Sunday, February 07, 2010
Jana Snow
Jana sent these pictures of the snow in D.C. I don't think it's ever happened that she had more snow than T.C.!
Saturday, February 06, 2010
February Made Me Shiver
So far in February, Jana is snowed in, Tom's trip to Germany is on again, off again, and Dylan is giving carnations to girls at the Middle School for Valentine's Day. (It's a fund-raiser.)
Meanwhile, here at Steiger Central, things have been very low-key. It's a little like hibernation. We're just not doing much. We have solved many problems, though - does that count?
There's a new TV (welcome to the 21st century),
a new credenza to put it on,
a new Apple desktop computer for Dick (which is mostly set up and working),
shopping for a Jeep (still undecided), planning a cruise with Sniders in May to Alaska, planning a road trip in March to visit Jana, dealing with various companies by phone which means navigating their menus and being on hold forever (this can take a whole morning), cleaning out the pantry (that took three days), and then, for the piece de resistance, we got rear-ended again. Oh yes.
One of those icy mornings after gym we tunked the car in front of us sliding on the ice, and the car behind us hit us hard. The most interesting thing about that whole incident is that after the accident, the other cars both just drove away!
(I think that the front end of our car now symbolizes the effect the new coach has had on the Michigan football program!)
We went to the police department (excuse me - the Law Enforcement Center) and the nice man there helped us out. Meemic was johnny-on-the-spot, so that when we contacted Hansen's Collision they already had all of the documentation for the repair. The parts are in and the Rav should be fixed by the end of next week.
Meanwhile, here at Steiger Central, things have been very low-key. It's a little like hibernation. We're just not doing much. We have solved many problems, though - does that count?
There's a new TV (welcome to the 21st century),
a new credenza to put it on,
a new Apple desktop computer for Dick (which is mostly set up and working),
shopping for a Jeep (still undecided), planning a cruise with Sniders in May to Alaska, planning a road trip in March to visit Jana, dealing with various companies by phone which means navigating their menus and being on hold forever (this can take a whole morning), cleaning out the pantry (that took three days), and then, for the piece de resistance, we got rear-ended again. Oh yes.
One of those icy mornings after gym we tunked the car in front of us sliding on the ice, and the car behind us hit us hard. The most interesting thing about that whole incident is that after the accident, the other cars both just drove away!
(I think that the front end of our car now symbolizes the effect the new coach has had on the Michigan football program!)
We went to the police department (excuse me - the Law Enforcement Center) and the nice man there helped us out. Meemic was johnny-on-the-spot, so that when we contacted Hansen's Collision they already had all of the documentation for the repair. The parts are in and the Rav should be fixed by the end of next week.
Monday, February 01, 2010
American Pie
If you have 8.5 minuters to spare, give a listen to American Pie. This has been driving me nuts for a couple of days now...you know how it is when you can't get a song out of your head? This is in my head - no practical explanation. Enjoy!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Weekend Wandering
Saturday was a peninsula day - the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula (WOMP) sponsored a Winter Warm-up - food, wine and long lines.
We started out at Chateau Chantal - lots of people had the same idea! We stood in the wine-tasting line for a long time - finally jut bagged it and settled for hot mulled wine and a strange but tasty cookie. It was a nice day to drive around out there - the sun was shining, the bays were very blue and the snow was very white.
We stopped for lunch at the Peninsula Grill. Usually we like it, but today for some reason my burger seemed loaded with sodium. I couldn't eat it. There must have been a salt explosion in the kitchen - that burger was a real sodium bomb!
At Peninsula Cellars we did some real wine-tasting. Their hot mulled wine wasn't as good as Chateau Chantal's - it was good though, and so was the spicy, moist pumpkin bread.
Sunday was definitely not a sunny day, but we like to go for a drive anyway. The main goal of our drive was to stop at the Library to stock up on good winter reads.
Afterward we headed for Holiday to see how many were skiing.
Skiing is very, very popular - there was no parking in any of the lots, and many cars were parked along the neighboring streets. We parked for a while by the bunny hill and watched kids skiing, snowboarding, and learning to use the rope tow. It was very entertaining!
We started out at Chateau Chantal - lots of people had the same idea! We stood in the wine-tasting line for a long time - finally jut bagged it and settled for hot mulled wine and a strange but tasty cookie. It was a nice day to drive around out there - the sun was shining, the bays were very blue and the snow was very white.
We stopped for lunch at the Peninsula Grill. Usually we like it, but today for some reason my burger seemed loaded with sodium. I couldn't eat it. There must have been a salt explosion in the kitchen - that burger was a real sodium bomb!
At Peninsula Cellars we did some real wine-tasting. Their hot mulled wine wasn't as good as Chateau Chantal's - it was good though, and so was the spicy, moist pumpkin bread.
Sunday was definitely not a sunny day, but we like to go for a drive anyway. The main goal of our drive was to stop at the Library to stock up on good winter reads.
Afterward we headed for Holiday to see how many were skiing.
Skiing is very, very popular - there was no parking in any of the lots, and many cars were parked along the neighboring streets. We parked for a while by the bunny hill and watched kids skiing, snowboarding, and learning to use the rope tow. It was very entertaining!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Wild Wacky Winter Weekend
Yesterday we sat by the fireside and watched our fabulous University of Michigan graduates play pro-football. The Jets and the Bengals played, but we were really rooting for our guys - Jay Feely, David Harris, Dhani Jones, and Braylon Edwards. We don't really care much about pro-football, but it's great to be able to see these good athletes again. When you root for the players instead of the teams, you really can't lose!
Today we went to brunch at Hofbrau - it was strange because there was hardly anybody there - there were five people, including us! They have such a huge spread of all kinds of food - we told the waitress we couldn't eat it all :) As we were leaving a group of about 8 came in, but that was it.
Dick humored me - I wanted to see a wintry Lake Michigan. On the way over, we saw our first ice fishing shanties of the season on Crystal Lake. Snow was blowing over all of the east/west roads - really drifting in some places. In other places, it was just swirling madly along the road in front of us. Br-r-r-r.
Frankfort breakwater was wild and crazy.
The wind was very powerful, out of the southwest.
The waves were crashing high over the breakwater, and everything was covered with ice out there.
The Empire Beach was just as wild and woolly - the wind seemed even stronger!
When the spray hit your face, it was partly water and partly sand - free dermabrasion!
It was amazing to see people sledding at Sleeping Bear. It's hard enough to walk up in the summertime. It must have been three times as hard now with the combination of steepness, wild wind, and an icy slope. We saw a total of eight people (mostly quite young) climbing up and sliding down. That's quite a hike for a few seconds of slide.
Exactly how frightened would you be by this Avalanche sign ?? Go figure. Dick said it should say Sandalanche.
Today we went to brunch at Hofbrau - it was strange because there was hardly anybody there - there were five people, including us! They have such a huge spread of all kinds of food - we told the waitress we couldn't eat it all :) As we were leaving a group of about 8 came in, but that was it.
Dick humored me - I wanted to see a wintry Lake Michigan. On the way over, we saw our first ice fishing shanties of the season on Crystal Lake. Snow was blowing over all of the east/west roads - really drifting in some places. In other places, it was just swirling madly along the road in front of us. Br-r-r-r.
Frankfort breakwater was wild and crazy.
The wind was very powerful, out of the southwest. The waves were crashing high over the breakwater, and everything was covered with ice out there.
The Empire Beach was just as wild and woolly - the wind seemed even stronger!
When the spray hit your face, it was partly water and partly sand - free dermabrasion!
It was amazing to see people sledding at Sleeping Bear. It's hard enough to walk up in the summertime. It must have been three times as hard now with the combination of steepness, wild wind, and an icy slope. We saw a total of eight people (mostly quite young) climbing up and sliding down. That's quite a hike for a few seconds of slide.
Exactly how frightened would you be by this Avalanche sign ?? Go figure. Dick said it should say Sandalanche.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
X Box
OK, so I'm trying very hard to learn how to play some of Dylan's new games on his new X-Box. I actually played Halo for a while and was able to follow Dylan's character moderately well, but I don't have the weapons controls down pat yet. (And don't tell anybody, but sometimes I slide off in the wrong direction.) I'm learning!
The guinea pigs and I are watching in fascination - I'll never be that good! (And neither will the guineas.)
The guinea pigs and I are watching in fascination - I'll never be that good! (And neither will the guineas.)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Indian Riverside Park
What a great park! There's a huge pier for walking and fishing, a children's museum for little kids, an oscillating fountain, and a beautiful home built on a midden which is currently undergoing renovations, but will be such fun to visit when it'e finished. It was just a lovely day, and we all had a great time.
I had an especially good time. See if you can guess why :)
Actually, we all had a good day, including the part where Dylan got soaked in the fountain! He zigged when he should have zagged, but he didn't really seem to mind.
Dylan liked riding around on my walker, and I liked pushing him! Dick calls it a roller, and here it looks more like a stroller. We did it just for the heck of it.
I had an especially good time. See if you can guess why :)
Actually, we all had a good day, including the part where Dylan got soaked in the fountain! He zigged when he should have zagged, but he didn't really seem to mind.
Dylan liked riding around on my walker, and I liked pushing him! Dick calls it a roller, and here it looks more like a stroller. We did it just for the heck of it.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Causeway and Cottage
It seems there is a cache in the center of the Jensen Beach Causeway over the Indian River. It seems that this morning, Dick took a walk up over the bridge and found it! Quite a change from his usual morning walk! He saw many interesting things from up there. The most interesting to me were pelicans - lots and lots of pelicans!
He also had a terrific view from up there.
Damage left over from the last hurricane interested him also.
There were a total of seven caches found today by this intrepid cacher.
This evening Jana invited everybody over to the cottage for dinner. She made yummy pork chops and stuffing and it was great to have her do all of the cooking! We had fun playing WoW and just being together.
He also had a terrific view from up there.
Damage left over from the last hurricane interested him also.
There were a total of seven caches found today by this intrepid cacher.
This evening Jana invited everybody over to the cottage for dinner. She made yummy pork chops and stuffing and it was great to have her do all of the cooking! We had fun playing WoW and just being together.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Seminole Inn
Laurie took us on an "expotition" out to Lake Okeechobee. We love going out there.
We stopped on the way at the historic Seminole Inn in Indiantown for lunch. The Inn is a lovely place, and even more lovely all decorated for Christmas. There's a great mural on the second floor telling the story of the Seminoles and their removal to Oklahoma. Those were sad times.
I was especially impressed with the mantel and firescreen decorations - somebody there has a flair for decorating! There was also a fantastically beautiful, large manger scene - one of the nicest that I've seen.
Then we drove off to Port Mayaca to look at the lake. I was hoping to see some alligators - they were there in abundance the last time we went there. This time, the lake is higher and the alligators were not to be seen - but they were probably still there.
We drove around to another park on the lake, Lake Okeechobee Lookout. The weather was cool and windy - it was a fun day to stroll on the great jetty, part of which is covered, and which has nice benches and great birds to observe down below in the wetlands.
We invited the whole crew over for dinner at our cottage - spaghetti and meatballs - and a great time was had by all.
We stopped on the way at the historic Seminole Inn in Indiantown for lunch. The Inn is a lovely place, and even more lovely all decorated for Christmas. There's a great mural on the second floor telling the story of the Seminoles and their removal to Oklahoma. Those were sad times.
I was especially impressed with the mantel and firescreen decorations - somebody there has a flair for decorating! There was also a fantastically beautiful, large manger scene - one of the nicest that I've seen.
Then we drove off to Port Mayaca to look at the lake. I was hoping to see some alligators - they were there in abundance the last time we went there. This time, the lake is higher and the alligators were not to be seen - but they were probably still there.
We drove around to another park on the lake, Lake Okeechobee Lookout. The weather was cool and windy - it was a fun day to stroll on the great jetty, part of which is covered, and which has nice benches and great birds to observe down below in the wetlands.
We invited the whole crew over for dinner at our cottage - spaghetti and meatballs - and a great time was had by all.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas Eve on Saint Creek Drive
Tom gave Jana an early Christmas gift - hair cut and color at the Sada Salon in Stuart. Her appointment was at 10 a.m. When she was finished, Tom and Laurie met her for lunch at the Osceola Cafe. The report was that the reuben sandwiches were great! After their lunch, Jana did some Christmas shopping for Dylan and the guinea pigs.
Dick and I did a small amount of geocaching, which was fun because we had a chance to drive through some new and different neighborhoods.
Laurie made chili for us and it was yummy. Tom, Laurie, Dylan. Jana and I played World of Warcraft - there's a new instance in Icecrown, and we were trying to get acquainted with it and learn our way around it. We did not succeed! We need to have some more powerful players with us - we were too weenie! Christmas Eve was mellow and stressful at the same time - mellow because of the season and stressful because of the silly World of Warcraft game!
This house is on Long Bay Drive, around the corner from Laurie and Chip.
These are some of the arches along Saint Creek Drive.
We left early so we could get to sleep in preparation for early rising on Christmas Day! Actually, Dick and I went to bed early but Jana was wrapping presents until 3 a.m. !
Dick and I did a small amount of geocaching, which was fun because we had a chance to drive through some new and different neighborhoods.
Laurie made chili for us and it was yummy. Tom, Laurie, Dylan. Jana and I played World of Warcraft - there's a new instance in Icecrown, and we were trying to get acquainted with it and learn our way around it. We did not succeed! We need to have some more powerful players with us - we were too weenie! Christmas Eve was mellow and stressful at the same time - mellow because of the season and stressful because of the silly World of Warcraft game!
This house is on Long Bay Drive, around the corner from Laurie and Chip.
These are some of the arches along Saint Creek Drive.
We left early so we could get to sleep in preparation for early rising on Christmas Day! Actually, Dick and I went to bed early but Jana was wrapping presents until 3 a.m. !
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Avatar - IMAX 3-D
Laurie drove us all down to West Palm Beach to the Muvico Parisian to see Avatar in 3-D at the IMAX theater. It was quite an experience.
I really enjoyed the movie very much - I thought that it was better than Star Wars. The fantastical plot was totally understandable and the science was easy to follow. The Na'vis were likable and interesting - very flexible and mobile for nine feet tall! The characters were well developed and the message of the film was positive. It was a not too subtle message about how corporations can lose their humanity in the quest for the almighty dollar. Dylan liked it, but not as much as I did. Dick actually liked the movie - the last time that happened was 101 Dalmatians! Jana found it to be immmersive and engaging, and she liked it because the good guys won.
Afterwards did a little shopping at the Palm Beach Gardens Mall, and then we wanted to have dinner at P.F. Chang's, but there would have been a 45 minute wait, so we went next door to Brio's, an excellent Italian restaurant.
I really enjoyed the movie very much - I thought that it was better than Star Wars. The fantastical plot was totally understandable and the science was easy to follow. The Na'vis were likable and interesting - very flexible and mobile for nine feet tall! The characters were well developed and the message of the film was positive. It was a not too subtle message about how corporations can lose their humanity in the quest for the almighty dollar. Dylan liked it, but not as much as I did. Dick actually liked the movie - the last time that happened was 101 Dalmatians! Jana found it to be immmersive and engaging, and she liked it because the good guys won.
Afterwards did a little shopping at the Palm Beach Gardens Mall, and then we wanted to have dinner at P.F. Chang's, but there would have been a 45 minute wait, so we went next door to Brio's, an excellent Italian restaurant.
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