and trimmed an evergreen tree in our courtyard. I filled a yard waste bag so I took it down to the curb. Finished my outside activities with a two mile walk. It was mild and sunny on my walk. A great fall afternoon. It is now 1750 and as soon as I finish this blog Nancy will have dinner ready. Pizza and black bean soup is on the menu. We will watch 60 Minutes and finish reading the GRP before watching some TV.