Bag and Bo

The day began with a ride through town in the blustery snow to see the beautiful bay being ferocious.  The waves were really high, with winds from the north.  The sun came out at one point, turning the western shore of the bay a deep blue with whitecaps, while the right shore was cloudy, dark and snowing.

Jana's bag did not arrive with her last night, so a trip to the airport was next.  If you ever lose luggage at Cherry Capital Airport, look for the big man wearing an orange vest.  He knows everything.  The bag is now in the guest room.

Bo Tangles is my hair salon of choice, and Christi is my girl.  Today she gave Jana a fantastic haircut.  Christi really spent a lot of time to get it just right.  Thanks to her.

Cedar Run Eye Center was next.  Dick picked up new lenses for his glasses.  Now he sees everything clearly.

Errands are over, now we're back home.  We braved the blustery winds, icy roads and relentless lake effect snow and got home safely.   Steiger Grundy for supper.

Think Snow?

Still no word on the condo.

The weather is giving us waves and waves of lake effect snow.  This is the most snow we've had so far.  It's definitely more than a dusting!   These big picture windows are more enjoyable in the summer!

Today's football game was such a disappointment.  I wish they would get their act together, but so far, it's been pretty mediocre in my opinion.  Heaven help them.  Soon.

Seventeen-Point Iowa Second Half Haunts Wolverines in Defeat

11/23/2013 - Photo Gallery 
The Wolverines scored 21 first-half points -- on a Brennen Beyer pick-six and two Devin Gardner passing TDs -- but Iowa outscored U-M 17-0 in the second half to prevail, 24-21.

                                                

Goldfinch

While Dick was working at the Visitor Center, Mary F. called and invited us to dinner at Boone's tonight.  Yaaay!   Dinner with friends, and no cooking :)

Mary and Jay, the recently retired Goldfinches have moved to Interlochen from the Lansing area.  Mary is much closer to her family up here.

We had a luscious meal, good conversation, and an overall great time.  Thanks Mary and Jay.

No word yet on the condo.

Bittersweet

Our house is sold at last - it has been on the market for five months.
 The buyer has agreed to our changes to the agreement.

The best part is that closing will be June1, so we have a lot of breathing room to prepare.  Also, we'll have another spring and summer at Basswood Bend.

The worst part is that it's sad to think of not having our river property any more, but it has just gotten too big to take care of properly.

Still no word about the condo.  Fingers are crossed.

Big Day

1. The Gym

2. Breakfast at Sparky's

3. My appointment with Dr. Ruch, the oncologist

4. Dick's appointment for eye exam with Dr. Cizek
    We order new lenses.  Dick's eyes are dilated.

5. We meet with Beccy about our house.


Dr. Ruch leads me to believe that the recovery from the TACE procedure will not be as long as I thought it would be.  We may be able to head to Florida before Dec. 15th.  That made me happy.

Dick's eyes are fine.  He needs eye drops, and there's a change in vision - hence the new lenses.

At the Real Estate office, we signed the purchase agreement with the potential buyer.  We changed a couple of items in the contract - we want the use of the pole barn for a period after closing, we're not leaving as much equipment as we previously planned to, and we want to stay in the house until our condo is ready for occupancy.  Let's hope he will agree to all of that.

We're hoping to sign with Calabyr Homes for the condo we want to build at Lone Tree.  We've had one meeting with their agent Lynne.  Lynne and Beccy are working together on that project, but we haven't heard anything yet.  I hope we can finalize that soon.

Apache

Got a call from Mary B. wanting to set up a date for dinner together soon.  Today is the day!

  We chose the Apache Trout Grill because it's so great.  I was a little worried because there's often a long wait at Apache - but having the summer season over makes a big, big difference.  We didn't have to wait at all.

It was so much fun to catch up with them - it's been a long time.  Mary gets emotional about the river. She doesn't even want to visit because she misses her river home;  but I know they're happy at their new digs.  They look great, and we're very glad we had the chance to touch base before they leave for Florida.

Laurie's New Profile Photo

Laurie at a family wedding.

This picture popped up today on Laurie's Facebook page!

 I love it because she looks relaxed, happy and lovely.  Especially lovely :)

Thistle and Thread

What a great morning - breakfast at Bubba's, followed by the craft show at the Civic Center.

What fun!  So many beautiful and appealing items, and really most of them were reasonably priced, too.  I had a great time looking at everything - just walked around with a silly grin on my face the whole time.  I bought several items - some for the girls for Christmas, and even one thing for myself.

Now at home watching the football game - not so much fun so far, but as Dick says, I guess it's the best we can do.  Having a pathetic team was more tolerable back when we could blame The Coach Who Shall Not Be Named.  This year, we don't really know who to blame.

Jana's coming home next week!  I promised her a Thanksgiving Buffet at the Great Wolf Lodge, and now we have reservations for 12:30!  Yay!  I'll be truly thankful.

Thanksgiving Celebration

Take a holiday from cooking and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at Great Wolf Lodge. Our culinary chefs are preparing a feast filled with traditional mouthwatering favorites that will please the entire family.

Our Thanksgiving Buffet is open to the public and will be held Thursday, November 28, 2013 in Camp Critter Bar and Grille from 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Reservations are recommended, but walk-ins welcome based on availability. Please call 231.941.3600 or email azehner@greatwolf.com to make a reservation today.

Campus Day

Today was Lifelong Learning Campus Day at the NMC University Center.  It was a very enjoyable day for both of us.  You could sign up for three different sessions on a variety of subjects.  Dick and I did different classes for the first 2 sessions, and after lunch we were in the same class. 

Dick's first class was "Is Peace an Option?", a TED talk by Jack Segal.  Segal is a life long (40 years)  US diplomat who has served in several capacities.  Dick was very impressed with Segal - his knowledge and breadth of experience.  It turned out to be Dick's favorite of the day.

Is Peace an Option?

A TED Talk with Jack Segal

Join Jack Segal as he shares a portion of a new course

he’s developed to explore whether the military-industrial

complex that has taken hold since President Eisenhower’s

1961 warning can be brought under control.

Jack Segal served 40 years as a US diplomat, a member of

the National Security Council, and a senior official at NATO.

He has negotiated arms control agreements with Russia,

dealt with dictators in Belarus and Uzbekistan, and worked

on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

My first class was a breathtaking presentation by Mary Murphy, who told of her strenuous and demanding trip to northern Greenland last year.  She is an amazing woman, who dares to do amazing things!  I was spellbound for the entire period, and really wanted to hear more when it was all over.

Life on the Ice: Northwest Greenland

Travel 600 miles north of the farthest Northern point in

Alaska with Mary Murphy, retired R.N. and avid traveler.

Experience flying across the ice pulled by 13 Greenland

dogs; chasing seals with Inuit hunters; living on the ice

among glaciers, mountains and magnificent icebergs. En

-joy stories and scenery of her 12 days immersed into the

Inuit culture – a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

We were both a little less enchanted with our second choices.  Dick felt that his presenter was just trying to sell his book.  While the class title said "Civil War", I guess the Civil War was not really the subject of the presentation.

The Civil War—A Story behind the Story

Frank Slaughter, author of the Civil War historical novel

“Echoes of Distant Thunder”, will share some of the in

-teresting facts and stories he uncovered while doing re

-search for his book. His slide presentation and talk focus

on the life of a returning veteran in Northern Michigan

immediately following the Civil War and will include a

look at the local logging era.

Frank Slaughter is a gun corporal in the Battery D First Mich

-igan Light Artillery reenactor group and produces a weekly

show on IPR.

In my second class I was hoping to find out how to take care of my aging skin.  The doctor who gave the talk had a nice outline, and spoke continuously for the entire class, but her focus seemed to be more on general health and not just on skin issues.  She used a lot of statistics,  and got involved with questioners on topics that were not always of general interest.

Healthy Skin at Any Age

Skin, the body’s largest organ, is a great protector, sen

-sor, shield, and communicator. And it is largely under

appreciated—just skin. Learn what you need to know to

take better care of this organ and keep it functioning at

its best. Get updates on research and find out how to en

-hance the look of your skin as it ages.

Dr. Ann Kuenker, D.O., has worked in family practice for

over 20 years and currently works specifically with skin care,

aesthetic procedures, and wellness.

After a really nice box lunch. we both went to session 3,  Lighthouses of the Manitou Passage.  Stephanie Staley is a dynamic young woman with deep knowledge of the Great Lakes, lighthouses of the US east coast, and especially of the 104 Michigan lighthouses.  She had a charming teaching style - it was humorous, interesting, and enlightening (no pun intended)!  She has an impressive command of her subject matter, delivered in a light hearted way. We both enjoyed it to the max.

Lighthouses of the Manitou Passage

Explore the stories of the beacons of safety that guided

ships, crews, and cargo through the treacherous waters

of the Manitou Passage. Grand Traverse, South Fox, South

Manitou, and the North Manitou Shoal Light will be high

-lighted in this up-close look at the waters, navigation pat

-terns, and shipping that made the lighthouses an integral

part of our regional history.

Stef Staley is the Executive Director of the Grand Traverse

Lighthouse Museum

Lighthouse Museum.

So my first and last sessions were equal favorites of mine.  But if I had the chance to have dinner and spend some time with one of those presenters, I would pick Stephanie Staley.

 For his part, Dick said he would also pick Stephanie.  She charmed both of us!