Road Trip

Walters and Hemming showed up and declared there was nothing wrong with the furnace. He did clean up a few things, but didn't have to repair anything.

When he left, we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted, so we went on a remarkable road trip, lasting from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.! Of course we were out geo-caching. The adventure began at the Bottle House in Kaleva, and ended in the Manistee National Forest with six caches in all.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=d1c4c48e-a34e-4e60-84f6-c6cfb11b1dd1

We found two caches on High Bridge Road. It was an enjoyable drive through the National Forest. The North Country Trail winds around through that area, and one of the caches we found in the forest was right on the trail.
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=4fd7da5c-78d7-4422-b51d-7a95be0019da

We ate lunch in Manistee at Four Forty West. It's a challenge driving through Manistee these days because the U.S.31 bridge is under construction and traffic is detoured through the town. The town is not designed for highway traffic, and the lines were horrendous.


So once we got through that, we decided to keep going and not try to return on 31. We found some great caches southwest of Manistee, and while we were there, we went down Sugar Grove Rd. to check out Bill and Jan's old cottage on Round Lake near Fountain. It brought back lots of good memories, and it looks great.
Ate dinner at the Hofbrau House in Interlochen - very nice as usual.

Off To See The Wizard

This morning Dick noticed that the furnace was coming on erratically. He researched the problem and decided to call for service. Walters and Hemming are coming tomorrow. In the meantime, the wood stove is doing a great job of keeping us cozy.

Mother and I went blithely off to see Dr. Auer, forgetting that it was an appointment for her annual physical. Oh well - she refused almost all of the exams except for stethoscope for heart and lungs.

We told the Doctor about her bad reaction to the neurontin 300 mg., so he gave us a new prescription for neurontin 100 mg. She didn't want to get it filled today, so it's filed away in her purse.

Mother is extremely short of breath and has lots of spells of dizziness. Dr. Auer's nurse (Brandi) put an oxygen test device on Mother's finger and took her for a short walk, and it revealed that her blood oxygen was very low. Brandi did an EKG, which showed little change from last year's results, so her heart is not the problem. Dr. Auer thinks it may be that Mom's lungs are not working properly. He said she needed a chest x-ray, and a test at Munson to determine lung function (using a peak flow meter). He recommended home oxygen to ease her shortness of breath. Mother's responses: chest x-ray - No; test at Munson - No; home oxygen - I don't want to do that. Dr. Auer put each recommendation on her computerized chart, followed by "politely declined".

Mother did agree to go to the lab for blood tests. He's testing for thyroid function, because of her sleepiness and for anemia because of her low oxygen level. She also got her flu shot.
She's a real trooper at the Doctor's office. I know it's hard for her to get around, but she won't hear of a wheelchair or a walker. She just leans on my arm and holds her head up. She weighed 105 and was 62 inches tall (both while wearing shoes).

So I guess things will go on as they are now indefinitely - she's happy just being at home. Dr. Auer told her to take it very easy, and don't bend over or do anything that might make her light-headed. We were there for 2 hours, and most of that time, Dr. Auer was with her. He is very considerate of her and talks about Dutch and I think she almost enjoys it!

In the evening we watched the Vice-Presidential debate. It was very absorbing and we watched every word for the full 90 minutes. We feel it was most likely a draw. We would have liked to hear Cheney explain Halliburton a bit more, and answer some of the charges Edwards made. For instance Cheney voted against Headstart and the Department of Education among other domestic issues when he was in Congress. This is shocking to me and I would have like to hear the explanation. I also thought it was alarming that he would back the President on the Constitutional amendment against gay marriage, even though he disagrees with it. Sometimes loyalty can be carried too far, especially if it goes against your personal beliefs.

Fall is Definitely Here At Last

Yesterday Dick built a fire in the wood stove and it felt so good. This morning he did it again, and I think our wood-burning season is definitely here. That wood fire feels terrific!
Dick spent the day at the Agency - had 2 appointments and a walk-in together with all the phone messages - he had a very busy day.
I went to the Let's Go Blue Shop to pick up the money from the Iowa tickets, and left the Minnesota and Northwestern tickets for them to sell. Dick has decided he's going to stay home with me and watch the rest of Michigan's season on TV.

I'm really sorry that we have to miss all the fun of the stadium, but I'm happy to have him stay home with me. Yesterday we sent State tickets to the Washingtons and the Lichtenbergs.
I drove down to the marina, intending to walk a bit on the TART, but it was so cold and windy that I changed my mind. The wind was out of the north, and the waves were crashing - a really chilly day.

TCL&P, NFL, and Mother

Life on River Road was extremely frustrating this morning: Dick was trying to use his computer; I was trying to watch something on TiVo (the end of Apprentice). Between 7:30 and 8:30, the power clicked off 8 times. It would come back on within 2 minutes or so, but the thing is - the computer has to reboot each time and go through all of the security features, etc., so it would just get back up and running, and the power would click off again. And as for the TiVo, it takes several minutes to power up also. So over and over again, we kept thinking - there - it's all fixed now...but no! I tried calling L&P to see if they were aware of what was happening, but the line was busy, so I guess they were aware. Finally it quit altogether for a while, and when it came back it was a brown-out situation, so Dick flicked the master switch to protect our motors.


Eventually we got back into total power and it's been OK since. Cheesh. Later in the day we went into town via Keystone Road, and there was a lot of equipment sitting around those new poles along the railroad track. Dick thinks that they switched off the power each time they connected a new line. He's probably right.

There was a lot of soccer-doccering going on at the TBAYS fields - they were only using the new end.

We watched some football - Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for a while and later, Denver and Tampa Bay. Football is fun. Tom Brady beat the Buffalo Bills 31-17. Brady hasn't lost in 53 weeks.



We went into see Mother - I took in some chili for her supper, and some cans of beef stew for later. She was in her drowsy mode - very weak, couldn't keep her eyes open, slurred speech- for most of the visit. She took a Neurontin last night, and I think that drug just wipes her out for hours and hours. It must be way too strong for her. Luckily we have a doctor appointment for her on Tuesday so I can check with her doctor to see if there's a smaller dosage, or if she could take just half a pill. I'm convinced that it's not her, it's the drug that causes this reaction. Dick removed the air conditioner, put away the hoses, turned off the outside water, changed the furnace filter, took out the trash and the recycling, and removed the plants from the dining room. Mother didn't want them any more. After we got home, I called her, and she seemed much better - more alert and more like her old self.

The Creamed and Crimson

In the morning Dick dug up all the bushes that he wants to save from in front of the house. The workers are coming sometime this week. I changed bed linens (scrubby scrubby) and went grocery shopping.

An older man in a kayak dumped in front of our riverside deck. The air temperature was around 54 - the water must have been chilly to say the least. I suggested we ask him if he wanted towels and cup of tea. But Dick went down and offered him the dry shirt off his back! The man had been wearing a sweatshirt, and he had taken it off, so Dick gave him the sweatshirt he was wearing. After the football game, when we were eating our chili, the man drove up and returned the shirt.

Then (ta-da) in the afternoon we watched football. First, Michigan State lost their game with Iowa by kind of a large margin. (38-16) But Michigan did much better against Indiana! (Whose colors are Cream and Crimson. I'm not kidding.)

This from mgoblue.com:

Two long kick returns and career-best days from Chad Henne and Braylon Edwards powered the No. 19-ranked Michigan football team to a 35-14 win at Indiana Saturday, Oct. 2, in Bloomington, Ind. Leon Hall returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown to put U-M up 14-7, and Grant Mason returned the opening kickoff of the second half 97 yards to set up Michael Hart's one-yard TD run. Henne competed 17 of 21 passes for 316 yards and three scores, and Edwards caught eight balls for 165 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

It was a very nice, relaxing, fun game. Not really a nail-biter.

Happy October

Today it was my turn to go have a perm and a haircut. Hooray!

Then I picked up Mother, and we went to the bank and Tom's. She stayed in the car, and did not walk around. When we got back to her house, she was very weak and short of breath. She really hasn't felt like herself all week. Perhaps it's just a minor bug of some sort.

When I got home, Dick and I took a ride to Northport to find a geo-cache. We found it in a really nice park west of Northport, on a high hill. Then we went to North Country Gardens, the best gift shop in the universe. Bought several unique greeting cards, and some small items for Dylan.

It was a very pleasant day, and the weather was perfect.

Smokin'

Dick smoked ribs today for about 5 hours - the ribs need tending every 45 minutes so we stuck around home. He was in "end of summer" mode, preparing to put away all of the summer deck furniture, umbrellas, picnic tables, etc. I guess it's that time of year again.
We watched the so-called debate with interest - John Kerry was the clear winner. W just keeps repeating himself - I guess he can't help it.

Cut and Curl

Today I took Mother to Sally Sue Kurtz Lagerman (age 72) at the Cut and Curl for a haircut and a perm. Sally's not a really fast worker - it took almost three hours. But Mother looked great at the end of it all.


I had fun too, running errands, Library, Post Office, walking around down town. Finished Hemlock Bay, by Catherine Coulter. That author really know how to write a gripping story, with great characters. Not overly realistic, but highly enjoyable.

Stormy Bay

After doing some more housework and "computerizing", we drove into town to do errands. We ran into Shannon at Sam's Club.

The most interesting and exciting thing was that there was another cruise ship in at the Maritime Academy. There was a fierce wind out of the north, and that always makes the bay full of white caps and high waves. The cruise ship was using two small shuttle boats to ferry passengers between the ship and the shore. The wind was so strong, and the waves were so high that these shuttle boats were really rocking and rolling around out there. It did not look like a pleasant ride at all! I felt sorry for the passengers. The cruise ship kept turning to try to shelter the small boats from the wind so they could load and unload safely. Dick took some pictures, and I was glued to the binoculars. It was quite exciting for our little town. The cruise ship was named Columbus, out of Nassau.


We ate lunch at the U and I - most enjoyable.

All is Well

Dick worked at the Agency this morning and didn't get home till almost 3 p.m. He had a very busy morning with phone calls plus a meeting with a client.

At home I vacuumed and dusted and cleaned up the kitchen - housework is easier at the moment.

Laurie called on her cell phone - it's back in service. The land-line is not working still. They came through the whole hurricane with flying colors. At midnight, during the eye of the hurricane, the neighbors were all out helping to keep the drains clear of debris so that the street wouldn't flood...and it didn't. Laurie and Dylan slept on the floor of the closet with the door closed to shut out the noise (from about 3 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.) The wind howls so loudly and it's so strong...she said the glass of the windows was bowing inward. The shutters protect from impact, but they're not air tight. Dylan said he was not scared. He thinks that a hurricane is probably not worse than one of our blizzards. Hmmm. I'm just thankful that they have power - millions of homes don't - they are really lucky.

Hurricane Jeanne

Dick left Belleville around 8:30 a.m. and got home at 6 p.m. He did quite a few geocaches on the way home! He says he did about 18 in all. He's a dedicated geo-cacher for sure.

Here at home, the Ponitac died in the driveway, so I couldn't go to the store and I couldn't go to town (obviously). I put whatever I could find here in the crock pot, because I wasn't sure what time Dick would get home. It turned out to be chicken stew, and it was good.

Laurie emailed that the hurricane blew over them all night and they lost power and phones - and their cell phones didn't work either. But by some miracle, their power came back on at 10 a.m. I'm so glad! They say that there are millions of homes with no power in Florida, so they are the most fortunate people in the State. Their paper says that there will be no school until further notice. Their phones are still not working.

Mother fell today and hit her forehead on the carpeting in the dining room. She says she's fine and has no bruises or anything. I called her throughout the day to keep checking on her. I couldn't get the car started to go see her. If I had thought it was serious I would have called a cab or Enterprise. Where there's a will, there's a way! But I think she's OK.

We Win, We Win

Michigan finally got its act together and beat Iowa 30-17. It's fun watching it on TiVo because you can watch other things for a few minutes, and then switch over to the game and only watch the plays - missing all the commercials, commentaries, and sideline stuff. Seems to make it go much faster.

This from Mgoblue.com:

The No. 18 Michigan football team won its Big Ten opener for the 23rd straight season as the Wolverines forced five Iowa turnovers and quickly turned four of them into touchdowns for a 30-17 victory Saturday, Sept. 25, at Michigan Stadium. Braylon Edwards (left) put Michigan ahead for good with a 58-yard TD catch from Chad Henne with 8:28 left in the first quarter following an Iowa fumble. U-M also had two two-play scoring drives after Hawkeye turnovers, and Grant Mason returned an interception 25 yards for a score.

It's also nice that Michigan State beat Indiana 30-20. This is one weekend when everyone did well.

Talked to Laurie and Dylan. They are expecting Hurricane Jeanne sometime before midnight tonight. They have done everything possible to prepare. I think that Dylan believes that everyone lives like that - storm after storm. Laurie is expecting to be without power for an extended period this time - the repairs done after Hurricane Frances were temporary. Now all the repair crews are over on the Gulf trying to clean up after Hurricane Ivan. Florida is obviously not ready for this kind of an assault by Mother Nature. Chip's trip was cancelled, so at least they are all together.

Dick called from Belleville. Belleville beat Fordson last night 14-7. They are having a great season so far. He doesn't think they are that good, they're just lucky.

Sprinklers

Dick left for Belleville quite early because he planned to stop in Mt. Pleasant for some geo-caching along the way. Tomorrow Michigan plays Iowa at 3:30.



Today our sprinklers were winterized, which is really silly because the weather feels more like July than September.
I went to Brown Lumber and made the deposit on our exterior job (re-insulation and porch roof). The man said they would probably begin next week mid-week.

I ran some errands and watched my soap. Then I took pizza and Greek salad in to Mother's and we had a nice Friday night pizza dinner together. She's in fine fettle. (what is a fettle, anyway...)

In Florida, Laurie and Chip are hunkering down getting ready for hurricane Jeanne. Dylan had no school today. They are expecting the hurricane sometime on Sunday. Will this never end? Laurie is somehow keeping her sense of humor - this is the email she sent today:

The shutters are back up. ( See previous message about Frances) We have food and water. Our batteries supply is good. Dylan wants to sleep in his fortress. (See previous message about Frances.) The only difference is this time I have a new cell phone battery! I don't think the St Lucie schools will ever open.
Love Laurie

I have decided to be an ostrich this weekend and not watch the news. It is so depressing to hear about what goes on in Iraq day after day after month. The situation is worsening so that it's beginning to appear hopeless, and our efforts over there seem futile. Not to mention that we shouldn't have gone in there in the first place.


I cannot imagine what it must feel like to be the mother of a soldier stationed in Iraq. (shudder)

So this is my weekend to be an ostrich, and maybe I'll solve all the problems of the world next week.

A Hooray Day

Today I was feeling much, much better - tackled all the laundry and made quite a dent in it.
Dick mowed the entire yard, including the paths - it took him about 2 1/2 hours.
We used one of our visitor center coupons and had lunch at La Senorita .
Talked to Dylan this morning - he said he had a headache. I think that's unusual - I remember lots of little kids had tummy aches when it was time for school - but not headaches. Laurie is not worried. Palm City has no school again Friday - they call off school 48 hours before a hurricane is expected so that people will have time to decide what they're going to do. Evidently Hurricane Jean is expected on Sunday. It must be nerve-wracking to feel like a sitting duck in the path of hurricane after hurricane. Laurie and Chip are doing fine.
We are going to have the driveway side of our house re-sided and re-insulated and a new porch roof put on over my bedroom window and the guest room door. Not sure when the work will start.

Dick's Birthday

I was in the infusion clinic from 8:30-2:00 p.m. getting 2 units of prc (packed red cells).
Dick met Tim and Susie (Dinoduo) for lunch at La Cuisine Amical, and they had a great time talking geo-caching. I don't think he told them that it was his birthday.
I picked up some whitefish and scallops and Boston cream pie on the way home, and we had a great Birthday dinner.

Jana's Birthday

Called Dr. Burke - numbers from last blood test were not that good - another blood transfusion is scheduled for tomorrow (Wed.)
We spent the day at the computer. Dick was writing up and encoding a new cache that we placed yesterday. I was editing the reunion pictures and emailing everyone to see who wants pictures. I sent out about 5 sets of pictures to various relatives.
Took a break around 3:00 to go see Mother and show her all of the reunion memorabilia. She seems fine.
Today is Jana's Birthday. Happy Birthday, sweetie. We talked to her this evening and she's happy and peppy.

Geocache Your Way Home

Driving from Belleville to Traverse City we found 5 caches. I found one! Yippee! It was a lovely day, and we had a really good time. It took us all day to get home.
Message on answer machine from Dr. Burke. I'll call him tomorrow.

Kanitz Family Reunion

We got to the Tri-County Sportsmens' League around 10 a.m. The hall was in great shape -all clean and shiny . The tables were all set up. We set the chairs on the floor, unloaded the car, stashed the ice cream in the freezer and waited for Jim and Emilie to arrive with the table covers. When the covers were on, we decorated all of the tables. The theme was red, white and blue.

We all made coffee, punch, and iced tea - Dan and Kris arrived. The guests began arriving at around 12:30. It was great to see the first cousins doing so well. Out of 27 first cousins, 14 are

living, and 6 attended. Jim handled the microphone and Emilie gave the invocation. I took minutes, and Dick counted the money. We had attendance of 124, and the collection was $340.

Kris and Dan were a very big help. We also got help arranging the hot dishes and salads from Wanda, Dawn, and Marilyn, among others. Enjoyed talking to Ron, Loyola, and Myrtle was there in a wheelchair, looking very elegant. It was a very pleasant event.
Before we left, we had to put the hall back in the condition in which we found it. Dick did most of the table and chair arranging, packing up, and loading the car. Everybody really was great help in the kitchen - Emilie washed up the utensils we used.
We left around 4:30.
And I was very glad when it was over.
Back in Belleville, we took Sniders and Tammy and Eric out to dinner at Applebee's. Tammy is expecting in Feb. and it's very much fun to hear all of their plans. We all went back to Snider's for dessert - cake and ice cream from the reunion.
Watched Working Girl and went to bed.

Game Day

Arrived in the parking lot at Pioneer early and did a Mac Land tail gate. It costs $25 now for a car to park at Pioneer. Across the street at Ann Arbor Golf and Outing, it costs $40. I don't know how much it costs at the University Golf Course. We asked the ticket seller how much it was for RVs - $75 for the day and $125 for overnight.
After I walked around the parking lot for a while, I realized that there was no way I could make it to the stadium. So I didn't go to the game. (Foreshadowing - I was wondering about the results of the blood test on Thursday). I stayed by the car - and it was great. I had a lawn chair, a radio, lots of water, and it was a gorgeous day.
Michigan beat SanDiego State 24-21 (by the skin of their teeth). But at least it was a victory.
From mgoblue.com:

After trailing 21-17 at halftime, the No. 17-ranked Michigan football team shut out San Diego State in the second half and hung on for a 24-21 victory Saturday, Sept. 18, at Michigan Stadium. Braylon Edwards (left) scored the go-ahead touchdown on a seven-yard pass from Chad Henne to cap U-M's 79-yard scoring drive at the start of the second half. Edwards, who started the scoring with a 54-yard TD grab on the Wolverines' first play, finished with eight catches for 130 yards, while Michael Hart rushed 25 times for 121 yards.

At Sniders we watched State lose to Notre Dame.

Off to Belleville

Any trip to Belleville begins with breakfast at the Frosty Cup in Cadillac. Then we began a circuitous route downstate, so that Dick could do some geo-caching. There was a cache in the Reed City cemetery, but we struck out - Dick thinks it's no longer there.
In a very nice park in Morley, we had better luck. But then at a Rest Area farther south, we struck out again. But I did have time to sit at a picnic table and do my nails.
We ate lunch at Portland, and arrived at Snider's around 4:30. Dick went to the Belleville football game. Belleville won 9-6 over Y N . (get it?) Bill stayed home because of his hurt back.