In Which We Celebrate a Florida Thanksgiving

Chip working on dinner preparations.

Mary Lou and I watching everybody else work!

Laurie made a kids' playground in the backyard hoping that they would play outside - and they really did stay outside most of the day!

Laurie monitoring dinner.

Andrew and Blake

Laurie keeps her eye on everything.

Chip takes over as the master carver!

Laurie is on top of things!

Master carver with the other turkey.
Lisa and I having friendly chat.

Is he doing it right?

Everybody's honorary Grandpa.
Laurie set a beautiful table! There were 15 of us for dinner - Bob, Andi, Laynie, Ty, Lisa, Andrew, Kyle, Jessica, Blake, Andi's neighbor Mary Lou, Laurie, Chip, Dylan and us.

The kids enjoyed eating at the kids' table.
After dinner and clean up it was time for volleyball! Nobody won! Bob, Mary Lou and I are way back in the peanut gallery.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING
Gobble gobble gobble!

In Which We Spend the Day on the Relentless Race Track

An early start seemed to be a good idea. The plan was to get through downtown Atlanta before the rush hour. Well...I think rush hour has no start or finish in Atlanta. We left the motel and were driving through Atlanta at 6:30 a.m., and it was bumper to bumper at 70 mph. What a rat race. But I must say that downtown Atlanta is beautiful in the dark - it was all lighted up - spectacular looking. Dick couldn't really appreciate it because he definitely had to keep his eyes on the road!

South Georgia is remembered for cotton fields, pecan trees and road construction. Next year we'll have a brand new road.

At Ashburn we pulled off for beverages. Did you know that Ashburn is the home of the National Fire Ant Festival?

Arrived at Dylan's around 5 p.m.

In Which We Take a Most Bizarre Side Trip

Talked to Dylan this morning while he was on his way to school. We talked about pie, because today is Pie Day at Palm City Elementary. He had never heard of apple pie with cheese, or lemon meringue, or mince - but he does know about pumpkin pie with whipped cream. He's also very familiar with Key lime pie, being a genuine Florida boy. We were wondering why there is no Key orange pie or Key grapefruit pie!

At one point while passing through Kentucky on I-75, our Florida realtor called and said that she needs a cashier's check instead of a personal check this year. Banks are getting choosy about the validity and guarantees of the checks they accept and her office is choosy about not accepting credit cards because they don't trust the banks! (Strange world in which we live.)

Well, that's no problem. NUVI found a 5th/3rd bank only 16 miles away in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and she sent us down Kentucky State Highway 32. Well, let me tell you, this was the weirdest State Highway we've ever been on. It was a very narrow paved road with no stripes painted on, no guardrails on severe drop-offs, no shoulders, and curve after curve - some of them very sharp! We went through Sadieville and Connorsville. In downtown Sadieville there is a sharp right turn on the "highway" where the road is about as wide as a bike path. If someone would be coming in the other direction at the same time, it would be a sticky situation.

Finally, we pulled into Cynthiana - a very nice town with every amenity you could want - and there was the Fifth Third Bank as promised. It was a very friendly bank -the teller gave me the cashier's check efficiently, and never asked for any ID - go figure. The entire lobby was decorated with all kinds of Univ. of Kentucky stuff - pictures, pennants, flags, footballs, etc.

We filled up with gas, and stopped at McDnald's for beverages. In the McDonald's there were 21 men and me. The men were mostly senior citizens sitting around the tables and talking about their tobacco checks.

Previously we had seen a truck loaded tobacco, and on the way back to I-75 on a much better route, we saw many tobacco barns.

Near I-75 at Georgetown, KY there is a HUGE Toyota factory. I was so glad to see that American workers reallky are employed by Toyota - it soothes my conscience a bit because we bought a foreign car.

Entering Georgia we saw a lake which had lost a lot of water because of the drought - it looked like a lake on the moon might look. Spent the night in Marietta, Georgia.

In Which We Set Out in a Snowstorm

Left home in heavy, blowing snow to make our way to sunny Florida - what a contrast! It was really very slow going all the way to Cadillac, where we finally found some clear pavement.

We went down 127 (my new favorite route) and stopped at Papa John's Cider Mill for lunch. While we were inside, the snow started up again, and fell so heavily that when we came out everything was blanketed with fresh, wet snow. It continued snowy through Lansing, and from then on we had a wintry mix and then rain all the way to our first destination at Franklin, Ohio.

This was really a dismal day. We never saw the sun. We're one third of the way to Dylan's house.

Go Grand Valley

Michigan lost,

State lost,
Central lost,
Eastern lost,
Western plays Ball State next Tuesday....and then there's the Lions...

BUT GVSU beat Ashland 40-7 in the NCAA Div.II playoffs. Next Saturday they play Minnesota-Duluth in the quarterfinals.

Go Grand Valley Lakers! I'm your newest fan.

Michigan Ends Season With Loss at No. 10 Ohio State
November 22, 2008
Site: Columbus, Ohio (Ohio Stadium)
Score: #10 Ohio State 42, Michigan 7
Records: U-M (3-9, 2-6 Big Ten), Ohio State (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Game: Season Complete

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Michigan football team contained No. 10 Ohio State for 30 minutes of football, helping the underdog Wolverines enter the locker room with a manageable 14-7 deficit, but the Buckeyes awoke in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points in a 42-7 victory Saturday afternoon (Nov. 22) at Ohio Stadium.

Michigan ended the season with 30 turnovers, the most in the Big Ten.
The current coach is quoted as saying that fans who are unhappy should get a life.
Another record broken this year - Michigan lost 5 games at home.

The coach was born and bred in West Virginia. He attended West Virginia University and married a WVU cheerleader. He has coached hither and yon, notably at Tulane, Clemson and WVU. One would think that having the head coaching position at West Virginia would be his dream job. But after coaching there for 7 seasons he was willing to walk away from his alma mater to come to Michigan. That seems odd to me. It tells me that he is a gypsy coach with no true loyalties and will go wherever the grass looks greener.

This coach is saying that since he doesn't have to do bowl game practices, he will have more time to recruit. He may have to have super powers to recruit any young, enthusiastic, hopeful football player to come to Michigan after this most miserable, deplorable and wretched season.

Visitor Center Christmas Party

Having Dick be one of the volunteers at the Visitor Center is so great because every year we are treated to the best Christmas party ever. This year it was held at the Hagerty Center right in the midddle of the Festival of Trees. A silent auction was part of the Trees event, so there were tables and tables full of all kinds of Christmas items. To be honest, it was a touch of over-doing Christmas even before Thanksgiving, but it did make the party very festive.

The brightness outside the windows is caused by a blinding snowstorm!

The food was fabulous, and our table was varied and interesting - Pete and Karen, Chuck and Carol, the Locks, and us. The conversation flowed from the Peace Corps, how there are too many environmentalists in the Grand Traverse Area (!), new buildings and homes in Traverse City, how the West End Beach is a mess and needs to be cleaned up, the miserable Michigan football season, trips south for the winter, and the doings of children and grandchildren. I also had a chance to talk to Nancy and Don, Kay, Phyllis, and Kathee.


It was a lovely party, and a great kick-off for the holiday season.

In preparation for our trip to Florida we are packing suitcases, washing clothes and sheets, making lists, organizing our medications, making lists of our lists, cleaning out the car, planning how to pack the car, loading maps into the Nuvi, and re-packing suitcases. It seems impossible now, but we'll be ready to leave on Monday morning.

The North Wind Doth Blow

This is the day that the winter season officially arrived. Snow and blowing snow, and wind stirring everything up. We drove to the bay just for fun. At the marina, the wind was straight out of the north. The bay was very angry. with big waves and whitecaps. I'm going to remember that image whenever I think that it's too hot in Florida! We're leaving on Monday.

Chilly Con Carnage

I borrowed the title of this post from the Detroit newspaper - I thought it was very, very clever - and it's hard to find anything else good about today's game.

First of all, it rained steadily in southern Michigan from the time we passed through Lansing on Friday until late Saturday night. It was a relentless drizzle - cold, cold, cold and very damp. We thought we were well prepared to sit out in the Stadium and enjoy the game - we had layers and layers, warm sox, rain jackets, a blanket, hats, and ponchos. We were soaked way before the game started. Most of the friends who sit around us did not come to the game, and they were the smart ones. We sat there and just got drenched. The rain would turn to snow, and then alternate for the rest of the afternoon.



I was shivering by half time, and really couldn't even take pleasure in the fantastic halftime show. I don't know how those band kids do it - I think it's Youth!

The bottom line is, we were cold, wet, shivering, and losing - not a fun combo.

Ask me what I think of Coach Rodriguez. I think he's a real record-breaker. After 129 years of the University of Michigan football program, today is the day we clinched eight (8) losses in a single season for the first time ever. This new coach has broken several records in his brief tenure.

l. Historical first 8 loss season in 129 years of Michigan football;

2. First loss ever to a MAC school - (and Toledo is only a mediocre MAC school);

3. First loss to Penn State in 12 years. Michigan had won the last 9 consecutive games until this year. The last time Penn State beat Michigan was in 1996;

4. Not going to a Bowl game for the first time in over 30 years (we'll have to watch the 2007 Capital One Bowl game against Florida over and over again);

5. First season with no winning streak - not even two in a row;

6. First time a Michigan coach blames the team for everything.

There are probably more I could add to that list, but just thinking about the whole season is more disheartening than I have the heart for. One of Dick's favorite sayings is "...from the penthouse to the outhouse." That is the 2008 football season in a nutshell.

This coach's remarks are also a disappointment. He began the season by calling the Michigan players "soft". After all of this year's losses, his remarks usually contain a noun, a verb, and "execution" (to paraphrase Joe Biden). In the article about this Northwestern game, he said that the players played and competed - well no kidding. That's like saying that they were breathing and their blood was circulating. Inspirational he is not. Motivational he is not. Effective he is not.

He also said that he appreciated so many people coming to the game in such bad weather. What did he expect? I don't understand his attitude, his program, his performance, or his expectations. I know what I expect from the Michigan football program, and this isn't it.

U-M Drops Rain-Soaked Affair to Northwestern on Senior Day
November 15, 2008
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Northwestern 21, Michigan 14
Records: U-M (3-8, 2-5 Big Ten), Northwestern (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten)
Attendance: 107,856
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Nov. 22 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan football team played three solid quarters of football, holding Northwestern to 80 yards of offense in the first half and building a 14-7 lead, but Wildcat quarterback C.J. Bacher threw for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter to seal U-M's fate in a 21-14 loss Saturday (Nov. 15) at Michigan Stadium.

Our weekend stay at Snider's was fabulous. Their home is so comfortable, and we just feel like family when we're there.

Jan and I doing a game post-mortem in their newly redecorated kitchen! (As if Jan really cared)!

We had a great time. The food is good, the gas log is warm (ooooh that felt good!), the hospitality is awesome, and the conversation is interesting and fun.

They're heading to California for Thanksgiving at Hank's, and then they'll come back to Michigan to have Christmas with their kids in Canton. We'll all be in California in January for Adam's Bar Mitzvah.

Here's our new Toyota Rav4 in Bill's driveway. I'm always miffed when we pull up behind Jan's car because her license plate holder says "My grandkids are cuter than your grandkids"! Such nerve!

Steigers and Sniders Rule!

Laurie had a long layover in LA and so she rented a car and went to Reiko's home in San Clemente. Kim drove over too, and the three of them had their very own high school/camping/childhood reunion. I can't remember the last time the three of them were together... They are cracking up in the picture because they are teasing about doing the can-can instead of just posing. It looks to me as though a good time was had by all!
Reiko, Laurie, and Kimiko

Warmth, Friends, and Comfort

The program for today was lunch/supper with James and Sheryl over in South Branch.

On the way over, we made a planned stop at Tim and Susie's cabin so we could see all of their renovations. They've added a master bedroom and bath plus a laundry room, and now they're working on insulating the upstairs/loft area. The cabin looks great, and the new rooms are really charming. Everything is done in the Lodge style, so fitting for their great place on the Manistee. After shooting the breeze for an hour or so, we all headed off to James and Sheryl's farm - of course we had to stop and do a virtual cache along the way!

The soup was on the stove, the homemade bread was waiting, and J & S welcomed us with open arms. Their hospitality is famous, and we enjoyed the warmth and comfort of their beautiful home, and the fellowship around the table!

Driving home through a white-out of snow was a first for us this season. It never accumulated, but it lowered the visibility noticeably. We were driving the Explorer because we haven't picked up our new (used) car yet.

Functional

Michigan fans got an early Christmas gift today when the Michigan football team kind of, actually, almost looked like themselves while beating Minnesota.

There's nothing to salvage from this season, but it was enjoyable to have a flash of what used to be.

Even Tom, in his own Tom way, declared that today, the team at least looked functional.

Here at the river, things were very calm. We didn't get excited at all, just appreciative. We've learned how quickly things can change, and we've been disappointed maybe once too often, so we were just observers.

Sometime around 5 minutes to go in the game we said well, gee, it looks like we might win this one. That's how badly our confidence has been shaken this season. Michigan has had winning seasons and losing seasons and winning seasons are much more fun.

Wolverines Hold on to Little Brown Jug with Win at Minnesota
November 8, 2008

Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (HHH Metrodome)
Score: Michigan 29, Minnesota 6
Records: U-M (3-7, 2-4 Big Ten), Minnesota (7-3, 3-3 Big Ten)
Attendance: 55,040
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Nov. 15 -- vs. Northwestern (Michigan Stadium), Noon

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- Defense led the way for the University of Michigan football team as the Wolverines held Minnesota to a season-low 188 yards and six points, while all the offense Michigan needed came from the leg of fifth-year senior kicker K.C. Lopata (Farmington, Mich./Farmington) and his program-record five field goals as U-M retained the Little Brown Jug in a 29-6 victory Saturday afternoon (Nov. 8) at the HHH Metrodome.

Palin Pales in Comparison With Dylan

How unqualified can one person be? I'm positive that Dylan knows that Africa is a continent, and also that he could name the countries of North America! Oh, my goodness...did we ever dodge a bullet?!?!

Obama, Obama

OK, this is not really me raining on anyone's parade.

I got emotional watching the victory speech and celebrations. I am ecstatic that Obama defeated McCain and The Twit. Of course I'm sentimental about the history that I have witnessed during my lifetime - the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the end of school segregation, the integration of colleges, MLK and the marches in Alabama and the "I have a Dream" speech. It's all very historic and memorable, dynamic and admirable. It's almost unbelievable that our country has come so far in just 4 decades that we now have elected the first African-American President. So I share everyone's sentiments, and we both voted for Obama with vigor and satisfaction.

However....a few months ago I was thrilled and ecstatic thinking that we would finally have a woman President in my lifetime. I thought that Obama was a fine candidate, but that maybe he shouldn't run at this time because he's much younger than Hillary and would have more future chances at a Presidential candidacy. Waiting for another time would give him a chance to get more Senatorial experience under his belt, and learn more about foreign relations, military operations, etc. I was never anti-Obama, just thought that he was maybe not quite ready yet. In reality, I was thinking that I might not have that much time left to see a woman in the top office of the land, so go Hillary, go.

Well it was not to be. Dick disagrees with me, but I kind of feel that women now can plainly see their place in the pecking order. Obama, is after all, a man - and so, obviously far preferable than any woman regardless of her proven ability, intelligence, experience, knowledge of foreign affairs, and other highly skilled Presidential qualities.

I was joking with Jana and said that Dick wants to name his next baby Barack. I sincerely wanted to name my next baby Hillary.




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Presidential Election Day

It's been more than a week since I was rear-ended, and I'm feeling fine - back to normal. Except, as you know, for me normal is not that good to begin with! Anyway, my bruises are fading, and I never had any bad pain or anything - just tenderness and achiness for a couple of days. I was indeed lucky. Plus, our little Subaru really protected me.

The Subaru was totaled, and so MEEMIC will be sending us a check in a couple of weeks. We've been shopping around today and we've tentatively decided to get a 2007 Toyota Rav4 from Wares Brothers. We drove it around today and really liked it.

We had a pleasant voting experience this morning - only one person in front of us, and lots of workers - it all seemed very well organized. Dick was concerned about having to stand in line for a long time, so he packed water and chairs - we were ready! We figure that the whole voting process took us less than 10 minutes. Now we wait for a little good news! I saw myself on Channel 4 News as I was walking out of the East Bay Township Hall polling place. I was on TV for about 1.5 seconds!

I have an appointment tomorrow at 8 a.m. for a double root canal. Maybe it won't be so bad if I have an Obama victory to celebrate.

Martha Cook Picture

When we picked up our mail yesterday, included in it was my Martha Cook Building Alumnae Newsletter (Cookie Crumbs). Imagine my surprise when on page 9 I spotted a group picture from 1956 which I recognized right away, because I'm in the first row! So now my college days qualify for historic pictures?

In the newsletter it actually says, "Can anyone help put some names to these faces?" It's just like in the Grand Traverse Herald every Wednesday with the pictures of the 1908 baseball team, except that this time it's ME! YE GODS! If you click on the picture it gets a little bit bigger. I'm 3rd from the right in the front row.



I did write a letter to help the gals "put names to the faces", which is very easy because the names are all right there in the YEARBOOK for crying out loud! Not exactly a mystery.

Yes! This picture is in the 1956 Ensian on page 144, complete with all of the names!

I'm in the first row, 3rd from the right (Nancy Kanitz Steiger).

Next to me, 2nd from the right is my maid of honor (Roberta "Bobbie" Evans Hayes).

Behind us, first on the right is my bridesmaid (Carol "Cookie" Cook Boberg). I noticed that on the website enlargement of the picture, Carol is completely cut off - but she's there in the yearbook.

My roomate, Claire Zimmerman Dailey must have missed picture day - she was my other bridedsmaid.

Bobbie, Cookie, Claire and I were all in the Class of 1957.

I married Richard B. Steiger, '59, and we'll be celebrating 52 years in June, so the wedding party did an exceptional job, don't you think?

We all keep in touch, even though we are widely separated - I live in Traverse City, Michigan, Bobbie is in Virginia,
Carol is in Houston, and Claire lives in Naples, Florida.

It was fun to look at the picture again and to see so many friends and familiar faces.

My family and I visited Martha Cook this past September when we were giving my 10 year old grandson a tour of the campus. It was extremely pleasant to see the building looking so much the same, and Dick and I were proud to show it off to my daughter, son and grandson. We shared many good memories of the University in the 50s. It made me proud to be a Cookie all over again!

It was fun to see the picture in the newsletter, and I recognized it right away even though I haven't looked at it in years. Thanks for the opportunity!

Sincerely,
Nancy Kanitz Steiger

Find #2000

Although geocachers say that it's not about the numbers, somehow the numbers become important as you go along. So today we are proudly celebrating the finding of our 2000th geocache.

We did an earth cache over at Elk Lake - it was fun and easy, on a really nice day. The pictures didn't turn out - they were purple for some reason.

So we went back the next day, which was not such a nice day, and took the official 2000th find pictures.




We weren't really happy with those either, so Tim and Susie took these other pictures for us at a later date. Anyway, it's a minor big deal, if there is such a thing.

We wanted to do a special cache for number 2000 and after suffering through another Wolverine disaster, decided to take a drive and find this one. We have been here many times, the Elk, Skegemog, Torch cruise is one of our favorites which is highlighted by lunch at Docksides. When we were kids, there was still an excursion boat that sailed out of Elk Rapids and the bridges across the Torch and Clam rivers were the swing type. Thanks for bringing us out today.

Total Loss

The Subaru has been declared a total loss.

The insurance company left a message that they had received all of the paperwork from Ross Beakes Collision and would be contacting us in a few days to discuss the settlement. So we need to go shopping.

I would really like to get a new car for a change. Then you have no worries about getting a flood car, a hurricane car, or a previously smashed car. I would also really like to get a little bit bigger car - the Subaru was a bit of a tight fit. I would also dearly love to get an American made car, especially in these dark days for Michigan. How about a Ford Escape hybrid?

Dick, on the other hand, loved the Subaru, and trusts Wares Brothers. Can't argue about the safety aspects of the Subaru. Since 2003, it's had side airbags, and since 2006 it's even had a trunk release, which is not a safety feature but nice to have. So no doubt that we will once again go trucking off to Wares Brothers to look at the latest crop of discarded Subarus. Heavy sigh.

It was a beautiful day to drive home to TC. We were very glad to be heading home - the last week in Ann Arbor has been a week of recovery for us - and we were all a little subdued and listless. Luckily, the apartment was a nice place for recovering - we were warm and comfortable. We each had our laptops so we could all play WoW at the same time.

We ate lunch in Cadillac, got home around 3 p.m., unloaded the rental (a black Mercury Milan), returned it, picked up our mail, and drove downtown in time to see tons of kids trick or treating on Front Street.

Happy Halloween

Baby, Baby !

Adam announced today that he and Melanie are expecting!

That is such exciting news - the new band of cousins keeps growing and growing - Jackson, Dylan, Fay, Lauren, Autumn, Brooke, Lydia, Drew, Maya, and now a new Hardy baby!

How great that is.

Congratulations to Adam and Mel and Lydia!

The Secret Life of Steigers

Lunch and a movie seemed like a good way to celebrate Jan Snider's early birthday. We all went to lunch at TGI Friday's. Then Jan and I went to see The Secret Life of Bees, Jana went gallivanting with Molly, and Dick went geocaching.

The movie is a beautiful thing. It follows the book very closely. The actors are ideal for their characters, the setting is perfect, and the story is very bittersweet. I don't remember the book being so sad, but the movie is tremendously emotional. It's a terrific story, and I recommend the movie highly - take kleenex. It's probably more of a chick movie.

Things are going well. Jana is not having much difficulty walking around - she only has an occasional twinge. She's not even taking her pain meds anymore. I'm fine too. I've recovered from the shaken, anxious feeling, and I'm not in any physical pain. My body looks like I'm wearing a purple sash - bruising from the seatbelt.

Our car may be a total loss. The garage has not come up with the final numbers yet, but today they told us that the frame rails have buckled, which means that the whole frame of the car has been compromised.

We have a rental car which we're packing up tomorrow and driving to TC on Friday. Jana will be leaving on Friday also.
If the car is repaired we'll pick it up when we return in a couple of weeks for the Northwestern game. We have our Explorer at home so we won't be without a car. We'll be staying with Sniders for the Northwestern weekend.

Either way, we'll be getting rid of the Subaru and we'll get a new (used) car. Our kids have convinced us that driving the repaired Subaru to Florida and back is probably not a safe idea.

Normal

We are feeling almost back to normal. Jana is walking well with a walking stick, and I'm no longer quite so achy, although still very very bruised. We took a ride to campus. Jana and I visited the Alumni Center while Dick went in search of a cache which he didn't find.

We had a delightful late lunch at Zingerman's roadhouse.


We spent the rest of the day in front of our laptops. Jana went shopping at Linens and Things and found some good bargains. Dick found out that the frame bars on the Subaru were buckled, which will add quite a bit to the repair cost. We still don't know whether or not we will get it back.

Martha Cook Our Building

When the kids were little, we used to sing all kinds of songs together - current songs, Walt Disney songs, and songs from my past. (Such as "Beware, beware of pick-pocket furnace - pick pocket furnace can waste a lot of fuel and money, so if you care, replace it with a GE, a General Electric furnace, save, save save!") I guess you had to be there.

We loved to sing "Let's Go Fly a Kite", and "I Want to go to Chicago Town", not to mention the Superman song: (Though no one knows the secret of Superman's identity, he's really Clark Kent, the timid nonentity..." and so on and so on.

One of the songs we sang a lot was the Martha Cook song from my old residence hall in Ann Arbor. Jana was trying to remember the words once, and googled it. Lo and behold the lyrics are not on line! Google doesn't know the lyrics, and neither does the Martha Cook website. http://www.umich.edu/~mcaa/

So Jana asked me to put the lyrics on the blog so that future googlers can find it somewhere. (As if.) Anyway, here's the song:

Martha Cook our Building,
our dormitory dear,
We love you.

Martha Cook our Building,
0ur dormitory dear,
we love you.

With Portia o'er the doorway,
and Venus in the hall,
and Prexy in the Sparking Room,
where harm can ne'er befall,

Oh Martha Cook our Building,
our dormitory dear,
we love you!

The other dorm song that we sang was the Betsy Barbour song - evidently that one remains unrequested! It's a simpler song - "We're Barbour born and Barbour bred, and when we die we'll be Barbour dead, so hooray for Betsy Barbour, hooray for Betsy Barbour, Hooray for Barbour, Rah, Rah, Rah!!"

Some Better

Today we are feeling "some better" as Mother used to say. Jana is walking with a cane, which is a big improvement. I'm just bruisy and have a purple stripe on my bod.

Dick and I went to Meijer to pick up a new coffee pot - the apartment pot finally gasped its last gasp. It felt good to walk around for a while, but not so good after a few minutes. I was glad to get beck home.

This evening we went over to our neighborhood Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. Quite a spread - quite an entertaining staff - quite a good time.


Tomorrow will be even better.

Happy Birthday Tom!!

Today the three of us are sleepy, sore, and you might say...listless. I know this will pass, but right now we just want to sit here and take our Aleve.

Tom's iPhone out in San Diego is not working for some reason, so we haven't been able to talk to him on his birthday. He blames it on AT&T because he's never had any trouble with his Verizon account.

We had contact on our computer game, so we were able to text him that way, but that's about it. At least he knows we're thinking of him, and that we are all OK.

Happy Birthday - you are now officially middle-aged!

Our Own Personal Day From Hell

The bad stuff began when I went out to get sandwiches for lunch before the big game.

On the way home, the car in front of me stopped when the green changed to yellow, but the car behind me did not. I was rear-ended big time. I saw it coming, but there was nothing I could do - traffic was bumper to bumper on both sides of me, and I was stopped still. I was a sitting duck. The impact was more forceful than I could have imagined - the rear end of the Subaru was shoved forward quite forcefully.



The front end of the car behind me was totally smashed in and had to be towed away. The driver was a woman, but I don't know if she was injured or not. I hope she had a good airbag.

My airbag did not deploy, probably because it was a rear collision. I sat in my car for the longest time, but finally a police officer came to see if I was OK and asked me to move my car to the center left turn lane. I was OK - I knew nothing was broken or bleeding - I just felt a little bruised in the seat belt area, and I felt considerably shaky. Four police cars came, two amublances and two tow trucks.

I think I sat there for 40 minutes until the ambulance guy came to check me out. I declined any treatment and turned down the ride in the ambulance! The police officer took my info - license, registration and proof of insurance - and disappeared with it for a long time. It seems like I sat there forever.

Finally he told me I could leave, and I drove home. The engine was fine, but the rear end was very noisy with scraping and rattling, and it certainly didn't feel right, either. Thank goodness I didn't have far to go. Dick thinks the car may be a total loss, and that we may have to replace it. Tomorrow we'll see about renting a car.

I filed a claim online with Meemic because they woun't be answering phones until Monday morning.

Even though it was time to get over to the stadium, I was feeling a little too shaky and bruised and I decided I didn't want to try going. I convinced Dick and Jana to go ahead to the game. I told Jana that I would be very sad if she drove all the way from D.C. and then had to miss the game! So off they went.

On television, the game was just getting ready to start - they were lining up for the kick off, and the cell phone rang. It was Jana, and her opening words were "I broke myself." It seems that she fell down the stairs in the stadium, and had to be carried out and taken to first aid.

There, they told her that she should go in the ambulance to U Hospital for x-rays of her foot, ankle, knee and hip. She had the cell phone and the car keys with her, and she also wanted her Dad with her - so Dick was paged in the stadium to go to first aid.
Jana's "ambulance guys"


The next time I spoke to them she was in the ER, and Dick was with her, taking pictures. At that time she was still being examined and hadn't yet been x-rayed. She was in some pain, but seemed to be OK.



So I spent the rest of the afternoon listening for the phone to ring, talking to Laurie and Chip, and sporadically watching the game on TV.

Since I'm the only one of the three of us who has had a chance to watch the football game - here are some fleeting impressions that I found memorable: There were at least 3 plays reviewed that I know of. One of them was a Michigan touchdown that was kind of a phantom touchdown - I think that mistakes were made in the review booth upstairs. I'm sure it will be controversial forever. Michigan somehow managed to stay even with State up until the 4th quarter. The score was tied 14-14 at the half and 21-21 at the beginning of the 4th quarter. The State quarterback was sacked at least 3 times that I saw - although I must admit that I didn't watch continuously. Brandon Graham got all 3 sacks. It appears that State may be winning statistically - total yards, etc. State missed 2 fieldgoals - one was blocked and one was shanked. State easily got two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to win 35-21.

Losing the game doesn't seem like that much of a tragedy to us today. We have been preoccupied with our own personal stuff, and so to us, this time football is just a game.

U-M Loses to Spartans in Battle for Paul Bunyan Trophy
October 25, 2008

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan State 35, Michigan 21
Records: U-M (2-6, 1-3 Big Ten), MSU (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten)
Attendance: 110,146
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Nov. 1 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The Paul Bunyan Trophy will reside in East Lansing for the first time in seven years as the University of Michigan football team fell 35-21 to the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 25) at Michigan Stadium in the 101st meeting between the programs.

MSU's big-play offense registered two of the four longest plays against U-M's defense all season, scoring touchdowns on a 64-yard rush and a 61-yard pass while rolling up 473 total yards of offense. Spartan quarterback Brian Hoyer completed passes of 61, 50 and 44 yards to finish with 282 yards through the air and three throwing scores. His most potent target, Blair White, caught passes of 61 and 50 yards, finishing with 143 yards and a touchdown.

UPDATE;
Here's a letter that I just wrote to Sharon with the update on our day from hell:

We are all fine. I have deep bruises where the seat belt goes, from my right hip to my left shoulder. All I have to say is Thank God for seatbelts!. I also have a lesser bruise on my left knee - I think it must have hit the steering wheel. So no big deal really. The car is a different story. We're glad that Jana's car is here.

Jana is OK - nothing is broken! She has crutches and an air cast on her ankle. She has bruises too, of course. We're just so relieved that she has no broken bones. She's limping around the apt. on one crutch. They got home from the ER around 9:40 p.m.
Limping around the apartment

At U Hospital ER, you have to go through security!


We're fine - just aches and 'bruisiness" and it's just a reminder of how lucky we are compared to what might have been. All's well that ends well, the the only real victim is our poor little Subaru.

Hi Sue!

Susan came to town to visit Molly, and so after the workout we met her for coffee.

It was nice to see her and we had a nice long conversation and solved most of the world's problems.. well maybe not. Anyway, it was lovely to have her in town.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging around the apartment - reading and playing WoW. Restful and pleasant.

Hi Sharon! Hi John!

We drove up to Lansing to visit with John and Sharon, and to see more pictures of baby Maya! We had a great visit - it's always fun to catch up on the family news. It was very special to hear about their trip to L.A. to visit their first grandchild, and to see the special pictures. You just can't get enough of baby pictures!

John treated us to lunch at the Red Robin - that's always enjoyable. Thank you John!
We had an interesting conversation, and we all enjoyed just sitting and talking after lunch.

On the way into the restaurant, Dick noticed that the gas price across the street was $2.81, and on the way out at the same station the price was $2.73 after just an hour or so! Of course we filled up.

On the way up and back to Ann Arbor we found nine caches. It was a beautiful drive - the fall colors are arriving in southern Michigan and the red maples in particular are just glowing.

Phooey on Phootball

We were out and about this morning, mostly over on campus trying to scout out clues for a difficult multi-cache. We think we have solved it now, but we haven't completed it yet. Dick did find a difficult one near Pioneer High School.

We felt obligated to watch the football game - I was on the computer and occasionally glanced at the TV - and occasionally was more than enough. We actually enjoyed the first 17 minutes of the game, and that's something.

Michigan Falls at No. 3 Penn State in Big Ten Clash
October 18, 2008

Site: University Park, Pa. (Beaver Stadium)
Score: #3 Penn State 46, Michigan 17
Records: U-M (2-5, 1-2 Big Ten), Penn State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Attendance: 110,017
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Oct. 25 -- vs. Michigan State (Michigan Stadium), 3:30 p.m.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 3-ranked Penn State University scored 39 unanswered points to end a nine-game losing streak to the University of Michigan football team with a 46-17 victory on Saturday evening (Oct. 18) at Beaver Stadium. The announced crowd of 110,017 fans was the fourth-largest in stadium history and the largest road crowd played in front of by the Wolverines in school history.

Lunch With Todd

Today we had a lovely lunch with my cousin Todd at the Olive Garden. It was fun to see him again, and we had lots to talk about. He's a good story teller, and we really enjoyed his company. The Olive Garden lunch is always a winner.

Afterward, armed with a hint from the cache owner, we went back downtown to find the pub micro that stumped us previously. Here's Dick's log of our successful search:

Found it 10/17/2008 You found Michigan Craft Brewing: Treetown (Traditional Cache)
A lot of the time when we go back and, aided by additional assistance from an owner or previous finder, find a cache we had missed on an earlier trip, we can't figure out how we missed it the first time. Not in this case. Both of us had searched the spot "thoroughly" on our first visit. We missed it because we flat out did not look carefully enough. Thanks for the help and thanks for the cache.

Jackson

It was a good day to drive over to Jackson.

We spent the day there - found 8 caches (and couldn't find two). It was a very pleasant day. It was fun to reminisce about some good times in the old days when the Mirzas lived there. I remember visiting there one time with the kids. Mrs. Mirza came to me and told me that my children were playing with matches in the garage! It turned out to be no big deal, but at the time I was embarrassed and horrified! We drove past Thompson Street and also past the Queen of the Miraculous Medals Church where Mrs. Mirza went every day.

Cascades Park is a beautiful place - well used by joggers, bikers, dog walkers, and some who actually walk without a dog. There were two caches to find in the park, and Dick did quite a bit of hiking around it - nice place.

We ate lunch a a sad little place called Ted's Firefighters Pub. They claimed to have more firefighter memorabilia than any place else in Southern Michigan. (Not a very wide ranging claim!)

We were touched by the waitress who lost her good job because of a back injury, is a single mom with two kids, and can't afford medical insurance. One of her kids has medicaid, and that's it. We were interested because of our past work with the Medicare/Medicaid Assistance program. She was appealing and friendly, but we still wouldn't recommend the pub!

Relaxing

After the Geezer Workout we went shopping at Kroger, which is a big, beautiful store. We were there because there was a micro hidden in a parking lot behind Kroger's. It was one in a series of micros hidden all around Ypsi/Ann Arbor. This one was Micro Madness #18.

After a tour of campus, we went home and relaxed - Dick by reading his book, and me by playing the game. I'm having a lot of fun completing the new achievement challenges. Right now I'm working on exploring all of the continents. It's just one of he many new achievementts available now on WoW...more fun than ever.

We also had a nice phone conversation with Dylan, who was staying home from school with a fever.

Round and Round

We went exploring in Ann Arbor, and found many interesting places. Bader Park is kind of a pocket park in a neighborhood off of Arlington St. It's really hard to locate, but Dick found it and even found a cache there.

We drove around the campus of Washtenaw Community College - it's quite an impressive layout - and it's beautifully maintained. We got a cache there, and also one across the way near the grounds of St. Joe's. It's always fun to tour Ann Arbor and today was no exception.

The most puzzling cache was at lunch time. There are a couple of brew pub caches downtown, and we ate lunch at one of the brew pubs, and then went searching. We both looked and looked, and searched and searched, and gave it a good go, with no luck. The other one was no problem.

We parked in a parking structure across the street from the pub - it was very convenient, but I'm not a big fan of parking structures. We always have to go round and round and round and park on level five. Well, at least that's what it seems like.

If It's Monday, This Must Be Manchester

Another beautiful day developed - perfect for road-tripping and geocaching, of course! Altogether we found six caches - two puzzles, three cemeteries and a clock tower. Most of them were in the area of Manchester (Home of the Famous Chicken Broil)!

One was in Chi-Bro, a village park named for the chicken broil - how would you pronounce that? That park had some great playscapes for kids, as you can see.



We had lunch at the Hungry Wolf. It was a really nice shiny new place with kind of a mediocre menu. The food didn't measure up to the really nice facility.

When we got home Dick went to the mall and found these trees that are blooming - in October! Those little blossoms are in for a big surprise!




Back home at Valley Ranch, a hummer and two other big SUVs were parked right in front of our apartment door. It seems that Homeland Security has moved in to the apartment next door - boy, do we ever feel safe!

Vibrant Town

After the tough disappointment of yesterday's game, we discovered that it's still fun just being in Ann Arbor.

We drove around the stadium, checking out all of the new contruction - it's extensive, and won't be completed until 2010.



My forecast as of today is that by 2010, if the football program doesn't improve tremendously, the beautiful, huge, expanded new stadium will be almost empty on game days!

Dick found these comments about the Michigan 2008 Football Program in the Ann Arbor News website. The first one is my favorite - I feel the same way:

Why should this coach get a pass? He's taking a winning program, turning it into a losing program, just to turn it into a winning one. If he was such a great coach, he would know how to evaluate talent, and devise a game plan with that talent. He needs to take responsibility instead of coming up with excuses (players are soft, I don't have the skill players I need, etc). I would expect him to be winning a National title by the 3rd year, otherwise, why was he hired? Michigan was already winning consistently and going to bowl games.

The next one is a little bit silly, except that we figured from the outset that if RR would walk away from West Virginia and his alma mater, he would certainly walk away from Michigan too.

Well, Michigan fans, you were all in such a hurry to push a classy guy like Lloyd Carr out the door in a knee jerk overreaction to App.State. All I can say is, enjoy your new girlfriend.....it's just a matter of time before you catch her in bed with someone else.

I must say that I agree with this next comment word for word. It seems that we have to look at this season in a philosophical way in order to live through it.

RR must stop making it about his coaching philosophy and the way he wants to do things and begin focusing on how he can equip his players and coaching staff with the tools they need to be successful. The focus must return to Michigan traditions and what has made this program the great program it is. Regardless of the current won-loss record, the unwise decisions of an AD or the total debacle of RR, none of these will negate what Michigan football is all about. However, all have contributed to this sad time in Michigan football history.

Downtown, tons of people were have a leisurely breakfast/brunch out on the street cafes because it's a gorgeous day. Ann Arbor is such a vibrant town. I wanted to have a German Sunday dinner because that's one of the things that AA is famous for. The Heidelburg wasn't open yet, so we went for a drive and wound up at Metzger's, which is now out on Zeeb Road after 75 years downtown.

Dick needed more books, so we went to the library - we got library cards last year and they just had to be renewed at the desk - no problem. We use the Pittsfield Branch of the Ann Arbor Library. It's a beautiful new building - unique architecture - and it's right on Oak Valley Drive, not very far away. We feel like it's "our" library.

A little shopping at Meijer, and then home to play World of Warcraft - it was so much fun - we finished a quest that's been bugging me for a year (the Jump-a-tron). Tom and Jana were playing too - it's always fun to "see" them.

Ouch

Today was another historic marker in the new Rich Rodriguez era of Michigan Football. Today we lost to Toledo, a member of the MAC. It was our first ever loss to a
MAC team. We had several chances to pull out a victory, but it wasn't to be. We were all very dispirited - especially poor Tony, who never in his wildest dreams imagined that such a thing could happen.

It was a beautiful day for a football game, warm and sunny. The stands were not as crowded as last week, so we were all comfortable and had plenty of room for a change. It was a noon start which we all prefer over the later starts. Everything was perfect except for the football team. I'm no expert, but I can only remember 3 or 4 plays that were well-executed and successful in the whole game. It was really a pathetic performance that we watched this afternoon. We are becoming discouraged, dejected, demoralized, disheartened and depressed. Next week these boys have to go to Happy Valley...OMG.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Toledo 13, Michigan 10
Records: U-M (2-4), Toledo (2-4)
Attendance: 107,267
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Oct. 18 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 4:30 p.m.


ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Trailing by three with eight seconds remaining in the game, fifth/senior kicker K.C. Lopata (Farmington, Mich./Farmington) missed a 26-yard field goal wide left as the University of Michigan football team fell 13-10 to the Toledo Rockets on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 11) at Michigan Stadium. U-M's loss is the first to a MAC school in program history.

Justin and Heather (Wolverine Warriors) sat with us today. I'm sure they thought they were guaranteed to see a victory against an opponent like Toledo. No such guarantees this year. This team is changing the meaning of "Blue". Instead of Go Blue, we go home blue.

Little to Offer

Neighbor Mary sent me this blog address: www.womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com
It's a collection of entries by women venting about The Twit. Even for me, some of the entries seem a little vitriolic, but on the other hand some of them are right on the mark. My favorite thought or idea is the following one, comparing running for election with going for a job interview, and pointing out the Twit's total lack of ideas on major issues:

Sarah Palin's smear tactics do not represent me because I am a thinking woman. When I present myself for a job or for office, I present why I am the best person for the job. I explain why you need me. It is a waste of my time and yours for me to go on about why the other guy is bad—why the other guy is bad has no bearing on how good I am. It is completely irrelevant.

What Mrs Palin's mudslinging strategy does is show us that because she has so little to offer, she has to resort to the lowest tactics of all to win the race. She can't tell us why she is fit, because she's not fit. She can't tell us about her excellent ideas for the economy, immigration, crime, world peace, etc, because she has none. Her only option to win this race is to kneecap the other guy. Nancy U. age 44

Monty Python Strikes Again

Have you ever watched the old TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus? It was so sunny, funny, entertaining, memorable and a little bit strange, being British.

Have you ever watched Sean Hannity? Out of the adjectives used above, he is merely strange, being terminally and disturbingly conservative and egotistical.

Last night on TV, Keith Olbermann read this poem, which was written by John Cleese of Monty Python fame. Hearing it is probably funnier than reading it, but I thought it was so clever and funny that I couldn't pass it up:

ODE TO SEAN HANNITY
by John Cleese

Aping urbanity,

Oozing with vanity,

Plump as a manatee,

Faking humanity,

Journalistic calamity,

Intellectual inanity,

Fox Noise insanity,

You’re a profanity,

Hannity.

Talked to Laurie this morning - Dylan fell on his head and got a huge bump on his forehead, but he's OK - no harm done.

Dick and I went geocaching in a northerly direction - mostly in Livingston County. We had lunch in Hamburg, but we ate corned beef.

Nine caches were uncovered - one virtual and eight regular. Again, we had perfect weather - an absolutely beautiful day.

We had fun in the Hudson Mills Metropark - there was a large group of small children, wearing uniforms, together with several adults and the park naturalist. They walked around the park from place to place - when we first saw them they were examining little fish and water bugs in big tubs of water on picnic tables.

Some of the caches were in a new Metropark - so new that the entrance is down a dirt road. It's called Huron Meadows Metropark - but it's so rural, it takes the "metro" out of metropark! It's a terrific place, and seems to be popular - there was a lot of activity there today. It's near Brighton.

Breakfast With Lloyd

Gee, we had a good time. Lloyd is the same guy that he was 30 years ago. It was very comfortable and fun and interesting. I especially enjoyed hearing him tell about his trip to China. His stories about past football players were really enjoyable, too. We didn't spend anytime reminiscing about the old days in Belleville, but we did catch up on the kids and grandkids. He has 5 grandchildren - 2 boys and 3 girls.

We also discussed the current money crunch - but I'm afraid we didn't solve any of the nation's problems.

It was interesting to hear him talk about the difference in coaching today versus back in Bo's time. Back then there was no sports talk radio, no internet, no ESPN - so even though coaching is always stressful, it was less stressful at that time. He said that Bo often said that he wouldn't be able to coach these days - and Lloyd told him, "You'd be able to coach, but it wouldn't be as much fun!"

We had breakfast at The Broken Egg - it's a cute little shop on Main Street decorated with every possible University of Michigan item that was ever made - no kidding. He says that at certain times of the day you can't get into it because it's full of students.

Dick thinks that Lloyd is glad to be out of the pressure cooker, and that he likes his new job - mostly public relations - and that Lloyd has a good working relationship with Mrs. Coleman, President of the University.

Afterwards we went geocaching and found 12 caches - That's a lot for us. Well, OK, most of them were the easy parking lot type of caches, but still. It was the perfect day to do it, and our excursion took us very near our old stomping ground. We ate lunch at La Fuente Authentic Mexican Restaurant in Ypsi Township. It was great - we would go back there.