Friends

Our dear friends, Bill and Jan, Dennis and Chris drove up to see us this weekend.  Sniders arrived first, yesterday afternoon.  They couldn't believe how tall Dylan has gotten!  Isn't that always the way?

We spent most of the day chatting and reminiscing about old times and new times - family and friends.

 We got together with Dennis and Chris right around dinner time, and we all went to Boone's for dinner.  

Today all eight of us went to Round's for breakfast and we got a great table!  So much fun hearing everybody's stories and memories!

Afterwards we came out here to  the river - we checked out some of the samples that Laurie had brought home for the new condo.  Then we got out photo books and that caused a lot of entertaining conversation!  Dennis and Chris left for Brighton after a couple of hours.  It was so good of them to come up, and it was great to see them.  They have been dealing with problems caused by the renter who had been living in their house for 3 years - what a nightmare.  And Chris has to be in Gainesville by Tuesday to begin her new job at the University of Florida.

We were telling Sniders about how we were planning to drive Laurie and Dylan to Grand Rapids tomorrow to fly away.  They graciously offered to drive them down themselves in the morning!  How nice is that?

A marvelous time - old friends are the best.

Kitchen Choreography

This morning Laurie and I went shopping for counter tops, flooring and cabinets for our new condo.  (Yes, that Lone Tree condo which hasn't been started yet, but, oh well.)

At Kitchen Choreography we met with Erica, who works with our builder all of the time, and is familiar with the condos - spaces, sizes, etc.  She spent a lot of time with us and it was very much fun.  They allow you to take samples with you so that you can be sure of coordinating flooring and such.

For lunch we went to the Town Plaza on State St.  It was the perfect day to eat outside, and we had a very relaxing lunch.

Afterwards we went to Floor Covering Brokers and met with Deb.  She's another one who works with our builder and is super familiar with those condos.  It was so enjoyable to see what was available, and to coordinate with the samples from Kitchen Choreography.  Laurie loves doing that.  I had never shopped that way before, and I was very impressed.  And tired.

We went back home, and I opted for a rest.   Laurie went back out shopping.  She stopped at Nature's Edge, another Lone Tree supplier.  Laurie brought home more samples!

Bye Bye Chip

Chip packed up the pickup yesterday, and was ready to go this morning,  We all waved goodby, and another river summer has ended for Chip.  Bye bye.

Kayaking Day

Dylan is a real pro on the river.

Chip and Dylan helicoptering

I never realized that the train came this close to the water!  The train is called the U & BE  (Up and Back Empty)

Dunes Day

On top of Sleeping Bear

So much fun!

Somebody stole my hat!

At the Life Saving Station - Glen Haven

Waiting for the demo.

Goofballs don't fall far from the tree!

Dennos Day

We all enjoyed the Park art display at the Dennos today.  The wire sculptures were amazing.  I'm so glad that Laurie remembered to take pictures!

Wow

Just a little spooky!

Three art subjects arising out of the mist!

My favorite :)

We also enjoyed the Inuit display.  The parkas are amazingly beautiful.  I especially loved the carvings of the sea hunters which showed all of the netting, weapons and equipment the Inuit used out in the ocean hunting seals.

In the evening we were back at the Dennos in the Milliken Auditorium to see Catch Me if You Can, by Miracle Productions.  Such a very talented group!

Willie and Downtowm!

Our guys spent part of this day in glorious downtown Traverse City!  One great thing about GenFest is that you just never know who you'll run into!

Comparing T.C. Kilwin's to the one in Stuart!

Shelly with her favorite son :)

Some high class cousins/tourists from Florida, Kalamazoo and Texas!

Chip and Dylan with two T.C. landmarks - The State Theater and the Martinek's clock.

                                                             ***************

Munson Ultrasound was very crowded this morning.  I showed up for my eighth paracentesis with Candy the tech, and Dr. Gartland. This time they removed 7.5 liters of fluid, the most ever.  It seems odd to me, because I have cut down on fluids and I'm eating a low sodium diet...so wouldn't you think that the ascites would improve?  Guess not.

Anyway, my reward was Interlochen this evening...because it was Willie Nelson!!!  Oh, and Alison Krause and Union Station.  Alison was one of the opening acts, and she was splendid!  We both enjoyed her music very much.  She sang some old favorites (You Say It Best When You Say Nothing At All) and some new favorites, such as "I'm a Ghost in This House".  So enjoyable!

Of course Willie was the main attraction.  Since he is now 80 years old, he doesn't really sing the songs...he speaks them.  But he still plays a mean guitar.  He played one of my favorites, "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground".



Dick wanted him to play "Paul and Me", but he didn't this time.



It was a wonderful night at Interlochen.

Girls' Day Out

Cousins, a beautiful peninsula, perfect weather, a little wine tasting....what could be better?  Shelly and Laurie show California Amy the peninsula, the light house, and a couple of wineries.

Shelly and Amy

All three great cousins :)

GenFest 2014

The Peanut Gallery

All of Barb and Jim's grandchildren

Barb and Jim's entire family

Sharon and John's entire family

First, the Cherry Royale Parade :)

Our guys are parade ready :)

The best part of the whole parade - Dick walking with the Visitor Center folks.

At the cottage - kayaking to the island and back.

Tom and Deanna kayaked to the island too.

Tom and Deanna riverside :)

Thank you Sharon, John and all for another fantastic GenFest.

Tomson Dickery

Tom flew in this morning for Gen Fest.  Of course we were all happy to see him, but Dylan was especially excited.  Tom was able to catch a few winks on the "red eye", but he was able to take a nice nap this afternoon.

For dinner we had crock pot pork loin, and it was so good!

Tom's latest girlfriend Deanna didn't arrive until 10 p.m., so Dick and I decided to go to bed and meet her in the morning.

Arrival From the South!

Our Florida family pulled up in the big white pickup before 4:30 p.m.  They made really good time, and they said that their trip was an easy one this year.

I made a big pot of chili for dinner, so we were ready no matter what time they arrived.  The chili was yummy, and it was wonderful to have them all here again this summer.

Their beds are all ready, and for the first time, Dylan is sleeping on the sofa bed in the "playroom".  I'm so glad we have the room to do that.

A Lemony Day

First we dropped in on Ed.  It was good to see him - he has retired now, and seems relaxed and happy with his life.  We left some Don and Dawn memorabilia for him.  He may come to the cottage for GenFest, but made no guarantees.  He says that Ruth is now living in Arcadia, and they don't get together very often anymore.

Max's service came out, replaced the timer on the dryer, and it still wouldn't work. so the dryer has been officially declared a lemon.  Let me rephrase that - the dryer has been officially declared a LEMON!!!!  Our service man advised that the next step will be to deal with Home Depot to get the dryer replaced.

We went to do errands - East Bay Township to inform them that our river property has been sold and they need to adjust our summer taxes and bill the new owner, ORV permits for Chip and Dylan, and Home Depot.  I was not feeling particularly chipper, so I waited in the car all those times.  While I was waiting at home depot, one of the side effects of Nexavar struck with a vengeance - cramping.  Hands, arms, and back of thighs seemed to be the main targets.  I did manage to get out of the car - no fun - and then just remained standing and trying to relax while the cramping traveled around at will.
Now my body is a LEMON too !

On the bright side, Dick arranged for a new dryer to be delivered Wednesday, and they will pick up the lemony one.  Now we have to order the correct propane conversion kit, have someone come out and convert it, and install the dryer. Then maybe we'll be back in business.  We are not exactly dancing with glee at this time because we know several things can go wrong from now on, based on past experience.

By the time we got home the cramping had subsided a bit.  Today is Brooke's birthday, and we had been invited to dinner at the cottage at 6 p.m.  I didn't trust that cramping to stay subsided, so I opted out of all the fun, and convinced Dick that he should go anyway, which he reluctantly did.  And I'm glad, because he brought back a delicious cupcake for me.  Happy Birthday Brooke, and thanks for the cupcake!

We Visit NorthPorch

I wanted to go out for breakfast in a non-touristy environment.  Alas, Sparky's was full (Jerry and Lydia were there),  and Randy's was closed.  We went to Round's, and I have never seen it so crowded!  Unbelievable!  We actually sat on bar stools for breakfast!  But, as usual, the breakfast was worth both the long wait and the bar stool.

In the afternoon we went out to the cottage to see everybody.  Melissa, Autumn, Blake, Shelly, Chris and Drew were there, too, so we had a mini-reunion.  It's always great to see everybody.  It's especially fun to watch the littlest cousins enjoy each other so much.  It's a great group if I do say so myself.

Blue Angels !

John and Sharon have moved in to their rental on Long Lake.  Kevin, Amy, Maya and Ella are with them.  By the end of the week the entire Washington clan will be there together on Long Lake.  Their cottage is named NorthPorch.   And, most of the Steiger clan will be here together at the river.  That's how you can tell that it's almost GenFest time :)

This afternoon we went to watch the Blue Angels, albeit from afar!  We didn't want to battle the congestion and crowds, so we watched from our favorite ridge west of town.  We got good views of much of it, except for the low level aerobatics.  They flew right over our heads around eight times during the show, so we got to see them up close and personal.  Hearing the thunderous roar is half of the fun!

Long nap back at home, because we're going to Interlochen tonight.

The Capitol Steps performed at the Korson Auditorium.  We had excellent seats, and we laughed our heads off.  The performers are truly talented and versatile, and the whole thing was a real pleasure.

Summer Concerts: *JULY 2014 - Capitol Steps (8pm, Corson)

Location: Corson Auditorium

CAPITOL STEPSTaking a stab at anyone within reach of their verbal swords, these Washington insiders present sketches and parody songs based on current events – and the latest scandals from Capitol Hill – that will win everyone’s vote of approval.

Fourth of July

Cache, Munson, Futbol

Dick began his day with a fun walk and a challenging cache.  He really got his exercise!

07/01/2014	You found Candy Cane		Visit Log
When this cache popped up it was the closest to our home. I waited for someone to grab the FTF (another long story) and put it on the schedule. When we first retired, we walked these trails 2 - 3 times a week for anywhere from 2 - 4 miles. Sometimes we came together, sometimes I came solo. When we got into caching back in '03 it expanded our horizons and took us to other trail systems and places, some, that even as Traverse City natives, we had never before visited. As time passed and the hair got whiter, we find that caching is something that we do between Dr. appointments and for us to team up, the cache must be along a paved trail with a pick up spot within a quarter mile. Today's appointment is in the afternoon and so, leaving the better half curled up with her lap top, the Yellow Jeep and I drove up to get this cache. When I pulled into the parking lot, we were .3 of a mile from GZ. The morning's too nice, I need more of a walk than that! So The Jeep went on to the furthest lot, now we'll get in a good walk. Boy did I ever! Closed in to where the countdown was in feet, got down to 176 and then started back up. I realised that at the junction, I had taken the wrong path. No problem, I remembered that if I continued on toward the dam the trail the cache is on joins up with the one I was on and I wanted a good walk. I wound up a little over 1/2 mile past with a quarter mile climb up to level ground. Got to GZ and thanks to Churinga, spotted the location, signed the log and replaced as found. Thanks McPatt and Marebare for placing this cache and giving us another tale to tell. Hope to see you at one of our Meet and Greets. The next one CG57T9H is at another neat trail system with some fun caches.

In the afternoon we made another trip to Munson for the seventh paracentesis.  Could #7 be the lucky one?  That would be sweet!  Today the ultrasound techs were Cory and Jackie, and the doctor was Patrick Gartland.  He was excellent and did a marvelous job.  I actually didn't feel a thing - a totally pain free procedure.  Hooray!  My job was to try to relax - easier said than done!  5.2 liters.

Where shall we put the needle this time?

Now watching  FIFA - U.S. v Belgium.  Go Blue.  Oh wait....  wrong cheer :)

Last Day of June

If you had told me last October that by July 1, ground would still not be broken for our new condo, I might have just thrown in the towel and given up on it.  But, it hasn't, and I didn't.  And so we wait.  I think nothing will happen for two more weeks.  Don't hold your breath.

This afternoon I got my hair cut at BoTangles.  Christie is always so much fun to talk to - I really enjoyed it.  Then we dropped off the laundry at Eastfield - after all, it is Monday-Washday, and we still don't have a working dryer.

06/30/2014	You found Zillions of Fish at Kid's Creek Pond?		Visit Log
The better half of the BB team had an appointment at the beautiful shop this afternoon. So while she was getting trimmed and regaled with the latest drama in Christie's family life, I took the opportunity to wander down here and find this cache. This place has a lot of memories for us when we were kids. There was no highway here then. Division Street ended at 14th Street and this area was owned by the Oleson's. In this area there were ponds where they raised trout for their stores and where kids could sometime sneak in and catch some to take home. Enjoyed the walk, found the cache, signed the log, and put everything back where I found it. Thanks BirdsEye for placing and maintaining this cache.

Sunday in the Mall With Dick

Sunday in the Park With George
I don't know why.  It's just the way my mind works.

The weather today was totally unpredictable.  It would rain frogs for 10 minutes, and then the sun would come out.  And this happened two or three times!  So today our walk was in the mall.  I love walking in the mall.  The people watching is always great, and so is the window shopping.  And really, so is the real shopping!

06/29/2014	You will attend July Cachers Meet and Greet		Visit Log
We are planning on being there and we will bring some cookies or brownies, something with chocolate in it. We will try to bring Zoroan and the Sharkie Crew with us.
06/29/2014	You found January 1st		Visit Log
Well, although the time has expired, we are glad that the cache has not been archived. If it had been shut down in April, we would never have had a chance for it being snowbirds. The concept is great, we are in the process of fashioning a similar puzzle either for here or Florida. (Or both). Solved the puzzle about a week ago but weren't in the area until today. Thanks for the fun Goldfinch, both in solving the puzzle and finding the cache. It's worth a fav to us.

Outsmarted on the TART

Today we walked on the TART Trail near five mile road by Doug Murdick's.  It was hot (92F) but there was a nice breeze and occasional shade.  There is a very cool wooden bridge and walkway there.  There's a cache there too, but you couldn't prove it by us!

Downtown, the splash pad was jam packed with toddlers and their families - it's such a popular addition to Clinch Park.  There are usually more people around the pad than on the beach.

Today we mailed our first rent check to Realo Estato.  Thank you, Casey.

I'm a Hoofer!

Hey!  This morning we went over to this great park in Kingsley.  It has ball diamonds, disc golf, tennis, a couple of great playgrounds, a bathroom, and a nice paved walking trail.  I walked a quarter of a mile with my walker.  Well, it's better than nothing!  Dick went around three times, with weights on his wrists, a sore throat, and a cough.  He's a trooper.

Now he's off running errands in town and I am luxuriating on our deck - it's such a beautiful day.

This is me watching ducks and kayakers and playing on the computer!

Max's called - they will be out next Wednesday with some more new parts.  Nothing moves quickly.