Dick worked at the Agency this morning and then had a meeting scheduled for 2 p.m., so he wasn't coming home for lunch. Perfect time for coffee with the neighbors. Shirley McLenithan came over at about 10:30 and we had coffee and banana nut bread and talked for about an hour and a half. It was very enjoyable, and we are getting to know each other a little bit better. She lived in Ann Arbor for many years, so we have quite a bit in common besides living on River Road.
After she left I went grocery shopping - and that was about as exciting as the day got.
I love my new laptop.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Football Playoffs
Don't you find that you root for the strangest teams when the playoffs start? We admittedly root for the team that has the most ex-Michigan players on it. Today we were rooting for Cato June and Steve Hutchison. (doesn't even matter what team they're on!)
We went to town to find 2 new caches put out by M'lynn. We hit .500 for the day. The one we found was down by the Senior Center. The one we did not find was in the choo choo train behind Oryana. Several people have logged that they could not find that one. We'll give it another try later.
We stopped by the U&I on the off chance that the Greek Pirate travel bug was left there inadvertantly, and it was! We recovered the travel bug! Even more exciting than that is that one of the waitresses is going to Greece in 2 weeks and wants to take it there for us! So Dick will try to find a cacher in Greece who can pick it up from her and take it to the cache on top of the mountain where it's supposed to go. What are the odds that someone in TC would be going to Greece, and that the travel bug would find her??
We went to see Mother to do the trash and recycling. We took her some delicious pea soup. We didn't have a lot of news to share - but at least we touched base. She's trying hard to understand the iSight gizmo and being able to see Tom live on our computer - but for Mother it just doesn't compute. I can undertand that, because I'm boggled by it myself!
We went to town to find 2 new caches put out by M'lynn. We hit .500 for the day. The one we found was down by the Senior Center. The one we did not find was in the choo choo train behind Oryana. Several people have logged that they could not find that one. We'll give it another try later.
We stopped by the U&I on the off chance that the Greek Pirate travel bug was left there inadvertantly, and it was! We recovered the travel bug! Even more exciting than that is that one of the waitresses is going to Greece in 2 weeks and wants to take it there for us! So Dick will try to find a cacher in Greece who can pick it up from her and take it to the cache on top of the mountain where it's supposed to go. What are the odds that someone in TC would be going to Greece, and that the travel bug would find her??
We went to see Mother to do the trash and recycling. We took her some delicious pea soup. We didn't have a lot of news to share - but at least we touched base. She's trying hard to understand the iSight gizmo and being able to see Tom live on our computer - but for Mother it just doesn't compute. I can undertand that, because I'm boggled by it myself!
Saturday, January 08, 2005
The Lost Greek Pirate
We made pea soup with ham in our new crock pot. Cross your fingers.
We searched and searched, but we couldn't find the travel bug that wants to go to Greece. Dick was sure he had it after we left the U&I yesterday, but it wasn't in any pockets, in the car, or anywhere in the house. I guess in the total scheme of things, this is not a tragedy of any importance, but it's a little embarrassing to lose someone else's travel bug. (blush)
We did find two new caches - one at Clinch Park and one along the river behind the Post Office.
We came home to pea soup, which turned out to be the best pea soup we ever made. Hooray! The new crock pot is really nice.
We searched and searched, but we couldn't find the travel bug that wants to go to Greece. Dick was sure he had it after we left the U&I yesterday, but it wasn't in any pockets, in the car, or anywhere in the house. I guess in the total scheme of things, this is not a tragedy of any importance, but it's a little embarrassing to lose someone else's travel bug. (blush)
We did find two new caches - one at Clinch Park and one along the river behind the Post Office.
We came home to pea soup, which turned out to be the best pea soup we ever made. Hooray! The new crock pot is really nice.
Friday, January 07, 2005
Shopping Spree
We had quite a long list of things that need to be replaced, so we set out for Meijer - thinking that we could do one-stop shopping. I knew what kind of a crock pot I wanted, so we went there first - and they didn't have it. They had lots of crock pots, but not that particular one (5 qt. Rival Smart Pot). They didn't have the electric can opener we wanted either. We did get a steam iron and a clock radio and some groceries, and then we headed for the Post Office to mail bills.
Dick had picked up a Greek Pirate travel bug Tuesday in Gaylord at the Rainbow Trophy store. He wanted to take a picture of the travel bug with something Greek - so we went to the U&I for lunch, and Dick ordered a gyro. He propped the travel bug up next to the gyro and took its picture (geocachers are a little screwy).
After lunch we went to the Kitchen Collection at the Horizon Outlet Mall and were able to get the right crockpot and the right can opener. So now we are fully outfitted. Well...except for the new phone we want...but I think we're going to order that on the internet.
Mother seems comfortable with her new caretaker. She says Stacy is a good shopper, and that's very important to Mom.
Dick had picked up a Greek Pirate travel bug Tuesday in Gaylord at the Rainbow Trophy store. He wanted to take a picture of the travel bug with something Greek - so we went to the U&I for lunch, and Dick ordered a gyro. He propped the travel bug up next to the gyro and took its picture (geocachers are a little screwy).
After lunch we went to the Kitchen Collection at the Horizon Outlet Mall and were able to get the right crockpot and the right can opener. So now we are fully outfitted. Well...except for the new phone we want...but I think we're going to order that on the internet.
Mother seems comfortable with her new caretaker. She says Stacy is a good shopper, and that's very important to Mom.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
iSight
For Christmas, Tom gave us an iSight camera so we can communicate on the computer free. This is an amazing gizmo - I plugged it into the NEW LAPTOP and pushed a couple of keys, and there was Tom, sitting in his home in San Diego! It's like watching him on TV - you can see him clearly, hear him perfectly, and he can see and hear us. I don't know how often we will have a "tele-conference" like this, but the technology is great, and it was very exciting.
Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Integrity Individual Care
It turns out that Mother's new caregiver is only 23 years old, and yesterday was her first day on the job. I have mixed feelings about that...in a way I wish she were more experienced, but then she's young and flexible and not set in her ways, so Mom should be able to get her to do almost anything around the house. She made a couple of minor mistakes today (leaving lights on in the basement) but nothing that isn't correctable. She says she doesn't know how to do Mother's hair in rollers - so maybe we can keep Shannon on just to do the hair once a week!
After going to Mother's, I went shopping, put beef and carrot stew in the crock pot, and noticed that the lid was broken. So now I need a new crock pot. And a new iron. I see more shopping in my future.
Dick took down the outside lights except for the multi-colored ones on the tree we can see from the living room. Because they're too pretty to put away right now.
We've both logged a lot of computer time today - me at pogo.com, and Dick at geocaching.com. It's a good life.
After going to Mother's, I went shopping, put beef and carrot stew in the crock pot, and noticed that the lid was broken. So now I need a new crock pot. And a new iron. I see more shopping in my future.
Dick took down the outside lights except for the multi-colored ones on the tree we can see from the living room. Because they're too pretty to put away right now.
We've both logged a lot of computer time today - me at pogo.com, and Dick at geocaching.com. It's a good life.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Return of the GeoCaching King (RBS)
First of all, today we decided to update Mother's home care so that she would have reliable coverage. The way it is now, if the caregiver can't come, nobody comes and Mother is left alone and abandoned. (That may be a tad dramatic.) So tomorrow, we're going to try a new caregiver from a new company (Integrity Individual Care) and see how Mom likes it. Cross your fingers. This organization employs 22 caregivers, so that if one caregiver can't come, another will substitute. That would give us all a lot more peace of mind.
With that all arranged, we decided to go to Gaylord to find the caches that we had to forego when we were there on Dec. 2 because of the big storm. We hadn't been geocaching since our Florida weekend. We ate a late lunch (1:30) at the Sugar Bowl in downtown Gaylord, and then proceeded to find 5 caches right in Gaylord.
It was a memorable caching day because we were equipped with our new Basswood Bend pins for trading that Dick got for Christmas, our new Basswood Bend pencils, and our new Basswood Bend signature cards that Tom whipped up for us and put on a CD so we can have a never-ending supply.
The parking lot by the football field was a skating rink, but the main roads were clear and dry. My favorite find was at the Call of the Wild. What a clever cache! We almost gave up before finding it.
At Rainbow Trophy, Dick arranged for eb_ii to make us some metal signature items. He'll bring them to the Winter Convergence. Their parking lot was a sheet of ice, and Dick took a tumble. He only had a couple of minor abrasions on his hands, but I think he'll be feeling the after effects tomorrow!
Came home and made chili to eat while watching the National Championship Game between USC (ugh) and Oklahoma (ugher). While making the chili, I realized that it had been a long day, starting with a stressful morning making arrangements for Mother, some physical activity during the geo-caching, and a lot of hours logged in the car - but I didn't feel sick and I didn't feel tired. I'll tell you a secret. It really feels good to feel good. Hooray!
With that all arranged, we decided to go to Gaylord to find the caches that we had to forego when we were there on Dec. 2 because of the big storm. We hadn't been geocaching since our Florida weekend. We ate a late lunch (1:30) at the Sugar Bowl in downtown Gaylord, and then proceeded to find 5 caches right in Gaylord.
It was a memorable caching day because we were equipped with our new Basswood Bend pins for trading that Dick got for Christmas, our new Basswood Bend pencils, and our new Basswood Bend signature cards that Tom whipped up for us and put on a CD so we can have a never-ending supply.
The parking lot by the football field was a skating rink, but the main roads were clear and dry. My favorite find was at the Call of the Wild. What a clever cache! We almost gave up before finding it.
At Rainbow Trophy, Dick arranged for eb_ii to make us some metal signature items. He'll bring them to the Winter Convergence. Their parking lot was a sheet of ice, and Dick took a tumble. He only had a couple of minor abrasions on his hands, but I think he'll be feeling the after effects tomorrow!
Came home and made chili to eat while watching the National Championship Game between USC (ugh) and Oklahoma (ugher). While making the chili, I realized that it had been a long day, starting with a stressful morning making arrangements for Mother, some physical activity during the geo-caching, and a lot of hours logged in the car - but I didn't feel sick and I didn't feel tired. I'll tell you a secret. It really feels good to feel good. Hooray!
Monday, January 03, 2005
Oopsie
Dick worked at the Agency this morning, and before he left he asked me to fill out the forms for the $100 rebate for the Epson. In doing so, I discovered that we needed to include the proof of purchase from the boxes of both the Epson and the iBook - which we recycled yesterday. I spoke to Dick, and he stopped at the recycling center to check for the boxes, but the receptacle had been emptied. (Heavy sigh) We were just too darned efficient this time. The Computer Haus said they would try to help us get the rebate anyway - another item on our to-do list.
Sad news from Margo Reynolds Janke that Sherm passed away on December 22. ALS is such a horrible affliction - at the end he just couldn't breathe. We had such a great visit overnight visit from him when he was taking his "last road trip" about 18 months ago. He was a real kindred spirit regarding politics, education, the environment, and life in general. Sherm was the 3rd SLG husband to pass away - Mary's first husband Digger and Sandy N's husband Gene were the other two.
Today I packed up Christmas - ornaments (in the new ornament holder) and wrappings - and Dick took down the new faux tree. So everything is put away for next year. The outside lights are still glowing - I like them - they really brighten up our dark nights.
Sad news from Margo Reynolds Janke that Sherm passed away on December 22. ALS is such a horrible affliction - at the end he just couldn't breathe. We had such a great visit overnight visit from him when he was taking his "last road trip" about 18 months ago. He was a real kindred spirit regarding politics, education, the environment, and life in general. Sherm was the 3rd SLG husband to pass away - Mary's first husband Digger and Sandy N's husband Gene were the other two.
Today I packed up Christmas - ornaments (in the new ornament holder) and wrappings - and Dick took down the new faux tree. So everything is put away for next year. The outside lights are still glowing - I like them - they really brighten up our dark nights.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Bye Bye Jana
Off to the airport (and the beautiful new terminal) at 6:45 a.m. We had an overnight ice storm, but it wasn't that bad - the roads were just a little crusty, not glazed.
We had a quiet and restful day (I napped for an hour and a half in the recliner while the Lions were losing).
We visited recycling with all of the cardboard from Christmas shipping and gift-giving.
Then we visited Mother to do the trash. She's fine.
We had a quiet and restful day (I napped for an hour and a half in the recliner while the Lions were losing).
We visited recycling with all of the cardboard from Christmas shipping and gift-giving.
Then we visited Mother to do the trash. She's fine.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
New Year's Day
I wanted to have a New Year's buffet instead of a dinner. So this morning I made meatballs, zucchini strips, and roasted carrots to have with ham. And I could also work on the laundry at long last because our dryer is now fixed! After our buffet, Jana and I went in to visit Mother; we took her some fabulous New Year's buffet leftovers. She is at the top of her form today. We had a really nice visit.
Tom called us from the Rose Bowl! He's there with Todd and Steve. He said that about 60% of the stadium is filled with Michigan fans. The game is ready to start now - Michigan vs. Texas. More later.
Well it was a spectacular football game - very exciting - lots of beautiful plays. We lost by one point on a field goal by Texas with 2 seconds on the clock. This from mgoblue.com:
Dusty Mangum's 37-yard field goal as time expired was the difference as No. 6 Texas edged the No. 13 Michigan football team 38-37 in the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 1, in Pasadena, Calif. Several Wolverines had huge individual performances, as Chad Henne set a Rose Bowl record with four touchdown passes, including three to Braylon Edwards, who became the Big Ten's career leader in TD receptions. Steve Breaston added a 50-yard scoring grab among his 315 all-purpose yards for Michigan, which finishes with a 9-3 record.
Dick just told me that we have an ice storm predicted for tonight. Oh dear - Jana is supposed to fly home in the morning. Those forecasters are always wrong - I'm not really worried - yet.
Anyway, HAPPY 2005 !
Tom called us from the Rose Bowl! He's there with Todd and Steve. He said that about 60% of the stadium is filled with Michigan fans. The game is ready to start now - Michigan vs. Texas. More later.
Well it was a spectacular football game - very exciting - lots of beautiful plays. We lost by one point on a field goal by Texas with 2 seconds on the clock. This from mgoblue.com:
Dusty Mangum's 37-yard field goal as time expired was the difference as No. 6 Texas edged the No. 13 Michigan football team 38-37 in the Rose Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 1, in Pasadena, Calif. Several Wolverines had huge individual performances, as Chad Henne set a Rose Bowl record with four touchdown passes, including three to Braylon Edwards, who became the Big Ten's career leader in TD receptions. Steve Breaston added a 50-yard scoring grab among his 315 all-purpose yards for Michigan, which finishes with a 9-3 record.
Dick just told me that we have an ice storm predicted for tonight. Oh dear - Jana is supposed to fly home in the morning. Those forecasters are always wrong - I'm not really worried - yet.
Anyway, HAPPY 2005 !
Friday, December 31, 2004
New Year's Eve
Dick went in to the Visitor Center so that Kathee wouldn't have to be there alone this morning. He wore a lot of his new Christmas things and he looked very sharp. He always looks so good!
Hooray for the Sears repairman! He came in a timely fashion and fixed our dryer - it had a broken ignition thingy. It feels good to be back in the laundry business. Sort of.
Jana and I went shopping around 4:30p.m. First stop was Bass shoes in the Horizon Outlet Mall. When we entered the store, they said "we're closing in 15 minutes". But that was enough time for Jana to buy a pair of shoes and 14,000 socks! Thern we went to Best Buy and she got DVDs and a couple of games.
Our New Year's celebration was at 9 p.m. Appetizers and champagne - and then Dick went to bed. Jana and I watched the extended disk of The Lord of the Rings until about 11:45, and then we switched to live TV to watch the ball drop.
Happy New Year!
Hooray for the Sears repairman! He came in a timely fashion and fixed our dryer - it had a broken ignition thingy. It feels good to be back in the laundry business. Sort of.
Jana and I went shopping around 4:30p.m. First stop was Bass shoes in the Horizon Outlet Mall. When we entered the store, they said "we're closing in 15 minutes". But that was enough time for Jana to buy a pair of shoes and 14,000 socks! Thern we went to Best Buy and she got DVDs and a couple of games.
Our New Year's celebration was at 9 p.m. Appetizers and champagne - and then Dick went to bed. Jana and I watched the extended disk of The Lord of the Rings until about 11:45, and then we switched to live TV to watch the ball drop.
Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 30, 2004
Bye Bye Boxes
Dick and I went recycling today. We had so many boxes that even flattened, they took up the whole back of the Explorer. We had other recycling also, so off we went, even though there was an unseasonal downpour going on. After dumping all of that, we went to Staples to get an ink thingy for our printer. Then we were off to Glen's to shop for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (go blue). It was a totally miserable day, weatherwise.
Dick had scraped the snow off the asphalt apron to our access road, so we didn't have to deal with slush, etc.
After putting away the groceries, and trying to put the ink thingy in the printer, we discovered that we bought the wrong kind. So it was back out in the rain and back to Staples to get the right thing. Sometimes life is very complex.
Jana has renewed her interest in Everquest and she has played quite a bit today - she's so glad to have the vacation time.
Tom, Todd, and Steve are going to the Rose Bowl game together again this year. It will be the same as last year, only without Jana and Tim.
Dick had scraped the snow off the asphalt apron to our access road, so we didn't have to deal with slush, etc.
After putting away the groceries, and trying to put the ink thingy in the printer, we discovered that we bought the wrong kind. So it was back out in the rain and back to Staples to get the right thing. Sometimes life is very complex.
Jana has renewed her interest in Everquest and she has played quite a bit today - she's so glad to have the vacation time.
Tom, Todd, and Steve are going to the Rose Bowl game together again this year. It will be the same as last year, only without Jana and Tim.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Off To Houghton Lake
Since we weren't able to see Sniders on Sunday, Dick, Jana and I decided this would be a good day to go visit. First we went and had brunch at Rico's since we had to go to Chum's Corners anyway. It was a good day for a drive - the roads were fine. We were only there for about an hour and a half - long enough to exchange presents and learn all the new gossi... um news from Belleville. We had a really good time - got home around 6:30.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Tsunami
We watched in horror the reports of the earthquake/tsunami which occurred Sunday in Asia - Sri Lanka, Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia, and India. Now they are saying that the death toll is 72,000 and may reach 100,000. It is unfathomable. We've seen videos taken by tourists from high rise hotels which show people just being swept away like leaves in the river.
Jana got an email from her friend Chris Stowers (Chris the Brit) in New Delhi on Sunday, before it all happened. These stricken areas are his old stomping grounds. She emailed him about it but hasn't heard back yet. She also called Americorps and made a contribution for relief. We saw appeals from Oxfam and Save the Children - we'll decide in a bit which to donate to - I'm sure the need will be long lasting.
Jana and I went to see Oceans 12 this afternoon - it was only OK. As Dylan would say, it should be rated C for Complicated. The Julia Roberts/Bruce Willis thing was entertaining, but I can't say it's going to be one of my faves overall. Most of the time I couldn't tell who was doing what to whom.
Our dryer is definitely broken, and the repairman is supposed to come Friday. I hope he doesn't decide to celebrate New Year's Eve early and call off his visit. After watching tsunami reports, I'm not going to whine about one broken appliance.
Jana got an email from her friend Chris Stowers (Chris the Brit) in New Delhi on Sunday, before it all happened. These stricken areas are his old stomping grounds. She emailed him about it but hasn't heard back yet. She also called Americorps and made a contribution for relief. We saw appeals from Oxfam and Save the Children - we'll decide in a bit which to donate to - I'm sure the need will be long lasting.
Jana and I went to see Oceans 12 this afternoon - it was only OK. As Dylan would say, it should be rated C for Complicated. The Julia Roberts/Bruce Willis thing was entertaining, but I can't say it's going to be one of my faves overall. Most of the time I couldn't tell who was doing what to whom.
Our dryer is definitely broken, and the repairman is supposed to come Friday. I hope he doesn't decide to celebrate New Year's Eve early and call off his visit. After watching tsunami reports, I'm not going to whine about one broken appliance.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Return of the King & National Treasure
This morning Jana and I watched disk 2 of Return of the King. We made Dick watch 3 scenes: Eowyn's "I am no man"; Legolas defeating the Oliphant; and Aragorn's motivational speech to his troops - "This is not that day."
This afternoon we went to see National Treasure at the Horizon Cinema. I really enjoyed it - it was fun, action-packed, intellectual, and funny all at the same time. Jana liked Riley the wise-cracking sidekick the best. Nicolas Cage did a great job I thought.
The cable company called and said the internet connection was fixed and voila, it really was. So now we're back in business...as far as the computer goes - now I think the dryer is broken. It's always something.
Laurie called to find out how to put coordinates in her GPSr because she forgot how. Luckily Dick got home from the Agency while we were still on the phone, because he's the GPS expert. We found out later that the Sharkie Crew found 2 geocaches in Port St. Lucie with the help of Uncle Tom. Dylan took a pop gun that shoots ping pong balls from the first one and a dollar bill from the other one.
We all went out to dinner at the Mongolian Barbecue - it was super-great as always!
We all worked on getting our new Epson printer hooked up and installed on my NEW LAPTOP. This printer can print letter size pages and also 4x6 pictures. Should be a great addition to our high tech arsenal (hehehe).
This afternoon we went to see National Treasure at the Horizon Cinema. I really enjoyed it - it was fun, action-packed, intellectual, and funny all at the same time. Jana liked Riley the wise-cracking sidekick the best. Nicolas Cage did a great job I thought.
The cable company called and said the internet connection was fixed and voila, it really was. So now we're back in business...as far as the computer goes - now I think the dryer is broken. It's always something.
Laurie called to find out how to put coordinates in her GPSr because she forgot how. Luckily Dick got home from the Agency while we were still on the phone, because he's the GPS expert. We found out later that the Sharkie Crew found 2 geocaches in Port St. Lucie with the help of Uncle Tom. Dylan took a pop gun that shoots ping pong balls from the first one and a dollar bill from the other one.
We all went out to dinner at the Mongolian Barbecue - it was super-great as always!
We all worked on getting our new Epson printer hooked up and installed on my NEW LAPTOP. This printer can print letter size pages and also 4x6 pictures. Should be a great addition to our high tech arsenal (hehehe).
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Day After Christmas
The Day After
We hade planned to go to Manistee this morning to see Kim, Mike, Adam, Jacob, Eric, Tammy, Bill and Jan. But when Jana got up she had a headache and wasn’t feeling at all well. So we called and cancelled, and Jana went back to bed. Dick and I were kind of at loose ends, but we managed to had a very relaxing morning reading our new books and I enjoyed also playing with MY NEW LAPTOP. We still have no internet connection, but I had fun looking at all of the features, including the World Book.
In the afternoon Jana and I watched Disc 1 of Return of the King - what a marvelous production. After that, Dick and I went to see Mother. We took her some good turkey leftovers. Dick did a little shoveling, and changed the furnace filter. I set up the new jar opener, and it looks nice on the counter top. I really think that after Mother has a chance to get used to it she’ll find it’s very helpful.
We drove around town a bit - it’s a pretty day - sunnier than yesterday.
We all watched a littlle football - Brian Griese was not doing that well.
Jana was still feeling ill. We all went to bed early.
I’m reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. It’s a really fascinating book. I’m enjoying it immensely. It’s the kind of book that you don’t want to finish.
We hade planned to go to Manistee this morning to see Kim, Mike, Adam, Jacob, Eric, Tammy, Bill and Jan. But when Jana got up she had a headache and wasn’t feeling at all well. So we called and cancelled, and Jana went back to bed. Dick and I were kind of at loose ends, but we managed to had a very relaxing morning reading our new books and I enjoyed also playing with MY NEW LAPTOP. We still have no internet connection, but I had fun looking at all of the features, including the World Book.
In the afternoon Jana and I watched Disc 1 of Return of the King - what a marvelous production. After that, Dick and I went to see Mother. We took her some good turkey leftovers. Dick did a little shoveling, and changed the furnace filter. I set up the new jar opener, and it looks nice on the counter top. I really think that after Mother has a chance to get used to it she’ll find it’s very helpful.
We drove around town a bit - it’s a pretty day - sunnier than yesterday.
We all watched a littlle football - Brian Griese was not doing that well.
Jana was still feeling ill. We all went to bed early.
I’m reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. It’s a really fascinating book. I’m enjoying it immensely. It’s the kind of book that you don’t want to finish.
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Christmas Day
Christmas Day 2004
Santa came! Santa came! AND HE BROUGHT ME A LAPTOP! Oh yes, and he brought Dick a reciprocating saw, but he brought me a LAPTOP!
The most ironic thing is that last Wednesday, our cable modem went out, and although Charter has tried a couple of things to get it up and going again, nothing has worked. And so here I am with a new LAPTOP and no internet connection. The strongest definition of irony available...
So I’m getting acquainted with other features of my LAPTOP including World Book and Apple works. When I came into the living room, the laptop was sitting on the table, and Beaches was playing on the screen. Yes, oh yes, my new laptop has a DVD player too.
I had planned to have the turkey in the oven by 8 a.m., and I had to tear myself away from my NEW LAPTOP to go make the dressing and stuff the bird. The turkey went into the oven at 8:01.
Jim called around 9:30, and they were all finished with Christmas. I spoke with Austen, and she was totally thrilled with her new American Girl doll Nelly, and all of the accoutrements. She was on cloud 9.
Jana got up around 10 a.m., and Dick went to get Mother around 11.
We had a lot of fun opening presents as usual. Mother got “too much” as usual. I was especially happy with my new wallet and the high tech pedometer! But we all got many wonderful things - lots of great DVD sets and CDs. (Which I can play on my new laptop.)
Dick got a great CQ pullover windbreaker that is fantastic looking on him. He got quite a lot of clothes, included a Hammock Creek sweatshirt which he put right on. Everything seems to fit him just right.
Mother got books, and fruit, and powder and pens, and a Great Grandma sweatshirt. Jana gave her an electric jar opener, and I think it’s going to be a good thing for Mother to have.
Jana got lots of DVDs and CDs and books, and a swimsuit, and a bag, and CDs, and a picture to hang - but she seemed to like her Roomba the best!
I had planned for the dinner to be ready at 2 p.m., but the turkey bird was not quite done, so we stuck it back in the oven and had dinner around 2:45.
Laurie, Jana and I all got Nomination bracelets - we had so much fun with those. Mine has NJKS and hearts, and yellow roses, a cup of coffee, a snowman, and a stegosaurus (Steigersaurus). Jana’s has JLS@CQ, hearts, and kitties. Laurie’s has LJSG, a little boy, an airplane, hearts, and double hearts. They are so much fun to put together, and pretty to wear.
Everybody in the family got U of M Rose Bowl 2005 T-shirts. Dylan’s says Water Boy, Hydration Coordinator. Fun.
After dinner we talked to Florida - everybody there was having a great time- Dylan got 3 great new playstation games, and the RoboSapiens, and many board games. He was a happy boy. Tom was busy being a good Uncle, and Laurie and Chip seemed very mellow. I was a little disappointed because I guess the interactive globe thing was not an immediate success, but I’m sure its day will come.
Took Mom home around 3:45, and got her all settled in. Dick and I took a drive around town - 2 lady walkers were out and about, and that was about it.
The rest of the day passed in kind of a blur - we all went to bed early.
I HAVE A LAPTOP!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Santa came! Santa came! AND HE BROUGHT ME A LAPTOP! Oh yes, and he brought Dick a reciprocating saw, but he brought me a LAPTOP!
The most ironic thing is that last Wednesday, our cable modem went out, and although Charter has tried a couple of things to get it up and going again, nothing has worked. And so here I am with a new LAPTOP and no internet connection. The strongest definition of irony available...
So I’m getting acquainted with other features of my LAPTOP including World Book and Apple works. When I came into the living room, the laptop was sitting on the table, and Beaches was playing on the screen. Yes, oh yes, my new laptop has a DVD player too.
I had planned to have the turkey in the oven by 8 a.m., and I had to tear myself away from my NEW LAPTOP to go make the dressing and stuff the bird. The turkey went into the oven at 8:01.
Jim called around 9:30, and they were all finished with Christmas. I spoke with Austen, and she was totally thrilled with her new American Girl doll Nelly, and all of the accoutrements. She was on cloud 9.
Jana got up around 10 a.m., and Dick went to get Mother around 11.
We had a lot of fun opening presents as usual. Mother got “too much” as usual. I was especially happy with my new wallet and the high tech pedometer! But we all got many wonderful things - lots of great DVD sets and CDs. (Which I can play on my new laptop.)
Dick got a great CQ pullover windbreaker that is fantastic looking on him. He got quite a lot of clothes, included a Hammock Creek sweatshirt which he put right on. Everything seems to fit him just right.
Mother got books, and fruit, and powder and pens, and a Great Grandma sweatshirt. Jana gave her an electric jar opener, and I think it’s going to be a good thing for Mother to have.
Jana got lots of DVDs and CDs and books, and a swimsuit, and a bag, and CDs, and a picture to hang - but she seemed to like her Roomba the best!
I had planned for the dinner to be ready at 2 p.m., but the turkey bird was not quite done, so we stuck it back in the oven and had dinner around 2:45.
Laurie, Jana and I all got Nomination bracelets - we had so much fun with those. Mine has NJKS and hearts, and yellow roses, a cup of coffee, a snowman, and a stegosaurus (Steigersaurus). Jana’s has JLS@CQ, hearts, and kitties. Laurie’s has LJSG, a little boy, an airplane, hearts, and double hearts. They are so much fun to put together, and pretty to wear.
Everybody in the family got U of M Rose Bowl 2005 T-shirts. Dylan’s says Water Boy, Hydration Coordinator. Fun.
After dinner we talked to Florida - everybody there was having a great time- Dylan got 3 great new playstation games, and the RoboSapiens, and many board games. He was a happy boy. Tom was busy being a good Uncle, and Laurie and Chip seemed very mellow. I was a little disappointed because I guess the interactive globe thing was not an immediate success, but I’m sure its day will come.
Took Mom home around 3:45, and got her all settled in. Dick and I took a drive around town - 2 lady walkers were out and about, and that was about it.
The rest of the day passed in kind of a blur - we all went to bed early.
I HAVE A LAPTOP!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Friday, December 24, 2004
Jana Comes Today - Christmas Eve Day
Jana Comes Today-Christmas Eve Day
We still have no internet connection. We really rely on it to have a normal day now. It feels weird not to be able to log on.
Time to start Christmas dinner prep - cooked the giblets and made salad this morning. Dick chopped onions and giblets for the stuffing. He also had a lot of snow-blowing to do. Thank goodness that Tom McLenithan is here with his big tractor blower to clear out our access road. Clearing our driveway is a big enough job! McLenithan will be here all winter this year, with the exception of 2 weeks in February. Last year, Dick had to do everything all by himself.
Charter Communication called and said that other people on River Road had no internet etiher, and that they would send a man out and call us back in a couple of hours to see if we had a connection. They never called back, and we don’t have a connection.
We couldn’t track Jana’s flight, so we went to the airport not quite knowing what to expect. There had been weather delays all over the country. We got to the new terminal around 7:30. Her flight had originally been scheduled to arrive at around 7:45 p.m., and she finally arrived at around 9.
And then it was oyster stew time. Oyster stew is our traditional Christmas Eve supper. It’s the only time all year that Dick has a prayer of getting oysters for supper.
Jana spent the rest of the evening opening the boxes she had shipped and wrapping the contents for Christmas morning.
Santa Claus comes tonight.
Happy Christmas Eve.
We still have no internet connection. We really rely on it to have a normal day now. It feels weird not to be able to log on.
Time to start Christmas dinner prep - cooked the giblets and made salad this morning. Dick chopped onions and giblets for the stuffing. He also had a lot of snow-blowing to do. Thank goodness that Tom McLenithan is here with his big tractor blower to clear out our access road. Clearing our driveway is a big enough job! McLenithan will be here all winter this year, with the exception of 2 weeks in February. Last year, Dick had to do everything all by himself.
Charter Communication called and said that other people on River Road had no internet etiher, and that they would send a man out and call us back in a couple of hours to see if we had a connection. They never called back, and we don’t have a connection.
We couldn’t track Jana’s flight, so we went to the airport not quite knowing what to expect. There had been weather delays all over the country. We got to the new terminal around 7:30. Her flight had originally been scheduled to arrive at around 7:45 p.m., and she finally arrived at around 9.
And then it was oyster stew time. Oyster stew is our traditional Christmas Eve supper. It’s the only time all year that Dick has a prayer of getting oysters for supper.
Jana spent the rest of the evening opening the boxes she had shipped and wrapping the contents for Christmas morning.
Santa Claus comes tonight.
Happy Christmas Eve.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
We Have Bags!
Dick suggested going to the airtport first thing this morning to see if we could get our bags. The American desk was vacant, and other employees said that the American folks were all out working on the departure of a flight and would be right back. We sat and sat and sat and saw nobody. The first employee who walked past didn't know anything about baggage. But the second was a man who actually seemed to have an idea about how to help us. He didn't have the right key or something, so he had to go get a United person to come and open the door for him. And our bags were in there! Whoopee!
We celebrated by going out to breakfast at Sue's J&S, and then we went home and did laundry.
We celebrated by going out to breakfast at Sue's J&S, and then we went home and did laundry.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Pixie Dust
After consulting with our private travel agent Laurie in Florida, we determined that we would most likely not get on any Eagle flight to Traverse City today. The morning flight was oversold by one, and the evening flight was full.
Our fallback position is always to go in and out of Grand Rapids if all else fails. In fact at the beginning of the trip, Dick thought we should just drive down to GR and fly out of there in the first place. He called Budget Rent-a-Car from the Hotel and arranged for a car one-way from GR to TC.
Anyway, there were 2 early morning flights to Grand Rapids - we thought we would try for the 9 a.m. flight because the theory was that by then the roads would be better driving home. Totally by chance, when we arrived at O'Hare this morning, we checked the departure monitor, and noticed that the early flight to GR had been delayed and was going to leave in about a half hour. The gate was just around the corner from the monitor, so we said what the heck, we might as well go check it out - if we can get on it it'll be gravy. We went up to the desk at gate H3A and the agent gave us boarding passes! Boarding passes! As Tom once said, getting a boarding pass is Nirvana for stand-by passengers. We can count on one hand the number of times that has happened to us. After a slight gate change to H2, we were actually on our way to Grand Rapids and out of O'Hare. No offense, Illinois.
I called Laurie to tell her that we got boarding passes, and she said, "Oh thank God you did that!" Evidently she had been checking the loads on the 2 flights to GR and on the nine o'clock one that we had planned to take, there were 10 open seats, and a family of 6 who were D1 non-rev passengers had just checked in. So that would have been at least 6 people ahead of us, and who knows how many more. So we really got on the right flight. It's because we're such Savvy Travelers, you know (snort). Laurie has always said that we have pixie dust. We've always said that she is the Voice of Doom.
The drive home was pleasant and quick. The roads were just wet, and traffic was light. We were in TC before 2 p.m. We stopped by the airport to return the rental car and to see about our luggage. The American desk was closed and there was nobody around to ask about our suitcases. So we picked up our mail, and headed home.
We went back up to the airport in the late afternoon, thinking that someone would be at the desk because flights were expected - but our timing must have been off because again there was nobody there. So we thought if we just wasted an hour or so we would try it again. We drove around town looking at Christmas lights, went out to dinner at La Senorita, and then figured it was time for the desk to be open. Back to the airport, but no luck. So we went to Walgreen's, and diddled around for a while longer and went back to the airport. Bottom line is that our bags are still at the airport, and there's no one there to get them for us. We'll do it tomorrow.
It's nice to be home - and now it's all downhill to Christmas. Jana will be here Christmas Eve.
Our fallback position is always to go in and out of Grand Rapids if all else fails. In fact at the beginning of the trip, Dick thought we should just drive down to GR and fly out of there in the first place. He called Budget Rent-a-Car from the Hotel and arranged for a car one-way from GR to TC.
Anyway, there were 2 early morning flights to Grand Rapids - we thought we would try for the 9 a.m. flight because the theory was that by then the roads would be better driving home. Totally by chance, when we arrived at O'Hare this morning, we checked the departure monitor, and noticed that the early flight to GR had been delayed and was going to leave in about a half hour. The gate was just around the corner from the monitor, so we said what the heck, we might as well go check it out - if we can get on it it'll be gravy. We went up to the desk at gate H3A and the agent gave us boarding passes! Boarding passes! As Tom once said, getting a boarding pass is Nirvana for stand-by passengers. We can count on one hand the number of times that has happened to us. After a slight gate change to H2, we were actually on our way to Grand Rapids and out of O'Hare. No offense, Illinois.
I called Laurie to tell her that we got boarding passes, and she said, "Oh thank God you did that!" Evidently she had been checking the loads on the 2 flights to GR and on the nine o'clock one that we had planned to take, there were 10 open seats, and a family of 6 who were D1 non-rev passengers had just checked in. So that would have been at least 6 people ahead of us, and who knows how many more. So we really got on the right flight. It's because we're such Savvy Travelers, you know (snort). Laurie has always said that we have pixie dust. We've always said that she is the Voice of Doom.
The drive home was pleasant and quick. The roads were just wet, and traffic was light. We were in TC before 2 p.m. We stopped by the airport to return the rental car and to see about our luggage. The American desk was closed and there was nobody around to ask about our suitcases. So we picked up our mail, and headed home.
We went back up to the airport in the late afternoon, thinking that someone would be at the desk because flights were expected - but our timing must have been off because again there was nobody there. So we thought if we just wasted an hour or so we would try it again. We drove around town looking at Christmas lights, went out to dinner at La Senorita, and then figured it was time for the desk to be open. Back to the airport, but no luck. So we went to Walgreen's, and diddled around for a while longer and went back to the airport. Bottom line is that our bags are still at the airport, and there's no one there to get them for us. We'll do it tomorrow.
It's nice to be home - and now it's all downhill to Christmas. Jana will be here Christmas Eve.
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