Friday August 30, 2013

The temperature was in the 70s when I left for the MAC at 0530. Today will probably be the last day this year where all I need early in the morning is just a tee shirt. I was in the pool by 0600. I had my coffee at Starbucks in Gas Light Village. The place was crowded. I heard a lot of talk about last night's high school football game. In fact I checked today's Alpena News and saw that Alpena HS beat Escanaba at Escanaba. Way to go Wildcats! Today is grass cutting day. It is so hot and humid that I decided to just cut the grass and not spend time trimming, edging and blowing. To minimize the amount of grass on the concrete I used my mower's bag to pick up the grass around the edges. It worked. Ms P was outside with me but she soon ran out of gas. I was done in two hours. Nancy said Ms P had an "air" about her so we gave her a bath. I took a shower and a short nap. I just got off the phone with my sister and we were trying to identify some folks from Alpena. Tonight Nancy and I are having dinner at Panera's. We will run some errands. We are still planning our long weekend. Enjoy the last weekend in Summer.

Thursday August 29, 2013

We are having a beautiful summer's day. Temperature is in the mid 80s with bright blue sky. I followed my normal Thursday morning routine. After the MAC I stopped at Starbucks in Gas Light for my coffee. I like this Starbucks because it is bright with comfortable chairs. It is also very cold. I solved this problem. I put an extra shirt in my backpack. Syria still dominates the news. I think yesterday I mentioned that I favor the "do nothing" approach. Think anyone will listen. When I got home I had a quick lunch and then took Ms P on her mile walk. Because of the heat we took it easy. I got a call from GR Bike that my road bike was ready. I had them remove the coaster brake and put on new caliber brakes. I walked over to GR Bike. I turned my iphone pedometer on. It is exactly a mile to the store. Tonight Nancy and I are eating at GR Shipping. So what's new? Today we get a paper edition of the GRP which I will read. We might watch some US Open tennis. Did you know that High School football starts tonight? I guess summer is over.

Wednesday August 28, 2013

Last night we had another thunder storm blow through. We get thunder and lightning and heavy rain. It only lasts about 30 minutes. Today is my easy Wednesday and did I take advantage of it. I slept in until 0830. Today I am stopped by the lab to get some blood work done before my annual physical. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. Since I had the car I decided to run some errands. I stopped by the credit union to get some cash. I bought weedeater string at Rylee's and then stopped for breakfast at Bill's. The more I read about Syria the more convinced I am that we should select the "do nothing" option. The Michigan Senate finally voted to take part in the medical exchange program under the new health care law. Our Senator voted against it. I am sending him and email expressing my displeasure with his vote. It is very hot and humid but Ms P has not had her mile walk in several days. She needs this exercise. We took an nice easy mile walk. This afternoon I took my hybrid bike to Millennium Park. I rode 22 miles. Despite the humidity it was a good ride. Nancy worked at the Gardens this afternoon. Tonight we will have a light dinner. I will read the e version of the GRP and DFP. I might even watch some TV. Did you know that some trees are showing some color? Bummer!

Tuesday August 27, 2013

Today is Nancy's birthday. Happy Birthday Nancy. I have had the privilege of spending 48 birthdays with Nancy. We had a heavy thunder shower move through at 0600 this morning. It was not raining when I left for the MAC at 0800. Today I set a PB for my 1,500 yard swim. After the MAC I ended up at the Kava House. I got home at 1300. It has been hot and humid all day today with occasional sprinkles. I am really behind on my reading of SI. Today I read May and Junes issues. To celebrate Nancy's birthday we had dinner at Houlihan's. Nancy had a steak and I had salmon. We were both tired so we headed upstairs at 2100.

Monday August 26, 2013

It was really dark when I left at 0530. We have had an extended dry spell so everyone along my route had their lawn sprinklers on. With school starting at some private schools traffic has increased. Several times I wanted to swing out to the center of the road to avoid a sprinkler but traffic prevented it. I was wet when I got to the MAC. I was in the pool by 0600. One swimmer was leaving and said that between 0500 and 0600 there were two people per lane. I had the entire pool to myself during my 45' swim. I left the MAC at 0800 and headed to the Kava House. The WSJ had several interesting articles this morning. Our energy explosion has created a transportation problem moving oil to refineries. The pipelines are full and railroads, trucks and barges are filling the void. Who would have thought that in the 70s we were running out of oil and gas and now we have a glut. I just hope the politicians don't screw it up. Who is responsible for the gas attacks in Syria? Chemical warfare is scary and it is important that before we take any action we know the facts. I would like us to get out of the Middle East. As a civil engineer I found an article on barge traffic on the Mississippi interesting. In recent years water levels have either been too high or too low. Barges are an efficient way to move goods. I was amazed when we took our river trip from Moscow to St Petersburg the amount of barge traffic. The Soviets build a series of locks and dams between the two cities. I got home at 1130 as did Nancy. We got in the Taurus and headed to Costco. Nancy had to fill a prescription and I had to buy eyewash, mouthwash, peanut butter and lotion. Costco has the best price for these items. We are having a light dinner tonight. The temperature was suppose to reach 90 today but it looks like it will top out at 81. We might turn off the AC tonight.

Sunday August 25, 2013

Up at 0700 and in the pool by 0800. We did the usual Meijer's trip. Gas was $3.64 per gallon. The Knapp's Corners Meijer's where we shop is undergoing a major renovation. The store remains open during the construction. We are having a difficult time finding our way around. The new store will be huge. Nancy fixed her world famous scrambled eggs for breakfast. The temperature is suppose to reach 90 today so we turned on the AC. I did take my afternoon nap. After the nap I took a 2 mile walk. We will have a light dinner and read the GRP before turning in. Today has been an easy Sunday. Folks are asking where were you when Martin Luther King gave his "I have a Dream" speech. In August 1963 I was in the Navy and stationed in Vietnam. I arrived in VN in January 1963 and left in August 1964.

Saturday August 24, 2013

Today is Garage Sale Saturday. No Bill's this morning. Instead I drive to Kava House and got coffee and scones for Nancy and me. All sale items were stored in the garage last night. We had to move the merchandise outside. The sale starts at 0900 but we had folks before 0830. Nancy was well organized. She had enough money to make change. We kept Ms P on her leash. Sale hours were 0900-1400. It was an OHNA sale and there were about 15 neighbors taking part. AT 1200 I loaded up my urban bike and headed to Millennium Park. I rode my 21 mile route. The trail was crowded. The weather today was just perfect. Blue sky, sunny and temps in the low 80s. Nancy started closing up at 1400. It took us an hour to move unsold items to the basement. We also filled the trunks with items that would probably never sell. I took these items to Goodwill. After our showers we decided to take an early dinner. We headed to Rose's on Reeds Lake. We got a table on the deck over looking the lake. After our pleasant dinner we headed to Spoonlickers for dessert. We had their frozen yogurt. At 2100 we were too tired to stay downstairs so we headed to bed. It was a great summer's Saturday.