The Outback Adventure

Professional tandem racers in ultra light carbon fiber canoes start on Brown Bridge pond at 10 a.m. Paddlers will do a 10 minute loop on the pond, then portage Brown Bridge Dam and head downstream, portaging Cass and Sabin dams and finishing the 22-mile course at Hull Park.

And they went right past our house! At least two canoes had both women paddlers - You go, girls! (Women? Ladies?)













After the canoe race, we washed the winter grime off the golf car. With a bright and shiny golf car I couldn't resist taking neighbor Mary for a tour of the property. We went all the way down to Woodhenge, and used most of the paths - have to save something for next time.



Dropped a unique travel bug at Dennis' house, and then went to take in the sights at the Cherry Festival - mobs and mobs of people everywhere. Kathee said they had 3,000visitors at the Visitor Center yesterday...the usual daily count in the summertime is around 250!

The Unique travel bug is named PeeWee and he originated in Minnesota.

Y'all Come!

Gary and Donna (CoyChev) and Dan and Laura (Light People) came to T.C. today to do our Trekking Traverse Trails caches. I found out on Facebook that they were heading this way, so I said stop in at Basswood Bend! They had a terrific day of caching - the weather was perfect, and they finished the whole series in about 7 hours.

When they were finished, they came out to the river. Dick grilled some hot dogs and we had the typical great time trading cache talk :)



It was a very pleasant way to end the holiday.

Goodbye Uncle Fritz

Frederick V. Geib was my mother's only brother. He passed away on June 23rd at the age of 93. His memorial service was this morning. Rick and Mary did a beautiful job of planning the service, and everything was perfect - the weather, the setting, the remembrances, and the coffee, cookies, and fellowship afterward. It took place in the garden at the Presbyterian Church - how lovely. Uncle Fritz would have loved it.

Me and my Block cousins - Rick and Ken

Here Comes the Barn!

Here comes the barn! This was quite an adventure. Abe not only built the barn, but he delivered it and then proceeded to back it in and set it down singlehandedly. Well... he did have a miracle hydramatic high-tech trailer with a remote control so he could lower the barn down and set it in place with his thumb! It was a bit scary to watch - at one point I thought that he was just going to drop it down like a load of wood from a dump truck! It was quite a challenge for Abe to back the trailer around and into position to place the barn in the right spot. Here he's beginning the turn! This is when I was becoming a Nervous Nellie: Oops! That looks dangerous! Holy Moly! TA DA! You can see the entire "download" of the barn as done by Abe holding the remote control. Watch in amazement!

Landscaping-Palooza

Richard planted the bushes in front of the house eighteen years ago when we first retired. It looked really nice until just a couple of years ago when the potentilla decided not to bloom so profusely, and the rhodos got very tempermental about whether they would bloom or not. It was time for a change. Keith from Traverse Outdoor came up with a plan, and now it's a reality!

Oh boy oh boy - hydrangeas and dwarf lilacs in front of the covered porch! What a nice change. There's a great view from my bedroom window.




The front porch 18 year old potentilla bushes and rhodos have been replaced by carpet roses, veronica, serviceberry tree, viburnum, spirea, juniper and some flowering perennials. Mike and Brad from Traverse Outdoor did the work (on those 95 degree days!).

Our new entrance with fresh baby plantings:



Soon there will be a mini-barn delivered - it's for the golf cart, snowbolower and kayaks. Mike and Brad also cut down seven or eight trees to make room for the barn. Then they played with the Bobcat to level off the site and add gravel.


OK, the site is all prepared and level and we're ready for the barn - bring it on!

Father's Day 2009

The Hardy Family included us in their Father's Day brunch at the Great Wolf Lodge - what a great idea that was! Peter and Melissa and the girls stayed there for Father's Day, and they had a ball doing all of the quests with the magic wand. Autumn could make the bear talk, and make the lights on the tree come on - what a good time!

Brunch was wonderful - I'm glad we had a chance to talk to Barb and Jim, and it was just nice to see everybody. I haven't seen Betsy for ages, and I'm glad she was there too. Altogether there were 5 fathers there to be honored, counting Adam - he's already a step-father and will be a new Dad on July 2. Barb and Jim had 3 and a half grandchildren there.

The Great Wolf Lodge is a perfect place for families, especially children. Everything looks very lodgy and campy and comfortable, and the water park is great fun for everyone. In the lobby there's a computer for public use, and a young man was playing WoW! With all of the other things to do - he was probably just checking his auctions.

After that pleasant start to the day, we were off to do some geocaching - what else would you do to celebrate Father's Day? It was the perfect day. All in all, we found 7 caches, and Dick had a great adventure to help make this a memorable Father's Day!

We started our Fathers Day outing with a family brunch at the Great Wolf Lodge. What a great facility for kids no matter how old they are. Can't think of a better way to spend the day than by collecting some caches that have cropped up this spring. This one just cropped up this morning and after noting the location just up the road, put it in the Garmin. Unfortunately for us, our Palm got fried a couple of months ago and we've been using paper again. Not much info on the page so I didn't bother to print it. I didn't note the terrain either.
Anyway, the day was drawing to the end and we were tired but, what the heck, why not one more. Found a place to park with a faint path heading straight toward the cache. Took off on a solo which should have been a warning. Maybe I should have stayed in the car.

After about .5 mile, the path forked - right or left? Straight ahead led to a steep drop. Oh well, as Yogi said, when the path forks, take it. One led in the right direction. For a while. Then the GPS started counting up. Bushwack time! Down the hill into - - a swamp.

Now I'm still dressed for Sunday Brunch, white sneakers, tan shorts and a polo shirt, and the wise one is "patiently" waiting in the car. (Which I now realize I forgot to mark) There's no turning back. Forge ahead along the edge of the swamp and come to -- a creek. Found a downed log and teeter my way across. I almost made it but I needed a new pair of grubby shoes any way.

Once I was in range, I found the cache quickly as well as a water supply and an easy path complete with boardwalks and bridge for the trip out.


It was a good adventure, a FTF (too tired to dance) and a trail I didn't know about. On the way in I was thinking of stopping at the store and picking up a couple of T-Bones to grill for supper. When I got back to the car, (just about an hour round trip) I just wanted to get home, mix a drink, and settle for anything, A PB&J sandwich sounded good. TN.LN.SL. Thanks for a most memorable adventure.

Actually, I made a hamburger hot dish for supper (low fat). It was quite good in my opinion, but no match for T-bones!

We left home this morning at 9:30 a.m., and returned at six o'clock this evening - a full, fun-packed Father's Day 2009.

Northport Lighthouse and Maritime Festival

Big day today in Northport. Lighthouses, schooners, and a fish boil on top of that! How could anyone stay away?

On the way up M22 we stopped in Suttons Bay at an earth cache called Suttons Bay Wetlands. There's a trail with informative signs behind the Inland Seas Education Center. I'm sure at one time it was a nice little trail, but it hasn't been kept up, and it's crying out for some maintenance. The signs are aimed at school children, and I think it would still be a valuable field trip for a class studying eco-systems. These pictures went on our log of the cache:




Hooray! We found the festival! Northport was buzzing with activity this afternoon. It was a nice, small event - there was a craft fair, lots of child-centered activities, ships at the dock, and of course, the food tent.




For me, the highlight was Kitty Donohoe, a folk singer from Ann Arbor. She sings wonderful songs about Michigan, the Great Lakes, lighthouses, rivers, and lumberjacks. I enjoyed it immensely, and bought one of her CDs for the car.



After the festivities, it was time for a stop at PlantMasters in Suttons Bay, since it seems that all imminent danger of frost is over. Annuals and a couple of perennials filled up our cart. The colors in this tent of annuals knocked our socks off.



As we drove away, we said, "Didn't we used to do this at the end of May?" It has been a cold, cold Spring.

Back in T.C., West Bay was just filled with boating activity of all sorts! It makes for a very picturesque sight on such a blue sky day.



But for me, the prettiest view is always a tall ship under full sail.

Trekking Traverse Trails

"Trekking Traverse Trails" - new cache series by Basswood Bend!

It will be spectacular - I know because I have watched its creation.

Trails have been hiked,

lock'n'locks have been covered with camo tape,

coordinates have been recorded,

permission has been granted to display the brochures in the Visitor Center,

brochures and stickers have been designed and ordered,

permission was granted by the Visitor Center to use their logo on the brochures and the pathtags,

pathtags have been designed and ordered,

sleep has been interrupted by new ideas,

caches have been placed,

and so on and so on.

If you're a cacher, you will love it! Each find earns you a smilie, and if you collect all ten stickers and place them in your brochure, you will get a pathtag.

We're hoping it won't be too many more days before Trekking Traverse Trails will be published.

Willie Willie Willie

We love Willie Nelson. For me, this began when Jimmie Carter was President and he told an interviewer that Willie was his favorite performer. It's possible that Willie was even a guest at the Carter White House. Jimmie Carter was a very upstanding gentleman, very proper, and so it seemed to me that Willie must be proper too - "Gilt" by Association, so to speak ;) Well...it turns out that Willie is not that proper after all, but he is so entertaining and so listenable that a fan can overlook some things as not really affecting the product :)

Dick and I are fans, but we're not FANS. Some of these folks follow him around and attend all of his concerts, just like Kim and Mike used to follow the Grateful Dead, or like Shelly and Melissa with Tim McGraw. These Willie fans wear bandanas and cowboy boots and leather jackets and fake braids - some of them look downright wierd! But then, everybody needs a hobby.

Last night at Interlochen's Kresge Auditorium it was Willie Nelson night. We clapped and stomped and sang along and just really enjoyed the whole thing - even though he didn't play Pancho and Lefty. ()

He is such a great performer and you can tell that he's a real person with real human instincts, and very down to earth, friendly, and accomodating. He's older than we are, but he can stand up there and sing in a powerful voice and play such great guitar for an hour and a half with no break - I think that's remarkable.

Our seats were in row F, section 4 - center stage :) here's the stage all set up for Willie:

This photo is fuzzy, but I like it anyway - this is the way I remember the night.


Though he's mostly known for his vocals and unusual phrasing, Willie plays amazingly well on his disreputable old guitar full of holes and autographs of his friends. Give a listen:


"Crazy" is usually associated with Patsy Cline, but Willie wrote it, and I think he sings it better than anyone:


Don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys!


After the show he autographed T shirts, hats, bandanas, books, programs, albums, and even a bottle of booze (after signing it he opened it up and took a swig!)

From Facebook

*** Rules *** Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.


1. I was a teacher for 25 years. I loved teaching the little kids - first and second grades. At that age the kids are still very cute and eager to please. Second grade was my favorite age group. They are my kind of citizens!

2. I taught in Belleville, Van Buren Township, Wayne County, Michigan. When we moved there in 1957, Belleville was a Polish farming community. When we left in 1991 Belleville was a much more diverse town - fewer farms and many wage-earners working at the GM Hydramatic plant at Willow Run or the Ford plant at Rawsonville. I imagine that most of those folks are having hard times now in 2009.

3. The name of the District is the Van Buren Public Schools. My schools were Belleville Elementary, Elwell, Edgemont, and Haggerty.

4. Dick taught high school social studies for 32 years at BHS. Most of our close friends were fellow BHS faculty members.

5. Big Rapids, Michigan is my hometown. Our family, my parents and brother Jim, moved to Traverse City when I was in First Grade. My dad was a teacher and football coach in both Big Rapids and T.C.

6. My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice. The movie with Keira Knightley was OK, but I prefer the A&E production with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. I can watch it endlessly - over and over. The costumes, the music, and the performances do justice to the time and setting of the story.

7. As a child my favorite book was Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott. Sweet story. My Grandma Kanitz bought the book for me at the dime store in downtown Milan. We were shopping together, and she let me pick out whatever I wanted! I remember it like it was yesterday. I still have that same book - the cover is kind of in shreds, but I treasure it.

8. Jane Austen is my favorite author. When we were in England, we had a chance to see her burial site inside Winchester Cathedral. I was especially moved by being there.

9. My favorite color is yellow - because it's a sunshiny, happy color.

10. It is so wonderful to have a President who is thoughtful, charismatic, rational, intense, intelligent, and articulate. It feels like the whole planet is counting on him to make this a better world.

11. Movies are a real treat for me. Dick doesn't like to go, so I really look forward to having the kids come home because each one of them is willing to take Mom to the movies! The entertaining two star movies are my favorites.

12. I love Motown music, especially Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, and the Four Tops. My all-time favorites are "Reach Out" , "The Tracks of my Tears", and the entire soundtrack of "The Big Chill".

13. It sounds corny, but John Denver was my very favorite performer. We own all of his albums and still play them often, especially on trips when we can't find NPR. Our family could crack you up singing "Grandma's Feather Bed" - go ahead, ask us!

14. I am a big fan of college football and basketball. (Big Ten). Pro ball - not so much.

15. I have always enjoyed computer games, starting 30 years ago with Outhouse, then Asylum, then Zork - then Ultima - then Everquest, and now World of Warcraft - the most fun ever. Our entire family loves to play WoW, and it's a great way to keep in touch with everybody.

16. Dick and I have three marvelous children, Laurie, Tom and Jana. Luckily they are all intelligent, thoughtful, caring people and I'm proud of each of them.

17. We have one grandchild, Dylan, the son of Laurie and Chip. Dylan just "graduated" from Palm City Elementary School and was given the citizenship award. He's the best gandchild in the world. He's eleven years old now, going on 40.

18. We have traveled all around the U.S. and also to Australia, Belize, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Alaska, Hawaii, London, Devon, Cornwall, all of the Scandinavian capitals, Russia, Estonia and Poland.

19. My secret desire is to visit Jasper, Alberta, Canada, because of the John Denver song Rocky Mountain Suite.

20. Our hobby is geocaching. www.geocaching.com

21. We have found 2200 caches.

22. We have found a cache in every county of Michigan. We want to find a cache in every State - 16 States to go.

23. Even though I have an extensive collection of cookbooks, I really don't like to cook. Don't tell anyone.

24. Our whole family has degrees from the University of Michigan - 4 BA's, 1 MA and 1 PhD.

25. Our children are fourth generation graduates of the U of M. Yes, we are four generations of Maize and Blue faithful :) My grandfather Geib started it all by graduating from U of M Law School in 1904. Tom received his BS from MIT.

Our View of the Bay

Tonight we're thinking about our neighbor Tom B. who had thoracic surgery this afternoon. Naturally we're hoping that all went well and that he has a peaceful and pain free night tonight. Rest easy, Tom. He's been in the hospital for two weeks - his wife is practically living there. His daughter and grand-daughter have come to be with them.

I'm getting better and better. I still fade a little bit in the evening, but by and large, the laparoscopic surgery is very tolerable. Much to be preferred than a six week recovery period! AND no more gall bladder attacks! Hooray!

We went walking down by the marina today, and even though the temp was 70, it seemed chilly next to the water. It was fun seeing some people in hoodies, and others in shorts and tank tops - People don't know how to dress in this weather! Northern Michigan must be way below normal, temperature-wise.

Dick was doing cache maintenance on his "The View of the Bay is Half the Pay" cache. He found a couple of things missing, and he rearranged a couple of things. It was a gorgeous day to be downtown on the trail.

There were young folks in swim suits and bikinis at the volleyball beach - I guess the strong sunshine on the sand was keeping them warm - honestly, it really wasn't that warm!

We haven't been to the gym all week because of my surgery, but I can almost guarantee we'll be there next Tuesday. Not sure about Monday because we'll be out late Sunday night listening to Willie Nelson at Interlochen :) We're not really late night people!
But anything for Willie :)

Out and About

Hooray! Went for a ride into town with Dick this afternoon - it was great getting out of the house. It's a gorgeous day - calm and cool, placid and blue, and beautiful. I'm feeling almost great - just a little bit of a crick in the side, and I fade fast in the evening. I feel very lucky.

Huge bunches of roses came today from Dick - the living room smells so good! They re beautiful and fresh and fragrant.

Our neighbor is still in the hospital - now he's facing possible thoracic surgery - he finds out today.

What ever happened to the Do Not Call List? We've had seven or eight phone calls today - all toll free numbers or telemarketers. It's funny for a while, but then it gets really annoying. They must all think that 10 a.m. is the primo time to annoy people - that's when the calls began to pile up. I would really like to be crossed off their lists.

May Ends With a Whimper

Gall bladder out - feeling remarkably good - just drowsy. I think it's because I married such a good nurse! Also because of laparoscopy!

May is ending with more friends having medical issues. Tom B. has been in the hospital for a week - report is that he is now some better, but still a sick puppy. Kathee Mc. had a melanoma removed from her tummy last Thursday - hope she is feeling OK.

I'm glad to be the least on that list :)

Memorial Day 2009

THE OPEN SPACE






>MEMORIAL GARDENS



When we got home, there was a party going on across the river. Were they Boy Scouts? Cousins? YMCA? We don't know - but what we do know is that there will be many parties across from our house this summer - mostly on weekends, and some much rowdier than this! We're just lucky enough to have a sandy bank and a swimming hole. Bring on Summer :)


Bessie is looking forward to another season of greeting passing paddlers.

FanTabulous

Fantastic, terrific, wonderful, perfect, incredible, amazing, astonishing - gee - we had a really peachy day! The weather couldn't have been better - blue skies, sunshine, 70s, blossoming trees at every turn - wow. Dick printed out some cache descriptions, and we set off for Charlevoix.

What a lovely town Charlevoix is - the scenery is spectacular. The downtown was filled with happy tourists, and the shops were charming and inviting. Lake Charlevoix is just as pretty as the bay, and there were sailboats with white sails setting off the deep blue of the lake.

We did cache maintenance at Greensky Hill - what a magical place that is. The native American traditions are fascinating.
We really enjoyed driving around the whole Charlevoix area, and we found six or seven caches. That was the frosting on the cake.

Thursday in May

The point of my blog today is to write it in the style of ex-Senator Bob Graham's daily journals. (D-FL) This man writes down everything he does every day - in minute detail. He practically jots down "breathe in - breathe out". He makes note of what he's wearing, what newspaper he reads, what he has for breakfast, and on and on. I think it must be a variety of OCD.


1.Round's - we had an early breakfast at Round's because for my ultrasound I am to have nothing by mouth after 9 a.m. I had pancakes, Dick had scrambled eggs and sausage.

2. MCHC - off to the gym - it was a good day - talked to Carol, Alice, Kay and Noreen . Dick wore his "Bank of Dad" shirt. No gym on Monday because of the holiday.

3. Skegemog Gardens - found some excellent geraniums for Mom and Dad. It's nice when you can find exactly what you want. These geraniums are large, and loaded with bright red blooms. Happy Decoration Day.

4. Oakwood - Dick planted the geraniums in the two pots by Mom and Dad. It looks terrific in my humble opinion.

5. Back home - read the snail mail, read the email, watch TV, made some comments on Facebook, snooze

6. Back to MCHC - this time we go to the other entrance for my ultrasound. This is the nicest, most relaxing, most non-invasive medical test that here is. They do, however, exert the most pressure in the wrong places.

7. Back to Oakwood - Dick sprinkled ant killer around the headstone. We noticed earlier that the ants are everywhere there.

8. Burritt's - We picked up some scallops and trout for dinner in our ever expanding quest for a low-fat diet.

9. Mary's Kitchen Port - bought a grill pan for cooking the scallops and the trout. The previous grill pan had done its duty long enough.

10. Back home

That Was The Week That Was

A few days ago (May 11) my cousins Ken and Bev from Grand Rapids came to T.C. to visit Fritz and Ruth. Fritz has just recently entered hospice care. We met Ken and Bev at the Omelette Shoppe for breakfast and had a really nice visit for about an hour and a half. They're a very adventurous couple, and it's fun to hear about their adventures from the mountains to the shore and from Alaska to Utah. This summer it sounds like they're planning a midwestern odyssey in their motor home. We enjoyed it a lot and it was fun answering Ken's "This is your Life" questions!

Dick has worked all day on the back porch. He has powerwashed everything - ceiling, walls, and floor - cleaned up the grill and the picnic tables - so now two more tables are ready for me to paint. I'm always amazed at Dick's inner drive to get things done and I'm also constantly amazed at his stamina. He is impressive. He's just a brush cutting, tree felling, chainsawing, leaf blowing, powerwashing, deck painting, window washing kind of guy.

We have the snowblower back from the shop - there were many things wrong with it so it's a really good thing that we took it in. The tractor is now in the shop - while we were dropping it off Dick looked at another new tractor - this one had a front loader. Those things are so expensive! That's why we're hoping the old tractor will be able to last a few more years. As Dylan once said, "It's not like you can have whatever you want."

Two landscapers have come to look at our front porch planting project, and we have picked Traverse Outdoor to do the job. We'll give them a call tomorrow. We haven't heard anything from Brown Lumber since they came to look at our porch railing project. Why is it that some folks just don't get back to you?

The findagrave.com project has been fun and interesting to do. We took two days and took pictures of headstones to put on that website. We found lots of Van Pelts in the Clark (Springfield Twp.) Cemetery, and even more in Kingsley's Evergreen Cemetery.

We want to have our family out for pizza some day soon. We have some baby toys for Drew to look at - we won't be needing them anymore. Plus we have a small job for Adam and Chris to do for us. (Young bucks with young backs!) We haven't decided when to do that = have to find a time that's good for everybody! What we'd really like to do is have those guys out here more often - at least once a month - just for fun.

Doggone It

Been sick all weekend, night and day - it's the old gall bladder stuff again.

I'll go see Dr. B. next week and agree to the surgery.

He was right again.

(World's best Dr.)

Doggone it.

"Find a Grave"

Today I was inspired to fix up some entries on the Find a Grave website. I've already done Mom and Dad, so today I did the Memorial Gardens side of the family. If Find a Grave seems gruesome to you, it's really fun to work on, and it could be important someday to some future genealogist :)

I did info for Gen and Harold, Frank and Pearl, Lue and Rookie, and Donald. If you see anything that's wrong or doesn't belong there let me know and it can be changed easily.

Search Nancy Steiger's cemetery records at by entering a surname and clicking search: This contributor's recordsAll of Find A Grave (32.8 million names) Restrict search to Surname

Mother's Day 2009

The kids sent flowers - very thoughtful - and the flowers are lovely.

We had a reservation for brunch at Schelde's - and that was lovely too. Everything was great, except there was no chocolate anywhere to be seen! Nice Danish, but no chocolate - Poor Richard. Linda from Concord Place was there - it was interesting to hear her latest news of that.

Then we set out to do some geocaching. First on the agenda was placing a new cache that Dick made. We placed it in an interesting little cemetery in Milton Township. I think that it will be a popular hide - people will like it, I'm sure.

There were 5 caches on our to-do list, and we found them all, and then we found one that wasn't even on the list! The greatest hide was the little birdhouse - such fun - and it really keeps the cache container clean!

Here are Dick's logs from the two most memorable caches!

Found it 5/10/2009 You found For the Birds (Traditional Cache)
Happy Mothers Day!
The day started off overcast and chilly but an excellent brunch followed by some caching caused the temps to rise and the sun to come out. We chose this day to place a cache we had been planning at Milton Township Cemetery and to grab a few while in the vicinity.
This is a very well conceived cache! Kudos! When someone puts extra time and effort into the conception and construction of a cache such as was done in this instance, we are inspired to do likewise. We traded sigs and drove on. Thanks for your effort and the fun you provided us.

5/10/2009 You found Into The Woods (Traditional Cache)
Happy Mothers Day!
We have a long history with this rest area. 52 years ago this June we got this far outside TC on our honeymoon when the stress of the day got to the bride and we had to make an emergency stop to allow her to disgorge the reception lunch. With that accomplished, we got on with the trip through Ontario, got on with our lives and careers, and although there are still times when I make her sick, we manage a chuckle each time we drive past here.
The GPS reception seemed iffy back there, the Garmin was pointing to a spot about 45 feet further into the woods. Thanks to the hint, we signed the log and picked up the coin about 1:30. Thanks for the memories.

Now the ham is in the oven and we're feeling very mellow. The sun is shining and the sky is blue. A perfect Mother's Day: .

Rainy Saturday

This day began as a dark, rainy day with a penetrating chill. Dick started a nice fire in the fireplace which helped to warm things up and eliminate the humidity.

The thing that really turned the day around for us was a visit from Donna (cachetogo). Her husband Dick A. came to Traverse for a wood turning workshop, and she came to see us! It was a very pleasant visit - coffee, tea and conversation sitting by the comfy fire. Dick A. only has one round of chemo left and it sounds like he feels fine and is keeping busy. I guess he's well down the road to recovery! Hooray! Their daughter and grandson are living with them now, and it seems that everybody is getting along just fine. Dick's elderly parents live nearby, and Dick and Donna and their daughter are really looking out for them. Nice people!

The only other thing that we did after that was the grocery store and a great ride around town.

Cinema and Caterpillars

Tom and Mary are back home from Florida, and it didn't take Mary and I long to plan lunch and a movie !

We did lunch at the Olive Garden - love that soup and salad thing that they do. We went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - it's possible that we're too old for that movie. It was basically about casual sex - very casual - I mean this guy didn't even need to find out anybody's name! So the beginning was a bit too much for us, but it did have a kind of a sweet ending - he ends up with his childhood sweetheart. But I'm thinking - why would she still want him after he's been through all that?

In the previews, "The Proposal" looks like a cute one - it comes out June 15th. "Angels and Demons" is coming out soon and I want to see that one, but I think I'll have to go by myself. I might go see "Up", too. so I can talk to Dylan about it :)

Dick and I had fun when I got home. Dick grabbed the blowtorch and I drove him around all the paths in the golf cart, and he zapped the tent caterpillar nests. Some of them were way out of reach, but he got many, many of them. It was very, very satisfying! We did start one fire but a couple shovelsful of dirt extinguished it.

Time Warp

EVENTS

1. April 26 was the date of the AuSauble Expo Geocaching event in Grayling. We got there early and had a chance to talk to lots of people - some more talkative than others! (inside joke) Tim and Susie, Jerry and Lydia were at our table and provided the really enjoyable conversations! Dennis and Josh were nice enough to demo the new Oregon Garmin for us. Everything these days looks like an iPhone to me. We met some new cachers from T.C . We never went to the Expo part. Somebody had collapsed over there and an ambulance was arriving so it seemed like a good time to leave.

2.On May 3rd I went to Melanie's baby shower. She looks wonderful - the baby is due in July. It was great fun to see everybody. I sat at the Hardy family table - Barb, Shelly, Evie, etc. - we missed Sharon and Melissa. The games were fun - baby gift bingo and scrapbook pages! The food was spectacular and the buffet table was very attractive. Melanie got stacks and piles of presents. Little Izzy will be the best dressed baby in town - at least for the first 6 months! I enjoyed the whole thing.

YARD WORK

Dick has power washed every wooden surface - it took about 3 days, and he's really feeling it in his hands and right shoulder. He's always eager to do it, and I think that he secretly likes having a project to do outdoors in this nice weather! Next he painted the decks all the way down to the river - that took another couple of days. The deck looks terrific.

He has also cut down trees and hauled load after load of brush down to the brush pile. The snowblower has been taken to the shop for repair, fine tuning, and summerizing. The leaves have all been blown out of the perennial garden and we're planning to use compost for mulch in there. It's fun to watch the perennials poke their heads up into the sunshine.

Yesterday, while I was prepping picnic tables for painting, he slipped into his waders, went into the river and started up the sprinkler system for the coming season.

PROJECTS

1. The tractor project - the tractor that Dick uses for general yard maintenence has bad hydraulics - he says the hydraulics are frozen and he can't raise or lower the hitch, among other things. We looked at a bunch of new tractors, but they cost more than we paid for our first house. Now we're looking at having it repaired and using it for another couple of years.

2. The recliner project - in 1991 we bought 2 swivel recliners for each other as a retirement present. Now we're ready to replace them with a newer model. Waiting for Riverside Resale to come out and look them over and hopefully take them and sell them for us. Actually, I'd be happy if they just carry them out and load them up!

3. The shed project - One thing leads to another. Now that I have a golf cart, I have to have a place to park it. We've found a shed that we really like, and Dick has staked out a spot for it by the turn-around. It has been ordered, but it hasn't been built - and we're waiting for the builder to come out and check the staked-out spot to see if he can place the shed there with his truck and trailer. If all goes well we should have a shed by the end of June.

4. The landscaping project - We've had a couple of landscapers come and look at the front of the house. Our bushes are all overgrown and need to be replaced. We've already seen a plan from one of the landscapers and it looks great. We're past the point of digging out the bushes, transplanting them and then planting the new stuff. Now we look at it as creating jobs! We're so patriotic!

5. The plastic railing project - The railings on the upper deck and the front porch need to be freshened up. Rather than sanding and painting we're thinking of replacing them with the white plastic or vinyl stuff that looks so nice and is very low maintenance. Brown Lumber is coming out tomorrow to check it out.

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Sometimes we wonder how we ever managed to do all of these household maintenance projects when we had three kids, a dog, two cats, and two full time jobs. Right now we have just about as much as we would want to handle!

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Trivia - Jon and Kate plus 8 - does anybody else think that she treats him badly, badly, badly? She is not loving towards him even in front of the cameras. Poor guy has to take her bad mouth every day. She criticizes him, corrects him, makes fun of him repeatedly. What do you think?

Clean Up, Fix up, Paint up

This is the time of year that you look around your home and notice all of the things everywhere that are a little bit down at heel. We have a long, long list of things both inside and outside of the house that need some attention.

There's a wobbly ceiling fan, new mini-blinds to put up, a pot rack for the kitchen, a room that badly needs painting, not to mention landscaping - the bushes across the front of the house need to be dug out and replaced, plus we need a shed for the golf cart. Whew! We also are ready to replace my broken recliner, and one of Dick's tractors.

Well....after giving it some thought we realized that we really can't take the road trip to Shreveport that we've been planning. We can save some shekels by staying home and just taking care of our place.

We wanted to take the Shreveport trip to pick up caches in more states, but we can probably go next fall or next spring.

Barb Bonanza

What a bonanza! Barb came out Sunday to deliver our Thin Mints from Kalamazoo! It doesn't get much better than that. Plus - the cookies were a gift - yay! Thank you Melissa. Thanks also to Autumn and Brooke without whom Melissa wouldn't be in the Girl Scout cookie business!

We had a great time visiting with Barb - caught up on a lot of her growing family's doings. Of course we're not the least bit jealous that soon she will have four (4) grandchidren (Autumn, Brooke, Drew and Isabelle) of her own, plus Lydia and Madelyn. It was wonderful having Barb here looking so good and so healthy.

Dick has been working on the yard. So far he has done thatching, fertilizing, heavy chainsaw pruning, and hauling brush. The yard looks quite good for this early in the Spring. It's almost time to turn on the sprinklers.

I went for my annual eye exam this morning - everything is looking good. They put in the dilating drops so I'm trying to avoid bright sunlight. They used to hand out huge plastic sunglasses for eye protection, but I guess they're cutting back or something! I'm glad that the brightness on the computer monitor can be adjusted.

Saturday Caching

Tim and Susie wanted to do some T.C. caching. We met them at the Omelette Shoppe for the usual excellent breakfast, and then we were off to the races. After living here forever and taking pleasure drives all of the time, we still discovered a place we've never been to before. This view is from the subdivision above Copper Ridge - somebody put a cache there to bring people up there to enjoy the view. We'll definitely come back here in the summer for some scenic viewing!
We did a couple of urban caches, but that gets old really fast, so we headed west of town to the Lake Dubonnet area and tried some backwoods trails. Off to the two tracks, where it is still snowy here and there, and where the roads can still be a bit icy.
Three caches were found around Lake Dubonnet, and then cooler heads prevailed and we left the two track for roads that are not "seasonal".
Tim in the deep, dark woods.

It was fun driving around the back roads of Long Lake even though this is not the prettiest time of the year for scenery. The most fun of the day though came when we were back out on US 31 (superhighway!). There was a cache in a small roadside cemetery that blew us away. We had trouble figuring it out when we first stopped. But after carefully reading the description and the past logs, we were successful on the second try. This cache container is made to look like a tombstone, and it's a large tombstone size. It's nestled in the bushes, away from other grave sites, so it's entirely respectful of the surroundings. It's hard to describe adequately, so Dick took a couple of pictures of it. It took a remarkable amount of time and effort to place this cache!




Then, all of a sudden, inexplicably, the driver decided that we needed to make a stop at Moomer's! The back seat passengers allowed as how that was a good idea, so that's how we ended our 8 cache caching day adventure.

Thanks, Tim and Susie for a really enjoyable day!

Feeling Fortunate

This is a perfect day for feeling very, very fortunate. First of all, the temperature reached 60 degrees. the sun is shining brightly, the sky is bluer than blue, the birds are singing, crocuses and some daffodils are blooming, the bay is deep, deep blue, and people are walking around town in shorts.

We did some great errands today. Well, OK, going to the dump is not that great.

We were driving Marco, and it's been sitting all winter without going anywhere. We really only use it to haul the boat or when we have a scheduling conflict. Dick noticed that it was due to go to Jiffy Lube last June (2008)! So we took it to Jiffy Lube - once a year should do it! Actually, we're kind of thinking of selling the pontoon boat and then selling Marco and getting a smaller more gas efficient car for geocaching and pulling the utility trailer. Do you know anybody who needs a 1989 pontoon boat and trailer? Or a 2001 Ford Explorer with a great towing package?

Both the Area Agency on Aging and the Commission on Aging were stops for us. Dick is gathering information on Senior Independent Living for his friend Pat, who wants to move into Senior Living in Benzie County or this area.

We went to Penney's to order new mini-blinds for the bedroom and (how fortunate is this) it seems that Bali is now having a 70 percent off sale! So we ordered the blinds and got a terrific deal. It's nice for a change to have good timing.

The best errand of all (Ta Da!) was going to the bank. (Drumroll) We PAID OFF OUR MORTGAGE!!! Woo Woo !! I feel fantastic about that, in case you can't tell. With the economy the way it is, and things feeling a bit uncertain, it feels super to own the house outright.

So Whoop-de-doo, and just so you'll be aware...I'm feeling fortunate.

Babes in the Woods

Yesterday we had quite an adventure. Dick is such a good story teller, I'm glad to share his report - so here's what happened to us yesterday!

On our way home from our Amish excursion a couple of weeks ago; we drove through Lake City and then on to Manton along M42. This route took us past a cache we have placed called “The Armillary”. It's located along the side of the road at the site that once held the Sherman School. The school is long gone but the land is still in the hands of the Sherman family. In the ‘60’s, Vernon Sherman placed there a collection of “stuff”, all mounted on concrete platforms. Among other things, there is an old printing press, a rail-mounted reciprocal saw, an armillary, and a large (five foot tall) pink rock that he dubbed the Sherman Stone. He even went so far as to have two brass plaques made which contain his poem titled “The Sherman Stone”.
>

Let Sherman’s stone stand for a breed of men I knew of late.
For logs and land unsubsidized, for “ciphering” on a slate.
Their gold and silver passed at face, their politicians knew their place.
Their mail, “Big Brother” never dared to read, nor tapped their phone.
Until we break our “horse” of state, they’re better men I vow.
They taught their kids in one room school,
“Democracy means the people rule”.

We found the collection to be interesting and developed a puzzle cache that requires a close inspection of the various items to answer questions that would lead to the cache coordinates.

On our recent visit, we found that the area is not being cared for and that rust and overgrowth has rendered the finding of the clues to be more problematical than we wished. We decided to archive the cache and replace the old offset container with a magnetic container attached to a piece of the equipment. We thought to retrieve the old container but discovered that the road to it is a seasonal road and is not plowed.

Over the next weeks, we found a suitable container, attached magnets to it and painted it matte black. Equipped with a logbook and a couple of trinkets, we set it aside to be placed on our next visit.

Saturday morning we worked at a few domestic tasks, while one of us supervised the Roomba and did some housekeeping, the other one wielded the chainsaw clearing up some downed branches and trees that the winter storms had provided. The day was warming nicely and the sun was inviting and we discussed going for a ride when the phone rang. It was the world's greatest Grandson offering us an opportunity to join him and his mother and uncle on a quest in the online game World of Warcraft. These chances do not present themselves every day and so we spent an hour or so sitting side by side at the computers asking, “What should I be doing?” ‘I don’t know, I’m just following Dylan.” “Should I be the healer?” “I don’t know, ask Dylan”.

Our grandson has this problem with us. Is it logical that two schoolteachers could be less knowledgeable than a fifth grader? In his words, “That makes no commonsense whatsoever”. When we profess ignorance, he is sure that once again, someone is pulling his leg. When his grandfather indicates that he doesn’t get it, he gets this look of bemusement and says, “What do you mean, you don’t understand?” At times his response to his grandmother’s question has been, “Weren’t you paying attention Grandma?” We do the best we can but it is evident that at times, in some areas, we are not as knowledgeable as that fifth grader.

At any rate, the five of us helped him finish the first quest but without Jana we were not a strong enough group to kill the big boss and get him the other achievement he desired. Our gaming activity was complete before 2:30 and since the day was so nice we decided to go for a ride. What better goal than to redo the Armillary cache.

Thus the adventure began.

The drive south was uneventful. We considered a detour back to the Walton Junction cemetery to check our cache there but a quick look at the seasonal roads dissuaded us. (Foreshadowing!) We arrived at the Sherman School site and quickly placed the new container. Then it was a short side trip east on Walker Road to retrieve the old container.

The extension past Green Road was still covered with snow. Both the right and left hand sides of the road were clear but in many places there were trees growing right up to the edge of the road. There were tracks along the side where someone had driven out but it looked like they were winter treads, maybe a 4x4 pick up. It is only a short, less than a quarter mile walk, so we parked at the intersection. Then the old phrase “We get too soon old and too late smart” kicked in. What the heck, this thing (our RAV4) has 4x4. (Although we’ve never used it and we don’t have tires with an aggressive tread.) The book says just push this button. And so, like a couple of kids 55 years our junior; we pushed the button and headed down the snow covered road. (Actually, the driver pushed the button although the decision was a joint effort.)

All went well for the first couple of hundred yards. Although the snow was getting deeper, the vehicle and its four-wheel drive performed excellently. But then, all of a sudden, the right hand side of the car broke through the crust and we bogged down. Although forward progress was halted, we could back up. Could we back all the way out? That didn’t look like the best plan. Maybe, if we can go forward just another 50 – 60 feet or so to that clearing, we can turn around. We (OK, I) blasted forward for about 20 feet and bogged down again. Shifting into reverse we were able to back up about 2 inches, driving forward regained the same. Back two inches, forward two inches, Getting out and looking around revealed that all four wheels had broken through the crust and the snow was deeper than the ground clearance. We were totally bottomed out. We had zero traction. While considering the situation, a short walk retrieved the container we had come down here for so that goal was accomplished. A thorough analysis of our situation yielded only one solution.

Oh well, that’s why I have AAA towing. We just call the 800 number and they will send someone right out. Dialing their number on our cell phone revealed - - - NO SIGNAL! Try roaming, NO SIGNAL!!!

Well, one of us has to hike out to find a house where they have a phone they will let us use, and since only one of us is very mobile, and since chauvinism lives in children of the 50’s, off I went.

The first place, about a half-mile up the road past the intersection had a heavy duty gate chained shut and no signs of occupation. The next, a quarter mile further on had two dogs that obviously objected to my presence. The old poochy-coo talk and the hand held out palm down worked and the most curious/aggressive one gave me a thorough sniffing and allowed me to proceed. The other one, a tripod, (I learned he was shot the opening day of hunting season a couple of years ago.) continued his barking but did not come closer.

I walked up to the back porch and saw a sign that proclaimed NO SMOKING. I rang the doorbell and soon a young woman, mid 20’s to mid 30’s, smoking a cigarette, answered it. I told her my tale of woe and asked if I could use the phone, she flung the door open and led me into the kitchen and the telephone. (Folks are friendlier here, and of course Nancy points out that I was wearing my jacket that says Grandpa on it..)

In the course of the next 15 minutes or so, she; called her brother who lives just down the road and has a tractor to see if he would pull me out, (He declined due to liability issues.) offered me a Coke or something, revealed that her name is Tanya, that she was home alone, that the house belongs to her parents, that the kids were at her niece’s coloring eggs and that she would call John's, the towing place for me and tell them where I was because she used to work there. My call to AAA went well and after what seemed to be a rather lengthy hold, the nice lady said the tow driver knew the area and if I would wait at the intersection, (Tanya said it is called “Dead Man’s Curve.) he would be there by 6:05. However, the lady continued, they did not do snow removal and sometimes they will refuse to enter unplowed roads. Furthermore, my policy only covered normal towing and if more than one wrecker is needed or if additional equipment is required, I would be liable for additional charges. It was then about 5:15. Tanya insisted on giving me a ride back to the intersection. As we got in the car, a large, heavyset dog tried to get in with us. Tanya told me that she didn’t recognize it and did not know to whom it belonged. For whatever reason, it adopted us, followed Tonya’s car and stayed with us the rest of the time we were there.

I walked down the snowy road to report the situation to Nancy and then, accompanied by my new best friend, went back to the intersection and waited. And waited, and waited. Many thoughts went through my head, like if they won’t come down to pull us out, do we leave the car there ‘till the snow melts? Would National deliver a car out here?

Fatigue was setting in I had been walking/standing for nearly two hours, I walked back to consult and look at the car again. I noticed that the wheels seemed to be more firmly on the ground but were cocked to the left, I got in and started it up and had Nancy guide me from outside the car until the wheels were straight. I then tried to back up. It went back a foot. I put it in drive and crept forward maybe 2 feet. Back about 4, forward about 5. Then, after backing as far as I could, I gunned it and aimed for the shoulder. The car broke out of the snow pack and onto the edge of the woods. What appears to have happened was that during the two-hour wait, the heat and weight of the vehicle caused the snow to compact giving the tires more traction.

With the co-pilot guiding front and rear, we got turned around and then with everyone back on board, drove victoriously back out to terra firma. We were back on a road but still without a signal.

With a whoop and a holler and triple high fives, accompanied down the road by our new mascot, we drove back to Tonya’s and asked her to call John's Towing and tell him he wasn’t needed. Smiles of relief and joy filled the RAV all the way home. Chalk up another successful adventure for Basswood Bend! I only wish that Tom had been there to see that it is not just his car we take chances with.

I am reminded that when we bought a Jeep back in the 60’s, I wanted to have a winch mounted on the front. Nancy refused, because, “If you have it, you’ll want to use it.” I know that the wise adult action is to always shy away from deep snow or sand as we cruise our northern Michigan two tracks but I don’t think we can. From now on I think I’ll make sure to carry the satchel I have that is packed with the trenching tool, tow straps and come-along just in case.

State Wins!

MSU will be playing in the National Championship game next Monday! UConn played hard, but State really dominated the rebounds, the points from the bench, and the physicality. They did themselves proud.

The thing that I like the best is that it's such a terrific morale booster for the entire state of Michigan. They'll play for the championship in Detroit on a floor made from western upper peninsula wood. It kind of feels like a weekend in honor of the whole state. Couldn't come at a better time. Thanks MSU.

Shuttin' Down Detroit video

My friend Peggy found this video of the John Rich song - average melody but dramatic lyrics and pictures!

http://www.johnrich.com/index.php?page=videos


Dick and I are looking forward to a Spartan victory this evening!

Tremendous Trifle

It all began when I was a stay at home Mom in the sixties. I got hooked on "Guiding Light". I rocked all of my babies while watching it. Naptimes were planned to set me free to watch it. In the beginning, the story was dominated by Bert and Bill Bauer and their sons, Mike and Ed. The grand old man of the story was Papa Bauer, Bill's father. Now, Mike's son Rick is really the only Bauer left, but they have still been doing the annual Bauer Barbecue on the 4th of July.

When you're hooked on a soap you watch through births, deaths, weddings, affairs, divorces, returns from the dead, cloning, medical miracles, addictions, corporate greed, trials that send people to prison - whatever life has to offer can turn up in a soap.

When I went back to work in the 70s, Dick got home before I did, and he would tape Guiding Light for me faithfully every day. My kids would watch sometimes, but they were mostly disgusted with it. They claimed they could miss three months of the story and still be up to date!

Many folks are way too sophisticated and intellectual to watch a soap opera. But I've always found the continuity of Guiding Light to be interesting, comforting, familiar and fun. I was a constant viewer for 5 decades, and I will really miss it!

April 2, 2009
CBS Turns Out ‘Guiding Light’
By BILL CARTER

CBS announced Wednesday the cancellation of the longest-running scripted program in broadcasting history, the soap opera “Guiding Light.”

The show has been on radio and television for 72 years, beginning on NBC radio in 1937 and moving to CBS television in 1952.

The show’s run will end with an episode Sept. 18.

The move came after many years of steeply declining ratings for the hourlong soap, which is owned by Procter & Gamble and thus was a link to the earliest days of daytime serial dramas on radio. The shows were eventually called soap operas because soap companies sponsored them.

A spokeswoman for P.&G., Jeannie Tharrington, said the company would seek to place “Guiding Light” elsewhere. “We’re looking at all our options,” she said. “This show started as a 15-minute radio show, and then it was a half-hour television show, so it has adapted over the years.”

Ms. Tharrington said P.&G. would look to any possible outlet to continue the series. A canceled NBC soap, “Passions,” moved for a time to the satellite service DirecTV, but it failed there and is now gone.

None of the producers or stars of “Guiding Light” would grant an interview Wednesday about the decision. “The news is too fresh,” Ms. Tharrington said.

In an official statement, Ellen Wheeler, the executive producer, said, “It will be difficult for all of us at the show to say goodbye.”

The CBS president, Nancy Tellem, said, “It was not an easy decision to make, but we talked it over with our partners at Procter & Gamble, and we agreed it was time.” Ms. Tellem said she had not heard that P.&G. was looking to place the show elsewhere but said that CBS would wish the company well in that effort.

The biggest star in the show’s current cast is Kim Zimmer, a four-time Emmy winner for best actress in a daytime serial. Another star, Justin Deas, has won six Emmys for his acting. The show also provided breakthroughs for many well-known actors, including Kevin Bacon, James Earl Jones, Calista Flockhart, Allison Janney and Cicely Tyson. “Guiding Light” claims the distinction of being the first network soap to introduce regular African-American characters, in 1966.

CBS and the producers of “Guiding Light” — which is shot on the East Coast, in the CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan and on location in Peapack, N.J. — had taken several steps in recent years to keep the series alive, especially in switching the production to a digital format.

That move, last year, included the introduction of hand-held digital cameras and permanent, four-wall sets as opposed to the traditional, constantly reconstructed three-wall sets built by soaps to accommodate bulky pedestal cameras. Rather than expensive lighting and sound equipment, the show also began using hand-held lights and microphones.

The changes resulted in a look vastly different from the traditional soap, with more camera movement, more muted lighting and much more use of outside locations. The moves saved considerable money, according to CBS executives.

But not enough to save the series. This year the audience for “Guiding Light” had declined to an average of just 2.1 million viewers an episode. Its pattern over recent years had been steadily downward. Last year it averaged about 2.4 million viewers an episode. Five years ago the average was about 3 million viewers.

“Guiding Light” also had the smallest audience of any of the remaining network daytime soaps and a smaller audience than many of the game and talk shows that also fill network daytime hours. The most-watched soap, “The Young and the Restless” on CBS, is averaging about 5.26 million viewers an episode. The network’s game show “The Price Is Right” has an average of about 4.95 million viewers. ABC’s talk show “The View” averages about 4.25 million viewers.

ABC’s top soap, “General Hospital,” averages about 2.97 million viewers, and NBC’s only soap, “Days of Our Lives,” has about 2.76 million, though those shows have much younger audiences, making them more desirable to many advertisers.

Ms. Tellem said that the hour devoted to “Guiding Light” — its scheduling has varied in different cities from 10 a.m. in New York to as late a 3 p.m. in some cities — will be retained by CBS. The network is likely to fill it with another game show or talk show, she said.

When “Guiding Light” ends, another CBS soap, “As the World Turns” — also shot in New York — will become the longest-running daytime serial drama. It started in 1956.

Too Much Sadness Plus the Promise of Spring

A lot of sadness has entered our world lately. Things seem to be happening in bunches.

The first thing was the death of the teenage daughter of one of Laurie's friends in Palm City. She was 18 years old, and an apparent suicide.

Then Belleville colleagues - Tommy M. lost his mother first, and then this week his brother died. Dan F.'s brother Mark died Monday of a sudden heart attack. Jim F.'s grandson, 12 year old Matt, died last Sunday in a motocross accident.

In Traverse City, Dick's cousin Chester died last week after a lengthy illness.

There are hundreds of deaths every day across the country, but this seems unusual to me.

Two of the deaths were expected, but the rest were a total shock - most especially the two children.

On the Springy side, the Bay is blue again today for the first time since I can't remember when. Dick figures that southerly winds have blown the ice out past the island. The shore is still chock-a-block with ice chunks along the breakwater, but the water just has a few small ice floes floating around.

Today is a beautiful day with blue skies and strong sunshine - the temperature has rocketed all the way up to 46! We saw a man at the library wearing shorts and sandals!
Crocuses are blooming around town. Spring will soon be a happening thing.

Best news - Sharon says she and John have tickets for the Final Four at Ford Field this weekend! How excellent is that?

Ford Field Final Four

The Spartans certainly taught Louisville a thing or two about tournament basketball!

I expected State to win, but I thought it would be a really really close game. It is so excellent that the Final Four is at Ford Field in Detroit, with a team from Michigan in the mix. I'm thinking that there will be a great home floor advantage! What a terrific boost in morale for the whole state!

It would be so great if some of our family's staunch Spartan supporters could get tickets!

How much Snow?

On our deck benches it looks like at least 5 new inches of snow and it's still coming down. It's funny - the benches have been bare three different times since we got home from San Diego - now they're buried again! Isn't it ironic that this is the week of Spring Break? If this storm had waited a couple of days, it would have been a great April Fool's joke.

HOWEVER.....I'd much rather be here than out in Fargo where the Red River is flooding up to their elbows, and the temperature is zero! How horrible would that be??

Last summer we drove through Fargo on I-94. The Red River is the State line between Minn. and N.D., so to enter Fargo you go over a bridge. We didn't spend much time there, but I remember thinking it was a very clean town, and much larger than I expected. It's a college town - it has North Dakota State and also a lutheran college.
Those folks are fighting to save their homes and trying to stay warm at the same time. Makes our 5 inches look like a cake walk.

Shuttin' Down Detroit

Jana heard about this song on the Today Show this morning. It's by a group called Big & Rich.

Shuttin' Detroit Down

My daddy taught me in this country everyone’s the same.
You work hard for your dollar and you never pass the blame,
When it don’t go your way.
Now I see all these big shots whining on my evening news,
About how they're losing billions and it’s up to me and you
To come running to the rescue.

Well pardon me if I don’t shed a tear.
They're selling make believe and we don’t buy that here.

Because in the real world they're shuttin’ Detroit down,
While the boss man takes his bonus paid jets on out of town.
DC’s bailing out them bankers as the farmers auction ground.
Yeah while they're living up on Wall Street in that New York City town,
Here in the real world their shuttin’ Detroit down.
Here in the real world their shuttin’ Detroit down.

Well that old man’s been working in that plant most all his life,
Now his pension plan’s been cut in half and he can’t afford to die
And it’s a crying shame, cus he ain’t the one to Blame.
When I looked down to see his calloused hands,
Well let me tell you friend it gets me fightin’ mad.

Cause in the real world they're shuttin’ Detroit down,
While the boss man takes his bonus paid jets on out of town.
DC’s bailing out them bankers as the farmers auction ground.
Yeah while they're living up on Wall Street in that New York City town,
Here in the real world they're shuttin’ Detroit down.

Yeah while they're living up on Wall Street in that New York City town,
Here in the real world they're shuttin’ Detroit down.
Here in the real world they're shuttin’ Detroit down,
In the real world they're shuttin’ Detroit down.
They're shuttin’ Detroit down.

It's a very touching song for those of us who love Michigan, and who lived in Wayne County for 30 years.

Unemployment in our State has now reached 12%. Some huge percentage of jobs in Michigan are related to the auto industry.

Dad read somewhere that the main roads in Michigan are the worst in the country. Front Street has another vacant store front every week. I overheard a waitress saying, "My husband got laid off, so I'm looking for a second job." We've heard others say that they're working a second job.

I've moved past being ashamed of Bush - I'm not even railing against that stupid war anymore. Worrying about Michigan and the auto industry is much more relevant in our neck of the woods. It's still humbling to be driving around Michigan in a Toyota instead of a Michigan-made UAW built Ford.

I love the lyrics and would like to hear the song.

Amish Geo-Birthday

We spent last weekend in Clare - it was my birthday request. I wanted to tour the Amish settlements and maybe find an Amish bakery! Geocaching was part of our adventure, too. Dick logged in some simple ones that didn't involve a lot of hiking so we could both enjoy everything.

It was a very successful weekend. The only downside was that it was very nippy and windy, so it wasn't exactly sweatshirt weather. We found all of the Amish things that we were looking for except for a bakery (darn), and we found 15 geocaches over the weekend. It was a very pleasant birthday!

On the country roads around Clare it's fairly easy to tell which farms are Amish.


This woman had gone into town to shop at the big grocery store. Her husband was waiting in the buggy, and he let her load the groceries.


We were lucky enough to be at the Yoder Amish Auction on Saturday when it was open. There were buggies parked everywhere on the auction grounds.


The men are checking out the horses, while the woman were grilling hamburgers.



All weekend we were sharing the road with buggies. It's fun on the dirt roads because they leave better tracks and you can tell where they came from and where they're going. You can see the clippety clop tracks in the dirt.



I was especially interested in the Amish school houses - you can tell from the pictures that they don't waste a lot of money on the buildings or the plumbing. The schools were listed as having 17 students in grades K-8, which is as high as they go. Evidently you don't need a lot of book learning to run an Amish farm.



We saw several signs like this one.


At the Colonville store you are waited on by Amish ladies. You can buy kerosene lanterns and lamp chimneys of all sorts - a whole aisle of them. They have an entire wall displaying black stockings - even black stockings for infants in pink packaging. There were many, many books - mostly religious, but not all. Many were Amish romance novels, which all seemed to have a moral at the end. There were piles and piles of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie books. Dick was fascinated with the tools, hardware, and the huge cauldrons. There's an entire aisle of straw hats for men and boys. It was a step back into the 1800s.

Arthur, Illinois

Historic photo!

This picture was taken at the homestead of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother William and Caroline Kanitz in Arthur, Illinois. Allegedly, all of their descendants at the time are shown - children, spouses, grandchildren, etc.

My grandfather and grandmother, Charles and Sarah Kanitz are the first couple standing on the left.

Hooray

Yay hooray! The city is getting cleaned up for Spring! Yes, Virginia, there will be a Spring - no kidding.

At the marina today we saw a front loader and a dump truck moving huge piles of snow left over from plowing the parking lot all winter. Near the Harbor Master's, there was a pile that resembled the Rock of Gibraltar, and today it is totally gone. Yaay hooray!

I asked Dick what are the chances of having no more storms and heavy snows this season. He said the chances were slim and none and slim just left town. He likes to say that, and he says it a lot, so I'm not discouraged that much, only a little bit.

The other day we drove up M-22 to see how far north the Bay was frozen, and it was frozen all the way out to the island. That is the official requirement for saying that the Bay is frozen. Dick said you would think that they would put something in the newspaper about that. The next day, on the front page, there was a story about the frozen bay. It's the first time since 2003 that the Bay was officially frozen.

Railroad Cars

Ron, our therapy tech at the gym, filled us in this morning on why the silver, double-decker passenger cars are parked out by Cherry Growers! He said that they were moved out there sometime last fall, and that there was an article in the Record Eagle about it.

The cars had been parked down in the Bay City/Midland area just being stored. They became a target for vandalism - people broke into some of the cars, and spray painted graffiti on some of them. The graffiti is still there - it's really noticeable. The company decided that there would be less of a vandalism problem up here, and so they were moved to the Grawn area.

Cabin Fever Cure

A little bit of cabin fever set in on River Road today so Dick invited me out to lunch. We took along some recycling and some things to mail because almost every trip around here involves some errands!

Driving through the blowing snowfall, we planned to eat in Grandma's Kitchen at Interlochen corners. Gee, I said, I think I heard that it has changed hands. In actuality, it was closed up tight - dark and empty - a definite change.

Next to ex-Grandma's Kitchen is Ric's Food Center - and guess what...across the street is an almost complete, huge new almost finished Tom's Food Market...looks like trouble for Ric's! It's really a lovely store - it carries everything you could possibly want, but it may not be able to compete with Tom's.

Across the highway is Clancy's Kitchen, which seems to be taking up the slack from the closing of Grandma's. Clancy's is relatively new - it features plain American style food which is home made and tastes home made! They seem to have a sweet potato fixation - it may be a tad overdone - sweet potato fries, pie, pancakes, egg rolls, and on and on. We had a great dinner and really enjoyed it, although it wasn't so much fun watching the cars outside dealing with the blowing snow!

After eating we bravely headed out into the storm to go to the Interlochen recycling center. Guess what - it's gone - there's nothing there. Things are really changing over there in Interlochen.

The Interlochen Post Office let us down because they don't have a drive up mail drop. On this blizzardy day it required walking up to the front door of the PO to deposit the letters....well actually Dick was the one who walked up to the mailbox, but still...

We spent a couple of months in warmer climes this winter, and I think we really missed something exciting. On the way to Interlochen, just past Cherry Growers, there are approximately 20-25 railway passenger cars parked on the tracks alongside the highway. The tracks by our house provide the only access to TC and Cherry Growers, and so we missed seeing all of those cars go past! We see a train around once a week when the weather is good. Those trains usually have an engine and a couple of cars - but certainly not 20. We have no idea why those cars are in that particular spot.

H a p p y P r e s i d e n t' s D a y ? ? ? ? ? ?

Good intentions - the car all packed up with trash for the dump, grocery list in hand, check ready to go to the bank, going to the Sprint store to replace lost cell phone - and we were off to run errands. Two out of four is not that bad....

The East Bay Compactor Station is closed because of Pres. Day. The whole back end of the car is loaded with trash - we haven't been to the dump for ages because of traveling since Sept. Looks like we won't go for a couple of more days yet.

Driving through town we turned in at the drive-through bank to deposit the check, and there was no line...it was closed because of ...(see above).

The grocery store was open, and we put our groceries in right next to the trash bags...

The Sprint store was open and it was the bright spot of our errand afternoon. Tina was very helpful, and we now have a replacement phone with the same cell number.

Today on Facebook Adam posted that he and Melanie will be having a baby girl! The pictures were labeled "Isabelle Jean" - what a nice name. Congratulations to the Hardy family :)

Something's Fishy

La Jolla is home to the famous Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the Birch Aquarium. We enjoyed another glorious San Diego treat today, and spent the afternoon at the aquarium. The pictures speak for themselves. I'm beginning to think that Dick is a natural photographer!

The Big Tank


Historic tuna fishermen - three rods for one tuna


A school of sardines in perpetual motion!


The fountain in front of the aquarium


After the aquarium we drove along the seashore and stopped at a sea lion beach to see what we could see. We saw three sea lions in the water, but none on the beach. It was wonderfull just to be able to see the sea!



So far this year, we have been from the Atlantic to the Pacific - from sea to shining sea :)

Super Zoo Day

Not being particularly interested in the Super Bowl this year, we took off for the San Diego Zoo instead. Of course we expected Chip's Steelers to dominate, and they almost did. At least they won the game. We got home in time to see the end of the 4th quarter, and the fabulous catch in the end zone. Go Steelers.

Believe it or not, many people were able to get along without watching the Super Bowl today - I know this because many of them were at the Zoo, too. Tom's friend Brandy and her brother Hunter came with us. It was another perfect San Diego day, and we had a great time. Afterward they asked me what was my favorite part, and I could narrow it down to five things - but I decided that the overall favorite thing was the giraffe exhibit.

A view of the Zoo from the Skyfari ride:


Dick's favorite was the gorilla exhibit - he especially got a kick out of this young gorilla checking the the Big Boss to see if he was doing his gorilla thing correctly.


Big Boss Gorilla


Me with Tom, Brandy and Hunter


Dick got this great picture of the endangered rhino.

Baby Maya

We were invited to Amy's Mom's house for dinner, and the Washington family came down from L.A, bringing (of course) the baby!

We started the day in an excellent way - Tom took us to have dim sum for breakfast - another first for us. It's a little like Chinese tapas, or small plates - kind of individual dumplings and wontons filled with all good things - shrimp, pork, chicken, beef and you name it. It's a very enjoyable way to go out for breakfast!


Being in Joyce's home is another unique experience - she's such a good hostess, and her home is so inviting - you feel like one of the family. Well, actually we are family in a shirt-tail kind of a way - great-aunt and uncle of her son-in-law - is that close enough? The baby is adorable, and very entertaining - we all got a chance to hold her and cootchy-coo at her a little bit - she's a happy baby! The food was magnificent - a real feast - we had nine people at the table, and enough food for nineteen...plus two desserts!

The Washington Family:


Talking to Sharon on the phone while holding her grandchild - is that really fair?


Me with Amy's dad, Richard, the grill chef for the day.


Tom and Babycakes


Grandma Joyce and Maya Grace

San Diego Days

After the big Bar Mitzvah weekend, Dick and I had 3 days at Tom's to entertain ourselves while Tom was at work. We mostly did geocaching, driving around, resting, and playing WoW. Wednesday noon we met Tom at Val's house {Darkdru) to meet her baby, Connor. He is a perfectly beautiful bouncing baby boy, one year old, a real sweetie and a total charmer.


Thursday we went to Sea World. It's an amazing place. We went to all of the shows - sea lion, Shamu, and dolphin. My favorite was Shamu, just because the animals are so big and beautiful - it seems like it would be quite an undertaking to try to teach them tricks - but they were spectacular. The other two shows were great as well - similar tricks that look just as difficult to train.


The plantings at Sea World are so colorful -try seeing this in a Michigan winter!

There is also a fascinating walk-through aquarium, where the sharks and fishes swim all around you and over your head.

Who knew that walruses were this big?!?

It was incredible watching the polar bears at feeding time.


On Friday, Sniders came down to see Tom and his house, and to go whale watching with us. We were incredibly lucky - the weather was perfect, we saw a multitude of dolphins very near the ship, and we saw two gray whales breaching and diving several times. It was a most successful three hour cruise :)
Ready, set, here we go!

These dolphins were very close - it was quite exciting to see so many of them jumping together.

Here is the tail of the gray whale as he dives under the water. I promise you there's a whale tail in there somewhere :)

We are intently whale watching.


Whale watching afterglow at Joe's Crab Shack.

Bar Mitzvah of the West

We had a simply glorious weekend sharing the joy of Adam's Bar Mitzvah with both sides of his family. There were 5 major events associated with this ceremony - it's really a lot like planning a wedding, I think.

Friday night we went to services at the synagogue, where Adam participated by doing two readings. Saturday morning was the Bar Mitzvah itself, followed by lunch at Il Fornaio. In the evening we went to Kim's for sandwiches and conversation, and on Sunday we were back at Kim's for brunch. What a terrific weekend. It was a first for us - but now we're looking forward to Jake's Bar Mitzvah in a couple of years.

Dick, Bill, Eric and Ethan waiting for the service to begin.


Reiko and Hunter - Hunter was running a temp. and not feeling very well, but he was a trooper.


The Man of the Hour, Adam Henry Reines. His best friend (John from Manistee) is behind him, and farther back is Michael and some Reines uncles and a cousin.


Adam is conducting the Bar Mitzvah service. It lasted about an hour and a half.


Adam reading from the Torah, in the Hebrew alphabet.


It's a Reines family affair - Grandma, uncles, and cousin.


After the service, he gets a bouncy chair ride down the aisle of the synagogue!


Jacob loves his cousin Emily - well, everybody does!


Kim and Mike, the proud parents - they say that Adam didn't need any prodding or motivating to do this - he was self-motivated the whole way along. He worked very hard and did a superb job! It was impressive.


Mike's sister Sarah is a Rabbi.


Tammy and Ethan - the children were very well behaved through the whole thing!


Adam is kick-starting the luncheon by having a ceremonial sip of wine - he hated it!


Reiko's car - well, she is Jet's mama, and her husband flies jets, so - of course she's Jetmama :)


I'm ringing the doorbell at Kim's house for brunch on Sunday.


Adam and his friends and cousins are learning how to play blackjack - part of becoming a man!

Such a Day

This morning it was 22 below zero in Grayling, but we were in the banana belt at only 5 below. At least it was a sunshiny day - the sun on the snow really made the world sparkly.

We spent the major part of the morning in front of the TV watching the spectacular events in D.C. I'm ashamed to admit that one of the things I enjoy the most is seeing all of the political celebrities as they enter the platform - especially the ex-presidents and vice-presidents and their wives, but also the supreme court justices and well-known senators.

Obama's speech was especially fulfilling to me for four main reasons...he does not equate power with aggression; he extends America's hand of friendship to other nations, religions, and factions, He appears ready to shoulder responsibility for what happens next, and he exudes a pleasing combination of humility and confidence. In addition to the effective inaugural address, the highlights of the ceremony for me were Aretha Franklin (loved her outfit) and the very clever and meaningful benediction! It was a wonderful way to end the most invigorating inauguration in years. Here's the end of the benediction (my favorite part):

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

Closer to home, we had the best possible news this afternoon from Dino, Dick's cardiologist. His message to Dick was that everything is stable, looks good, and he doesn't have to come back! Well, maybe in a couple of years. Now, that's a really good feeling! So since we had such good news, we used our Olive Garden gift card from Tony and Sharron and had a marvelous meal. Thanks Tony and Sharron!

I came home feeling very mellow - the afterglow of such a day. Now I'm ready to sit under my fig tree and watch the Inaugural Balls.

Hibernation

Since we got back from Florida, we have mostly just been hibernating! The air is so cold and the snow is so deep - not really any incentive to be outside. The snow on our deck is six inches above the level of the benches, and the benches have 18 inches on top of them. In the two weeks that we've been home, I've left the house four times. Dick's been out a little more than that, and he's been snowblowing until he's blue in the face - well actually, red in the face.

Hibernation is a great time to play World of Warcraft - we're leveling up like you wouldn't believe! I'm now level 77, and Dick just dinged level 72 this morning. Dylan would be so proud,

We're getting ready to fly to California - here I go again, trying to figure out what the weather will be like and what to take. I always stress out a few days before we have to leave...we'll only be gone for two weeks, so it's really not that tough. Adam's Bar Mitzvah is one week from today - he has been working really hard on it, practicing every day. I know he'll do well. I'm so glad we'll be able to be there! In a couple of years, it will be Jake's turn.

It's a two hour drive from Tom's to Corona del Mar, so we're driving down on Friday.
We're staying Friday and Saturday nights with Bill and Jan in their rented townhouse. Service on Friday, Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, brunch at Kim's on Sunday and then we'll go back to Tom's.

It's going to be fun and interesting to spend some time with Tom - he knows all of the cool places in San Diego, Last time we were out there we went whale watching, and I'd really like to do that again. We're also expecting to see Kevin, Amy and baby Maya, and to meet Amy's family.

Deer have been camping out in our yard - they dig a hole in the snow and then curl up in it for the night. They're nibbling on the pine trees - they have to rear up on their hind legs to reach anything. I don't think I want to come back as a deer.

We have another winter storm warning today - the snow is relentless - it's been falling since before daylight this morning. The roads are still in bad condition - icy, slippery and treacherous. Wayne County always did a much better job of clearing the roads. The salt trucks would be going up and down Haggerty Road at 5 a.m. I guess that Grand Traverse County doesn't have the funds to salt or sand the roads. They just drop a little sand at intersections, curves and hills. It's frustrating when you know that with a little salt application, the roads would be clear. Not doing that allows a lot of dangerous conditions to continue day after day. Another reason to hibernate.

Round Robin 2009

Every year a big brown envelope arrives, filled with pictures and letters from 10 members of my high school potluck club, the SLGs. After reading all of the latest news and admiring pictures of all the grandchildren, I try to put a year of my life down in a letter. Looking through 400 or so photos, I always pick 4 or 5 of my favorites to send along in the big brown envelope. Here is my letter for 2009 ************************

January 7, 2009

Hi Everybody,

The Robin arrived while we were spending a few weeks in Florida, near our kids. Now I'm back home, sitting by a blazing fire and watching the snow fall on our three foot drifts.  Quite a contrast from sitting by the pool in sunny Florida!  As usual, I enjoyed reading all of the news, and especially looking at the pictures of the grandkids.   This time I especially enjoyed the old pictures - such good memories we all have!  It's truly hard to believe that those pictures are now 50-60 years old!  Yikes.

My life is very much the same as always - we stay busy with volunteering, travel, Vital Step gym, day trips, and hobbies- reading, geocaching, scrapbooking, and computer games.  In fact we keep in touch with our entire family on the computer game called World of Warcraft - we can talk and type over the internet for as long as we want and it's free.  Sometimes all seven of us are logged in at the same time, and it's very satisfying to "see" everybody every day.

One of the major highlights of our year was a Princess cruise of the Baltic last May.  We went with friends from Belleville, and it was a spectacular experience!  Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Poland and Norway - whew - all in ten days.  There are so many places we would like to re-visit - especially the Hermitage in St. Petersburg - we could spend a week looking through those rooms of  famous and astonishing works of art.

 In June, we took a whirlwind tour out west to add the western States to our geocaching total.   This is the trip that caused us to miss the 55th class reunion.  There just weren't enough weeks in the year this year for us to do everything that we wanted to do.

We had another terrific northern Michigan summer.  We had house guests  (all family)  from  late June until Labor Day Weekend.  The kids were here for the Cherry Festival - we all enjoyed the Blue Angels,  the midway, and the Big Parade.  We took a day trip to Beaver Island - a first for all of us. It was a glorious summer - the weather was great, we all went to our grand-nephew’s wedding and Dick’s annual family reunion (GenFest).

Since we are trying to find a cache in every State, in early September we took another whirlwind road trip to New England.  Even though we went before the fall colors were out, it is a very beautiful part of the country, and we relished the mountain scenery. New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine - well, you get the idea :)   We have sixteen States left to visit, including Alaska and Hawaii.  We've been there, but we have to go back to find a cache.  What a shame!

We stayed in Ann Arbor again this year - this time for the month of October.  It was extremely enjoyable in every way except for the miserable football season.  But we enjoyed just being in Ann Arbor, re-connecting with old friends, adventuring  around the area looking for geocaches, discovering new places and  going out to eat with area family and friends.   The only downside was that I was rear-ended in our little Subaru while we were there.  The car was totaled, but I was fine - the only damage I suffered was severe bruising from the seatbelt.  My body looked like I was wearing a deep purple sash! That little Subaru really protected me. Now we're driving a 2007 Toyota Rav4, and we're satisfied with it.

We headed for Florida for the holidays - rented a house for a month just ten minutes away from our kids.  Thanksgiving, Dylan's birthday, Christmas and New Year's - we were there for all of it, and have decided that Florida is a very pleasant place to be! Of course, as many of you can testify, we’re not the first to reach that conclusion.

Our Florida kids, Laurie and Chip, are still flying with American Airlines - now there’s an industry with all kinds of problems - labor, fuel, and on and on. They are both based in Miami and living in Palm City. Tom is in San Diego - he’s a senior scientist with Cymer Corp. He’s single - says he doesn’t want to marry and have kids - where did we go wrong?? He’s had several lovely girlfriends over the years - right now he’s been dating a girl half his age for the past year or so.

Dylan, our one and only grandchild, is still the smartest, best child in the Western world! He is now eleven and in the fifth grade. School is not his favorite activity - he’s good at everything except spelling. Spelling is a real bugaboo for him. He loves computer games, biking, hiking, tennis, and chocolate cake J.

Freda - I checked my addresses, and everything is correct. Can’t explain why your email bounced! You must be so proud of your very accomplished pooch - but I know that it takes a lot of time and effort on your part, so congratulations to both of you.

Junie - Didn’t like hearing about Jerry’s Chronic Kidney Disease, but it’s good that he’s seeing a nephrologist. My doctor told me that sometimes CKD can be caused by a medication that the patient is taking that becomes toxic to the kidneys…but then I guess a
nephrologist would think of that! (Blush)

Mary - So nice to know that Charlie is comfortable and productive in his surroundings, even though he has such dramatic memory loss - his situation should be a comfort to you.
I’m so glad that you have found happiness again, and still are watching out for Charlie. I think it’s unusually sweet, miraculous and wonderful.


June, Nan, Debby and Sandy N. - you figured out way before I did that Florida is an excellent place to spend some time during the winter. We have only gone for a month each year, but even that is so pleasant and rewarding. You are a bunch of smart cookies!

Margo - It sounds as though you have bounced back from double hip replacement in grand style - what a trooper! I don’t envy you those procedures, but I’ll bet you feel terrific now, right?

Donna - I love the way you talk about your “support” groups of friends. It really is important to stay connected and it sounds like you are super-connected with some really great people. Hooray for you.

Sandy M. - did you get your deck stained? Were your hands brown for a month afterwards? If you’re like me, you got more on yourself than on the deck.

Debby - Fifty-seven years ago, on February 2, 1952, Dick and I had our first date. I went to the dance with you, and Hermie Cox went with Dick. During the dance, Hermie asked if he could take you home from the dance. You said, "Well, I came with Nancy..." and Hermie said, "Well I came with Dick so let's all go together." So that's what we did. We had burgers and fries at what is now Round's, and they took us home. And that was the first date for Dick and me, and I think it was the last date for you and Herm!

Nola -It seems that our families are all affected in one way or another by the economic slow down.  I'm really sympathetic for people who have lost their positions - it's a bad time to look for a job.  Our daughter Jana had her position eliminated and is now at loose ends.  She got a good severance package, but she is single and worries about the future, as we are all worrying for her. She lives in Washington, D.C., right in the District. I’m hoping she can get a job with the Obama Administration. I’m wishing for the best outcomes for all of our SLG kids who are in the same  boat. Good luck to you and yours - don’t lie awake nights - it doesn’t help at all!

Betty - I know you didn’t have time to write much - you had quite an influx of friends and family! Maybe we can hear all about it next time, even with pictures!

Nan - Now we know why Florida is so attractive to so many Michiganders! I know you’re having a great time down there right this minute, while Dick is out snow-blowing the driveway! That climate down there is one of life’s major pleasures.

Dick and I are in fairly good health.  We have creaky joints and crampy muscles, but we're still using our original knees and hips :)   It's wonderful that medical people can fix up almost any problem these days.  My brother has had double hip replacement, as have other friends of ours.  I sincerely hope that all of you are aging as comfortably as possible.  Our doctor keeps telling us that we have gray hair disease - which means that we're not getting any younger!

From Toasty to Frosty in Three Days

After three days of super intensive driving, we have finally arrived at home sweet home. It was a memorable trip for several reasons.

We left on Jan. 2, and it seems that every Florida visitor from the Eastern Seaboard also left on Jan. 2. The entire State of Georgia was totally clogged all along northbound I-95. I mean totally clogged. There were long periods of time when we were at a complete standstill, followed by being able to move for a while at 25-35 mph. We saw license plates from every eastern State and Province, with the exception of Connecticut and New Brunswick. If they were there we didn't see them.

We left Laurie's house at 9 a.m., and planned to spend 8 hours on the road, stopping in Columbia, SC. The reality was that we spent 11 hours on the road - way too long for rational humans. It was a stressful, tiring day.

Saturday morning we were back on the road by 8 a.m. We had awakened to dense fog advisories. For a while it wasn't too bad, but in the mountains, the fog was very dense indeed. At times visibility was severely limited. I was relieved to see that there were fewer eighteen-wheelers sharing this leg of the trip with us. Mountain driving, rain and fog were enough to deal with. Even with all of that nasty weather going on, it's clear to me that North Carolina is the prettiest state that we drove through. The mountains and valleys, rock outcroppings, and broad vistas were beautiful - even though the sun never came out. We got to our motel in Monroe, Ohio around 5 p.m.

This morning, Sunday, Jan. 4, we woke up to dire predictions of sleet and freezing rain in Michigan. We wanted an early start, and were back in the saddle at 6:30 a.m. Driving north through Ohio, it was just rainy and overcast. As soon as we could, we tuned in WJR and WWJ in Detroit. They were all talking about freezing rain in the area. Part of I-75 near Birch Run had been closed because of icy conditions. Drivers were reporting multiple spin-outs on US 23 at Brighton and also near Dundee. And so on, and so on. Fortunately, by the time we got there, the roads were not too bad - we saw salt trucks, traffic was light, and temps were above freezing. It was unnerving to see 4 ambulances flashing past on eastbound I-94 as we were heading west.
The rest of the trip was blessedly uneventful, and we are thankful to be home.

Whitehall

Henry Flagler was a Florida pioneer and developer. Along with John D. Rockefeller, he was one of the founders of Standard Oil.

Mr. Flagler established eight luxurious hotels, including the Breakers. He also developed Jonathan Dickinson State Park and the Florida East Coast Railroad. He is credited with making Florida a haven for tourists and foreign visitors. He named his Florida home Whitehall, and lived there just six weeks out of the year!

Today we went to visit Whitehall and to marvel at its beauty and opulence. The art work alone is worth the price of admission. We opted for the handheld audio tour, and it was very well done. Dylan was fascinated with the entire adventure and never tired of listening to all of the details. I enjoyed watching him as well as looking at all of the fabulous rooms. We loved the whole experience.

Mr. Flagler's formal dining room


We're all listening to the story of the Grand Hall - the largest room in the mansion.


One of the fantastic Christmas trees - this one was decorated with an animal theme. There were animal cracker boxes hanging on it as ornaments.


Drove back to Stuart afterwards for an early dinner at Shrimpers on Manatee Pocket.

Another great Florida day!

Loxahatchee River

Tom, Dick and all of the Gillespies went canoeing on the Loxahatchee River from River Bend Park to Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

The trip took a total of four hours, including a lunch stop at Trapper Nelson's for yummy PB&J sandwiches.

Dylan sat in the middle of Chip and Laurie's canoe, and I'm not sure, but I think that Dick and Laurie were racing to see who could finish first!

The scenery was a highlight with dense foliage, cypress knees and the jungle-ish surroundings with narrow passageways. Dick was irritated by a group of Boy Scouts who had no idea what they were doing - just flailing around in the river with no instruction or direction.

Dylan's favorite part was ramming the log and getting stuck. I guess getting unstuck was a ton of fun!

In Which the Whole Family Comes to Florida

I love to watch the ocean. The waves come ashore with so much force, and there's always a strong wind. There is forceful energy all around.

The Summerfield neighborhood sandhill cranes.


Wait a second! Aren't these caches supposed to be on public property??


Dylan turned eleven years old on December 17. The kids went to play laser tag for his birthday party. Afterwards, they had pizza, ice cream and cake and presents. I think they all had a super time - and the laser tag really wore them out.


Dylan transforms Uncle Tom into a reindeer.

Dining room tables are good for more than dining.

More caching


M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S










Dylan got new parts for his Battleground game. He and his Dad are checking it out.

Here's a good Battleground set-up

Dylan is ready to win


The day after Christmas Dick and I went geocaching and met everyone for lunch at Duffy's of downtown Stuart. Then we were all off to see the ocean and play on the beach. It was a very windy day, and the temperature was really nice - moderate. The beach we went to is right next to the House of Refuge. Dylan says that this beach gives Florida beaches a bad name because it's rocky and full of shells - but I thought it was wonderful and beautiful, and Dylan enjoyed the tunnel he found in the rocks!

Cacheapalooza !!

Laurie, Chip and Dylan are camping for the weekend with the Pratt family at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the location of Cacheapalooza 3.

Last night, Dick volunteered to deliver pizza to them after they got their tent set up. Chip had a campfire going - it was a blast from the past. How many campfires have we sat around in the past 50 years...but I don't think we ever had pizza delivered to the campsite! It was good pizza, too, Hobe Sound Pizza. The Pratts weren't there yet - their son was walking in the Stuart Christmas Parade with his Boy Scout group.

We had breakfast at Perkins, and wandered into the park around 11 a.m. to spend the day caching and enjoying the events.

Laurie fixed lunch for us, so then we were ready to do some caching along one of the bike paths.


PB&J at site 113
I think that 7 or 8 were found. I walked with them for a distance, and then Dick picked me up and dropped me off at the pavilion while they continued caching for another 2 or 2 and a half hours. Luckily, I had a good book to read, lots of interesting people to watch, and friends there from Michigan. I was quietly reading my book when I heard "Basswood Bend! What are you doing here? It was Trippy, who lives in Florida now. We really enjoyed talking on and off during the afternoon. I also had a chance to meet Jellyfish, another Michigander. Nurse Nana had told me that he would be there and that I should look him up. No problem! Trippy and Jellyfish were caching together.

The potluck dinner was scheduled to begin at 5:30, and by 4:45 people were beginning to congregate and it got harder and harder to save a table for everyone!

Finally, my guys showed up and I was relieved! Pratts sat with us too, and they set up chairs at the end of our table.

The raffle started right after dinner, and Dick and I won a prize (mouse pad that says I'd rather be caching, and some Cachepaloooza pathtags) and Sharkie Crew (Laurie's family) won two prizes - just small stuff this year.

Everybody left shortly thereafter - Dick and I were certainly ready to go home, and Gillespies and Pratts were ready to go back to their tents. It was a very full day for everyone.

Cache logs by Dick for 14 Caches!! Woo Woo!

2008 You attended CACHEAPALOOZA 3 (Event Cache)
This was our first Cacheapalooza and we had an enjoyable, active day. We want to thank all the folks who invested their time, energy, cache and cash to put on this spectacular. We enjoyed our conversations with Florida cachers and it was fun to travel 1500 miles south and to meet up with fellow Michigan Geocacher Organization members Jelly Fish and cache reviewer extraordinaire, Trippy.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Running Bare (Multi-cache)
On our first Cacheapalozza excursion, we tagged along with the splatt pirates and the sharkie crew to find some caches. Caching with pre-teens is a different ball game, nuff said. Thanks for the fun.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #8
After lunch, we teamed up with the sharkie crew for a stroll along the bike path. Thanks for the series.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #7 (Traditional Cache)
We started with 8 and walked the trail. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #6 (Traditional Cache)
this one turned out to be more of a challenge for us than I'm sure the owner expected. Five sets of eyes were searching high and low. After introducing my pale northern legs to the joy of the Saw Palmetto, the cache was found. Thanks for the laughs.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #5 (Traditional Cache)
Another find with the sharkies. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #4 (Traditional Cache)
We teamed with the three members of the sharkie crew to stroll part of the bike path. About the time we got here, the energy level had dissipated for one of the team and the siren call of the pavilion was heard. Thanks for the fun.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #3 (Traditional Cache)
OK, just one more. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Gators R Us (Traditional Cache) [visit log]
On our way to work the spectrum series, we stopped to check out the fauna and grab a cache while we were at it. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Red (Traditional Cache)
We teamed up with sharkie crew and splatt pirates to work this series. We started with this one, a short walk on a nice trail, easy find and the next one not far away. Thanks for the fun.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Orange (Traditional Cache)
With sharkie crew and splatt pirates we attempted to find a trail/path.opening from Red. As a northerner who left temps in the teens and a foot of the white stuff, it grinds me to wear jeans in such fantastic weather but thankfully, I yielded to the warnings. Bushwacking in Florida is a different experience. Got to 350 feet from this side and decided the approach would be better from the other side.
We retreated to the RR tracks and found a couple of game trails that appeared to go in the right direction. The pre-teens were left with a minder while the adults stared resolutely at their arrows and plunged ahead. Following the game trails when we could, forcing our way through the bush when we had to, we made our way to the cache. It was quite an adventure.
With so many cacher's out the past couple of days, it was a surprise to us that there was the hand writing of only two other people in the book. We added our names and found our way back to the tracks wondering what other treats were in store for us.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Yellow (Traditional Cache)
Continuing on our quest we found this one readily. After Orange, almost anything else would seem like a park and grab. Thanks for the effort and imagination that went into this series.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Green (Traditional Cache)
Continuing our quest for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We are impressed with the way the theme is carried out in the cache contents. Thanks for the hunt.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Blue (Traditional Cache)
Here we come, teamed with the sharkie crew and splatt pirates we are closing in on the end of our quest. Unfortunately, the pre-teens are getting cranky and the post teens are getting hungry. We grab the code and push on, only one color to go.

Castle Pines Place

Today is move-in day for our home away from home in the Summerfield neighborhood of Stuart, Florida. Dick took pictures of everything before we had a chance to mess things up!
Our home away from home:


Dining area


Living room/sitting area:


The Entry!


Our home in Stuart:


Small bedroom:


Master Bath:


Master Bedroom:


Pool area:


Our cool (literally) pool:


It also has a nice garage, laundry room, and a nice neighborhood. I think we should have a great month.

Kooky Colloids

The area that Dylan chose to experiment with for his science fair project was colloids/non-Newtonian fluids. His original title was Kooky Colloids, but his final title was Ketchup: Thick or Thin.

The entire project is due tomorrow, complete with Report, Log Book, Abstract, Photographs, Data and Results. He has everything done - it just needs to be printed out, mounted and pasted onto the display board, and his log book and Abstract need to be organized and put in report covers.

The display board as a work in progress:


Dylan polishing up his Abstract:


Laurie is cutting, Dylan is gluing, I am supervising, Dick is preserving everything for posterity!


The Finished Product, complete with Report and Log Book in report covers, and one proud scientist!

In Which We Celebrate a Florida Thanksgiving

Chip working on dinner preparations.

Mary Lou and I watching everybody else work!

Laurie made a kids' playground in the backyard hoping that they would play outside - and they really did stay outside most of the day!

Laurie monitoring dinner.

Andrew and Blake

Laurie keeps her eye on everything.

Chip takes over as the master carver!

Laurie is on top of things!

Master carver with the other turkey.
Lisa and I having friendly chat.

Is he doing it right?

Everybody's honorary Grandpa.
Laurie set a beautiful table! There were 15 of us for dinner - Bob, Andi, Laynie, Ty, Lisa, Andrew, Kyle, Jessica, Blake, Andi's neighbor Mary Lou, Laurie, Chip, Dylan and us.

The kids enjoyed eating at the kids' table.
After dinner and clean up it was time for volleyball! Nobody won! Bob, Mary Lou and I are way back in the peanut gallery.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Gobble gobble gobble!

In Which We Spend the Day on the Relentless Race Track

An early start seemed to be a good idea. The plan was to get through downtown Atlanta before the rush hour. Well...I think rush hour has no start or finish in Atlanta. We left the motel and were driving through Atlanta at 6:30 a.m., and it was bumper to bumper at 70 mph. What a rat race. But I must say that downtown Atlanta is beautiful in the dark - it was all lighted up - spectacular looking. Dick couldn't really appreciate it because he definitely had to keep his eyes on the road!

South Georgia is remembered for cotton fields, pecan trees and road construction. Next year we'll have a brand new road.

At Ashburn we pulled off for beverages. Did you know that Ashburn is the home of the National Fire Ant Festival?

Arrived at Dylan's around 5 p.m.

In Which We Take a Most Bizarre Side Trip

Talked to Dylan this morning while he was on his way to school. We talked about pie, because today is Pie Day at Palm City Elementary. He had never heard of apple pie with cheese, or lemon meringue, or mince - but he does know about pumpkin pie with whipped cream. He's also very familiar with Key lime pie, being a genuine Florida boy. We were wondering why there is no Key orange pie or Key grapefruit pie!

At one point while passing through Kentucky on I-75, our Florida realtor called and said that she needs a cashier's check instead of a personal check this year. Banks are getting choosy about the validity and guarantees of the checks they accept and her office is choosy about not accepting credit cards because they don't trust the banks! (Strange world in which we live.)

Well, that's no problem. NUVI found a 5th/3rd bank only 16 miles away in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and she sent us down Kentucky State Highway 32. Well, let me tell you, this was the weirdest State Highway we've ever been on. It was a very narrow paved road with no stripes painted on, no guardrails on severe drop-offs, no shoulders, and curve after curve - some of them very sharp! We went through Sadieville and Connorsville. In downtown Sadieville there is a sharp right turn on the "highway" where the road is about as wide as a bike path. If someone would be coming in the other direction at the same time, it would be a sticky situation.

Finally, we pulled into Cynthiana - a very nice town with every amenity you could want - and there was the Fifth Third Bank as promised. It was a very friendly bank -the teller gave me the cashier's check efficiently, and never asked for any ID - go figure. The entire lobby was decorated with all kinds of Univ. of Kentucky stuff - pictures, pennants, flags, footballs, etc.

We filled up with gas, and stopped at McDnald's for beverages. In the McDonald's there were 21 men and me. The men were mostly senior citizens sitting around the tables and talking about their tobacco checks.

Previously we had seen a truck loaded tobacco, and on the way back to I-75 on a much better route, we saw many tobacco barns.

Near I-75 at Georgetown, KY there is a HUGE Toyota factory. I was so glad to see that American workers reallky are employed by Toyota - it soothes my conscience a bit because we bought a foreign car.

Entering Georgia we saw a lake which had lost a lot of water because of the drought - it looked like a lake on the moon might look. Spent the night in Marietta, Georgia.

In Which We Set Out in a Snowstorm

Left home in heavy, blowing snow to make our way to sunny Florida - what a contrast! It was really very slow going all the way to Cadillac, where we finally found some clear pavement.

We went down 127 (my new favorite route) and stopped at Papa John's Cider Mill for lunch. While we were inside, the snow started up again, and fell so heavily that when we came out everything was blanketed with fresh, wet snow. It continued snowy through Lansing, and from then on we had a wintry mix and then rain all the way to our first destination at Franklin, Ohio.

This was really a dismal day. We never saw the sun. We're one third of the way to Dylan's house.