November 29, 2021

 Monday November 29, 2021

Blog time 1115 at Panera

Up at 0700.  First thing, I did my at-home calisthenics followed by oatmeal breakfast.  Nancy left early for her Monday swim at MVP.

This evening Bob and Nancy are attending a dinner at Meijer’s Gardens.  It is suppose to be a black tie affair.  I have a tux that I bought in 1957.  Last year it fit, but yesterday I could not get the pants to fit.  Blame it on Covid diet?  I will wear a 45 year old blue suit that fits.

I drove to the Y.  Did my calisthenics, 1,000 meter row and mile walk.  Showered and drove to Panera.

Ordered my coffee and two baguettes before settling down for some serious reading.  The new Covid variant dominates much of the news.  Folks worldwide seem to be panicking.

One news story that I have not heard much about is the upcoming Winter Olympics in China.  There as been some inkling that President might boycott.  I don’t think boycotts work.

Got home from Panera at noon.  The squirrel proof bird feeder works but the squirrels keep trying.  Today I moved the bird feeder to a location that squirrels can not reach.

Before lunch I made a quick trip to Meijer’s.  Picked up my MG prescription and bought some green grapes.

At 1600 Nancy and I got dressed for our dinner at the Gardens. As I mentioned earlier my tux does not fit so I wore a 45 year old navy blue suit.  My biggest problem was tying my tie.  I have not worn a tie in over 2 years so it took several tries.  Nancy looked great.

Before leaving I put out my daily allotment of corn for the deer, 7 cobs.  It was snowing hard when we left at 1700.

Luckily the Gardens provided complimentary valet service so we wouldn’t get our feet wet.  The event was well attended.  I thought I might be one of the few without a tux.  I was wrong about 50% of men wore suits.

Drinks and snacks were provided in the new entrance meeting area.  This area was officially opened this evening.  Of course several short speeches were in order.

Nancy and I were surprised at how many folks we knew.  Trinity Church and Breakfast Club members were in attendance as were several old neighbors.  

The official banquet started at 1900.  It was a sit down affair.  The main course according to the menu was “Catalan Braised Short Rib”.  We all agreed that it was nice and tender.  The salad, rice and dessert were also great.

After some boring speeches the GR Symphony performed for an hour.  They performed a great selection of music.

We left for home at 2100.  During the time we were inside about 2” of snow had fallen.  All the cars were snow covered.  Luckily the Valet service brushed them off.

This evening Missy sent us a message that she had purchased tickets to GR.  They will arrive late Christmas Day and leave for LA on Jan 4.  Missy and AJ had planned to spend Christmas in Budapest with her college roommate Audrey.  Audrey had to cancel so Nancy suggested they spend Christmas with us.

Speaking of visiting relatives we hope to spend some time this January with Debbie in San Jose.  We love Debbie’s home and her neighborhood.  Last time we visited we became attached to her new dog Violet.

Before bed I shoveled the Courtyard walks of about 2” of new snow.  Checked the backyard and saw no deer tracks so I assume the deer have sheltered in place.  

November 28, 2021

 Sunday November 28, 2021

Blog time 1730 sitting in living room

Up at 0700.  It was 27 with a nice blanket of snow on the ground.  Dressed and then drove the Escape to Biggby to get our morning coffee.

I was pleasantly surprised that our driveway had been cleared.  Tahoe Drive was not yet plowed but traffic had made a path.  Of course All Wheel drive helps.  AWD is a must in Mi.

Breakfast today of oatmeal and banana.  Also ate a bagel I had purchased at Biggby.

Nancy was worried about snow covered roads so we left for church early.  No problems.

Church was not crowded.  Today is the First Sunday in Advent.  Pastor Dan gave a 10 minute Homily.  Is it in bad taste to time the Homily?

Because of last night’s snow we did not take our normal Sunday drive through local rural areas.  Instead we headed to Meijer’s and bought some fresh fruit on sale.  

I remember as a boy that fresh fruits were not available at this time of year.  My Mother and Grandmother would can fruits in late summer so we could eat them in cold months.  Now a lot of our fruits come from South America.

To get my 20 minutes outside today I took a 1.8 mile walk.  Average pace per mile = 27’43”.  Very slow!

This afternoon was uneventful.  Lunch followed by a nap.  I did put our corn for the deer.

We had a light dinner tonight.  Toast w/peanut butter and blueberries.

We watched some of 60 Minutes this evening.  60 Minutes is getting stale.

Watched an episode of Midsomer Murders.  Nancy headed to bed and I finished reading the GRP. 

Both Debbie and Missy FaceTimed this evening.  Everything ok.

Checked the Courtyard just before bed.  Everything was normal.

Just before midnight I looked out our slider and saw 4 deer eating the corn I had put out earlier.  I never tire of watching critters.

February 27, 2021

 Saturday November 27, 2021

Blog time 1900 sitting in living room

We had snow on the ground when looked out at 0700.  The temperature was in high 20s.  

This morning Nancy and I had breakfast at the Gathering Place.  On a cold morning it is great to sit down in a nice warm environment.  My biggest gripe about Panera is that it is always cold.

We took a short ride after breakfast.  We did stop at Panera to get our free coffee.  We took the coffee home.

Dropped Nancy off at home so she can start laundry.  I headed out on some errands.

Stopped at D&W to mail packages to Ca.  Next I stopped at Meijer’s for resupply.

This afternoon Debbie Facetimed.  She had purchased Hulu for us.  Debbie walked us through hooking up Hulu to our Apple TV.  TV.  Thanks Debbie.

This afternoon I mailed a short note to kids.  Walked to the postbox to mail.  It took me 37 minutes so I did get my 20 minutes outside. 

Miles walked 1.34, avg pace per mi 27’41”.  Very slow.

Watched some of the UM and MSU games.  Great to see they both won under difficult weather conditions.

It has snowed all day and we have about 1” on the ground.

Nancy fixed chicken rice soup for dinner.  It was great.

No news tonight.  We watched 2 episodes of “No Offence” on Acorn. 

The snow had accumulated about 1” when checked the Courtyard before bed.  For first time this Fall I got out the snow shovel and cleaned our walks.  I like shoveling snow.  Weird.

Visibility is increased greatly when we have a blanket of snow.  At 2345 I looked out our bedroom window and saw a big buck eating the corn I had put out earlier.  With no snow on the ground the buck would not be visible.

November 26, 2021

 Friday November 26, 2021

Blog time 1130 at Panera.  

Up at 0700.  At home calisthenics before breakfast.  Breakfast and then I drove to the Y.  Nancy decided to take an easy day today.  No MVP today.

I did not take bike because the wind chill was in the teens.  

At the Y I finished calisthenics, walked a mile and rowed 1,000m.  Quick shower and then headed to Panera.  Got my coffee and baguette before settling down for some reading.  Once again Panera was not crowded.  How much longer can they hang on?

Left Panera at 1115 and headed home.  Picked up Nancy and we drove to Dick’s Sporting Goods to look at some possible Christmas gifts.

The squirrels have been robbing my bird feeder.  Our niece Jennifer Finnegan sent a photo of a squirrel proof feeder that they use.  They said it works great.  It was purchased at Tractor Supply.

We have a Tractor Supply store in Lowell. I made the trip to Lowell and bought a squirrel proof bird feeder.  It is really a slick design.  At home I took down to old feeder and put up the new.

The temperature has been dropping all day.  Winter weather advisory is up.

For dinner Nancy cooked the last of the pork loin.  It was great.

Once again we spent time on FaceTime with Debbie and Missy.  

Tonight we watched an episode of Vera.  I gave the show a B-.

Temperature had dropped below freezing when check the Courtyard just before bedtime.  It will be cold with snow tomorrow.

November 25, 2021

 Thursday November 25, 2021

Blog time 1130 sitting in living room

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  

As a boy I always liked Thanksgiving.  The Scott family would all have our meal at my Grandparents farm at Hubbard Lake.  About 25 family members would attend.  We had food galore. Of course all the food was prepared by the women.   It was great.  

After the big meal the women would do the dishes and then everyone would sit in the living room.  On several Thanksgivings my Aunt Bernice would play the piano and we would all sing hymns.  It was impossible to starve on this day.

Memories of past Thanksgivings:

After all the kids were out of college and Nancy was still teaching we decided to take a long Thanksgiving weekend trip.  Our goal was to visit one big European City. We would not leave the City limits and use public transportation when visiting the different venues.  

After school on Wednesday we would head to the airport and catch a flight to Europe.  We usually arrived on Thursday morning and would leave on Sunday.  Spent a jammed packed three days visiting the sites.

The first trip was to Paris.  Next year we headed to London.  For our third year we visited Berlin.  Our last Thanksgiving trip was to Rome.  All were great trips.

In our 56 years of marriage Nancy and I have never been apart on Thanksgiving.  Most of our Thanksgivings were in GR but we did have several in Terre Haute, In and Alpena, Mi. I think we had one Thanksgiving in Saigon, Vietnam.  

While in the Navy my first Thanksgiving was at the Officer’s Club at the Pearl Harbor Navy Base.  Thanksgiving number 2 was at the Midway Island Naval Base in the middle of the Pacific.  Finally Saigon, Vietnam in 1963.

At 1130 Nancy and I drove to the Moleski’s for Thanksgiving dinner.  In addition Tim Mask joined us.

In addition to a great turkey we had squash and a special fruit dish.  For dessert we all had pumpkin pie.

We got home 1630.  No dinner tonight because we were still digesting our turkey feast.

Tonight we watched an episode of “New Tricks”.  We are not fond of this show anymore since they added commercials.

Today we talked to our entire family,  Debbie, Missy and Stephen.  They were all enjoying the holiday.

The temperature was in the 40s most of the day.  When I checked the Courtyard before bed the temperature had dropped to 30 with light snow.

November 24, 2021

 Wednesday November 24, 2021

Blog time 1100 at Panera

Today is my easy Wednesday.  Up at 0715 and did my full calisthenics at 50%.  Best thing I ever did was to ease up on Wednesdays.  It lets my body recover.

Nancy is swimming at MVP this morning.  This afternoon she works at the Gardens.

After a breakfast of oatmeal and banana I bundled up and rode my bike to Panera a distance of 1.67 miles.  First time in a week that I rode my bike.  The antibiotics seem to be helping my sinus infection.

Once again Panera was empty.  For most of the time I was there only two folks were in the dining area.

The day before Thanksgiving was alway an exciting day for me while in college. It was a long 7 or 8 hour drive from Ann Arbor to Alpena mostly on two lane roads.  The distance made it impossible to go home except for Holidays.  

UM was very strict about having cars on campus so most undergrads did not have one.  Finding a ride was difficult.  Luckily there were several Korean War vets attending UM on the GI bill from NE MI.  One was Cal from Hubbard Lake.  My freshman year I called Cal several weeks before Thanksgiving and begged for a ride.  Cal granted my wish.  We were leaving at 1230 on Wednesday.  As I recall we had 6 students in the car. 

Once a jerk Prof scheduled a test at 1300.  I had to take a Greyhound home.  If fact I used the Greyhound bus many times.

I got home from Panera at noon.  Nancy was getting ready to head out to Gardens.  

Tomorrow we are having Thanksgiving Dinner at the Moleski’s.  We have purchased a pumpkin pie for us to take.  Nancy said we should take a bottle of wine.  I got in Fusion and drove to Total wines and bought a bottle.

I took the recyclables and trash out before lunch.  Also started a load of laundry.  

After lunch I took a quick nap.  After the nap I started to take the trash to the curb when I remembered that tomorrow is a holiday so no pickup.  Dumb!

Our dinner tonight was light. Cereal and cookies.

Watched some of the TV news while eating dinner.  Tonight we watched an episode of “The Madame Blanc Mysteries” on Acorn.  We both like this show.

Both Debbie and Missy FaceTimed this evening.  We all were all upbeat.

Checked Courtyard just before bed.  Everything secure.

November 23, 2021

 Tuesday November 23, 2021

Blog time; noon at Panera

Up again at 0700.  Apparently my new default time.

Nancy headed out early for a class at MVP.  Later we are going to Costco.

After at-home calisthenics and breakfast I drove to the Y.  Judging from the parking lot most folks who go to the Y are on a MWF cycle.  The place was empty.

 Walked a mile, rowed 1000 meters and completed my calisthenics before showering.  Drove to Panera for coffee and baguette. Started my reading with the Alpena News followed by the Detroit News and then my email.  Usually I only get 1 email worth reading.

As soon as I got home, Nancy and I drove to Costco.  We bought pumpkin pies (2), Cetaphil, snacking Naan, trash bags, toilet paper and paper towels.  Costco was not very busy.

On way home stopped at Aldi’s.  Nancy purchased grapes and two boxes of her favorite crackers.  Nancy likes this store, I don’t.

After lunch I took a nap.   During the nap Nancy told me to look in the back yard.  Four deer were looking around for some uneaten corn.

About 1630 Missy FaceTimed Nancy, a nice conversation followed.  Missy and AJ are having Thanksgiving dinner at the Boat Club.

This and that:

Why don’t women wear socks on cold days?  A mystery to me.

Build Back Better the infrastructure package just passed by Congress if administered properly will have a positive impact.

Noted that traffic on local roads is back to pre pandemic volumes.

I seldom use cash. 

I still don’t understand bitcoins.

The Citizens of the State of Maine voted to stop a power line.  The power line brings clean energy from hydro dams in Canada.  The main beneficiary are citizens of Massachusetts.  We will never solve our climate problems if good project are being shot down.

For dinner tonight Nancy fixed pork loin with mashed potatoes and corn.  Very good.

Tonight we watched another episode of Shetland.  I bet Shetland would be nice to visit in summer but at this time of year they get about 6 hours of sun.  It looks windy, cold and desolate.

Debbie FaceTimed this evening.  Everything ok in San Jose.  

Granddaughter Alessandra also contacted Nancy for written instructions on how to make Thanksgiving dressing.  Nancy said she does not have written instructions.  She will have to use the trail and error method.

Checked Courtyard at 2200.  Everything secure.  Noted a bright full moon.