Football Fan Stress Test

The day started off with Dick walking around town distributing Kerry literature for about 2 1/2 hours. He got some great exercise, and his walking partner was interesting. He's planning on doing it again Sunday and Monday.

We took delivery of a beautiful plant - big yellow mums with a huge blue bow - from Sue and John. Go Blue!

Somewhere around 10 a.m. our power went out. Tom Barker said that all of River Road was out. I worked on catalogs for a while, read my book, and thought about my wet clothes in the dryer. It got very dark and windy outside, and so to see my book better, I tried turning on the light - still no power. It finally came back on around 1 or 1:30. If it hadn't come on, we would have gone to a bar to watch the game.

At 3:30 we settled down to watch the Michigan - Michigan State football game. I wasn't worried too much because we are ranked, and the line was Michigan by 11. Well then the roller coaster ride started. State took complete control of the game. They controlled it for the first 3 quarters. The Michigan team was beaten at every turn. We here at home were beginning to feel like whipped puppies. I watched part of the third quarter with a bag over my head.

In the 4th quarter, with 8 minutes to go, I perked up. It was encouraging, but I still didn't expect to win. However... (this from mgoblue.com):

Braylon Edwards caught three touchdown passes, including the game-winner in the third overtime period, as the No. 12-ranked Michigan football team completed a remarkable comeback and defeated Michigan State 45-37 on Saturday, Oct. 30, in Michigan Stadium. Trailing 27-10 with 8:43 left in regulation, Michigan scored 17 points, with the help of two Edwards TD receptions, to send the game to overtime. The teams traded field goals in the first OT and touchdowns in the second before U-M stopped the Spartans in the third.

Yes that's right - 17 points in the last 8 minutes to tie it up. Overtime? How about 3 overtimes. Yes that's right - Three Overtimes. And MICHIGAN WON!! They actually won. Braylon said later it wasn't so much winning, it was more refusing to lose. We were too exhausted to really celebrate.

Poor Tom out in San Diego called us with 2:28 to go in the 4th quarter - his ABC had switched to the USC-Washington State game, and he wasn't able to see The Game. We talked him through to the end, and what an end it was!

The State quarterback had to leave with a shoulder injury, and that's always sad. But then again, Dowdell is not exactly a back-up quarterback. It reminded me of the game where State broke Jim Harbaugh's arm and went on to win. It's always heart-breaking.

State most likely really deserved to win this game. They played the best they could possibly play for as long as they possibly could. We really didn't play until half way through the 4th quarter. But MICHIGAN WON!! Thank you Braylon. Thank you Chad. This game is one for the books.

Sharon, John, Sue and John really had quite the football experience in our end zone seats! Spartan green and white Sharon sent this great letter. You almost feel like you were there:

Actually, I think we certainly got "your money's worth"! What a game! Although I wish the outcome would have been different (can we have those 5 minutes back in the 4th quarter?). It was an outstanding game to experience. What emotional highs and lows, and certainly from the Spartans side, so many "if only's." I think I am still a little heart broken this morning...but pleased with the way we hung in there even after Stanton went down...at least until 6 minutes to go. Then of course it became the Braylon Edwards show. I happen to be one of those that thinks that, especially after the 2nd overtime, you just say it is a tie because neither team deserved to lose that game. I thought the officiating was very bad (but equally bad to both sides). Both teams certainly left everything on the field. We missed you! It was fun visiting with Susan and John (but not the same without you). Susan's John is trying really hard to make Michigan his 3rd favorite team (but it is still a struggle)! Your friends in the stands were great even to John and I although when the score was 27-10 I think they were ready to blame it on you! I don't think I have ever seen The Big House so quiet for most of the game. The real explosion of noise finally came after the on side kick and then didn't let up until the end. Your friends in the stands encouraged us to "Beat Wisconsin" for them. I hope we can! I hope the Spartans can regroup since we have Ohio State next weekend and Stanton is expected to be out 2 to 3 weeks at least. I think Michigan is glad they have a bye week to recover. John and Susan parked by Molly's dorm and I think they were fine getting back to their car. Because I remembered when we went to the games with you how crazy the traffic patterns are after the games (one way streets, etc), and not being too familiar with the streets in Ann Arbor, John and I parked at Briarwood (Kensington Hotel) and took the bus shuttle in. It was great for us. Especially since (except for the few people that left when the score got the 27-10) everyone stayed for the whole game. What a mob scene leaving the stadium! We didn't have to wait more that 5 minutes for a bus and then we got right on 94 west at State Street. The line on State Street going to 94 east was very long. Susan and I thought a lot about you both during the game. We kept saying "D & N aren't happy right now" then Susan would say "her Mom and Dad must be very anxious now", etc. You certainly were missed, but your Go Blue vibes came through in the end. I think people will remember this game for a long time. Thanks so much for letting us experience it first hand!

My Dell is Back!

This morning we ran errands in town - mailed a birthday card, took shirts to Progress, went to drug store, etc., etc., and PICKED UP MY COMPUTER from the Computer Doctor. Then we had to go to Circuit City to get a USB port replicator and a Norton Anti-Virus 2005 upgrade. Now I'm ready to start shopping on the internet!! WooWoo!

This evening we went out to dinner at The Harbor Watch (buy one get one free) and had great salads. Then we went over to the UAW Hall for a meeting of Democratic Party volunteers for Election Day. I think we'll be runners (in the car) and Dick signed up to make phone calls. I must say that the Grand Traverse County Democratic Party is perhaps not the most highly organized you could find. In fact - well - it was a Chinese fire drill. Let's hope Election Day runs more smoothly. See you at the polls :)

MMAP Training

Dick had the quarterly all-day training today at the Agency. This is the fist time I didn't go with him. I haven't been working at the Agency for some time now, mainly for health reasons. Now that I'm feeling better, I've found that I'm in no hurry to return to the office. I gave him talking points for today, because I didn't want him going into any great detail of what we've been dealing with. So I asked him to just say that I'm a MMAP drop-out. I enjoyed it for 5 years, but now I'm moving on to other things. So I guess that worked, mostly.

I stayed home, read books, played computer games, went grocery shopping at Meijer, and just generally enjoyed myself.

Old Stomping Grounds

When you're a senior citizen, you keep winding up at a doctor's office or at Munson for tests. This time it was Dick. He had an esophogram this morning and it showed that he has no tumor or ulcer in his throat. Whew! So now it's up to the good doctor to figure out what the problem is.

Whenever we have a procedure at Munson, we end up going out to breakfast. I chose the Green House Cafe - I love that place! We're trying to stick to an Atkins type diet for several reasons, and it was hard not ordering the English muffin toast! But it was a fantastic breakfast.

Spent the afternoon looking through catalogs getting ideas for Christmas. I love ordering on the internet. I'll be getting my computer back from the Computer Doctor on Thursday morning, and then stand back!

Today is Tom's birthday! Happy Birthday Tom!

Soup of the Evening

For some reason, having soup for supper reminded me of Alice in Wonderland and the mock-turtle soup song. For the lyrics, go to:

http://ingeb.org/songs/beautifs.html

Thanks to Lewis Carroll. " Soo-oop of the evening, beautiful beautiful soup."

For an "exquisite rendering" of the song, go to:

http://www.soupsong.com/mocksong.html

In this case it was bean soup made with a hambone from Heavenly Ham. It was made by Chef Ricardo, and it was heavenly.


The Lions actually won today. It was a little flukey, but it was a W. (No, not that W)

We visited mother, balanced her check book, took out the trash, and did her recycling. And we took her some soooooop of the evening.

Sharon Vescio, one of our seatmates at the stadium, called to see how things went at the doctor in Ann Arbor. So she got the full story.

Interesting Week and Go Blue

It's been a whole week - seems like just a couple of days!
On Tuesday we drove down to Ann Arbor to consult with Dr. Grace Elta about gastro-enterological issues (my insides). She is renowned in her field, and she's also a Professor at U of M Med School. Dr. Elta was full of praise for the treatment I've been receiving in T.C. and she was very complimentary regarding Dr. Burke's report to her. It was all good. We liked her, and she liked us.

She feels that based on some low platelet counts in previous tests, the culprit could be my liver (NASH - non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis) which can cause bleeding in the intestines. (Go figure). So she suggests changing my blood pressure medication - prinivil (zestril) to tenormin (atenolol) because tenormin might be more helpful for the liver.

She also suggests a mild estrogen (birth control pill) which inhibits bleeding. It's interesting because this bleeding never showed up until after I stopped taking estrogen because of the national scare about it causing heart problems. So I stopped the estrogen and started bleeding. It's probably not that simple, but it's interesting.

So after talking to Dr. Burke we'll probably try the prescription changes for several months and see if there's improvement. If not, then we'll get more aggressive in checking out the liver.

It was a successful and worthwhile visit. I had some blood tests to check on liver function and current CBC (complete blood count). U of M Hospital is huge, but luckily there is a parking structure right next to the place we had to go (Pod A- Level 3 -Taubman Center)

We ate dinner Tuesday night at the Olive Garden (blast from the past). Spent the night at the Fairfield Inn. Wednesday morning we started a leisurely drive back to T.C. with geo-caching along the way. In all we did 7 caches on the way home. We came by an unusual route - brunch in Elsie (not kidding) at Tyler's Diner and dinner in Big Rapids at Bennigan's (a great place if you ever get the chance).

Eric sent me an exercise program specifically tailored for me - I'm so happy. I'm starting it on Monday.

Our new porch roof is finished and I think we'll be very happy with it. Dick will build a floor in the spring.

Well, Michigan has to play Purdue today in West Lafayette - it should be a battle of the titans. Go Blue.
State has a bye to prepare to play Michigan next week.

Somehow Michigan pulled this one out and won by a very narrow margin, 16-14. This from mgoblue.com:

Garrett Rivas booted a 35-yard field goal with 2:45 left in the game to lift the No. 13-ranked Michigan football team to a 16-14 victory over No. 12 Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 23, in West Lafayette, Ind. The U-M defense clinched the victory when, with Purdue driving, Ernest Shazor forced a fumble that was recovered by Leon Hall at the U-M 43-yard line. Michael Hart rushed 33 times for 206 yards, becoming the first Wolverine since 1990 to run for 200 yards in consecutive games, and caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne.

I'm hoping that our luck will hold for 3 more games!! Wouldn't it be fun to play Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl?

Rain, Rain, and Then Some Rain

Our day was brightened by the Michigan game, which Michigan finally decided to win after a dismal first half. This from mgoblue.com:

The No. 14-ranked Michigan football team scored 20 unanswered points to rebound from a seven-point halftime deficit and defeat Illinois 30-19 on Saturday, Oct. 16, in Champaign, Ill. Michael Hart turned in another workhorse effort, carrying the ball 40 times for 234 yards and U-M's final touchdown, while Chad Henne connected with Tyler Ecker for a touchdown through the air and scored the go-ahead TD on a two-yard quarterback draw. Scott McClintock had a pair of interceptions, including one that clinched the win.

Meanwhile, State was scalding Minnesota 51-17.

But it's still raining, it's windy, and all of the leaves are falling down like snow.


Dark and a little bit dreary.

We have to make our own sunshine today.

VisionInGTC

Dick spent the day at the visioning meeting (9-3).
http://www.visioningtc.com/

He'll have to write about what went on there.
I stayed home with the construction crew and the dishwasher repairman. We had a party. Well, maybe not. At least now we can use the dishwasher. A wire had burned out somehow.

We got a great picture in the mail - thank you Dylan. He drew a picture of our property with all the paths and everything. It's a masterpiece.

Oak Wood

Six cords of oak wood were delivered today by Lake Ann Hardwood (Mark Gabrick). It's all cut and split! Hooray!
Barkers came over so I could proof read some labels.

A-Kayaking We Will Go

Dick ran errands all morning - got his haircut, went shopping, etc, etc. I was at home doing laundry and washing all of the dishes that were in the dishwasher when it quit working. Yes, that's right - our fancy new Bosch dishwasher that we've had for just a little over a year, quit working. Max's Service said they would come out on Friday. So meanwhile we're hand-washing everything. It's like camping out in the kitchen !

The construction crew didn't show up until almost 11 a.m. - I was surprised. But they have a good start on our new porch roof, and I think we will love it when it's finished.

When Dick got home, he loaded up the kayak and we drove over to Torch River to get a cache that's out in the middle of the river. I kid you not. It's called the Torch River Paddle In. I think it took Dick about 5 minutes to go out there and back from the boat launch. It was another absolutely gorgeous fall day.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ec4c79d9-d5db-419e-ac38-ba61997e59cd

We decided to drive home by way of Elk Rapids. At the corner of Aarwood and Crystal Beach, Dick spotted the most spectacular wooden carved gatepost! It has a porcupine on top and a raccoon peeking out of a hole on the upright. It's almost hidden because it blends in so well with the background. We visited a couple of boat launches on Elk Lake to check them out for possible cache hiding purposes. Found at least one really good one.

We were too tired for debate watching. I watched Lost on TiVo, went to bed early and listened to the debate on the radio. Didn't learn anything new.

Back to Old Mission

There was a new cache placed North of the village of Old Mission, so after Dick talked to the crew chief on our construction project, off we went to find it. It was a gorgeous day - cool temps and warm sunshine. We hiked on a trail in a new park, and it was beautiful. The cache had 3 stages, and it was an interesting and enjoyable hide. We were the First Finders.

This is what Dick posted on the geocaching website:

October 12
What fun! You could drive back here when we were kids, haven't been back in many years. We loved the various methods of conveying the coordinates to the next stage. We found the cache with no trouble (After rereading the instructions and then following them.) and started a first finders dance but decided that it would be best if we dispensed with our arthritic efforts and replaced them with a simple "high five". We took the Blue Jays energizers, (Thanks, we needed that.) and left one of our Michigan quarters, (In a pinch, call for help.) the Lone Ranger, Tonto, and Scout, (In dire straits, they'll ride to the rescue) and Thumb Buddies Dream. (Give a man a fish ... ) Next we checked a TB in and out for some miles. We then signed and stamped the log and headed to the Grill for lunch. Thanks Blue Jays for a fun adventure.

Finished Blowout by Catherine Coulter, my new favorite author.

What a Squeaker!

Michigan was finally victorious but it wasn't easy. 27-24 (by the skin of our teeth)

This from mgoblue.com:
It didn't take freshmen Michael Hart and Chad Henne long to make a mark in the Little Brown Jug series. Hart rushed 35 times for 160 yards, a U-M freshman record, and one touchdown, and Henne was 33 of 49 passing for 328 yards and two TDs as the No. 14 Michigan football team earned a 27-24 comeback victory over No. 13 Minnesota on Saturday, Oct. 9, at Michigan Stadium. Henne completed 5 of 6 passes to march Michigan 87 yards for the deciding score with 1:57 to play, hitting Tyler Ecker for the 31-yard game-winning TD.

87 yards in less than 2 minutes - it was amazing. I almost couldn't watch because I was so afraid they would make a mistake! We love Tyler Ecker. Whew! State won big over Illinois, so it was a good football Saturday. Go Lions.

To celebrate, we went into town to mail some bills, and get coffee and iced tea.

Driving into town along US 31 North, we noticed that all of the motels had no vacancy signs - and even the smaller motels closer to town had no vacancies - is it the fall color, do you think?
Downtown Traverse City looked like the middle of July because of all the people out walking around. I don't know exactly what was going on, but people were swarming all up and down Front St. A lot of them were carrying shopping bags too - hooray.

At the Division St./Parkway intersection there were three police cars lined up behind a car that was being searched by an officer - we couldn't tell what was going on. Strange happenings.

We drove out to Old Mission Point because the cache that was out there has changed ownership and been moved, so naturally we had to go find it. It was easy. We couldn't believe how many people were out at Lighthouse Park - it was really a busy spot. It was a gorgeous day to be on the peninsula - the water was bluer than blue.

Tom called while we were on the way home. He was at a Porsche auto event - hoping to come in third. He's going out to dinner tonight with Kevin Washington - they'll have a great time. Tomorrow he and Todd are playing Fantasy Football with the Koss brothers. What a good old Belleville group is that!

Rain Followed by Rain, Brightened by Jana

Dick saw Dr. Nelson this morning to check his scratchy throat. He got a good report. The doctor said he couldn't see anything wrong, but just to doublecheck, Dick is scheduled for a procedure on Oct. 26 (Tom's birthday).


We went out to breakfast at The Harbor Watch, a new place out on West Bay Shore Drive. It's a nice looking new restaurant - it looks like a lighthouse. The food was excellent.

This was a good day to make veggie soup, read a good book, and play on the computer. It rained all day, and then at night we had a thunder storm.



Talked to Jana in the evening. CQ has won two prestigious awards, and she will be attending the awards ceremony in Hollywood. Jana's site was nominated for General Excellence. This is her award-winning site:
http://www.cq.com/corp/login.do;jsessionid=3FDB86CA91EF95C800CACB9E0148FADD.monhegan?jumpto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cq.com%2Fhome.do

Excerpt from announcement article:

LOS ANGELES -- The finalists for the fifth annual Online Journalism Awards (OJAs) were announced Thursday by the Online News Association (ONA) and the USC Annenberg School for Communication. The contest, which honors excellence in digital journalism, was judged by a team of distinguished journalists during a two-day event on the USC campus on Oct. 1 and 2.

The winners will be announced at the OJA Awards Banquet during the fifth national conference of the Online News Association, which will be held Nov. 12-13 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles.

"The finalists for this year's Online Journalism Awards represent the finest work being done in online news today," said Doug Feaver, President of the Online News Association and executive editor of Washingtonpost.com. "The finalists show us that online journalism is maturing. Sites large and small are learning how to tell compelling stories, cover the news, give advice and investigate wrongdoing through the use of text, audio, video and graphics brought together with increasingly creative designs."

Jana brightened up our rainy day!

Tear Off the Siding

The workers have arrived to re-insulate the house and build a porch roof. Today all they really did was to remove the siding, so the house looks like a tar paper shack. It may rain tomorrow, but the weather looks good for the next several days, so they should be able to make steady progress. The crew chief is a talker, very friendly. One of the crew is interested in buying Dad's old Pontiac.

During the summer, we left our John Deere at Classic Motor Sports to have the transmission repaired. We haven't heard anything from them, so Dick called - and they don't know where it is and they can't find a work order. This could get interesting! It's a good thing that we have the second tractor.

Finally got around to cutting back the flowers in the perennial garden. There's a lot more work to do out there. Some of the weeds are very healthy looking! And I need to rake out the leaves, too.

We drove into town for a look-see and to fill up the tank after yesterday's trip. There was another cruise ship in the bay - it's getting to be a regular occurrence. We saw it starting its way north on its way out. Driving home on River Road, it's apparent that fall is here. This weekend would be a good weekend for the dinner train to do a color tour.



Dick has been having a scratchy throat lately, and tomorrow morning he's going to see Dr. Nelson (ENT) to check it out.

Road Trip

Walters and Hemming showed up and declared there was nothing wrong with the furnace. He did clean up a few things, but didn't have to repair anything.

When he left, we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted, so we went on a remarkable road trip, lasting from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.! Of course we were out geo-caching. The adventure began at the Bottle House in Kaleva, and ended in the Manistee National Forest with six caches in all.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=d1c4c48e-a34e-4e60-84f6-c6cfb11b1dd1

We found two caches on High Bridge Road. It was an enjoyable drive through the National Forest. The North Country Trail winds around through that area, and one of the caches we found in the forest was right on the trail.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=4fd7da5c-78d7-4422-b51d-7a95be0019da

We ate lunch in Manistee at Four Forty West. It's a challenge driving through Manistee these days because the U.S.31 bridge is under construction and traffic is detoured through the town. The town is not designed for highway traffic, and the lines were horrendous.


So once we got through that, we decided to keep going and not try to return on 31. We found some great caches southwest of Manistee, and while we were there, we went down Sugar Grove Rd. to check out Bill and Jan's old cottage on Round Lake near Fountain. It brought back lots of good memories, and it looks great.
Ate dinner at the Hofbrau House in Interlochen - very nice as usual.

Off To See The Wizard

This morning Dick noticed that the furnace was coming on erratically. He researched the problem and decided to call for service. Walters and Hemming are coming tomorrow. In the meantime, the wood stove is doing a great job of keeping us cozy.

Mother and I went blithely off to see Dr. Auer, forgetting that it was an appointment for her annual physical. Oh well - she refused almost all of the exams except for stethoscope for heart and lungs.

We told the Doctor about her bad reaction to the neurontin 300 mg., so he gave us a new prescription for neurontin 100 mg. She didn't want to get it filled today, so it's filed away in her purse.

Mother is extremely short of breath and has lots of spells of dizziness. Dr. Auer's nurse (Brandi) put an oxygen test device on Mother's finger and took her for a short walk, and it revealed that her blood oxygen was very low. Brandi did an EKG, which showed little change from last year's results, so her heart is not the problem. Dr. Auer thinks it may be that Mom's lungs are not working properly. He said she needed a chest x-ray, and a test at Munson to determine lung function (using a peak flow meter). He recommended home oxygen to ease her shortness of breath. Mother's responses: chest x-ray - No; test at Munson - No; home oxygen - I don't want to do that. Dr. Auer put each recommendation on her computerized chart, followed by "politely declined".

Mother did agree to go to the lab for blood tests. He's testing for thyroid function, because of her sleepiness and for anemia because of her low oxygen level. She also got her flu shot.
She's a real trooper at the Doctor's office. I know it's hard for her to get around, but she won't hear of a wheelchair or a walker. She just leans on my arm and holds her head up. She weighed 105 and was 62 inches tall (both while wearing shoes).

So I guess things will go on as they are now indefinitely - she's happy just being at home. Dr. Auer told her to take it very easy, and don't bend over or do anything that might make her light-headed. We were there for 2 hours, and most of that time, Dr. Auer was with her. He is very considerate of her and talks about Dutch and I think she almost enjoys it!

In the evening we watched the Vice-Presidential debate. It was very absorbing and we watched every word for the full 90 minutes. We feel it was most likely a draw. We would have liked to hear Cheney explain Halliburton a bit more, and answer some of the charges Edwards made. For instance Cheney voted against Headstart and the Department of Education among other domestic issues when he was in Congress. This is shocking to me and I would have like to hear the explanation. I also thought it was alarming that he would back the President on the Constitutional amendment against gay marriage, even though he disagrees with it. Sometimes loyalty can be carried too far, especially if it goes against your personal beliefs.

Fall is Definitely Here At Last

Yesterday Dick built a fire in the wood stove and it felt so good. This morning he did it again, and I think our wood-burning season is definitely here. That wood fire feels terrific!
Dick spent the day at the Agency - had 2 appointments and a walk-in together with all the phone messages - he had a very busy day.
I went to the Let's Go Blue Shop to pick up the money from the Iowa tickets, and left the Minnesota and Northwestern tickets for them to sell. Dick has decided he's going to stay home with me and watch the rest of Michigan's season on TV.

I'm really sorry that we have to miss all the fun of the stadium, but I'm happy to have him stay home with me. Yesterday we sent State tickets to the Washingtons and the Lichtenbergs.
I drove down to the marina, intending to walk a bit on the TART, but it was so cold and windy that I changed my mind. The wind was out of the north, and the waves were crashing - a really chilly day.

TCL&P, NFL, and Mother

Life on River Road was extremely frustrating this morning: Dick was trying to use his computer; I was trying to watch something on TiVo (the end of Apprentice). Between 7:30 and 8:30, the power clicked off 8 times. It would come back on within 2 minutes or so, but the thing is - the computer has to reboot each time and go through all of the security features, etc., so it would just get back up and running, and the power would click off again. And as for the TiVo, it takes several minutes to power up also. So over and over again, we kept thinking - there - it's all fixed now...but no! I tried calling L&P to see if they were aware of what was happening, but the line was busy, so I guess they were aware. Finally it quit altogether for a while, and when it came back it was a brown-out situation, so Dick flicked the master switch to protect our motors.


Eventually we got back into total power and it's been OK since. Cheesh. Later in the day we went into town via Keystone Road, and there was a lot of equipment sitting around those new poles along the railroad track. Dick thinks that they switched off the power each time they connected a new line. He's probably right.

There was a lot of soccer-doccering going on at the TBAYS fields - they were only using the new end.

We watched some football - Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for a while and later, Denver and Tampa Bay. Football is fun. Tom Brady beat the Buffalo Bills 31-17. Brady hasn't lost in 53 weeks.



We went into see Mother - I took in some chili for her supper, and some cans of beef stew for later. She was in her drowsy mode - very weak, couldn't keep her eyes open, slurred speech- for most of the visit. She took a Neurontin last night, and I think that drug just wipes her out for hours and hours. It must be way too strong for her. Luckily we have a doctor appointment for her on Tuesday so I can check with her doctor to see if there's a smaller dosage, or if she could take just half a pill. I'm convinced that it's not her, it's the drug that causes this reaction. Dick removed the air conditioner, put away the hoses, turned off the outside water, changed the furnace filter, took out the trash and the recycling, and removed the plants from the dining room. Mother didn't want them any more. After we got home, I called her, and she seemed much better - more alert and more like her old self.

The Creamed and Crimson

In the morning Dick dug up all the bushes that he wants to save from in front of the house. The workers are coming sometime this week. I changed bed linens (scrubby scrubby) and went grocery shopping.

An older man in a kayak dumped in front of our riverside deck. The air temperature was around 54 - the water must have been chilly to say the least. I suggested we ask him if he wanted towels and cup of tea. But Dick went down and offered him the dry shirt off his back! The man had been wearing a sweatshirt, and he had taken it off, so Dick gave him the sweatshirt he was wearing. After the football game, when we were eating our chili, the man drove up and returned the shirt.

Then (ta-da) in the afternoon we watched football. First, Michigan State lost their game with Iowa by kind of a large margin. (38-16) But Michigan did much better against Indiana! (Whose colors are Cream and Crimson. I'm not kidding.)

This from mgoblue.com:

Two long kick returns and career-best days from Chad Henne and Braylon Edwards powered the No. 19-ranked Michigan football team to a 35-14 win at Indiana Saturday, Oct. 2, in Bloomington, Ind. Leon Hall returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown to put U-M up 14-7, and Grant Mason returned the opening kickoff of the second half 97 yards to set up Michael Hart's one-yard TD run. Henne competed 17 of 21 passes for 316 yards and three scores, and Edwards caught eight balls for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

It was a very nice, relaxing, fun game. Not really a nail-biter.

Happy October

Today it was my turn to go have a perm and a haircut. Hooray!

Then I picked up Mother, and we went to the bank and Tom's. She stayed in the car, and did not walk around. When we got back to her house, she was very weak and short of breath. She really hasn't felt like herself all week. Perhaps it's just a minor bug of some sort.

When I got home, Dick and I took a ride to Northport to find a geo-cache. We found it in a really nice park west of Northport, on a high hill. Then we went to North Country Gardens, the best gift shop in the universe. Bought several unique greeting cards, and some small items for Dylan.

It was a very pleasant day, and the weather was perfect.