Birthday Road Trip

Today is another beautiful day with blue sky and sunshine. There is still way too much snow for springtime. Lots of cache sites are not winter friendly, and we ran into 3 or 4 this morning that couldn't be done. We had a fantastic drive, though. On Green Road west of Alpena, we found a farm sawmill, where a man and a boy were making boards and posts. We watched them for quite a while. That cache was totally buried and frozen in the ground.

We went to look at the famous sinkholes, but it was just sight seeing - cache was under drifts and drifts of snow.

We found 3 caches in Rogers City - one quite by accident. Dick just happened to check his GPS to see if there were any in the area, and found one 44 feet away! That was at Quarry View.

Mother Nature was at her best and worst - the day continued full of sunshine. And then in Aloha Township, an eagle flew right across the road in front of us. That was closely followed by your dead skunk in the middle of the road. Do eagles eat skunks?

On the way home we found 2 caches in Indian River (the one on the bridge was my favorite), one in Wolverine, where Dick lost his cache bag, and a virtual cache in Onaway. We were home at 6 p.m., tired but happy.

Country Folks found Dick's cache bag on the road, and sent us an email. They're going to leave it with eb_ii in Gaylord and we can pick it up there. It's just a fanny pack, but it has our stamper in it.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Road Trip East

We left around 9 or 9:30 on a beautiful "Spring" day with blue skies and sunshine. Drove across the State - our first caching stop was in Mio at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Woods. This shrine is the most elaborate and strange I've ever seen (although I must admit I don't spend much time at shrines). See link above.

We had lunch at Harrisville at a place called "The Flour Garden". The food was really good, and the waitress was a character out of a bad novel.

Lake Huron was blue, blue, blue - absolutely beautiful. When we got to Alpena, Thunder Bay was blue, blue, blue as well. We were surprised at how much snow they had. It was especially deep in the woodsy areas - on one trail, Dick waded through snow over his boot tops. The cached was buried, but luckily he found it by poking around with his walking stick.

We stayed at the Best Western in Alpena, and ate dinner at Mr. D's Steakhouse which was right across the parking lot. I learned from a lady on a cell phone at the next table that we were eating at Best Western. Poor Mr. D.

We did a total of 7 caches - 3 in Alpena, 2 in Harrisville, and 2 in Mio. Our favorite was in downtown Alpena near a city park. The cache was hidden in an old pipe which had been sawed off at ground level. The container fit right down into the pipe and was really hard to see. We had to use the hint because it was so well concealed. The funny thing about it was that there were muggles taking continuous cigarette breaks behind the pizza shop across the alley. We had to be very stealthy and covert - at one time actually parking our car in front of the pipe so we could not be seen. Lord only knows what they thought we were doing. While we were twiddling our thumbs waiting for them to go inside, a delivery man delivered pizzas on three different trips. It took us a while. I think geo-cachers could work for the CIA. Maybe.

Tax Time

Today we sat down with all of the 2004 records and attempted to do the income taxes. God Bless the IRS. Not. We got a good start on it, and after we clear up a couple of things tomorrow, we should be finished.

I'm starting to do some research for the Kanitz Family Tree - it hasn't been updated for 25 years. I'm hoping to get everybody's information updated by next September. I've had 4 responses to my family email, and I'm optimistic.

State advanced in the tournament - they will play Duke next. Go Green. NC State beat Connecticut - the defending champions. That was a surprise!

We're taking a Birthday road trip - leaving tomorrow, spending the night in Alpena, and coming back on Tuesday.

Cache Spying

Leftover pancakes for breakfast - a rare treat. Unless Dylan is here, that is!

We went to visit Mother early today because a big snow storm was predicted, and we didn't want to get caught in it. She directed me in writing checks for her bills, and she wanted to sign the MESSA bill herself. She thinks that someone will notice that she's still able to sign checks. She's still OK, and still alert and on top of things.

We had so much fun today. We drove around to the new cache sites and watched for cachers. We saw lots of footprints in the snow! We saw various people at the F&M Park - nobody has found that one yet. I don't think anyone will until Dick decides to give a hint. It's so unique and complicated and different and hard to spot!

The NCAA tournament has had a lot of surprises. Nobody ever thought that Bucknell would beat Kansas, or that Vermont would beat Syracuse. My selections were way off, and I think I'm dead last in the bracket competition. The games have been really exciting. I had predicted that State would lose to Syracuse, but now I think they can beat Vermont. Good for State!

Corned beef and cabbage in the crockpot - a late Irish dinner.

Up and Running

The T.C. cache series is up and running. Cylops drove up from Warren, arriving at 1 a.m., to try to be first finder. He found 9 of the 12 and promises to come back. We ran into him at the Visitors Center. We went out to a late breakfast at Harbor Watch. I didn't order pancakes, because Dick promised to make pancakes for supper.

Basketball is getting crazier and crazier!

March Madness

It's time for college basketball again. U of M never had a chance to be in the tournament, so we're cheering for MSU and Illinois and the other Big Ten teams. It's really fun and entertaining, and there are always lots of upsets and "Cinderella" teams.

Kevin and Sharon have us all signed up in a tournament competition again this year. No money is involved - it's just for bragging rights. I think there are 15 of us competing - mostly Lue's family, plus John and Sue, Dick and me, and a couple of extra friends and relatives. It's always a hoot, and it adds a lot of fun to the tournament.

Dick's T.C. cache series was approved this evening by Rusty at MiGo. It will be very interesting to see whether anyone can find them all!

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Tweaking

We spent a good part of today checking out Dick's new series of caches in Traverse City parks. He only had to tweak one or two things - we were glad we double-checked everything. I think he'll release the series before the end of the week - what a lot of work it has been. The caches are all hidden, the pages are all created, and the coordinates are all accurate - so here we go! It's been fun getting it ready, now we'll see if anybody can find them all!

We visited Mother, and she actually agreed to walk with us down the hall (using her walker). She had never been in the dining room, and she thought it was quite nice. She now knows where the elevator is, and which room belongs to Mrs. Lather. (Mrs. Lather is the mother of Dave and Pauline, who are also TCHS class of '53). We had a good visit.

Dick cooked steaks on the grill in the middle of a snow storm. I'm not sure how much snow we had today, but it was quite a bit - now everything looks fresh and white again - it covered up the old dirty piles of snow, at least temporarily!

Save Your Money

It was Tuesday, cheap popcorn day, so Mary and I headed for the mall for lunch. We met at Jonathan B.'s - I hadn't been there before. I liked it - the food was good. I have to take responsibility for picking this movie - more's the pity. We saw "Because of Winn-Dixie". The preview looked cute, the trailer on the internet (see above) seemed interesting, but no. It's a waste of time, actually. The story was very disjointed and slow (I fell asleep in the middle of it), the characters and the setting were very weird. Jeff Daniels likes to do the weird things, like "Escanaba in Da Moonlight" and "Purple Rose of Cairo" - but this one missed the mark. Even the very attractive young girl and the talented dog couldn't save it. Save your money. Next time, Mary has to pick!

After the movie I went to see Mother. She's holding up very well. Then to the library.

It's Not That Easy Being Green

Party Animals at the NMG M&G for March 

Over the Rainbow

We had a super fun day. First, a phone call from Dylan telling us all about the Renaissance Festival he went to with Kyle, Lainie, and their families. He was most excited about his new "legendary sword". He was very impressed with the sword shopkeeper.

Then we were off to Grayling for the Over the Rainbow Northern Michigan Geocachers Meet and Greet at the Grayling Holiday Inn. On the way over, near Kalkaska, we saw a big fluffy healthy looking coyote run across the highway. We've seen scruffy coyotes before, but this one was buff!

Before the party, we found 3 easy caches in the Grayling area - it's always a good way to get to know an area better.

The Meet and Greet was fun as always - even better because this time there was a fantastic Sunday Brunch available - we were really impressed with the selection and variety. We sat at a table with Tim and Susie, Dick and Donna - and had a great time. Good company. Dick won the prize for best male "wearing o' the green", and I won a great looking game for Dylan in the raffle. It was our lucky day! (Even though we're not even close to being Irish!)

Afterwards, we went to Tim and Susie's cabin on the Manistee River, and had very enjoyable time with tea and conversation. It was such a pleasant way to end the afternoon, and the cabin is so welcoming.

On the way home we stopped in Kalkaska (noted for its cuisine) for a bite to eat, and got home around 7:30. We were feeling very mellow - it was a great day.

Green House

Today we very happily met M'Lynn at the Green House Cafe for lunch. Our ex-mayor Margaret was seated at the next table. She looks amazing - she's lost weight, and she had on a pink hat, long pink gloves, and pink boots. Quite an ensemble! We had a fun lunch - Margaret came over to our table because M'Lynn knows everybody. We made plans to work up some practice geo-caches for the folks at the Senior Center to do later in the Spring.

After lunch we went to visit Mom, balance the bank statement, write some checks, and visit. She finally has had her floor vacuumed. She seems fine.

Dump

Hey! It snowed this morning. For a change. It was quite a heavy snow, and Dick plowed out the entire south side of Grand Traverse County.
After it stopped, we went to the dump. Excuse me - we went to the East Bay Township Transfer Station.
On to Mother's house to change the furnace filter and pick up a couple of things.
Dropped in on Mother to deliver some items.
On to Sam's Club - always an adventure in good eating. As we were leaving, they were giving away free food - your choice of a roasted chicken or barbecued ribs. We took home some ribs. They're not nearly as good as Dick's ribs.
Dick made chili for supper.
It looks like the high point of the day was going to the dump.

Hitch

Today the weather was actually pretty decent, though cold. We do have another storm coming, but not until tonight. It's supposed to be lake effect snow.

This morning I went to Mother's house and picked up some blouses for her because Spring will eventually get here! Went to visit her and picked up her check to take to the bank, and paid some of her bills. We had a good visit.

Met neighbor Mary at Applebee's for lunch - very much fun - I haven't seen her since December. We went to see Will Smith in Hitch, and it was a really cute movie. It's one of those great two-star chick flicks that I like so much. Funny, clever, amusing, silly, relaxing, enjoyable - it was all those good things. I imagine that the film critics hate it.

I'm really proud of myself today because I figured out how to put my picture on my blogspot profile info. I already knew how to put pictures on the blog, but up until now, not in my profile. Dick told me what to do, and voila! It actually worked. Not a very big achievement in the scheme of things, but I'm proud anyway. OK so it's not the best picture of me, and I'll probably replace it with a better one sometime...but the point is, I figured out how to do it! Yaaay!

Snooooooooooooooow

I had a great agenda for today - lots of errands and tasks at Mother's house, and with Mother, and at the store, and shopping for cards and ribbons. But then Dick called from the Agency and said don't go because the roads had turned to ice and it was snowing and blowing. Phooey and double phooey. It put me into a blue funk of the most unusual kind for me. I was ready to walk out the door when he called. I was most seriously disappointed.

Tomorrow I have a date with my neighbor Mary to go to the movies. I hope the snow lets up by then.

Mother has finally received some forwarded mail (namely her Social Security check) so at least we know the system is working.

M'Lynn called with some very exciting ideas for caches in the city. She doesn't know how to think small. We're meeting her for lunch on Thursday.

Say No to Snow.

Lovely Drive

We took a great drive today - up to Elk Rapids and back. We ducked in to lots of side roads to see the houses by the water. It was really fun. We got some new ideas for caches in the Elk Rapids area, also. We found the Elk Rapids Public Schools - hadn't known where those were before. Looks like they have great facilities. It was a 2 iced teas and 2 large decafs drive.

This morning I did some proof reading for Dick, but he has done such a great job that there wasn't much for me to do.

Beef stew for supper. I tried the delayed time feature on the stove for the first time - worked like a champ.

Sunshine

Lovely day today. Temp is 40F, sky is blue, life is good.

Went grocery shopping in the morning - corned beef and cabbage in the slow cooker now.

I've been paying my bills online - it goes very fast once you've typed in all the info. I've only done 10 so far, but I'm already sold on it. Tom and Jana both recommended doing it.

We visited Mother this afternoon - she's really fine. She is being so well taken care of! She does have some complaints about the food, but that is totally normal. We brought her some library books and some pictures of the big Colorado ski trip.

Ethan Eric

Ethan Eric Snider was born at 12:05 p.m. Friday, March 4. He weighed 8lbs 2oz., and he is 21 inches long. Eric has been putting in long hours at the hospital. Tammy is doing well - her Mom and Dad are with her for a week, and then Jan and Bill will take over (the pros). So now Jan and Bill have four grandsons!

Went to the dentist this noon for prophylaxis (I love that word!) I missed my regular appointment last Tuesday because of the storm - so I had a different hygienist. I have to go back in April to have a minor chip repaired. It's always something.

Gas was $2.16 in town, but I got filled up for $2.03 on S. Airport Rd. I felt so proud of myself. They say that the price will be going up $.25 a gallon next week. Eek! They also say another storm system is coming next week. Double eek.

Welcome baby Ethan!

Greetings from the Frozen North

Yesterday I had an early appointment with the world's best doctor, and I got a really good report. I had every blood test known to modern man, and they all came out the best ever. So I'm feeling happy and peppy - now all I have to do is more diet and exercise. That's the story of my life. I'm certainly glad not to be sick.
Dick and I went to the Omelette Shoppe afterwards - it was lovely. We checked Mom's house for mail, and turned off the water heater. Dick came home and made soup, and then plowed us out. Again.

Today I spent most of my time running errands, paying bills, sending out change-of-address notices for Mother, shopping at Target and Thompson's, visiting with Mother and tying up loose ends. If you have any loose ends that need tying, I'm your girl.

We actually have loads of sunshine - it's beautiful! Two kayaks just went by on the river. I guess the foot of snow on the ground won't affect their trip until they try to get out! It's warmer today - it has zoomed all the way up to 25F. Not really my idea of kayaking weather.

Dick has been working for hours on his new series of caches in TC city parks. It's not easy, and he's really putting a lot of effort into it. It should all be ready soon. I keep teasing him that no one will ever be able to find any of these - I think they're quite hard!

I had a phone call this evening from Pauline Brigham Lather. It turns out that her mother-in-law is also at Concord Place. She saw Mom's name in the Concord Place newsletter and assumed it must be my Mom. It's quite interesting to me since Betty Pratt VanRiper's Mom lived here too before she passed away. I guess that Pauline, Betty and I are in the right age group for this sort of thing. We were all in the class of '53 at TCHS.

Here's a problem for you from Dylan's first grade homework: What shape has four straight lines and three vertices. Go ahead. Figure it out.

Need a hint?

It's not a geometric shape - it's a letter. Go for it. Welcome to First Grade.

Here's the snow on the railing of the upper deck, and a picture of our very cold river. 

Think It'll Snow?

We had snow on top of snow and then we had snow. Today the schools were closed, and I cancelled my dental appointment until Friday. The neighbor got out his big snow blower and cleared out the access road. We did run a couple of errands, but mostly we just stayed home. We have a foot of snow on the ground at the moment.