Thanks, Barkers!

Dick  calls Max's about the dryer.   They will send a man out next Friday to fix it.  Do you know what next Friday is?  Friday the 13th.  Good luck to us.  At least we don't have to wait an entire week this time.

The laundry is already sorted in separate baskets in preparation for washing, so we just load the baskets in the car and head for the good old, reliable dependable Eastfield Laundromat.  I love those people!

Beccy has been after us to take a look at a condo in the Black Bear development.  We met her at noon to take a look.  It's a beautiful condo in a great location, and it has almost everything we want.  There were just a couple of things that we didn't like - most of it was splendid.  However, we have our hearts set on the Lone Tree condo yet to be built.  Thanks, Beccy, but no thanks.

We met Tom and Mary at Apache for dinner - what a great way to put a positive spin on this day!  We had such a good time, and it always feels like we see each other all the time, no matter how much time has passed!  Thanks Barkers for saving our day :)

Murphy's Law

The  phrase "Murphy's Law" (anything that can go wrong will go wrong)  may soon be changed to Steiger's Law.

We have waited a week for a new part to arrive for our new dryer.  The service man from Max's came out this morning with the replacement switch for this new Hotpoint dryer, made by GE  (don't buy one).  When he was finished, he waved goodbye and said "You're good to go".  One would think that the problem had been solved, n'est-ce pas?  Well think again.

The problem reared its ugly head again during the first load.  That's right, the first load.  it stopped early, there had been no heat, and it refused to restart.  So now I had a dryer full of wet clothes, and a washer full of more wet clothes.  By then it was too late to call Max's, so we'll deal with it tomorrow. It's our new hobby.

Flash Mob + Dave + Will = Perfect Day

It's World Wide Flash Mob Day, so we had to have a T.C. flash mob.  It's exciting to have 50 people show up for an event.  It turned out to be a glorious day for it.  Blue skies, calm winds. bright sunshine, Temp around 75 - it just couldn't have been better.  I think I got about 25 hugs!  It was so great to see so many old friends at this event, plus approx. a dozen Canadian cachers who were here to get the caches on Power Island.  The two "fooners" on either side of the picture are crazy Canadians!  We had such a good time.

 Clinch Park was bursting with people.  The new splash pad is immensely popular with families.  They set up shop on the perimeter of the pad with blankets and towels and all kinds of paraphernalia.  The beach was jammed with people too.  Only two or three went in the water though -  the water is still very cold.

We got home just in time for a visit from Dave.  He came over from Lake Otsego with boxes of things from Doug's basement.  There are diaries, photo albums, loose pictures and memorabilia from Mother Gen.  There is also a box with all of Doug's research on family genealogy.  Thanks a lot....I'm not sure what we'll do with all of these things.  We had a super visit with Dave - it's nice to have a one on one instead of just a hug at GenFest.

After Dave left, Will and one of his boys stopped in to talk about the Nano in the Woods cache - that's the one across the river and up a big hill.  It's very difficult to access, but they wanted to give it a try.  And they found it!  But it wasn't easy :)  I think that Chris has been the only one to find it up until now.

This has been a most memorable day.  Hooray!

Numero Seis

Paracentesis Time.  Yahoo.  It's all about going from feeling like crap to feeling normal in 45 minutes.  I don't like the procedure, but I certainly do like the outcome.

 There's always a different radiology doctor. This time it was ultrasound tech Candy and Dr. Kennell, at Munson.  Thank you ever so muchly.

  As the title points out, this was number 6 - three in Florida, three at Munson.  My preference is hard to pick.  Munson is much faster, Florida is much more pain free.  Both doctors' offices are great at scheduling on demand.

Hydroseed

This morning,  first a  load of gravel was spread out in the access road where the equipment had gouged it out a little bit.  It was a terrific finishing touch to this job.

The drain field is in, the heavy equipment has gone home, and they left the yard looking much better than I had imagined.  They were skilled, talented workers at this job .  They did it quickly and expertly.  We are very satisfied. 

Next came the hydroseeding crew.  They dampened the soil, and then hosed in with the hydroseed, and voila!  We don't have to worry about seeding or sodding.  We can just watch the grass grow :)
We did not expect that to be done, and we are pleasantly surprised.  We now have supreme peace of mind regarding this whole project.

Surreal

  We've had heavy equipment in the front yard yesterday and today replacing our drain field.

 And our brand new dryer broke down already after less than a month.  The service man came today, has to order a part - he may be back Friday or Monday!!  So no laundry going on around here.  Back to the Eastfield Laundromat.  Thank goodness for them.

 Also, we closed on our house yesterday, so now we're officially living in somebody else's house.  Weird.

Closing

Our billionaire buyer was not at the closing.  There were 5 of us - Beccy, the buyer's real estate agent, Terry the Title guy, and the two of us.  It was a very friendly procedure - almost jovial.  We are now able to stay in our home by the good graces of our buyer.

Belanger's came today to begin the work on our new drain field.  They have to remove several trees, get rid of roots, and dig out a replacement location.  I'm so glad they have begun!

My Lovely Therapeutic Regimen

For those who are asking what's going on!

"A peripheral or secondary effect, especially an undesirable secondary effect of a drug or therapeutic regimen."

Of the most common side effects of Nexavar, I have nine (so far).  Some side effects develop weeks into the therapy.

intestinal problems
bleeding gums
internal bleeding
facial erythema
cramping
tender, itchy scalp
fatigue
"chemo voice"
chills

Of these, fatigue, the facial rash, the cramping, the hoarse voice and the tender scalp are the most bothersome to me.

There are also several much more severe side effects which are less common.  Fortunately, I have none of those (so far).

Happy Birthday Bro

Happy Birthday Jim

Dick paints deck

Sign addendum - Beccy's not there - one addendum is bogus

Oryana - too expensive

Oleson's - west - love it

Sam's Club - cheapest gas - still outrageous

Peter calls

Silver Lake

We walked the Silver Lake Recreational Trail today.  It's a really nice trail, well used by walkers, joggers and bikers.  Nice, woodsy, and serene.  

http://natureiscalling.org/parkland/silver-lake-recreation-area/

Memorial Day 2014

Monday is washday, sometimes even if it's a holiday.  Just to make the holiday even more memorable, our brand new dryer stopped working on the second load.  This dryer is not even one month old.  It's under warranty, so we'll have to call GE.  But not on a holiday...

The Good Day

Lots of campers this Memorial Day weekend!

What a beautiful day!  moderate temps, and bright blue sky!  We went driving to do some cache maintenance - first at Lake Dubonnet, and then at the Garey Lake multi-cache,  Everything is now updated and good to go.

Driving around afterwards, we checked out a unique boat launch at Brooks Lake, and then saw more boat launches along our route.  Sounds like a series to me :)

Can't remember the name of the road, but we found this wooded valley just full of blooming trillium -  they were so spectacular and so abundant - it was an awesome display.

Dick asked me if I wanted to drive to Glen Arbor, but I opted for Moomer's - I mean, really!

Touring Traverse City, it was fun to see all the people who are enjoying themselves downtown today.  We're not the only ones who love T.C.  The splash pad was up and running, and the little ones were having a blast.  The streets were full of people, and many were carrying shopping bags - a good sign!

The trees lining the streets are in full bloom, and on a sunny, fantastic day like this, it is such a gorgeous sight to behold.

Feeling good today!  It's a real treat!  Slept well last night, and my facial erythema is still red, but less hot and itchy.  Hallelujah!  It's a good day.

Could it Be?

Haven't really been exercising enough, so today we went for a walk.  We used two different parts of the TART, one for each of us - and we arrived back at the car at the exact same time - it was such a well planned walkathon!

After walking, we met with Beccy to discuss our upcoming closing, and she had us sign an addendum.  Our closing will be Monday, June 2.  She says that Lynne will be picking up the permits on June 3, and the four of us will meet shortly after that.  It seems that things are slowly beginning to move ahead - I just don't know why it couldn't have been done in April....

Back at home, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of movement outside...could it be?  Excited, I stood up for a better look, and yes!  A bobcat!  We haven't seen one here for a couple of years.  This one looked to be a female, judging by its size.  I hope it stays nearby.

Negotiate Now

This was kind of a Dick day.  I was just a casual observer!

First he mowed the grass - the lawn looks great!

Then we went to his appointment with Dr. Madion, the dentist.  I enjoyed the waiting room - a good magazine, and Willie singing Pancho and Lefty on the cassette they played :)

Then we went over to the TCAPS administration building for Dick to do a protest walk with Shelly.  The teachers need to have their contract finalized so that other things can happen.  The District doesn't want to negotiate, evidently.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I had fun waiting in the car, people watching, and waving - but it was really Dick's day :)

Myer Barn

Memorial Day is fast approaching, so we went to Skegemog Gardens by the Library to pick out the geraniums for this year.  We stepped out of the car, and there they were, not ten steps away.  They had been planted with ivy and the spiky plant - it was just what we had talked about doing....a very cosmic experience.  So Mom and Dad are all ready for the big holiday.

§

§  Thank you for everything, Mom and Dad!  "Wait til the sun shines, "Mary""  §

Then back out to the peninsula to finalize the maintenance at the Myer Quilt Barn.  It should now be totally waterproof.  We noticed that now all of those small trees along the road are dedicated to special people.  They all have small plaques explaining the dedication.  What a very nice thing.

We enjoyed driving around the area, and headed home by way of Bluff Road - very scenic.

Joe's Friendly

Cache Maintenance is always terrific fun when you end up in Empire.  The Empire Beach has such a gorgeous sandy beach, and great views of Lake Michigan.  Dick worked on the cache while I luxuriated in the views.

If you're in Empire and it's time for lunch, we like Joe's Friendly Tavern.  It's friendly,  the food is good, and the wait staff is pleasant and efficient.  What more could you want?

We did a nice drive around Benzie and Leelanau Counties.  We feel lucky to have such great places nearby

Bad Dog

We went out on the Peninsula in search of blossoms, and to do some cache maintenance on the Quilt Barn Series.  We were able to do a lot of maintenance, but alas, the blossoms won't be ready for a few more days.  There were a few - Dick surmised that they must be sweets, because those are ready first. We couldn't really tell.

When we're out there and it's lunch time, we almost always stop at the Bad Dog Deli.  Our timing was exquisite, because we put in our order and were seated before the swarms of people began coming in.  I have to say that I've never seen so many people there.  Some of them had to go through to the Peninsula Grill and sit at the bar, because the Deli was jammed.

Jeep for Dick, Rav 4 Me

It's a good thing that we still have the jeep because this was one of those rare days when we needed two cars.

Dick volunteered at the Visitor Center this morning, and I had an appointment with Dr. Ruch.  We  just discussed Nexavar and its side effects.  My blood work was all very good - so hooray for me.

Dr. Ruch, oncologist
He pronounces it "Rook".

Real Estate Drama

In which we spend a stressful day trying to sort out our house closing/condo purchasing snafu:

Yesterday:

1. The condo has not been started - not even ground breaking.  They are waiting for a permit from Garfield Township.  We had expected construction to begin as soon as the ground was not frozen.  Didn't happen.

2.  The buyer will let us stay in our house after  the June First closing for $1500/month through December.

3. We consider not closing, backing out on the deal,  and just staying here and wait for the condo.  Another option would be looking for another condo.  We know from experience that there are limited appealing condos available.

4. Laurie calls with great news about substituting, and asks about the condo.  She suggests that if we want to back out of our purchase agreement with the buyer, we should consult a lawyer.  This is  based on the fact that the buyer is a billionaire and really has nothing to lose.

Today:

5.  Dick calls Susan before 8 a.m. to make contact with John concerning Laurie's suggestion that we contact an attorney.

6. John emails us with the name of a local lawyer.

7. Dick calls lawyer, and explains everything.  The lawyer is acquainted with the buyer, and doesn't want to lock horns with him because of the buyer's unlimited resources.  Dick will consult with the lawyer tomorrow.

8. Dick calls Lynne to pick her brain about scenarios for finishing the condo.  She expects to get the permit next week, and said she would call us on Wednesday with the news.  If the permit materializes, she expects the condo to be finished by September 1, or the 15th at the latest.  Both of these predictions seem more optimistic than realistic to me, but let's just say I hope she's right about both of those.

9. We have several discussions about how to proceed.  I think our decision is to stay with our original plan - pay rent to the buyer for the summer, and bet everything on the timely completion of our new digs.

10.  I'll call Kelly after we find out about the permit to give her a clue about our possible move in September.  I'm really counting on her to be a big help with everything.

11. Whew!

Maid Spotless

Danielle and Brooke came today to do some housekeeping.  I was very glad to see them :)  They did a decent job - not perfect, but very welcome and acceptable.

They'll be back in two weeks.  Hooray.

Dick went to a meeting with Hans at the bank.