Now It's Empty

The Estate Sale was a huge success - only a couple of small tables and some very small items didn't sell. They are totally cleaning out the house today, and it will be empty now. (see link above) We'll get the results of the Estate Sale in approximately 2 weeks.

Our realtor has had an offer on the house which we think is too low, and today we plan to make a counter offer.

We're hoping to have some more interest generated by the Estate Sale. All of the flyers concerning the house were picked up.

Today (June 27) would have been Mom and Dad's 74th anniversary. Yesterday we attended the Concord Place Picnic. Mom used her walker and walked to the elevator and into the community room by herself. It was a very nice picnic - they actually cooked hot dogs and hamburgers out on the grill, so it was authentic. To be honest, these events are always slightly depressing to me - I have the feeling that everybody there, including the residents, would rather be somewhere else. Mother stayed downstairs for about an hour and then was ready to go back to her room. And so were we.

Mother seems to be glad to have the Estate Sale over with - she was interested to hear what I observed during the sale. She can't believe that people actually purchased some of those things - her bed, all of the dressers, the china cabinet, the dining room set, even the kitchen table - everything is gone. She doesn't seem the least bit emotional about it all - just interested. Now she wants to have the house sold. And so do we.

Second Day, Launch, & Power Island

I got up very early and boiled potatoes and eggs, chopped celery and onions getting ready to make potato salad for the Concord Place picnic tomorrow. I wanted to get everything ready because we have a busy day planned. So all of the ingredients are in the refrigerator and the potato salad is ready to be assembled - probably tomorrow morning.

I went in to town to watch the Estate Sale again. Today everything is 50% off, and it's much much cooler, so I think people will definitely have a more pleasant shopping experience. I was sitting there listening to the radio, and heard that the launching of the sloop Welcome was this morning - so I called Dick, and he came into town, and we went out to the coal dock to watch the launch.

There were historical re-enactors there. The soldiers were all dressed in 18th century British Army uniforms, carrying muskets and looking very spiffy. They were re-enacting the King's 8th regiment which was stationed at Fort Michilimackinac in the 1700s and whose soldiers manned the original Welcome. (See link above).

Two huge cranes lifted the vessel off its resting place, swung her around and lowered her into the water. When her hull entered the water, the regiment fired their muskets in unison as a salute. The Welcome's sister ship, the schooner Madeline, honked her horns and everybody cheered. (http://www.mhatc.net/photow.htm)

It was a fascinating event. We were glad we witnessed it. Those two vessels will look so lovely out on the bay. The Welcome still needs to have its main mast installed and most likely won't be sailing around until 2006.

I went back to watch the Estate Sale. Lights were on in the basement - Mother will notice the increase in her Light and Power bill - take my word for it. From where I was parked, I could see people inside the house through the big windows - I don't know why it was so interesting to me, but it was. Lots of ladies came out with blankets and bedding. One man carried out 3 huge boxes of who knows what! Another had one of Dad's power tools still in the original packaging. Once again, there were tons of people coming and going.

Dick's mission today was to take the pontoon boat to Power Island because there are two caches there. He had previously contacted Ray and Jerry and they planned to meet us at the Bowers Harbor launch site to ride along. We got there at the appointed time, and had a very pleasant boat ride to the island. It was overcast and cool, and the bay was flat - good for boating. They found both caches with little trouble. One of the caches is the oldest cache in the entire State of Michigan. I think the whole project only took about 2 hours from launch to take-out. (http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=53) (Scroll down to Basswood Bend)

Dick and I had a very late lunch at the Peninsula Grill, and came home to our computers. When Dick logged on to the geocaching web site, he immediately noticed a new cache over in the Hoosier Valley, so off he went, and he was the First to Find!

I talked to Joan of the Estate Sale people, and they like the location of the Sale so much that they're actually going to open it up again tomorrow morning from 9 to 12. She said that they have sold almost everything of Mother's, and she said that "we think that we've done very well for you". So hooray! They'll clean it all up on Monday.

Right now it seems like a very long time since I chopped those potato salad ingredients (yawn).

First Day of Sale

This was a big day! The first day of Mom's Estate Sale.

They were open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and there were tons and tons of people who stopped to look everything over.

I parked to watch for a while, and people were buying the most unusual things - one lady bought all of Mom's old Christmas wrappings on rolls. Another lady bought all of the gift bags.

People were leaving the yard with boxes, and two kinds of bags, so it was hard to tell what everyone bought. I did see one little old lady who bought two shovels, a hoe, and some pruning shears! And an old gentleman who was all bent over actually bought the ice-melter jug that was 3/4 empty!

One man who bought a shotgun was wearing a State hat. I guess Dad no longer cares. I saw baskets, Kennedy memorabilia, Army cots and sleeping bag and furniture being loaded into cars. One lady had both arms full of books.

The Sale looks to be very successful - a lot of traffic passes by that corner, and I'm sure a lot of the customers stopped on impulse. The Antiques Appraisers people seemed very efficient.

It was a very hot day - the temp got up to 95F, and it was also very humid. I'm sure the upstairs was not very comfortable.

Happy Anniversary

Today is our 48th wedding anniversary. Dick had an all-day training at the Agency, so I did errands for Mother, and visited her.
We did go out to dinner at the Freshwater Lodge - we sat outside on the patio, and it was very pleasant watching the sailboat regatta on the bay. This is what Dick wrote to Sharon:

"Just a quick note to say thanks again. We used the gift certificate at
Freshwater Lodge last night and had a great time. We sat out on the porch
in the evening breeze. It was quite fun, there were lots of sail boats out
on the bay and the colors were dramatic. We even saw a pontoon boat put out
from the marina headed for town."

I was a little bit down today because we learned that our plans for our 50th anniversary will not be happening. (See June 13) The Resort does not rent for just a weekend during the tourist season. If we wanted to use the Resort, we would have to reserve it for an entire week, which is not at all what we want to do. So I say PHOOEY. It was such a great idea - but I'm sure we'll come up with something just as good. Maybe.

Moo

Cleaning out my closets and furniture to make room so Dick can move in when Laurie, Chip and Dylan come. This is not an easy process - I started in the guest room closet, moved to my bedroom closet, and then my big dresser. I wound up with three big bags to take to Goodwill.

Meanwhile, Dick is working on landscaping the perimeter of the new porch. We do manage to keep busy.

After a little down time, we went into town. I had 6 more Kanitz Family Tree letters to mail, I wanted to buy backup discs for the Family Tree Program, ant killer for around the outside of the house, and to take the bags to Goodwill. We had a good time doing all of that - traveled from Acme to Moomer's with four stops in between.

After Moomer's, we won't be cooking dinner tonight!

Driving around today we saw a burned out building, a torn down building or two, tons of condo construction, and new subdivision and I don't know what all. It's hard to keep up with what's happening around here!

The new Wuerfel Park ballpark for the Traverse City Beach Bums is surrounded by new traffic lights all draped in black plastic - three that I know of. I'm thinking they'll only use them after games until the parking lot has emptied.

Geo-Caching - Still Fun

Happy Flag Day

We both used the morning to do our various jobs - Dick is working on the landscaping out by the driveway. I'm putting historic GenFest pictures into albums so everybody can enjoy the memories.

Just before noon, we packed up the GPS and took off for Frankfort. We found 2 caches before lunch. We love to have lunch at Dinghy's in Frankfort - love their menu. (See the link above)

After lunch we went to Crystal Gardens and found a lovely blue hanging basket - just what I wanted. Dick got some ivies for the tubs of flowers. The girls at Crystal Gardens were wearing flags stuck in their hats.

Then we were back out into the woodsy trails - such a pleasant place to be! We found 3 more caches before we headed for home. We haven't been out caching for three weeks anyway. Guess what - it's still fun!

Spider Lake Resort

We're planning a millennium quilt project for GenFest this year. Everybody is going to bring two squares each with his/her name on it. We're asking for two because it will take 100 squares to make a full size quilt. We'll have the quilt ready for the 2006 GenFest.

The real activity this year will be the Basswood Bend Film Festival - it should be a hoot. Teams will use video cameras to make "movies" - then we'll all watch everybody's movies and give out awards. The "Genevieves" (you know, like Oscars) came yesterday, and they are perfect. It should be a ton of fun.

In 2007, we're not having GenFest. That's the year of our 50th wedding anniversary and we want to do something special. There's a beautiful new resort on Spider Lake that's just perfect for our whole Genfest family. I think there's even room for Jim and Emilie, Kris&Mike and Dan&Pam. We plan to rent the whole thing for the weekend of June 22 & 23, 2007. Everybody can come and stay for two nights pre-paid by us, because that's the way we want to do it. It should be quite an adventure. There's a beautiful sandy beach, a boat dock for our pontoon, a place for a campfire, a game room with foosball, pool, game tables, shuffleboard,etc, two fully equipped huge kitchens, a community dining room, a fireplace lounge, a TV lounge, a workout room, 16 motel rooms on two floors, an elevator, - and what else would we need? They don't provide meals, but we could do meals on our own, or have the Saturday meal catered and then just do breakfast and snacks on our own. I'm leaning toward a catered meal on Saturday.

This Spider Lake Resort thing is NOT next year - it's 2007 !! In 2006, we'll just do a regular old run of the mill GenFest.

Today I went to JoAnn Fabric and bought everything (I hope) that I'll need to do machine embroidery on our quilt squares. I had looked up on the internet how to do it and what I would need - stabilizer, thread, needle size, etc. I bought remnants that I liked so I can make some extra squares to fill out the quilt. I don't know how to quilt, but I think I can sew the squares together and then have somebody else do the quilting. I have my fingers crossed that my "sew-chine" still works because I haven't tried it lately.

I had a nice visit with Mother - she's being well-cared for - seems alert and comfortable. She has an interest in what goes on outside her door - likes to watch people passing by.

Planting, Planting, Planting, and More Planting

We planted and planted. I planted pansies in the flower bed off the octagonal deck. Dick planted southern Grand Traverse County. Everything looks very summery, flowery, and colorful. We got dirty, sweaty, and disheveled. But we "got 'er done", as they say.

Getting more and more Family Tree information - something new almost every day. I have a new contact that I found on the internet, believe it or not - it turns out that she's the wife of a first cousin once removed. And I got a second new contact from the wife of a first cousin. It's so exciting to get some new leads - it opens doors to lots of new information.

Mailed the invitations to GenFest - can't believe how close it is...just a month to get ready! But we'll "get 'er done"!

Flower Day

Today, since we think that the danger of frost is almost over, we decided to go buy the annuals and the hanging baskets. We naturally gravitate towards Plantmasters at Suttons Bay. They have never disappointed us.

We bought flats and flats of pansies, ageratum, geraniums, and I don't know what all. We got 2 glorious hanging baskets of fuchsia, but we couldn't find the blue basket I wanted for the dining room porch.

It was a rather warm, humid day, so we plan to plant tomorrow in the morning when it's cool.

Iron Dextran Infusion

I arrived at the Infusion Clinic at 9 a.m. I got right in, and even got one of the comfortable chairs. I brought along a good book by Nevada Barr. I even got the good nurse. So I was happy and comfortable both.

This time it only took 3 hours, so even though I was happy, I was even happier to leave at noon. I turned down the offer of a hospital lunch, thank you very much.

Oh well

I guess things weren't as great as I thought they were. Dr. Burke (world's greatest doctor) called this afternoon and said that I need an iron infusion based on the test results from last week.

Push Your Button

What a day! We are boo-zausted.

It all began this morning.

I had a Doctor appointment and blood test at 8:30 a.m. (Everything is fine)

Dick came with me so we could go out to breakfast afterwards. We went to the FlapJack Shack (Breakfast bar for Dick, blueberry pancakes for me) . We brought along the real
estate papers from John so Mother could sign them this morning.

As we were driving away from the restaurant, I called her on the cell phone. She answered, and then there was a big crash. I couldn't hear her for a while, and then she said "I fell out of my chair" (followed by miscellaneous noises).

Then she said in a panicky voice "I'm bleeding."

I said,"Mother, push your button. " No response.

"Mother, push your button."

"I can't find it. " I gave her time to look for it. She finds it.

" Did you push it?"

"Yes."

"Push it a couple of times more."

We wait for a bit, and then I hear her say "I fell out of my chair", and someone replied, "Well, I can see that!"

Whew! So then we knew that she was not alone, and that she would be tended to. By the time we got there, she had already been evaluated by a nurse from Bortz, and Betsy was cleaning her up and holding ice to the back of Mom's head. Her blouse was all bloody - the phone was all bloody, and Mom's hands were bloody from touching the back of her head. It really was just a minor abrasion and a bruise and a bump on the back of her head. She didn't need stitches or anything. They got her all cleaned up, changed her blouse, cleaned things up, checked her vital signs, and that was it. She was a little shaken up, but she really is a trooper. It is such a comfort to know that all of that help is just a buzzer away.

She said that the staff had wanted to call 911, but she talked them out of it. I'm glad to know that they think of doing that first, because who knows when it may become necessary and we would want them to do that. Then they wanted to take her to Dr. Auer, but she talked them out of that too. She has such a firm grip on her faculties, and she's very sensible, so they respected her wishes. I was also very glad to know that they would take her to the Doctor. That gives us such peace of mind if we're out of town or unavailable. We thought that everything was very well handled.

After a couple of deep breaths, and a chance to settle down a bit, she signed and initialed the 14,000 real estate papers that are necessary if you want to sell a house. She was still a little shaky, but she got it done, and she was able to converse, and joke a little bit. Her pupils weren't dilated or anything. I know that the staff will be keeping an eye on her all day, and I'm sure that her head will be sore for a few days.

Then we went home to take a breather, check e-mail for Family Tree information, and make an appointment for Dick at the barber shop, and an appointment to meet John to give him the signed papers.

Back into town to meet John and give him the papers. He was going into the house to do some measuring. Now I feel like the whole thing is out of my hands - John will handle the sale of the house, Joan will handle the estate sale, and we just stand by and let it happen. It's kind of a weird feeling, but in general it's a good feeling. I almost feel like celebrating.

Dropped Dick at the barber shop, deposited the Income Tax refund check, and went to Horizon to wait for Dick. Two iced teas later, we did a couple of errands, and then went to K-Mart and found some white wicker furniture that we want for our new porch. It was not easy to purchase - a long story - but in the end we have a wicker love seat and 2 chairs on our new porch.

Footnote - on the packaging of the loveseat, it said Do Not Use Outdoors. Oh well - maybe we made a big mistake. At least the porch has a roof!

Perm Day Again

Dylan called this morning! It was so nice to talk to him. They were on the airplane to go back to Miami, so we couldn't talk very long. Just long enough to hear some interesting stories about their visit to Pittsburgh. Thanks for calling, Dylan!

Off to Bo Tangles at 10 a.m. for a perm - it seems like I just had one. The last one didn't "take" too well. I had a lot of fun talking to Colleen - she's getting married on Saturday, and she was walking 5 feet off the ground. I think I heard every plan that she has for the wedding. I felt like I was part of the wedding party! Anyway, she earned herself a big tip/wedding present!

Met Dick at Mom's house - we had an appointment with John to sign him up as our listing agent. While we were sitting there, Joan from the Estate Sale people came in. So Joan and John had a chance to meet each other and to coordinate some things. John's going to have some flyers about the house available at the Sale. There should be quite a number of people going through the house those 2 days, and maybe one of them will want to buy it!

Dick found Dad's U of M letter sweater downstairs. We were thrilled to find it. It's in quite good condition. I'm going to try to find an archival sweater box and archival tissue to keep it in. I think it should go to Jim, who can then pass it on to Dan and Jace - keep it in the male line of the family. I think Dad would like that.

I've been sending and receiving a lot of emails for the Family Tree. It is growing and growing. There are going to be 3 big weddings this summer - so I think the tribe will keep increasing as time goes by.

Happy Memorial Day

First we took Mother some home made potato salad, and then headed to the courthouse for the dedication of the restored Civil War statue on the courthouse lawn.

The crowd began arriving early, but we did get a seat on the bleachers so we were comfortable. The weather was perfectly beautiful.

The service itself was a little longish, but very sincere. It had a real small town flavor - the opening bugler was way off, the choir was not polished, and the fly-over was a Coast Guard helicopter - but it was done with enthusiasm, earnestness, and a spirit of honor and wholeheartedness.

The real reason I wanted to go was to see Sen. Carl Levin. He was the keynote speaker, and he laid a wreath at the statue. I admire him a great deal. He was always a great supporter of teachers and the MEA. He is the minority party ranking member of the Armed Services Committee of the Senate. He also is a constant advocate for human rights around the world. He did a fine job at the ceremony today, and I understand that he was responsible for the restoration committee receiving a grant from the National Park Service "Save Our Treasures" Program.

The statue looks great - a big improvement - and the best part is that it's standing up straight now. Evidently it now has a stainless steel armature.

We saw Whitard there with Heather and Kimberly. It's always fun to talk to him, and the girls are as cute as ever.

After the ceremony, we did a mini "Subaru cruise" of Traverse City. The bay was so blue it could knock your socks off. There were boats galore, plus sailboats and a sloop. We went past Mother's house and noticed that the Estate Sale people are working in there again today - they were there yesterday, too. It's a sure sign that the sale is coming up soon.

We came home and had our first picnic of the year out on the deck - burgers and potato salad. Several kayaks and canoes went by while we were eating - well - 4. Is that several? And then while Dick was reading his book after lunch, he saw 9 more kayaks go by. Busy day on the Boardman.

Dick cleaned up the dining room porch - it looks wonderful He did a great job. We are gradually getting ready for summer!

A lovely Memorial Day. The thing that's depressing about it is the necessity to have war memorials in the first place.

Memorial Gardens

Dick is almost totally finished with the deck now - all that remains to be done is a couple of steps. It's a real place now - I think we'll enjoy having it.

I prepared 8 letters for mailing to cousins for the family tree. Information trickles in - a little bit more each week. We have records of 715 individuals, 255 marriages, and 244 surnames. And I know there are lot more to come. It's really quite fascinating.

I'm inserting a letter that Dick wrote to Barb and Sharon, because I couldn't say it any better. We went to Memorial Gardens, and the flowers are simply beautiful. The flags are breath taking - so many - we took special note of Rookie's and Frank's. This is what Dick wrote:

We took a break from Kanitz family genealogy and deck building to drive into town for a check on the bay. TC is really kicking out! We think it's a soccer tournament but the downtown was packed and traffic on both Front and State was at a crawl. After picking up our coffee and iced tea at Mickey D's we drove up to the cemetery. You girls outdid your selves this year, the roses are beautiful. We certainly appreciate the time and effort you put in to providing them. Although Lue and Rookie, Mom and Don, and yes even Harold, all are in our thoughts the year round, this is definitely a time to recall and reflect. Thank you both, we truly value your efforts. Dick and Nancy

Drivin' Around

It rained most of the morning. Dick worked on the new deck - I did some scrapbooking - much more fun for me than for him.

Despite the rain, we set out on an expedition to check out some of our caches, and to re-try one we couldn't find before, and to find a new one. It's always fun driving around with Dick - I was loving it. Checked the F&M park cache, exchanged the Clancy Park cache, and then headed for Yuba.

There were some muggles there at the Saylor Park in Yuba, so we went to Elk Rapids for lunch at T.J. Charlie's. At some restaurants, it doesn't matter how good the food is, what really matters is how friendly, solicitous, and helpful the waitress is. We were very happy there.

Back to the park to find the cache - we were the First to Find! That doesn't happen very often.

Off to Weed Island to find the elusive one - we've been there twice before. This time we had success! I found it lurking in a cedar tree on a hillside that was quite treacherous.

All of a sudden the sun came out, the dark clouds rolled away, and it has been a primo day ever since. I think heaven must have days like this every day. Perfection.

Sumer Is Icumen In

Summer is a-coming in
Loudly sing cuckoo
Groweth seed and bloweth mead
And springs the wood anew.

The rose-breasted grosbeak is back. The hummingbirds are back. I've seen 4 different types of woodpeckers alongside blue jays and cardinals. The orioles seem more brightly orange this May than I can remember. We've missed them. We are bird happy in this neighborhood. They are the true harbingers of summer, and even though it's still coolish temperature-wise, the sun is warm.

Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner, and there's hope for warmer weather. It's time to start working in the yard and sprucing things up a bit. We need some color in the garden. It's hard to know when to plant the colorful annuals here in the river valley. We get frost overnight way after other areas. We have a really short growing season.

Still working on the family tree - it's encouraging to get responses from people - yesterday I got 5 or 6 really helpful emails, and I was hoping for more today, but so far nothing. I sent out 2 more letters today, and it will be exciting to get a response from them. So far, we're up to 708 individuals on our tree, spanning 8 generations.

Went geocaching with Tim and Susie today just here in T.C. We had lunch at Scott's out on the deck, and we actually got pink from the sun. It was lovely. We had a nice find to start the day off, but then our luck went downhill and even with 4 of us looking, we couldn't find the Weed Island cache. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

This was a beautiful day.

Pictures

I have pictures from the fifties, sixties, seventies...well you get the idea. I'm swimming in pictures.

It's my ambition to get all of these pictures put into scrapbooks. I'm not very good at scrapbooking, and it takes me a long time, but I really do want to do it.

Now I have more pictures from Mother's house, from earlier decades, and I want to preserve those too. I want to make books and books of pictures.

I want to save my Grandmother's collection of articles about my Dad playing basketball. I want to make sure I do it right, and I feel inadequate to the task. Sometimes I wonder for whom I am preserving these things, since we don't have a lot of progeny. But Dick says it's OK if I just do it for myself.

I'm swimming in pictures. Or did I already say that..

Visited Mother today - she seems better than ever - well almost ever. She was wearing a new blouse and it was good. I took her a milk shake - she likes that.

Dick is working hard on the new deck. He has the ability to keep working and working - such stamina is hard for me to understand. He totally exhausts himself voluntarily. I need a stamina transplant.

Grandma and all nine sons

Meet and Greet

This morning the Northern Michigan Geocachers had a Meet and Greet at the Flap Jack Shack. It was a smaller group, but we had a great time - met some new people, and had good conversation. It was especially fun meeting Petoskey Stones from San Jose(Scott), and Omena Couple(Stuart). We got some good ideas, and lots of new stories to tell.

It rained hard all morning, but as we left the meet and greet, it began to clear up - so after driving around town (we did the basic Subaru Cruise), we headed home because Dick wanted to get back to work on the deck. It's really coming along. He's doing a great job. We're learning new things about Trex building material - it warps more than we expected, and it's not square on the ends. Live and learn.

I worked on organizing pictures and doing some scrapbooking. I feel like I'm buried in pictures - I love doing it, but it is a bit overwhelming. Slow and steady - isn't that what the tortoise said?

Monster-in-law

Mary, Shirley and I went out to lunch and to the movies today because, well you know, it's cheap popcorn day! We had our usual chicken oriental salad at Applebee's, and then off to the mall to see Jane Fonda and Jennifer Lopez in Monster-in-law.

It was funny, cute, and enjoyable - just the way I like them. Jane Fonda did a great job - it was really kind of a slapstick role - but she was funny. She obviously has made up her mind to play her age. I still don't quite get Jennifer Lopez. She's good enough, but I don't think that she's anything outstanding. Elaine Stritch had a bit part, but she was excellent - just the best. I think it would have been a better movie if her role had been expanded.

Lumber

Dick worked at the agency this morning, and I visited Mother.

In the afternoon the truck from UBC came with the lumber and materials for the new deck. It was all unceremoniously dumped alongside the garage. It's hard to believe that the small pile of goods cost that much money. So now Dick has a big project in front of him - he's building the whole thing by himself.

Dam Thursday

Today Dick went geocaching with Tim and Susie - to make a long, long, long story very, very short, he was gone from 7:15 a.m. until 11 p.m. Their primary goal was to complete the "Dams of the AuSable" series by James and Sheryl. See link above. They did most of it.

I stayed home, worked on my genealogy, the pictures, the ever present laundry, and went to town for errands.

When he got home, he just had a sandwich, so there's an entire pot roast with carrots already cooked sitting in the fridge - no worries about dinner tomorrow.

Win Some, Lose Some

The day started out with household chores - mostly laundry. I also wrote more letters to cousins and got some mailings ready related to the Family Tree I'm trying to assemble.

Mailed my stuff, bought repair kits for sling shots so we can discourage the geese from nesting and pooping in our yard, tried to drop off some shirts at Progress, but they close at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and we got there at 2:16.

Then we went to do some local geo-caching. PeppermintPatti has put out some new caches recently out along M-22. It was a gorgeous spring day - maybe a little on the nippy side (52F) but sunny and enjoyable. One of the caches was hidden in Boughey Park, and I'll bet that all of you Traverse City natives didn't even know of its existence! We sure didn't. It's just a little way off M-22, and there's no sign for it, but it's actually quite a nice park with a shelter, picnic tables, and a beach. (See the link above.) We found 3 out of 5, so we were happy.

Went to Mother's house to see what the Estate Sale people had done there. The furniture has been rearranged and things have been moved from room to room to make quite a nice appearance. The dresser drawers and bookcases have all been emptied (except all of the living room books are in the little room upstairs), the closets are empty, and they brought in a different couch which looks great in the living room. Dick says that they have set up tables in the basement to display dishes and such - I'll have to go down there and check it out. Joan told me that they probably won't be working at the house again for another month.

Home, James

We had planned on doing some geo-caching this morning before heading to Traverse. But we both agreed that what we really wanted to do was head for Traverse. We were home at 9:30 a.m.! Started some laundry and decided to stay put for a while before heading to town to pick up our mail and to see Mother.

It's a little depressing to be back in Michigan after the lushness of Florida. Our trees are still gray, stark and bare, compared to Florida's glorious trees, shrubs, flowers, and hedges. Oh well - it won't be much longer until our trees are green. I hope.

We had a mail mix-up - we both remembered picking it up at the main office last time, but I guess we were wrong - we picked it up at the Barlow office.

Mother is fine - she had 2 visitors yesterday before we got there - a lady from church, and Miriam from Integrity. Very nice. We showed her pictures of Dan and Pam's new son, and gave her some shells and a picture from Dylan.

Dick did burgers on the grill. Welcome home.

Oh No - Not This Again! (Travel Day)

We were all packed up and ready to go at 7:15 a.m. We rode with Laurie to take Dylan to school and said good-bye to him. Loaded up the car, said good-bye to Chip, and headed to Fort Lauderdale.

Dick wanted to stop off at Butterfly World to take pictures of his Butterfly travelbug with the signs. Did that. Then he wanted to put the bug in a cache at a park 4 miles away. Tried, but failed to find the cache. So Laurie is now in charge of the Butterfly Travel Bug.

Arrived at the airport in a timely fashion, and headed for the gate. Love the new ticketless travel. We never have to check in anywhere. Our pilot's name was Mohammed Al-Habib, a name to instill confidence. The plane was quite full, but we did get to sit together, which is always a plus.

Then we had a 4 hour wait at O'Hare, which is always a minus. We met an interesting man from Boston who is still talking about what happened to him on 9/11. He kept his rental car and drove it home because nothing was flying that day - when he got home, Hertz didn't charge him for driving it over the limit and dropping it off.

O'Hare is a real yawner, except the people watching is good. We saw all shapes and sizes of human beings - quite an assortment. We saw a Saudi in full robes and some Asian "nuns" in full robes, some huge men, some huge women, and some adorable babies. Mostly we read books.

Flight to Grand Rapids was nice and uneventful. We thought we had lost a bag upon arrival, but it turned up after all, and the Comfort Inn shuttle came to pick us up.

We were very glad to arrive at a room with a bed. Didn't bother with dinner. Snore.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Grandma, Grandpa, Laurie, and Dylan spent the day in the Park. Chip was left home to do chores before going to work tomorrow.

We left around 10 a.m., went to Publix to get sub sandwiches for lunch, and then went to Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which Laurie calls Jonathan Stick-in-the-mud State Park for no apparent reason. We had planned to take the 11 a.m. boat tour on the Loxahatchie River, but the tide was out, so we opted to wait for the 1 p.m. tour when the tide would be in enough so that we could get to Trapper Nelson's Island.

So off we went on a tour of the Park roadways, aiming to see the Observation Tower. We drove around one campground which had been totally destroyed by the hurricanes last season - It's called Piney Grove Campground, and there is not a tree in sight. We couldn't believe that people were actually camping there because there are other, nicer, more intact campgrounds quite nearby.

On the way to the Tower, we stopped to see if there were any alligators at the alligator viewing spot - and we were lucky - there were a couple of really quite large alligators and some young ones - we enjoyed watching them swim back and forth. Dick got some good pictures.

We hiked up to the Observation Tower and were quite amused to see that at 86 feet above sea level, it's the highest spot south of Lake Okeechobee. 86 feet! Anyway, the view wasn't that exciting, but Dylan was interested in the big bumble bees that were flying around the lantana blossoms, and Dick found a bench mark to photograph.

On the way back to the River, there was a large snake lying in the road. He eventually slithered into the grass at the side of the road, curled up, and rattled at us. It was a diamondback rattlesnake - glad we were in the car. Dick got some good pictures of that, too.

On down the road, and next we saw a tortoise "running" across the road. We stopped, got out and inspected him, and helped him across. Dylan liked the tortoise better than the snake or the alligators. Wise choice.

We ate lunch, and caught the boat tour - it was quite a hot day (for us) - around 85F, and the breeze on the boat tour felt heavenly. We rode to the Island, where the volunteer gave us a great tour of Trapper Nelson's compound. It was very primitive, and we had a hard time understanding why anyone would want to live there. Dick bought a book about Trapper's life, so maybe that will help us understand.

On the river we saw ospreys, snowy egrets, cattle egrets, vultures, alligators, turtles, baby blue herons, and mullet. The mullet jump clear out of the water and do a flip before falling back down. We really enjoyed the Loxahatchie.

After we left the park, Laurie drove us to Jupiter Island, where we did some sight seeing of fantastic homes, and went to a public beach so Dylan could play near the water and collect shells.
It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time. Best day of the trip, maybe - although it's all been great.

Pizza for supper.

Chip and Laurie's neighbors are putting in a pool, so they're thinking that this might be a good time to put in one for themselves, since the workers are right there anyway, and then things would have to be torn up only once. I think they'll do it, but they haven't finalized anything yet.

We leave tomorrow.

Dylan's favorite - the tortoise.

Here's a real snake-in-the-grass!

We think that this is the Mama Alligator.

Carrabba's

Laurie called early in the morning to say that it was raining in Orlando, and they would be coming home early. We all just hung around playing Sly Cooper and such until they got here.

It was fun hearing about Cirque du Soleil and looking at the program. They also went on a lot of Disney World rides - Tower of Terror, etc - and just had a generally good time. The complaint was that the food prices are way too high once you're inside the park.

Dick, Laurie and Dylan went looking for a cache, Chip went for a ride on his motorcycle, and I took a nap. (I'm the smartest one.)

Mother reports that Dan and Pam have had their baby - a 6 lb. 14 oz boy, 20 inches long. Pam and the baby both came through just fine. They haven't quite decided what to name him yet - the opinion seems to be that he will be Jace Ryan. (Jace rhymes with Chase.) Anyway, congratulations to everybody!

We went out to eat at Carrabba's because Dylan likes their meatballs. Dylan and I played Tic Tac Toe while we were waiting to be served - he actually beat me once. The food is great, especially the bread, but it was very, very crowded. I had yummy lasagna.

Saturday With Dylan

Dick made pancakes and bacon for breakfast - Dylan doesn't really eat much, but he loved the pancakes. Mine were banana pecan - I wouldn't have traded them for anything.

We played Sly Cooper for quite a while - found the 30th bottle on level 4 and moved ahead - he's really good at it, and I'm really good at watching him.

Went geocaching out across the Saint Lucie River. You have to go across huge bridges to get anywhere east from here. We found two caches in the Veterans Memorial Park, and met a sweet veteran of the Korean War who was sitting in the park meditating. Then we went across another huge bridge to Jensen Beach to Riverside Park - and found another cache.

About then, I was experiencing another low sugar event - the second one this week. I think my medication may be too strong. I'll have to check that out. Anyway, low sugar means it's time for lunch, so we started looking for a good restaurant.

We went back across the bridge to Stuart, found Shell's, which we know is good. But Dylan said he doesn't like their food. So on we went - winding up at a place called The Deck. You order your food at the bar, and if it's grillable, you grill it yourself on one of the three built in grills in the dining room. Unique, and a little down-at-heel. Any port in a storm, they say.

Got home with the help of a good map, and a good memory. We were all a little wind-blown and sun-parched, so we had kind of a quiet time. Dylan and I looked at the Everquest book that Mr. Joe gave him. Then we watched the movie "Brother Bear" - really cute, and right at Dylan's level. He had seen it before, but he enjoyed it immensely.

Now he's outside in his cape with his sword with Grandpa, and I can't imagine what they're playing. I can hear the action, but I can't see it.

We enjoy this so much - wish we could come here every weekend (except for the travel).

Happy Anniversary Laurie and Chip!

Today is Laurie and Chip's 10th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary!

We rode along with Laurie to drop Dylan off at school this morning. He has to get there around 7:50. We're responsible for picking him up after school today, so we had to see where to go.

Laurie and Chip left around 1:30 for Orlando - so we had time to "play" with them before they left. They had clothes to wash, and errands to run, and bikes to ride before they left. Laurie made great sandwiches for us for lunch.

We picked Dylan up around 2 p.m. Palm City Elementary has a great system for dropping off and picking up. It works very smoothly and safely. Each child is escorted by an upper grade student who walks them to the car and even opens the car door for them. I was impressed at the orderliness of it all.

When we got home, we spent some time just talking for a while, and Dylan wanted to color at the table. So Dick took a nap, and Dylan and I colored. Then we got out the Crayon Maker machine and made some crayons - a new experience. We had to spend some time playing Sly Cooper because it's just so much fun.

Dick did hamburgers on the grill, and we had a nice supper - even though Dylan really doesn't eat much.

Laurie and Chip were just starting to see Cirque du Soleil in Orlando while we were eating dinner in Palm City. The performance they were at started at 6 p.m.

When it was bath time, Dylan said he knew how to give himself a bath, so that's what he did - totally unassisted. Then it was time to read a story before bedtime. Right now, they're reading "Peter and the Star-Catchers". It's kind of a pre-quel to Peter Pan. Very much fun, and amusing for me as well as for Dylan.

Travel Day

Wake up call at 3:45 a.m., Continental breakfast in the lobby, shuttle to the airport at 5 a.m.
Is this the way to start the day? Ye Gods.

Used the e-ticket to check in, checked our bags, went through security. Jackets off, shoes off, all metal objects in bin, and then get dressed all over again. Flew to Chicago, where we had quite a wait until the flight to Fort Lauderdale. We were lucky enough to get to the food court before there was a big crowd - so we commandeered a table, and camped out for 2 hours, reading books and eventually eating sandwiches.

Flight to Fort Lauderdale was really full, so we felt lucky to get on. There weren't a lot of stand-by passengers. The flight seemed long to me - I dozed off and on and felt really groggy because of lack of sleep last night.

We waited and waited at the baggage carousel for our baggages, but they never showed up. A man came over and called our name - he had the bags back in a corner - they had come in on an earlier flight. Hallelujah!

Laurie picked us up, and we drove about an hour to get to Palm City. It's definitely worth the trip! We got there just in time to change clothes, play a little with Dylan, and go out to dinner at Flannigan's. Then Laurie was off to a Pampered Chef Party. We played with Dylan and talked to Chip and went to bed early.

Travel Day is my least favorite day of any trip. It's tiring.

Off to Palm City

We're off to Palm City by way of Grand Rapids, Chicago, and Fort Lauderdale.

We left the house around 10 a.m. and went to visit Mother before our big expedition. I took her some pictures she had requested, a Blair catalog, and some pictures for her locket. The catalog is because she seems to have a renewed interest in her apparel for Spring, and she wants new things. I think that is a very good sign.

She seems fine with the fact that we're heading out of town for a week - and we know that she will be well looked after. This is such a big improvement in our lives - I just can't tell you. Of course we'll call her each day just to touch base. We had a good visit, put the pics in the locket, left our contact number with the powers that be, and then we were off to G.R.

It was a weird off and on rainy day. It would rain hard for 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of sunshine, and it went on like that for the whole trip. We stopped at Bennigan's in Big Rapids for lunch - it's our favorite stop on US 31- good menu, good food, good service.

Checked in at the Airport Comfort Inn - arranged for shuttle to the airport in the a.m., free parking in their lot for the duration, and a room for the night we return.

Went geocaching in the immediate area of the motel, and we were very lucky. We found 5 caches and had a great time. Ate dinner at Arnie's, which turned out to be really much nicer than we expected. I had Swedish meatballs. Dick had a Reuben panini. The service was excellent, and there was live piano music - delightful.

Early to bed with a 3:45 a.m. wake-up.

No Worries

Haven't posted for a while - just not in a writing mood I guess. Anyway, everything is fine - we're fine - Mother's fine. The weather has been horrible, but it's on the upswing now.

We're leaving tomorrow for a week in Florida. It's Laurie and Chip's 10th wedding anniversary, and we're staying with Dylan while they take off for the weekend. They're going to Orlando to see Cirque du Soleil. Grandma/Grandpa and Dylan get to do anything we want to.

Glorious Day

Tuesday being cheap popcorn day and all, Mary and I went out to lunch and then to the movies. Her sister-in-law Shirley came with us. We saw Fever Pitch with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. It was chosen because it's just what we love - a cheesy romantic comedy. Except for me it wasn't that cheesy this time. It touched me on several levels.

First of all , it's set in Boston. So every time there was a cityscape, it brought back all kinds of memories of the times we visited Tom at MIT - the Pru, the Charles River, etc.

Secondly, it's a story about avid sports fans. Their team, of course, is the Boston Red Sox. The male lead is such an avid fan he has season tickets, plans his life around the Red Sox schedule, has been offered $100,000 for his tickets, etc. He's had the same seats since he was 7 years old (he inherited them from his uncle). He knows all of his seatmates for rows around in the ball park. It was so reminiscent of Michigan Stadium and our seatmates, and the "avidness" of some of them, I can't tell you how much fun it was for me. Of course a college football season is much much shorter than a MLB team's season, but there were a lot of parallel happenings.

Thirdly, it's a story about being so thoughtful and caring of your significant other that you're willing to make a big sacrifice for the first time in your life to be with them. I can truly identify with that! (Last year's Michigan-Michigan State game).

Fourth, the Drew Barrymore character made me think of Jana. She played a highly successful corporate entity who was so involved with her job that she was working overtime way too much, and not really allowing herself to have a life. She was either at work or in the gym. She met her boyfriend at work when he was bringing his students for a field trip.

I really enjoyed Drew Barrymore in this movie - she was believable and funny. Jimmy Fallon did an OK job, but he wasn't as appealing to me...likeable, but not appealing. So I enjoyed the movie for all of those personal reasons, and besides, I'm a pushover for a happy ending.

Dick spent a glorious day geo-caching with Tim and Susie. (See above link and scroll to Basswood Bend.) They had a marvelous time tromping over hill and dale in the 83 degree weather, wearing out their shoe leather. Different strokes.

Visited Mother, wrote some checks, and gossiped!

On the world scene, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope today. He has chosen the name Benedict XVI. Some are calling him a Nazi because he's German, and served in the German army in his youth. I personally think that he was very, very young at the time and most likely had no choice. He and his brother both became priests, and that does not sound very Nazi-like. Mother thought that he looks like a very friendly person, so there you go!

Mail Those Taxes!

Why wait til the last minute. The deadline's not til tomorrow, but we put the taxes in the post today like good little citizens!

I'm working on requests for genealogy information that I'll be sending to selected relatives tomorrow. If I don't get a response within 2 weeks, I'll send another request to the next person on that branch of the family tree. I'm so organized it's scary. I'm anxiously awaiting more info to put in. My subscription to this Family Tree Program is only 1 year! (Kanitz family)

Dick and I went to Mother's house with 2 laundry baskets full of books and other items for the Estate Sale. Dick cleared out the paint and oil (toxic material) from the basement. I sorted through some more memorabilia, and I think we left with as much stuff as we took. We had a chance to talk to neighbor Jeff, so now he knows that the house is up for sale, and we told him the price.

Houghton Lake

Off to Houghton Lake to help Bill cut up the tree that fell in his side yard this winter. Well, actually, Dick helped him cut up the tree with his chain saw. It was an oak tree, and they got some nice oak logs out of it. Bill didn't want the wood, so they stacked it out by the road hoping that someone would pick it up.

Jan and I got bored with watching and went to sit in the beautiful warm sunshine.

When the work was done and the gossip was all gossiped, we went for a ride to go geo-caching. Sniders are so nice - they don't really like to go (I think) but they go anyway because they know we like it so much! We found 3 easy caches - Bill found one, Jan found one, and Dick found one.

By then it was dinner time so we went to that great place Coyle's with the wonderful buffet. When we got back to their house, the oak wood was gone! It worked!

It was a wonderful day to be out and about - in the 60s, but with nice warm sunshine.
We had a great time. Got home around 7:30 p.m.

Memorabilia

First of all, I cleaned out the book shelves in my bedroom - an ambitious project!

Then I went to Mother's house and gathered up all manner of items (including a sheepskin and a harmonica for Dylan). I packed up all of the financial records, the famous "metal box" where all the important papers are, pictures pictures pictures, etc, etc, etc. I wore myself out going up and down the stairs and sorting through everything.

So now I'm twice worn out. Plus, having just cleared out my book case, I now have more chudda to put there.

Then I went to visit Mother - to give her a report and to pay her bill and balance her checkbook. She looks great - had the beauty shop treatment this morning. They do a nice job!

Next it was the dental appointment - thank you Dr. Kevin (I love my dentist). So now I'm home looking through all of the family memorabilia. Did you know that we have an actual audio tape of Dad's funeral? Who knew? It lasted 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, here at home, the slabwood was delivered this morning. This was also the morning that Dick put on his waders and went into the river to start up the sprinkler system for another season. He spent the rest of his day stacking the slabwood, and was very grateful when the sprinklers came on and he had to quit! So now we're both exhausted and I think we're going to order pizza. Too tired to even go to Rico's.

It's another gorgeous day - blue sky and sunshine - slightly chilly and windy, but so pleasant it's remarkable, which is why I'm remarking on it.

Tomorrow we're driving to Houghton Lake to see Sniders and Dick is taking his chainsaw for cutting up the tree that fell in their yard this winter. I'm glad we got so much done today!

Jim

Dick worked at the Area Agency on Aging this morning. It turned out to be a marathon session - 14 phone calls, and a walk-in. He didn't get home until after 2 p.m. From 9:30 til 2 - almost like a regular job!

Ran the Roomba all around the living room, kitchen, and dining room while I folded clothes and sorted pictures for Jim. Cleaned and dusted, and all of that good stuff.

Jim came around 3 p.m. and we had a great visit. We discussed the details of the sale of the house, and the Estate Sale. He signed the estate sale contract. We listened to the CD of Mom and Dad that was recorded 10 years ago. Dick cooked pork chops on the grill and made a terrific salad. It was all good.

Jim is going back to Saginaw tomorrow morning.

Sweet Sunday

This was a home day - we went grocery shopping first.

Then Dick hopped on his tractor and proceeded to de-thatch the entire southern half of Grand Traverse County. Well, almost.

Inside, it was laundry, fixing a foot elevation box for Mother, etc. etc. It was a nice day for working outside, and I did a little cutting back in the garden, too. Our spring flowers are finally blooming. We have crocuses, daffodils, and narcissus - very beautiful against the brown of everything else. We're anxiously awaiting green-up.

Jim drove up from Saginaw today to visit Mother and to take some things from the house. And also bring some of their crystal for the sale. We invited him to dinner Monday night so we can discuss all of the real estate/estate sale business.

I've been scanning pictures for my Kanitz Family Tree project - I have a lot of historic pictures from Mother's house. The Family Tree is on hold - I'm waiting to hear from Lisa and Jeremy so I can compare my tree to theirs. It's a very enjoyable project.

Tour of Torch

This morning we met with the Estate Sale people, Antiques Appraisers. They toured Mother's house from top to bottom, and agreed to run the sale for us. Because Mother's possessions are modest, they'll be bringing in consignment items to kind of punch it up a bit. The Appraisers do everything - cleaning, washing, rearranging, displaying, selling, wrapping, and the clean-up afterwards. We don't even have to be there during the sale. In fact they encourage you to stay away. It's an absolutely painless way to handle the closing of Mom's estate. I'm so glad that she is agreeable to doing this.

Everybody seems to agree that the time to sell the house is around the time of the Cherry Festival because of the volume of people through the neighborhood that week, so we're moving things up a bit. The Festival is early this year - July 2-9, so we'll want to have the sale towards the end of June. The house will be empty and clean after everything is over and done with, and it will be ready to be shown.

In the afternoon, we went caching around Torch Lake. It was an absolutely gorgeous day - we had a great time. We found a great new natural area with nice paths, and boardwalk and overlook. We want to bring Dylan back there this summer. It's off M-88 down Traverse Bay Road. There was a multi-cache at Barnes Park, which turned out to be a really nice campground. We walked in the woods at Hayo-Went-Hah - I just went in a short way, but Dick went the whole distance, and up a huge hill to find the cache. Meanwhile, I was back at the car meeting the man who put out the cache! He was returning home, which is just across the road from the trail head. He was very interesting - quite new to caching but enthusiastic. He is TeamMotivated. We both enjoyed meeting him.

On the way home we checked out our Rocky and Porky cache and everything was in order.

Evaluation of House and Body

We met with John, the real estate salesman, at Mom's house so that he could begin the process of establishing a reasonable price for the house. Everybody agrees that the location of the house is going to make it a fast sale. Whoever buys it will have to spend lots of $$$ to bring it into the 21st century as far as wiring and plumbing are concerned. It was a productive meeting and John helped us decide that we had picked the right outfit to run the estate sale. He has worked with them before.

We ate a late breakfast at the Hard Luck Cafe (get the patties, not the links), and took a drive around town to kill time until Mother's doctor appointment.

It takes two of us now to get her to the Doctor. Thank God for Dick, who is in charge of the wheelchair at both ends of the expedition. She had a good visit with the Doctor, and had a blood test. We picked up a new med at Thompson's, and deposited her safely back at Concord Place none the worse for wear, although tired.

Perm Day

Finally got a perm and a trim today - long overdue. Not overly happy with the result - I think Colleen wound everything too tightly this time! I like a more natural look - oh well - this too shall pass.

Dick got a haircut - power of suggestion!

Visited Mother.

The Leelanau

Took a nice ride today to do cache maintenance and to have lunch at the Friendly Tavern in Empire.

The caches were all in good shape - we just replaced the log books so they're ready for the new season.

It was a nice day for a drive - warm temps - around 70 - but there's still snow in the woods, although not as much as last week. Lake Michigan was pretty. At the Empire Beach they were cleaning up the sand that had blown into the parking lot over the winter. They were using a front-loader and a dump truck! The amount of sand was amazing.

Drove to the Dune Climb - there were actually 6 or 7 people up on top In April! In Glen Arbor there were shoppers that looked a lot like tourists - but the season can't be starting already!

We have an appointment to take Mother to the doctor on Friday - it takes both of us and a small boy to get her wheeled out of her building and into the Doctor's.

We have an appointment on Saturday with some Estate Sale people to look through Mom's house and give us an estimate.

Tomorrow I'm finally having a perm, about 14,000 weeks overdue. Can't wait!

Miss Congeniality 2

Mary and I went out to lunch at Applebee's and then to the Mall to see a movie. The reason we go on Tuesdays is because it's cheap popcorn day if you bring your own container. I forgot my container. What's the reason we go on Tuesdays again?

We saw Sandra Bullock in the above mentioned film. It is not Academy Award material, but there was really only one part that I didn't like, even though it did get off to a slow start. I thought it was funny and entertaining - it had a nice turn at the end. Nothing special, really, but a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

Errands

A Day of errands - pick up shirts, go to Library for Mother, visit Mother, etc., etc. Not much exciting - except the weather was beautiful.

North Carolina won the NCAA mens' basketball tournament. Darn it - we really wanted Illinois to win - the Big Ten and all ya know. Oh well

Aloha !

Aloha!
There was a big luau today at Concord Place for all the residents and their families and friends. The community room was decorated with all kind of Hawaiian paraphernalia - they really went to a lot of work getting ready.

Mother agreed to participate - we took her on the elevator in a wheelchair, so moving her was relatively easy. She seemed happy to be there - made an effort to socialize with others at the table, and ate everything in sight. And here I thought that she didn't like a party! (jk)

Mother was anxious about when she was going to be served some food. She asked the Director's husband what was on the menu, he told her, and she said, "How do we get it?"

The food was really quite good - she kept remarking "It's not always like this."
The Director's brother was there to entertain with his singing and guitar. He was actually very good. But Dick and I almost fell off our chairs when he started singing "Detroit City" because the chorus is "I want to go home, I want to go home, Lord how I want to go home." !! A good choice for Assisted Living? Maybe not. But it certainly entertained Dick and me, and Mother couldn't hear it anyway, so no harm done.

We were glad that she agreed to go, and she really tried to enter into the spirit of the thing. She recognized most of the other residents, and remembers their names. Except that she keeps calling Mrs. Lather "Mrs. Luther". No big deal. Mrs Lather probably can't hear anyway!

She stayed at the party for 2 hours, and then we wheeled her back to her room for a rest. Then she was worried about maybe not getting any supper because of all the food at the party! For a woman who is very slight she really does like to est!

It was an experience. I think they have parties like this 3 or 4 times a year, so now we have something to look forward to!

Aloha!

Dismal

This has been a dismal week in the world. Pope John Paul II died, Johnnie Cochran died, Howell Heflin died, and so did Michigan State.

Like Terry Schiavo, State needed life support to stay alive, and didn't get it. They lost decisively to North Carolina, 87-71.

They have proved themselves to be the 3rd or 4th best team in the entire NCAA. I hope they realize that and hold their heads high.

Monday night Illinois will play North Carolina for the Championship. It should be quite a game.

Living Will

Haven't been in the mood for the past couple of weeks - don't know exactly why, but here we go again .

The big news as we speak is that Pope John Paul II is reportedly dying serenely, Terry Schiavo has died from lack of life support, and tonight the Spartans play North Carolina in the Final Four semi-finals.

The Pope has been so ill for so long that it's really not a shock that he appears to be on his deathbed. The Terry Schiavo case is something that was never any of our business, but evidently became the business of the federal government somehow. If you didn't have a living will before, it's definitely time to do it! Otherwise, it seems that it's possible that the media will show you in your most vulnerable situation to everyone on the planet. Everybody should read the extremely satirical column linked to the above title. It really reflects the way I feel about the whole scenario.

Las Vegas says that North Carolina is favored to win the NCAA basketball championship. I'm of course rooting for Michigan State. Originally I picked Illinois to win it all - I think a State vs Illinois final would be the most fun - an all Big Ten championship game.

We had a very pleasant Easter. We went out to brunch at Freshwater Lodge and it was delightful. We spent the afternoon with Mother and had a great visit. She has decided that she wants to sell the house and the contents. We're thinking that in late July or early August we'll have an estate sale and sell the house. The next door neighbor has asked long ago to be informed if we're planning to sell, so we'll offer it to him first. Our friend Kathee said her husband would be glad to check it out and come up with a price. Jim's family and our family are busily trying to decide what we want to keep from the house. We already know that Kris and Dan get "Laugh, Laugh Phonograph"!

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.

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.