Windfall Day

This day started out like any other day - dishes, laundry, vacuuming, computer games - and then Dick suggested going out to lunch! From then on, it was an ideal day, a lucky day, a real windfall of a day!
Here we are eating lunch al fresco at Amical. I felt a little under-dressed and under-coifed, but it was very pleasant. Dick had a good time watching people parking on the street, or attempting to park! The Asian Chicken salad was very nice - spicy and delicious. The dressing was very gingery.
Traverse City's own "bistro"!
Then we were off to Walton Junction for some cache maintenance. People have been reporting that they think the cache is missing, so we had to check it out. This cemetery sign is a bit optimistic - it would lead you to believe that the cemetery has been updated and refurbished when in reality there's nothing there - no headstones, mounds, plots, fences or anything. The area is outlined with stones, and that's the extent of the updating! Anyway, it's an interesting place to put out a cache.

It's a little alarming to be in the woods when everything is so dry. Our area is under a red flag warning from the National Weather Service because fire danger is extreme until we get some rain. The leaves are really crunchy, and the trails are very dusty - it's obvious that rain is badly needed.
Basswood Bend himself, engineering a replacement Walton Junction cache container.
This windblown tree is quite near the cache site, so Dick thinks that the cache just blew away in a big windstorm. It definitely was missing.
This large branch is more evidence of recent windfall.

From Walton, we went to find the Greenwood cache. Dick couldn't remember the hint at first, but with some nagging from me, he came up with enough of the hint so that we were able to find the cache.
We attempted to find the "Splatacular Cache". We had to log a DNF (Did Not Find), but the scenery was worth it.

Geocaching is a great motivation to drive these obscure, intriguing North Woods roads, cache or no cache!

T.C. Travelogue

During our Subaru Cruise today we stopped to look at this new sculpture at the marina. It's in a beautiful new setting - a big brick circle with plantings along the TART. It's a nice addition to the waterfront.



Front St. looks so beautiful with the trees in bloom. The picture really doesn't do it justice. It's gorgeous.


The new fountain in the Jay Smith Walkway has been turned on. It's small, but very pleasant. It will be beautiful when the flower beds are planted. In the background you can see the pedestrian bridge over the river. To the right (East) of the fountain there will be a new downtown pizza place - Pangea's Pizza. In addition to the indoor restaurant, they'll have a walk-up window on the street for buying pizza by the slice, and a small area for eating outdoors - not to mention the whole new mini-park right next door with lots of seating, complete with fountain! We met Phyllis, the owner, who was busy painting the interior, but was very willing to tell us all about it. They'll have a liquor license which will allow them to sell drinks on the premises, and also to sell six packs to go. She was an interesting person - very ambitious - and we wish her well. I predict the little walkway will be very busy this summer with Kilwin's on one side and pizza on the other!



Off to Concord Place for our ritual Sunday afternoon visit with Mom.



We took her some sweet-smelling flowers from the yard.

Science vs. Religion Steigerwise

Dick sent the article at the link above to the family.

On May 5, 2006, at 3:49 PM, Dick Steiger wrote:

"Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism - it's turning God into a nature god. And science needs religion in order to have a conscience, to know that, just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do." (See link above)

Here is Tom's response, which I think is very rational and well thought out. I agree with Tom. We're all of the opinion that religious fanaticism is responsible for most of the grief in the world.

I reject the proposition that religion provides a conscience. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" is a brilliant moral principle, but it is NOT a religious moral principle. It is a humanist moral principle. Note that it is not "Do under others as God would have you do unto others."

The basis of the Golden Rule is that we can't know the minds of others and so we can't know how they would want to be treated. So the best we can do is to recognize that we are all human and use ourselves as a model to predict the wants of others. It is this recognition of our common humanity - with all of the emotional baggage that entails - that gives the Golden Rule its power, not some blind groping toward an unknowable supernatural force.

If you examine them closely all worthwhile moral principles in the end make no reference to God and are inherently humanist in nature. Religion actually impedes the development of a moral conscience. No one will ever come to the rational conclusion, based on humanist moral principles, that the right thing to do is to crash an airliner into a building, or shoot a doctor at a women's clinic, or celebrate at the funerals of American soldiers, or start a nuclear war in the Middle East etc. etc. etc. ad nauseam.

The bottom line is that science doesn't need religion for anything. Human compassion tells us that just because something is possible, it may not be a good thing to do. Religion tells us not to eat shrimp and to kill our children.

Morning in My Home Town

Subaru to Marathon Automotive to remove snow tires...
Breakfast at Randy's Diner...
It's a male-dominated diner...
They do allow females to eat there...
But not many come..
Cruise down Front St, which is absolutely beautiful...
Lined with blossoming trees...
Drive past the Bay, which is totally flat...
Hardly a ripple...
Sometimes we say it looks like a mirror...
This morning it looks like ice...
It looks like you could skate on it....
Stop at the Visitor Center to ask Kathee about plumbers...
She likes Bob's Furnace or D&W...
Off to Home Depot to discover what kitchen sinks we like...
Home Depot is not my favorite place...
I get claustrophobic in the way back where there are no windows...
And no natural light...
We were disappointed in their displays of sinks and faucets...
(When Friendi drove past Home Depot for the first time...
Branches obscured the sign...
He thought it was Bomb Depot...
You have to be from Albania to think that...
Now calling it Bomb Depot is a family joke...)
Stopped at Hallmark to get cards...
Kristen is graduating from MSU...
Graduations cards were so nice I couldn't decide...
So I bought two...
And a Mother's Day card for Mom...
Off to Lowe's to continue our quest of discovery...
Kitchen sinks at Lowe's are also in the farthest reaches in the back of the store...
Lowe's has better sink and faucet displays...
We think we know what we want...
Stopped in at the Riverside Resale store...
Dick wants a desk in his bedroom...
Nice rolltop, but it needs repair...
We negged it...
Noticed a Kohler plumbing showroom on S. Airport Rd...
We'll stop in there on our next outing...
Dropped Dick off to pick up the Subaru...
Went to the scrapbooking store...
Such delight...
I walked around the store with a silly smile on my face...
One of life's great pleasures...
Choosing papers, stickers, ribbons, and embellishments...
Opposite of Bomb Depot.

Emanuel Swedenborg

Talking with Mother today, I mentioned that whereas her Father had been very churchy, her Mother was just the opposite. Mom related that her Mother never went to church, and never attended church functions, but that Grandpa was very understanding and never reprimanded her because of it. Then Mom said she remembered her Mother reading Swedenborg in the evening. He seems to have been a 17th century genius - I'll be interested to learn more about him. See link above.

Notable persons influenced by Swedenborg include Johnny Appleseed, Honoré de Balzac, Henry Ward Beecher, William Blake, Elizabeth and Robert Browning, Thomas Carlyle, S. T. Coleridge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Inness, Henry James Sr., Carl Jung, Allan Kardec, Helen Keller, Fitz Hugh Ludlow, Joseph Smith Jr., Coventry Patmore, August Strindberg and Jorge Luis Borges.

And my Grandmother, Mary Blanche Rice Geib (MBRG).

Blue Tractor?

Gorgeous weather - the lilacs are ready to burst into bloom. The daffodils are hanging in there still, and the tulips are such a brilliant red that they look fake. Dick mowed the yard for the first time today - looks great - the tractor works.

Speaking of tractors, I heard on WTCM this morning that Dill's has been purchased, and its new name will be something like The Blue Tractor Cook House. Seems like a weird choice, doesn't it? Can't wait to see it it's true.

Time to take off the snow tires. We think it's safe now! Did Marco today, and doing the Subaru tomorrow. Visited Mother - she seems good - took her some more Tylenol for Arthritis - she likes it and it seems to work for her. We talked about Dylan and the old days when she was a child. I got her a couple of nighties for Mother's Day (which will be in a couple of weeks). I think she'll like them.

We did a Subaru cruise - downtown is beautiful with the trees blooming. The cherry orchards are blooming too - it's a nice time of the year.

Blog Withdrawal

I'm still having blog withdrawal...just don't feel like writing everything down. Today...Alden, Wild Onion, found 1 cache, beautiful day, feels like summer.
Moussaoui sentenced to life in prison, Tiger Woods' Dad died.

My favorite quotation:

For Everything There Is a Season

For every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.
From Ecclesiastes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another version, just as lovely:

Artist: The Byrds Lyrics
Song: Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season) Lyrics

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!

Tuesday

Here's an outline of our day: Breakfast with Tim and Susie at the Hard Luck Cafe; found the Jars of Clay cache; we split up - I went home, they went caching all day and found 5 or 6 together; we went to see how the National Guard folks were doing, didn't see anyone. Got a nice phone call from Civilian. Watched Gilmore Girls.

May Day

Cut some daffodils for Mother - put them in a pretty vase and delivered. Had a nice visit.

Crystal

I just realized I haven't posted for a week! Everything is fine here - we've really been enjoying the glorious weather. Sometimes you feel like posting, and sometimes you don't, that's all.

Dick had a presentation this morning at Crystal Mountain for a group of mental health professionals. Crystal is a beautiful facility, and we enjoyed being there. Our workshop was small - 5 or 6 people, but it was a good group, and Dick did a beautiful job - his best ever. Plus - we got a free breakfast!

The day was so spectacular that we couldn't just come home afterwards. There were quite a few caches in the area so we did some Betsie River caches, and had lunch at Dinghy's in Frankfort - one of our haunts.

It was such a terrific day to be out and about - and we split the finds - 2 for Dick, and 2 for me. Don't you love it?

Avuncular Tom

Laurie and Dylan are safely back home from California. Mary's wedding was in a unique home on a steep hillside with a terrific view of Catalina. The wedding was small and intimate. Laurie had her first taste of "buckeyes" because Brandon is from Ohio.

Tom and Dylan had a marvelous time at Disneyland. Here is Tom's report:

We had fun. Dylan was amazingly well behaved. I was especially surprised at the end of the day when he simply said he was tired and wanted to go home. I was kind of expecting a meltdown. It was a tough trip for him schedule-wise. They got up at 4:00AM (1:00 PST) on Thursday morning and flew out here. I didn't get up to their hotel until 7:00 and then we went out to dinner so Dylan didn't go to bed until 8:30 - that's a 19.5 hour day! Then he woke up at 4:00 Friday morning because he was still on Eastern time. We got to Disneyland around 8:30AM and by 7:00PM he was done. Then the poor kid had to get up at 4:00 again the next morning to fly home!

We went on all his favorite rides (the Mountains: Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and Space Mountain) and on several rides that are only at Disneyland, not Disney World. The big hit here was the Matterhorn (another mountain). He went through a bit of a phase where we would get in line and then he would decide that the line was too long so we'd get out and go get in another line for something else then he'd decide that THAT line was too long too. I put a stop to that pretty quickly.

There was a bit of trouble over the Indiana Jones ride. For some reason he got it in his head that it was too scary and so started pleading to get out of line. I told him it would be fine. He was persistent, but never started really whining or throwing a fit. We got on the ride and he spent the whole thing with his head down and his eyes shut. I couldn't discern any appreciable difference in scariness between this ride and the rides he loved so I was a little perplexed. I was expected a tirade afterwards about how could I make him go on that and how horrible it was etc. etc. but he just cheerfully exclaimed, "That wasn't scary at all if you kept your eyes closed and your head down!" Whatever.

The old Carrousel of Progress has been turned into something called Innoventions, which is sort of a cross between a science museum and an ad campaign for the latest techno-gizmos. You walk around and look at exhibits and the outside of the building where you used to sit still revolves around the inside, but there's really no point to the spinning. Anyway, they had this touch-sensitive plasma screen TV with one of those fish-tank screen savers on it. If you touch a fish something would happen to it. Sometimes it would get big, sometimes it would get small, sometimes it would change into another kind of fish. Then sometimes when you touched the screen it would produce little food pellets on the screen and all the fish would swarm over to eat. It was pretty cool, you know, for 30 seconds or so. But Dylan was mesmerized. I think he would have stayed there all day if I had let him. My feet were tired and there was nobody else around waiting to play with it so I just sat down and let him go at it until some other kids showed up then I told him it was their turn. This morning Laurie said it was about the only thing he would talk about. Weird kid.

Overall it was a pretty flawless excursion. There was some difficulty getting home because I got a bit turned around. Then Dylan fell asleep in the car and I didn't know what to do about dinner since he hadn't eaten yet. But I went to a drive thru and got him some chicken strips and french fries and he woke up halfway up to the hotel room. (He looked around and said, "Where am I?") I made him stay awake long enough to eat something and take a bath and then he zonked.

It was fun, but next time we definitely need to schedule more time so things aren't so hectic and he doesn't get so tired.

Dick and I visited Mother today - she seemed slightly more out of it this afternoon - I think she must have been in a deep sleep when we arrived - usually she's just dozing. We stayed for about an hour, and then she began drooping again.

We stopped at Ellis Lake on the way home and couldn't find RGH's new cache.
Dick cooked dinner - yaay

Googling Richard

Googling Richard Just for Fun:
Here's an item from the consent calendar of the T.C. City Commission meeting of December 6, 2004. This is the approval that allowed Dick to set out his Park Series:

The request from Richard Steiger, 888 East River Road, to allow use of City parks for Geocaching, an adventure game for global positioning system users, as recommended by the Parks and Recreation Commission be approved.

This one is from mytraversecity.com (see link above):

At the Traverse City Visitors Center, I explain my “color quest” to volunteer guide Dick Steiger. Happy to help, he perks up and suggests two postcard-pretty overlooks. One is Inspiration Point on Route 616 south of Glen Arbor, which takes in the aquamarine sweep of Glen Lake, nestled among the trees like a Caribbean lagoon. The other is a hilltop on M-37 halfway up the Old Mission Peninsula near the Chateau Grand Traverse winery, where you can catch a rare glimpse of both East and West Bay at once. Steiger is nice enough to pinpoint the spots on my map.

“You know, of course, that Torch, Glen and Crystal lakes are considered the third most beautiful lake in the world?” Steiger says with a chuckle. National Geographic once bestowed the distinction on one of the lakes – or so the story goes. Now all three claim the title. “What are the first two?” he says, rhetorically. “And who cares?” The point is – they’re all world-class breathtaking.

Piles of Leaves

Dick had a meeting with the visitor center volunteers this morning. Chamber of Commerce and Cherry Festival Office - he enjoyed meeting Tom Menzel, the new director. From Dick's report, it sounds like the discussion was mainly about funding and budgeting.

I moved all my 9 piles of leaves and so the yard is slightly more picked up than it was before. There's still a lot of work to be done - doing some fine tooth comb raking, and beginning to weed the bed. The weather just draws me outside - it has been perfect.

We went for another great ride this afternoon - we went to pick up Dick's computer, and some shirts at Progress. Gas is $2.95.9 - I was totally in shock.

Got a call from Mary G. - Uncle Fritz is having a pacemaker installed. I want to check that out, and go tell Mother so she'll be in the loop. Evidently F&R have more financial problems than I thought. They lived quite a lavish lifestyle - they had me fooled. Thank God for Dad's prudence.

Lovely Day

Such gorgeous weather we're having! The grass is greening up, and the trees are definitely ready to burst.

The perennial garden is all raked out, and today it was a lot easier. Some of the plants are already sending up shoots - some green, some purple. It's fun to see. I had a list of perennials to plant this spring, and I can't find it. They were all plants that should thrive in our climate (zone 5) - I haven't given up looking for it yet.

Dick is still working on polishing up all of the park caches - new logs, double checking for dampness, etc. So we had a great ride all around town - it was the perfect day to be out and about. We love to Subaru Cruise! We stopped at the brand new Oleson's - it's very nice, and it's a convenient stop for us on the way home from town.

Tomorrow Laurie and Dylan fly to California. Laurie's going to Mary's wedding, and Tom is taking Dylan to Disneyland.

Indie Flix

Weather prediction was for a beautiful day, so I planned to rake out my perennial garden. It was, and I did. Sort of. I have some really good days and some not so good days, and today was not so good. I did rake out two big piles of leaves, but then I was done. Or done in, take your pick. The rest of the day I just sat around.

The highlight of the day was going to Kejara's Bridge Coffee House in Lake Leelanau in the evening for coffee, snacks and movies (indie flix). Their food is yummy, and the coffee was excellent. The decor is garage sale/flea market. The tables are all old fashioned kitchen tables, all different. The dishes are all from the yard sale - cups, plates, and flatware. The dish that Dick got was like our very first set of dishes - the yellow dish with the big daisy in the center. It was freaky.

The movies were Mark Fiore cartoons (some funny, some very unfunny), and a film about culture jamming. It was about people who hack billboards and posters, and a one-man crusade against Disney because of the sweatshop merchandise. (Rev. Billy from the Church of Stop Shopping)

When we were kids, we used to hear about Solle's Bookshop near Suttons Bay. Folks used to say that he was a commie, or a pinko, or at the very least a leftist. We think that the movement is alive and well in Leelanau County!

It was an interesting evening - I've always wondered what Kejara's Bridge was like inside. It was very pleasant and friendly, and a little strange.

Geo-Brunch

We decided that a geo-brunch is like a geo-breakfast except later, and like a geo-dinner except lighter.

We met at the Omelette Shoppe with Kim (Major K), Carla (Civilian) and Darcia (Tootsie Roll) who are known collectively as the Sucker Sisters. They all work in Grayling for the Army National Guard in the Environmental Programs Division. There will be a National Guard convention here in T.C. at the Resort on May 2, and they have promised a geo-caching outing for the evening entertainment. They've chosen Dick's 10 stage municipal park cache series. They wanted to double check all of the locations, code numbers and coordinates to make sure they're on top of things before the big event.

Kim is a SCUBA diver, and she was here yesterday for the underwater egg hunt down at the marina. She's planning to dive with sharks in the Bahamas next. Carla is a mountain biker. She and her family biked across the country 8 years ago when her son was 12 and her daughter was 15. Her son is now on a Belgian bike team - amateur not pro, but he wants to be pro eventually (ala Lance). This summer she and her husband are planning to bike the Continental Divide. You meet the most absolutely fascinating people geo-caching!

Hop, Hop Bunny Bunny

Happy Easter Everybody!

Sniders arrived around 10:30 this morning, and it was great to see them. We haven't gotten together all winter. We caught up on all of the latest stories and jokes, and Belleville gossip. There's nothing better :)

We had a reservation at the Freshwater Lodge for brunch, and it was as spectacular as usual. The best part was the dessert table (blush). We had good appetites, good food, good friends and good conversation. It really wasn't that crowded, so we could sit there as long as we wanted and just talk.

It's such a beautiful day that when we got home, we all just sat out on the deck and watched the canoes and kayaks go by. The temp was around 65, but the sun was really warm. We enjoyed hearing on all of the latest news of the children and grandchildren.

I wasn't sure that I should mention Kim's health problems here - but Dick wrote a letter of explanation to our kids and I thought it was well done - so here's his letter:

We had brunch with Bill and Jan today. They are on their way from Manistee to Houghton Lake and then back to Canton. Bill has to go to the U of M hospital Tuesday for tests. The reason he has to have tests is that Kim has some very serious health problems.
First, she has gastrointestinal problems caused by an inflammation of the stomach. As a result she has a problem keeping food down and has lost over 10 pounds. That doesn't sound like much for us but Jan says she is really skinny.
Second and compounding the problem, she has a chronic sinus infection and cough. The coughing apparently is severe at times and has resulted in a hernia.
The above are her minor medical problems, much more serious and the cause of the tests on Bill is that she has developed neuropathy in her legs. Due to some auto immune attack, she has lost all feeling in her feet. Jan says she can no longer walk but just shuffles along. It also seems to be spreading to her hands. She goes to A2 every two weeks for an infusion treatment at 10K a pop but they don't see any results yet. Bill is being tested because of his leg problems to see if there is a genetic component.

I'm not sure that we reported that they are moving to California. Mike has had it with the "small town hospital politics" in Manistee and wants to start fresh. They have put $ down on a small house near Reiko. They have the Manistee house listed at 1.5. They are buying less than 1/2 the house for more $.


As you can imagine, Bill and Jan are extremely concerned. It's one thing to get creaky and achy at our age but it's not fair to have it hit when you are so young. We feel lucky that all we have to worry about with our kids is their job stress.

The infusions that she gets are called IVIG. It's gamma globulin to boost the immune system. It's a treatment often used for MS, but they haven't actually diagnosed her with MS at this point. You can google it. The neuropathy is advancing upwards to her calves also. Her friends are all doctors too, and she comes to T.C. regularly to see other doctors (gastroenterologist and hematologist), and she goes to Ann Arbor for her infusions. Plus she has access to the entire staff of West Shore Hospital in Manistee. Tons of doctors are involved and they can't figure out what the problem is. She's still trying to see patients part time, but she's not very mobile. Whoever first said that Life Is Not Fair was right.

New Mission

This was an absolutely gorgeous Spring day. We picked daffodils for Mom, and drove past our beautiful bright blue bay. Mother seems fine - she loved the flowers, and we had what she likes to call "a good visit". She learned all about the latest happenings. She enjoyed hearing about L, C & D camping in Florida - we told her about the raccoons and the bears, the canoeing and the geo-caching, but we left out the story about the tics!

After our good visit, we drove over to Lake Dubonnet, and located a possible site for another Shore to Shore cache. The trail really meanders around through there - and it's a beautiful area, although spring is not it's prettiest season - lots and lots of dry leaves.

I have a new mission in life - I'm going to try to avoid artificial sweeteners because I believe they make me feel ill. Over the past 10 years I've consumed just about every type of sugar substitute that there is, and I certainly can't notice any positive results. I've been reading about them on the internet, and some of the case histories are downright scary. Some people are seriously affected by the chemicals in the sweeteners. After my aspirin/internal bleeding episode, I believe I probably am "some people"!

There's a long list of physical problems associated with most of the fake sugar - even Splenda, which I had thought was going to be the healthy choice. Check out the link above, and scroll down to "side effects". Maltitol is my biggest bugaboo - my system can't tolerate it - and it's in so many things I've been eating - the diabetes food bars, sugar free cookies, fake chocolate, even hard candies and sugar free gum. I found this paragraph which graphically explains the biggest problem:

All authorities recommend using caution and definitely moderation is key. Because they are not completely absorbed in the bowel, they have a nasty reputation of holding onto water, and promoting diarrhea, gas and bloating. This is politely termed the "laxative effect". Sorbitol and mannitol are the worst offenders, maltitol and lactitol less so. The label should indicate the serving size. This is the amount considered safe to eat before the laxative effect takes over. So beware that overeating these foods can have serious effects. Especially for children, who of course will experience the effect from an even smaller amount.

Those substitutes mentioned in that paragraph are all sugar alcohols, and I'm learning that we really don't want to be putting these substances in our bodies. Reading labels is going to be my new hobby. Even Diet Pepsi is on it's way out - I think I'll start drinking more iced tea and sparkling water. Water si, chemicals no.

Happy Birthday Barb

This was the Big 6-0 for Barbie, and so her kids organized a birthday dinner at Schelde's, and we were invited! It was really a good time, and it was great to see everyone.

Barb and Jim, Melissa and Peter, Autumn, Brooke, Shelly and Chris, Adam and Melanie, Dick and Nan - it was a lively group! Of course, Autumn and Brooke are still the cutest little girls that there ever were - and they look so much alike - blonde hair, blue eyes, and those charming dimples that they got from their Grandma Barb.

Barb looks so good - she's doing great. She's going to start working full-time on Monday, and she really feels ready! It's a miracle.

Afterwards we all went over to Shelly's for cake and ice cream - it was such fun to be with everybody. Her house is small, but very comfortable and charming. I loved it. Shelly has a new puppy named Ranger - a collie and shepherd mix - looks like it will be a big dog! Peter had his police dog in a dog crate in the backyard- Jim said it looked like it could hold a wildcat!

We left with a smile because Autumn and Brooke called goodby from the upstairs bedroom window, and yelled "Happy Easter"! Fun.

Happy Birthday Barb

Foothills

These Medicare presentations are always a new and different experience. The meeting this morning was at 9:30 at the Foothills Cafe on Dunn's Farm Road over by Glen Arbor. We must have driven by this place a million times over the years, but neither one of us ever noticed it. There's a small Mom and Pop motel, and the Cafe is about the size of a two-car garage. We were expecting 22 people, and I was wondering if we would all fit in there. It turned out to be a fine place - it was open and airy, because there were huge windows on two sides. The food was good, and the servers were friendly and pleasant. The Leelanau COA paid for our breakfast.

We didn't feel that this group was really interested in hearing about Medicare Part D. They seemed to be all set as far as their prescriptions were concerned. I think that the program director just lined up somebody to give a program without considering the needs of the audience. It was a nice group, and we sat next to retired teachers - that's always fun.

We're still working on finding spots to hide caches for the Shore to Shore trail series (called by those in the know "The S2S"). So after the meeting we drove to Empire and explored the riding/hiking trail. Dick found 3 or 4 good possibilities for cache sites, and we had a great ride around Leelanau/Benzie.