Back to Normal

Did some errands in town - checked Mom's house, went grocery shopping, visited Mom. She seems content. Laurie sent her flowers, her neighbor came to visit - things are good.
Dick worked at the Agency and plowed out the whole driveway. We're under a winter storm warning - could see quite a bit of snow. Our neighbors are all home from their vacations, just in time for the biggest snow of the winter! Quite a switch from Florida to this.

MiGO Winter Social 2005

We just got home from the winter event in Alma. I'm practically almost totally wiped out...it was a long weekend.

The main event on Saturday was lots of fun - I've never done a poker run before, and it was really enjoyable. We didn't come close to winning but we had a good time. We met some new people - renewed friendships with others, and one new person - Steve - really freaked us out because of his resemblance to Tom. We were both doing double takes all day long. He looks like Tom, he moves like Tom, he dresses like Tom, he has mannerisms like Tom - it was very distracting. He sat next to me during dinner, and I found out that at least he's not a physicist! He manages an engineering firm and owns real estate.

Silent auctions are always fun - I tried, but bailed out on a couple of items. Everybody else liked the same items that I liked, so the bids went up fast.

We had a total of 8 finds for the weekend, and 3 dnfs (Did Not Find). For me the best part of the weekend was the Main Event minus the members meeting (I wasn't in the mood for a meeting). Another best part was the weather - it was really cold (10F), but the sky was a brilliant blue and there was lots of sunshine and not a cloud in sight...so beautiful. The worst part was that the Comfort Inn did not have cable internet access, and the AOL that we signed up for kept freezing up.

Talked to Mother just now. She had a very nice day - Fritz and Ruth came to visit, Jim called from Florida, and Mr. Petertyl from across the hall (age 101) came in to talk about the history of Milliken's. She sounded very pleased and she had a good night last night. We are shouting hallelujah!

Mother is Moved

We did it! Mother is quite tired out from the whole move, but she seems completely content with her accommodations. She loves her new chair, she thinks the people are all wonderful, and we are so relieved that she approves. I can't tell you how pleased I am at her reaction to the whole thing. She is being so brave and cooperative - and we are so lucky!
We're using Sharon's gift certificates to go out to dinner tonight - our own special treat! Thank you Sharon.

Sparkling Snow

At 6 a.m., we turned on the outside lights and looked out the window at the snow. It was sparkling like diamonds among the animal tracks. Bambis, Bunnies, and Bobcats, oh my.

Pre-GenFest 2005

Jana has come up with an absolutely spectacular idea for GenFest. We're going to have the Basswood Bend Film Festival, complete with popcorn machine and Oscars. Teams and topics will be chosen, video cameras will be used, and then we'll all get together to watch each others' creations! I'm getting excited, but since GenFest isn't until July 16th, I suppose it's too early to send out the invitations! Thanks Jana - it's a great idea. What would the genres be? Mystery, romance, adventure, superhero, comedy, cartoon, horror, suspense, what else?

Tomorrow is the big day for moving Mother. We have lists of our lists. We're going to make the big move in the afternoon. Shannon was a big help this morning - she helped mother pack her suitcase and personal items, made a list of things to do tomorrow, and offered her husband's help if Dick needs it for carrying the TV. Thanks, Shannon. Mother is remaining very stalwart. She needs lots of reassurance and repetition of what will happen, but she's brave and not causing any problems. I'm proud of her.

I, on the other hand, am a nervous wreck. Well, not really. But sort of.

Odette came through her surgery just fine. Roger was able to be with Doug during the procedure, which was great for both of them. Odie is on the morphine pump thingy and is trying very hard to follow all the directions. We're looking forward to another report soon.

Laurie, Chip and Dylan are stranded in the Denver airport. They are numbers 33, 34, and 35 on the standby list - not good at all. It's a combination of the All-Star game and Presidents Day weekend - things are really backed up in Denver. Tom flew home yesterday, plus he was ticketed - he has given up on standby. Chip had a hotel room reserved for tonight just in case - I can't wait to hear what happened.

George's Best Friend 

Moving Day = Wednesday

Mother can move into Concord Place on Wednesday. I'm so relieved, because Dick and I want to go away this weekend for two nights, and Mother will be all established in her new digs before we leave. Sometimes things do work out!

I spent the day with Mom going over all of her financial papers and accounts, and getting a grip on her net worth. She is sitting pretty and will be able to afford Concord Place for the next 14,000 years. Well, maybe not.

I called and cancelled the phone (SBC & AT&T), cancelled the cable TV, and had the address changed on the newspaper delivery. I called Integrity and told them we would no longer need home care.

Tomorrow Shannon will be there in the morning to help Mom get her things ready to pack - do the laundry, get down the suitcase, etc., etc. I will go in the afternoon to see what else needs to be done.

I went to the PO to get change of address forms, totally forgetting that it is President's Day. Happy President's Day!!

I went to Golden Fowler and bought Mom a new recliner/rocker for her new room. Whew. I've crossed quite a few things off my lists, but I'm sitting here thinking of new lists already.

Dick plowed out the entire driveway - no small feat - and he got a flat tire on his tractor, so he spent his afternoon getting the tire fixed. It's always something.

I can't imagine how Mother must feel with this big move almost upon her. I know I'm feeling quite adrenalized and edgy. I need to just chill.

This is the day of Odette's surgery. Our thoughts are with her.

Flickr

Happy Sunday. It snowed relentlessly all day - just a fine sifting so it didn't pile up very much, but it was continuously snowing the whole day. Overcast and gloomy too.
We went shopping for slippers for Mother - luckily we picked out the right kind! We picked up a supper for her at Applebee's Carside ToGo - very convenient and fast.
We did our usual trash and recycling, and had lots of conversation about the big move that's coming up. She keeps asking the same questions over and over again.

Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500. We're really not Nascar fans, but if we were, Jeff Gordon would be our man because of that little race car that Dylan used to have.

I found a site for sharing pictures called Flickr (link above). I posted a couple of pictures just to see how it works. It's a very versatile and useful site as far as I can see. What do you think?

On our mantel - on the right is the Point Betsie Light, center is Old Mission Point Light, and the picture is also the Old Mission Point Lighthouse. See? It fits right in with the new blog theme :) 

New Lighthouse Format

I'm sure you have noticed the new lighthouse template I'm using. Friends and family already know that we love lighthouses, judging by our mantel decorations! I'm so happy with this, and I hope you like it too. Click on the above title to see pictures of many of Michigan's 120 lighthouses, more than any other State.

Breakfast this morning with Whitard and family. We had a really nice visit - they are great people, and the children are well-behaved and delightful. Dick and Bill are really kindred spirits when it comes to geo-caching. They both love to put out puzzle caches which require the finder to solve impossible puzzles just to get the coordinates!

We had our first phone call from the skiiers in Breckenridge this evening. Dylan said he was standing by a restaurant buried in snow. It turns out that the restaurant was buried in snow, not Dylan! Today they went for a two hour hike and learned all about snow and avalanches. Then they all went tubing, which I guess is great fun. Laurie and Dylan decided to go have hot chocolate after tubing, while Chip and Tom went skiing. They are having such a good time. Dylan can't decide which is more fun - he's loving everything.

Soooooop

Mother and I are both a little perquackey this week - we're just a little pre-occupied with her moving to assisted living. She has lived in the same house and slept in the same bed since 1952 - that's 53 years! Her new room should be ready by the end of next week. I've notified Integrity and the Commission on Aging, and I have a call in to Shannon to make sure that everything gets cancelled as far as home services are concerned. Mother is mostly worried about her checking accounts and her mail, and making sure that everything gets taken care of. It will be a big big big change for her - but she's very brave, and she's really kind of looking forward to the move - I hope she's satisfied with the accommodations. I wish she could see it before she moves into it!

Odette has her surgery on Monday - she will be in the hospital for 3 days and then in a nursing home for a long period of recuperation and rehab. We wish her well - it doesn't sound the least bit pleasant.

Tomorrow we're meeting Whitard (Dr. Bill Muth) and his family for breakfast at the Omelette Shoppe. It will be fun to see the little girls.

Dick plowed out the whole neighborhood today - more snow predicted for Sunday. He also made his famous veggie soup today. Hooray. No bobcats today. Boo.

Jim and Emilie are leaving today for Florida. They'll be gone for two weeks. They're driving and making a couple of stops along the way.

This is a pair of bobcats we spotted by Dylan's playground on Wed., Feb. 16 at 10:30 a.m. We showed them live to Tom in California by way of the iSight camera on my laptop! 

Breckenridge

Laurie, Chip, and Dylan are headed for Colorado to go skiing. They're on an American 777, and Dylan said that it was very high tech - he has a TV by his seat. We had a teleconference with Tom on my new LAPTOP and while we were talking, we saw two bobcats outside the front window. They walked around the river side of the house, and over by Dylan's playground. Dick got a couple of good pictures from the computer room window.
Tom is heading for Colorado on Frontier Airlines to meet the Gillespies at Denver Stapleton Airport. They'll drive to Breckenridge together for a week of skiing. Sounds like a blast.
Dick is off to Petoskey to do some geocaching with Tim and Susie - it's a beautiful day for it.

Before the End of the Month

The Director of Concord Place says that Mother will have a room before the end of the month, perhaps sooner. Thirlby Clinic has faxed her medical records to the Director.

Happy Valentine's Day

I was taking it easy this morning - recuperating from the weekend. We were having an ice storm and schools were closed (Belleville would have had school today - they use salt on the roads). Dick decided to brave the ice and go in to work at the Agency.

I was just getting started on my "getting up" routine when I got a call from the Commission on Aging, asking me if I was the emergency contact for mother. It seems that the Commission cleaning lady was alarmed by Mother's condition and was worried about her. I rushed right in to check things out. Mother seemed about the same as she has been for the past couple of weeks. I think the cleaning lady hadn't seen Mother since her pneumonia and reaction to the anti-biotic.

I came prepared to call 911 and take her to the hospital, but what I did was prepare lunch and a cup of tea, and she seemed fine. We discussed assisted living again, and she wants to go there. She has no zest for living, no energy, and no desire to do anything. She does enjoy watching TV. We called Concord Place and the Director is going to call me tomorrow with an update concerning when a room will be available. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be soon.

The ice storm has ended, we had some melting - the roads were fine. But now it has frozen again and it's snowing quite hard. Snow is predicted for every day this week.

On a lighter note, I loved this paragraph sent to Dick by Dick Dokas:

A Succinct Summary of the Election

The Democrats' mistake was in thinking that a disastrous war, national
bankruptcy, erosion of liberties, corporate takeover of government,
environmental destruction, squandering our economic and moral leadership in the world, and systematic Administration lying would be of concern to the electorate.

The Republicans correctly saw that the chief concern of the electorate was to keep gay couples from having an abortion.

Northern Michigan Geocachers Meet and Greet

Wow. Up at 6 a.m. To the lobby for the excellent continental breakfast. Out geocaching until 1 p.m. when the event began. We found 10 caches before noon. The event was well attended - I'd say close to 40 people were there. We thought we came from far away, but there were several from Ann Arbor, Ypsi, Westland, etc. Left Oscoda around 4 o'clock and we were home before 7 p.m. I'm boo-zausted.

Oscoda Get-Away

This has been such a fun day - I guess I should begin at the beginning. Cleaned house until a little after ten, then we packed up the car for our trip to Oscoda for the Northern Michigan Geocachers Cache Lovers February Meet and Greet.

First we went shopping for a baby gift for a surprise baby shower at the Meet and Greet. Then out to Big Boy for lunch, and to order two take-out meals for Mother - one for today and one for tomorrow. At Mom's we did all of the usual things - took out the trash, balanced the check book, and sat with her while she ate her seafood platter - and she ate the whole thing! Took her one of our small saucepans to replace the one she burned, and a cheat sheet with phone numbers of every one she could call if she needed anything while we're out of town.

Beautiful day for a drive - I missed part of it during my great nap! We did 4 caches in the afternoon as we neared Oscoda. We haven't ever spent much time on this side of the State, so there are lots of caches to discover.

Oscoda seems like a very lucky town - not only is it on the AuSable River, but it also sits right on the shore of Lake Huron. Totally beautiful. It's a really small town, though, and it doesn't have a nice downtown area such as T.C. has. The AmericInn is very nice, and it was fun because when we checked in there was a child's birthday party going on in the pool - sounded like a great time!

The desk clerk recommended Tait's Bill of Fare as a good place to go for dinner - and we loved it! They had a great menu, and although the restaurant was very busy on this Saturday night, we had our own little private three-sided room- no kidding - just like on the set of Hello Dolly.

The motel has high speed internet access, so I am writing this on my new LAPTOP in the motel room. We are so cool we can't stand ourselves!

Swiffer Plus

Things I love in the category of house cleaning supplies:

1. Roomba the robot vacuum

2. Anything Swiffer, especially the Swiffer duster

3. Windex wipes for mirrors and kitchen appliances as well as windows

4. Bounce, the world's best dryer sheet

5. Barkeeper's Friend, the world's best scouring powder - depps the stainless steel
sink shiny and beautiful

6. Cottenelle wipes for the original purpose but also great for wiping down the
Roomba when it's dusty from vacuuming, and for wiping the salty snow marks
from my winter boots

Where were these things back when I had a family of five, three kids, a dog, 2 cats and a full-time job?!?

Caching in CattleTrack 

Caching in CattleTrack

Two out of the three times we've had breakfast at Frosty Cup in Cadillac during the last 2 weeks, it's been with DinoDuo. We met them at 10 a.m. and after fortifying ourselves with the famous #5, we were once again off to do some serious caching. It was a gorgeous day - bright blue sky, tons of sun, beautiful fluffy snow on the evergreens - it couldn't have been nicer. We found 3 caches with the Duo - I sat out the longest hike, but the other two were Nan-accessible.

Click on the title to see the geocache page that goes with the picture. Scroll down to see the Basswood Bend entry.

After finding 3 caches, DinoDuo went cross-country skiing, and we went looking for more. We found one at the Caberfae Overlook, and a really interesting virtual cache over by Bear Lake. It was the childhood home of Harriet Quimby, the first woman in the U.S. to get a pilot's license. Never heard of her before, but it was an interesting story on a historical marker.

It was 5 o'clock and we were hungry, so on the way home we stopped at the Roadhouse Mexican Bar and Grill on top of the hill in Benzonia. It's a very nice place and the food was good - I would go there again. I have to say that they do overcharge for beverages. I paid $3.00 for two cups of tea. Most places give you a free refill. But I would still go back.

We got home around 6:30 - what a great day! Life is good.

Brunch with Billy

Bill and Jan spent the night last night, and we had a great time. After everybody was up, Dick made breakfast (Chef Ricardo) and we had more great story swapping this morning. They left around 12:30 - it had snowed about 3 inches during the morning and Jan had to drive because of Bill's knee surgery.

Talked to Laurie about a date for GenFest - yes I guess it's time to start thinking about it. It will be in July sometime after the Cherry Festival.

Dick plowed out the entire driveway and access road - the snow was light and fluffy, but he got his tractor stuck anyway. You can do it if you really try!

Dick proposes meeting DinoDuo for breakfast in the morning and doing some more new caches put out by Frank&Peggy. Sounds like a good idea to me!

Pleasant Surprise

This morning Dick announced in a very disappointed tone that we have absolutely nothing on our calendar this week!

I said that I thought going to the movies would be a fun idea - especially since it's cheap popcorn day. Dick does not like movies, and never voluntarily goes unless it's Michael Moore or anything with Dylan. He asked me if I would feel "homeless" if he didn't go with me. I said Yeah, but I would go anyway. He said I'll go with you. You sit in the woods while I'm geocaching, so I can go to the movies with you...it's called teamwork! What a sweet thing to say! So we planned to go to the movies at 1:30.

Soon after we got a call from Bill and Jan who wondered if we would be home this afternoon. Dick was saved from his horrible fate of movie attendance by Sniders! And he still gets credit for being willing, and for being so sweet. He really made out!

They arrived around 1:15, we sat around spitting and chewing...(old family joke from a John Denver song - Grandma's Feather Bed - "After supper we'd sit around the fire, the old folks would spit and chew." You really had to grow up in our family to get it !)

To view the lyrics to Grandma's Feather Bed, use the link above. (Click on the title.)

Anyway, as it turned out, Jan and I went to the movies at 3:30. We saw "Wedding Date", which was a bit on the fluff side, but very enjoyable, cute, and funny. We really liked the 2 main characters - Debra Messing was really quite good, and Dermot Mulroney was dishy. It won't win any awards, but it was a fun afternoon. We met Bill and Dick at the Outback Steakhouse for dinner, and it was scrumptious. We watched Gilmore Girls and the Amazing Race before bedtime.

An unexpected, fun, pleasant day!

Today is Laurie's birthday - Happy Birthday Laurie!

Babies Galore!

Wow! We have 3 babies on the way - well not us exactly, but it's still exciting. Dan and Pam are expecting a son in May, they want to name him either Rylan or Luke. Eric and Tammy are expecting a son next month - could be named Ethan Eric. Reiko and Bob are expecting a baby in October, sex to be determined. She wants to name the baby Hunter, male or female.

Put in some time at the Library today - it was a pleasant day to be reading in our beautiful library. On Sunday afternoons, they have live piano music from the baby grand. It's most relaxing.

Visited Jim and Mother - all is well on that front today. I kind of feel like it's my day off!

Super Bowl is tonight - go Patriots! Go Tom!

Scott's Harbor Grill

We did some scouting around the city parks again to do some more figuring on Dick's new caches - these things don't just happen, you know...it takes a lot of planning, experimenting, figuring, and computer time. He's hoping to have it all finished by March 1. Or maybe even April 1...whichever. Along the way we had lunch at Scott's -they just happen to have the world's best grilled raspberry chicken and cashew salad. That's what I order every time. Dick had quesadilla, and that looked spectacular too.

At Mother's, we turned on the heat upstairs for Jim's visit, took out the trash, installed an armrest thingy on the john, watered the plants, did the dishes, and did various other small things for her in preparation for Jim's visit tomorrow. She is definitely accepting more help these days, which I interpret as that she's feeling more helpless herself.

Dylan's Activities

Dylan calls us every morning on his way to school, so we keep fairly current with what's up with him. Today we talked about his tennis lesson last night. He liked it, and he said it was fun. He has the same coach that he had last year, and that's a good thing. His weekly activities are: Monday, tae kwan do; Tuesday, Kids' Crew (church) and tennis; Friday, tae kwan do again. It's so much fun to talk with him - he is quite the story-teller - I have to keep telling him he's full of baloney. That's my job. When Laurie dropped him off, she said he was skipping into the school - he's a happy boy. Chip is away at training, so Laurie and Dylan are keeping busy.

Today was an ordinary day - laundry and Roomba. Dick was busy working on the new city park caches he's planning. He has a ton of coordinates to record and double check.

Outside, it was not ordinary. Our temperature got up to 50F! Most unusual for February. Dick and I went into town - went to the new Lowe's - I liked it much better than Home Depot. I thought that things were easier to find, well labeled and good signage throughout the store. I checked out their closet organizing section.

We cruised through town - the bay was beautiful - and had a nice ride. When we got home, Dick measured my closet so that when I go to Lowe's again, I'll know what size of closet organizer I need. Hooray!

Odette is scheduled for back surgery at Beaumont Hospital on Monday, Feb. 21. We're hoping that this surgery will make her feel like new again.

Concord Place (?)

Today I spent most of my time and energy with Mother issues. She has been getting weaker and more unstable daily. Shannon was with her in the morning, and fixed dinner in the crockpot and made her a sandwich for lunch. I got there right after Shannon left, and we sat and talked for a long time.

Mother's not feeling at all steady, and uses the walker everywhere in the house. She had eaten lunch in her chair, and asked me to take care of her dishes - this doesn't sound like much unless you know Mother. She doesn't want me to do anything for her ordinarily - so it's unusual that she asks a favor. We discussed that maybe soon she will no longer be able to stay in her own home - she may need assisted living. She mentioned Bortz - and I know they have an assisted living facility connected to their nursing home.

I was heading for the grocery store anyway, so she told me a few things she would like me to pick up for her. While I was out and about, I went over to Bortz, and asked for a tour of the assisted living section. I think it's really well-suited for Mother. The room is small, but furnished. It reminds me of a hotel room. It has a private bathroom, cable TV, phone, etc. I could picture Mother being comfortable there. It's called Concord Place. I put our names on the list so we will be notified when a vacancy occurs.

Off to the new Oleson's - for variety in shopping. Back to Mother's to deliver groceries and discuss Concord Place. It surprised me how receptive she was to the idea of moving there. I think that's an indicator of how lousy she feels. We talked about it for quite a while, and she got most of the facts straight - we discussed the price, and she actually said, "Well, that's not too bad." I was really stunned. It was SSA day, so I took her check to the bank and brought her back some cash - she is very frugal.

We decided to wait and see how she feels for the next week, now that she's off her anti-biotics and should be shaking the side-effects soon. (Dizziness) So right now I have to say that she is not doing well - she is becoming weaker and less mobile right before our eyes. It's really noticeable. I can't predict the future, but if she is this incapacitated permanently, I can't see leaving town, even though we have plans for 2 outings coming up this month - one for a weekend and one for an entire day. Sometimes it's hard to know what is the best thing to do. I get really conflicted. I think I'm secretly hoping that a vacancy will open up at Concord Place, and that she will be willing to move in. It would be a tremendous relief to us to have her in a place with 24 hour care. It's hard to admit that.

Jim called this evening and said he's coming up Sunday, staying Sunday night, and leaving on Monday. He'll do Mom's taxes. Hooray for Jim.

Sounds Good to Me

Well, wouldn't you just know it. We spent the day geocaching in Cadillac yesterday, and this morning we noticed there's a new cache right where we were yesterday! So, naturally, we had to go check it out, and we were the first finders! We ate breakfast at Frosty Cup again - 2 days in a row.

We used to like Frosty Cup better than anyplace, but the waitresses have changed, and the atmosphere has changed, and now we're thinking it's not really our favorite anymore. Stay tuned to find out the new favorite!

Back to T.C., we went to Sam's Club so Dick could stock up on olives. We also got water, and I got 2 new pillows and a paperback. We mailed Laurie's birthday card.

DinoDuo 

DinoDuo

We wanted to return the lost GPS to DinoDuo (Tim and Susie), so we arranged to meet them at our favorite breakfast spot, Frosty Cup in Cadillac. We had a long, leisurely breakfast. We have so much to talk about - geocaches we have found and experiences teaching - a never ending supply of great stories! As soon as someone tells a story it reminds someone else of another one. We could have sat there for a long time - well, OK, we did sit there for a long time!

After breakfast we all went out looking for the four new caches in the Cadillac area, all of them put out by Frank&Peggy. We found some new sig items, and got a good idea for how to store them (baseball card holders). It was a successful day - we found them all - 2 by Lake Mitchell, one by Lake Cadillac, and one by the cross country skiing paths. I got a great idea for a winter cache - a fake ice fishing shanty! Well, maybe not. We finished our mission around 2:30, and parted ways, with a promise to get together again in a couple of weeks.

Dick and I went into Traverse City to run a couple of errands. We went to the Camera Shop and Dick asked them what they do with the empty film containers after they develop film. It turns out that they save them for beggars like us! We know what we want them for, but we're not sure what other people want them for!

We wound up going out for an early dinner at La Senorita! Perfect end to a perfect day.