We're Off!

We're leaving this morning! All that's left to do is zip up the bags! We'll be at Sniders tonight and fly to Copenhagen tomorrow evening. Arriving in Copenhagen at 3:30 Monday afternoon, staying at the Radisson Monday night, boarding the Crown Princess cruise ship Tuesday afternoon! And then we'll be sailing away to Stockholm.

We're not taking our laptops - there are computers on board the ship that are rented by the minute (!) - so we will occasionally check email (quickly).

Bon Voyage!

I Supervised

Here is the perennial garden as it appeared in early May. Some work needed to be done, some assembly required. It's my garden, and I wanted it to be spruced up for the spring and summer - but not by me! So along came the guys from Traverse Outdoor, and they helped me out quite a bit!




Here is the perennial garden as it looks today. The Michaelmas daisies, which have been taking over the entire garden, have been dug out, it has been raked, weeded, and prepped with compost. Whew! That's a job well done. I supervised!

Early Memorial

Oakwood Cemetery

New urns, new geraniums with really huge blossoms, good soil with built-in fertilizer - Mom and Dad should be all set for summer.

Buddha's Eye

Matthew 25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Thousands of people on the other side of the world are hurting, homeless and hopeless today. The cyclone in Myanmar may have killed 100,000 people (One Hundred Thousand), and now the earthquake in China has killed thousands more. Even the survivors are in peril because there's a shortage of medical care, clean water and food. These are dreadful events each by itself. Combined, it's very hard to imagine the horrors that men, women and children are having to face. There's an old spiritual called "His Eye is on the Sparrow (and I know He watches me)". Is it possible that Buddha's eye is not on these people?

It would be horrible enough if these were the only treacherous places in the world today. "Horrible enough" is not an adequate phrase. There are other shocking events in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan - each an outrage in its own right. Aren't there supposed to be some gods keeping an eye on those places?

Support disaster victims in Myanmar & China: American Red Cross and/or Save the Children

Northern Michigan Antelope?

Back to the gym - everything was kind of low key there today - not too crowded. There's a new UBE machine - I used it right away - it's a lot like the old ones. All 3 technicians were there today - usually we just get one or two. I talked to Marge about our upcoming cruise and it turns out that she and her husband Bill had been in a lot of the places where we are headed. She said that they were in Helsinki in May, and there was still snow on the ground! I'm not sure how to pack for snow in May in Finland.


At the Omelette Shoppe we were catching up on our reading in the free handout papers. A lot of the conversation was about new restaurants in the area. One of the new places is called Radish - our waitress said that it is reminiscent of small restaurants in the San Diego area that just serve soups and salad. The paper said it would have a 60 item salad bar - sounds great, huh? It's just a little hole-in-the-wall place in Old Town - hope they do well.

Another new eating place which is a fun topic of conversation is El Dorado. They plan to serve free range wild boar and antelope. No kidding. How does a wild boar taco sound? How many of those do you want?! I don't understand how wild boar and antelope are really all that applicable to northern Michigan!

Returning books to the Library, we spotted some gorgeous geraniums at the new Depot City Market. Skegemog Nurseries has a great spot there at the depot with plants that are healthy, thriving and lush. We had purchased new urns for Mom and Dad's spot at the cemetery last week - got them all set up and ready for new plants. So today we planted these gorgeous geraniums in the new urns, and everything should look wonderful for Memorial Day - even though we won't be here.

Packing panic continues. I keep changing my mind about things...

Packing Panic

We bought two new carry-ons today. We're hoping that we'll be able to pack everything we'll need for two people for a 10 day cruise in one large suitcase, one garment bag, and the 2 new carry ons.

I spent the morning trying on clothes until I was more confused than ever. I had to take a break and call Sniders for a while. We had fun talking to Jan. She gave us the good advice to call the credit card company to let them know we're going to Europe so that they won't get suspicious and cancel our card. That happened to Bill and Jan out in California.

I really do get a little bit panicky - but I do have good lists, and everything usually does seem to turn out OK, but it's nerve-wracking.

Happy Mother's Day

What a nice day this was! Sharon is in town visiting Barb, and this morning they both came out for a really enjoyable visit. Everybody seems happy and in good health, which is a Very Good Thing. We had a chance to catch up on all of the kids' activities, and that's always the best! We sorted through some of the GenFest stuff so they wouldn't be buying duplicate things, and just generally enjoyed each other!

After they left, we went back-woodsing and set up a new Emma's Shrine cache - it's a bit bizarre, but very much fun. Then we went in search of cherry blossoms - not on the peninsula this time, but in the Elk Lake/Williamsburg area. The blossoms were very profuse, very white, and spread out as far as the eye could see. It was a beautiful sight.

A Rosy Day

This morning saw the arrival of roses from Tom for Mother's Day. They are very, very beautiful - a mix of white and yellow.

Today at the Visitor Center, Dick talked to visitors from Japan, England, Canada, The Netherlands, Muskegon, and even Wisconsin! There were 47 visitors in all on his shift. The Japanese didn't speak English that well, but Dick says that the lady from London spoke English quite well indeed!

When we watch people walking up and down Front Street, we can usually tell which ones are tourists - but we certainly can't always tell where they all come from. I really had no idea that visitors to this area were so diverse!

I had fun shopping for travel size items for our cruise - it's the most fun I've ever had in a drugstore. They make all kinds of things for air travel now which meet the requirements of the new regulations.

From 5 to 7 p.m. we all played Wow (the two of us, Tom, Jana, Laurie and Dylan). In honor of Mother's Day, Laurie and I got to choose the activity. It was great - I completed two quests and picked up 2 new ones. We had a great time!

Dick did fish and scallops on the grill - we are trying hard to stick to the low fat diet.

One week from today we'll be driving to Canton to stay with Bill and Jan and one week from tomorrow the 4 of us will fly to Copenhagen!!!!! The countdown has begun!

Highs and Lows

We didn't go to the gym today because Merry Maids came this morning. Bless Merry Maids. Bless all maids everywhere... even if they neglect to vacuum under the coffee table!

Dick doesn't groove on the Merry Maids, so he went geocaching on the west side of town - found 3 and did not find 2. It was rainy, damp and dreary but anything is better than Merry Maids!

After lunch we drove to the marina. The T.C. Fire Department was there launching a small fire department boat and for some reason three fire trucks, a police car, and a paramedical rescue truck had to be there to help launch the thing. Who knows what that was all about.

I went walking on the TART from the Open Space to the West End Beach. I used my ski sticks and it went well...a fast start and a slow finish.

Afterwards we had a lovely drive on this beautiful day which had turned from rain to sunshine and blue skies.

When we got home, Dick got started cleaning up the toy school house, and I uncovered the golf car for the first time this year. It's the best gift I ever got - I had a delightful time driving around the property.

Meanwhile on the other side of the world, in Myanmar, so many people are suffering and grieving, and are homeless and distraught after a cyclone last Friday. The first reports said 250 dead, which is awful enough. Now they are saying 24,000 dead, 40,000 missing, and one million homeless! It's unimaginable. I wish each survivor could have 10% of the comfort and security which I am enjoying right this minute - they would be in heaven. I'm puzzled once again about the inequities from one side of the globe to the other. We are counting our blessings and feel so privileged to be living our lives in beautiful, safe northern Michigan.

Grassy Grass Grass

The grass is green and looking very lush.

Dick has been busy busy fertilizing, scarifying, bagging the debris, sowing hardy grass seed, more fertilizing, rolling the lawn with the lawn roller....and probably more that I don't even know about!

Our grass looks great (OK, we do have some dandelions) and is bound to look even better soon.

Webfetti

Bloomers

Our yard is in bloom!
The purple-leaf plum trees along the driveway - the camera doesn't really do them justice......so I tried getting closer......and closer! I hope you can tell how beautiful these trees are!

This is the forsythia which has been lighting us up for a week now. In actuality, it's much more bright and yellow in person!
Here is Dick's new flag pole in all its glory; new paint, new yardarm, new flag. It wasn't easy - we really needed 3 men and a boy to help - but he did it all by himself, assisted for 15 minutes by me with the tractor. It looks great!

I haven't used the camera since Christmas in Palm City - here are a couple of pictures that have been hiding in the camera for 5 months: Uncle Tom and Dylan in a deep philosophical discussion (well, maybe not).

Relaxed and happy in the Florida sunshine!

Christmas morning cup of coffee

Typical Christmas joyful chaos - it even looks like fun today in May!

TGIF

In school in Ann Arbor, and later living in Wayne County for 35 years, I listened to the Bud Guest show on WJR on a daily basis for as long as it was on the air. Every Friday afternoon the band played and sang:

Thank Goodness It's Friday,
Man oh man am I beat.
I worked all week like a dog, you see,
And I'm as tired as a guy can be,
But on Friday I holler TGIF -
Thank Goodness It's Friday now!

So I like to sing that little song to Dylan every once in a while on a Friday. I didn't get a chance to talk to him today, but I was thinking of him. We taught him TGIF way, way, way back when he was in Kindergarten!

Dr. Burke called this morning - he said I just had one small gallstone and there no indications of problems so we're good to go to SCANDINAVIA!!!

More errands today - it's always something! Dick cleaned out his closet, so we went back to Goodwill with clothes and light fixtures. Then we were off to the mall where I went walking while Dick shopped for travel clothes. After lunch we did the Subaru cruise of downtown, and picked up the Euros at the bank. They are different sizes according to the denomination!

May Day

Kind of an ordinary day - gym, Omelette Shoppe, library, bank (to order Euros), Orvis to pick up Dick's new jacket, Visitor Center to talk to Kathee, and then home.

At the gym, it seems that we are all world travelers! Carol is leaving tomorrow for Peru and Macchu Pichu, Alice is leaving next Thursday for Europe, with a grand finale in Paris, and we are leaving on the 17th for our Scandinavian cruise!

Dick is still working on the flagpole. He also spent a lot of time today flattening all of the boxes from the lighting fixtures, and some boxes that had been in the garage for a while.

I was working on laundry, boat insurance, World of Warcraft, and Guiding Light! On the show, somebody wants to make a movie of Reva Shayne's life. So it made me think of how a movie of my life would be a real yawner! Ho Hum!

Happy May Day!

Outsourcing

1. Ultrasound - the tech said that everything looks OK - the doctor will call later. Looks like we're good to go!

2. Jeff came and did all of our electrical odd jobs - it's so nice to have those things taken care of. I love my remote control fan+light. We met Jeff through geocaching, and it was certainly fortunate for us. He's fast, efficient, and pleasant. Our fixtures and switches are all functioning and it is just terrific.

3. Steve from Traverse Outdoor came to evaluate the perennial garden. They'll be helping us get it cleaned up, dug up, and plants separated and relocated. I'll really enjoy supervising that!

Diamond Day

Talked to Dylan this morning - he's sounding so much better and we're so happy for him. He enjoyed telling us about the guinea pigs and their new sleeping arrangements - they really are a source of enjoyment and pleasure for him, as he is for us!

Wow, we had a good morning at the gym. As John Denver wrote, "Some days are diamonds, some days are stone." This was a diamond day. As soon as I started on the Nu-Step, it just felt better than usual. Dick had a great workout too. We went out to breakfast as usual, and this time we did the low-fat version of the Omelette Shoppe menu. It was very satisfying!

These are the kind of errands we do on a Tuesday: find a mail box, drop something off at the bank, take books back to the library, find a cache (puzzle cache - very much fun), shop at Meijer (low-fat diets with supplements are expensive!), locate the building for this afternoon's mammogram, and come home and put away groceries.

After all of that, I feel unusually good - (no cramping, no weakness) don't know whether it's a diamond day or a turning point for me. I'm kind of voting for turning point!

OMG! Sharon wrote and said that Kevin and Amy are expecting! I think that is wonderful news! I love to see the family expanding - and it gets better with every generation!

6:30 p.m. update: Worst mammogram of my entire life. It's never pleasant, and it's often uncomfortable, but there's never been any real pain until today. The Copper Ridge place is a beautiful facility with nice furniture and a flat screen TV in the waiting room. But next time, I'm going back to Thirlby Clinic.

Crisp

Clear,crisp spring day - perfect to get outside and do some walking. There was a new cache on part of the TART, so we went to find it. This cache was put out by the WayPoint Kid, and we were the first to find. I walked on the asphalt, and Dick did the woodsy part. We saw ducks in Mitchell Creek, and five tots on a rope from Daycare.

This afternoon Dick saw Dr. Dino, and learned that his troublesome heart valve is good for another 3 to 8 years! That is good news. There may be surgery somewhere in the future.

The wind was out of the north, and the bay was a beautiful bright blue with big waves and lots of whitecaps - what a sight! The marina is beginning to fill up with boats.

Windows Live Writer

Testing 1 2 3 - I'm trying to figure out how Live Writer works - It says I can insert all kinds of things even though it's not on the blogspot site.  I'm not sure I entirely understand how this works, but...might as well try it out.

OK I can insert a picture.  This one is Tom and his biking friends making fun of another arm injury.

A table like this can be inserted...
	Not exactly sure what this would be good for...

Live Writer uses maps from Virtual Earth - you can zoom into any part of the globe.  It seems that they've never heard of Traverse City over there at Virtual Earth!  Looking at this map you would get the impression that the whole of Northern Michigan is uninhabited!

blogger Tags: geocaching

Tags can be inserted - not quite sure how this works but I think if you click on the tag, all posts with that subject tag will come up..

Videos can be inserted too, but it's too early in the morning for me to figure that out!

If this works, and actually posts to my blog, it will be great because this is a hassle-free way to add things.  Blogger is a little clunky in comparison.

Rainy, Foggy, Lightning, Gray, Low Fat Day

Perfect day to go to recycling!

Too rainy and chilly to walk outside today, so it was back to the mall. I'm an expert now on all of the shop windows - it's fun to watch them change. Dick ran a couple of errands while I was walking, and after lunch we went downtown to check jackets for him at Orvis but came out empty-handed.

After doing some internet research about proper diet for gallbladder disease, I printed out a chart of foods that are allowed and foods to avoid. The key seems to be digestibility - so it's mostly bland, non-spicy and of course low fat. We did a low-fat shopping adventure at the new Oleson's and bought lots of wonderful stuff. I'm sure I can do this, and Dick is a very big help.

Steve from Traverse Outdoor called and he's coming to look at the garden next Wednesday. Yaaay!

Our forsythia bush is in full bloom, and it's such a beautiful yellow. It's making it's own light outside the window on this overcast day. Daffodils are lighting up the driveway.

Bedding

After some serious consideration, we realized that we only need one new mattress after all. The Comfort Center was most cooperative, and our comfy new mattress was delivered in a timely fashion. It's great - it's a Serta and very cushy.

I spent the day washing bedding and sheets and making beds. Dick spent the day cleaning off the party porch, moving picnic tables, starting up the sprinkler system, leaf blowing, and I don't know what-all. He was uber productive. We also went to Bed, Bath and Beyond for a new mattress pad. We're also kind of casually looking for new deck furniture.

Traverse Outdoor was supposed to call to set up an appointment to come and look at the perennial garden, but the call never came. I'm still hoping.