Bar Mitzvah of the West

We had a simply glorious weekend sharing the joy of Adam's Bar Mitzvah with both sides of his family. There were 5 major events associated with this ceremony - it's really a lot like planning a wedding, I think.

Friday night we went to services at the synagogue, where Adam participated by doing two readings. Saturday morning was the Bar Mitzvah itself, followed by lunch at Il Fornaio. In the evening we went to Kim's for sandwiches and conversation, and on Sunday we were back at Kim's for brunch. What a terrific weekend. It was a first for us - but now we're looking forward to Jake's Bar Mitzvah in a couple of years.

Dick, Bill, Eric and Ethan waiting for the service to begin.


Reiko and Hunter - Hunter was running a temp. and not feeling very well, but he was a trooper.


The Man of the Hour, Adam Henry Reines. His best friend (John from Manistee) is behind him, and farther back is Michael and some Reines uncles and a cousin.


Adam is conducting the Bar Mitzvah service. It lasted about an hour and a half.


Adam reading from the Torah, in the Hebrew alphabet.


It's a Reines family affair - Grandma, uncles, and cousin.


After the service, he gets a bouncy chair ride down the aisle of the synagogue!


Jacob loves his cousin Emily - well, everybody does!


Kim and Mike, the proud parents - they say that Adam didn't need any prodding or motivating to do this - he was self-motivated the whole way along. He worked very hard and did a superb job! It was impressive.


Mike's sister Sarah is a Rabbi.


Tammy and Ethan - the children were very well behaved through the whole thing!


Adam is kick-starting the luncheon by having a ceremonial sip of wine - he hated it!


Reiko's car - well, she is Jet's mama, and her husband flies jets, so - of course she's Jetmama :)


I'm ringing the doorbell at Kim's house for brunch on Sunday.


Adam and his friends and cousins are learning how to play blackjack - part of becoming a man!

Such a Day

This morning it was 22 below zero in Grayling, but we were in the banana belt at only 5 below. At least it was a sunshiny day - the sun on the snow really made the world sparkly.

We spent the major part of the morning in front of the TV watching the spectacular events in D.C. I'm ashamed to admit that one of the things I enjoy the most is seeing all of the political celebrities as they enter the platform - especially the ex-presidents and vice-presidents and their wives, but also the supreme court justices and well-known senators.

Obama's speech was especially fulfilling to me for four main reasons...he does not equate power with aggression; he extends America's hand of friendship to other nations, religions, and factions, He appears ready to shoulder responsibility for what happens next, and he exudes a pleasing combination of humility and confidence. In addition to the effective inaugural address, the highlights of the ceremony for me were Aretha Franklin (loved her outfit) and the very clever and meaningful benediction! It was a wonderful way to end the most invigorating inauguration in years. Here's the end of the benediction (my favorite part):

With your hands of power and your heart of love, help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nations shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid, when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

Closer to home, we had the best possible news this afternoon from Dino, Dick's cardiologist. His message to Dick was that everything is stable, looks good, and he doesn't have to come back! Well, maybe in a couple of years. Now, that's a really good feeling! So since we had such good news, we used our Olive Garden gift card from Tony and Sharron and had a marvelous meal. Thanks Tony and Sharron!

I came home feeling very mellow - the afterglow of such a day. Now I'm ready to sit under my fig tree and watch the Inaugural Balls.

Hibernation

Since we got back from Florida, we have mostly just been hibernating! The air is so cold and the snow is so deep - not really any incentive to be outside. The snow on our deck is six inches above the level of the benches, and the benches have 18 inches on top of them. In the two weeks that we've been home, I've left the house four times. Dick's been out a little more than that, and he's been snowblowing until he's blue in the face - well actually, red in the face.

Hibernation is a great time to play World of Warcraft - we're leveling up like you wouldn't believe! I'm now level 77, and Dick just dinged level 72 this morning. Dylan would be so proud,

We're getting ready to fly to California - here I go again, trying to figure out what the weather will be like and what to take. I always stress out a few days before we have to leave...we'll only be gone for two weeks, so it's really not that tough. Adam's Bar Mitzvah is one week from today - he has been working really hard on it, practicing every day. I know he'll do well. I'm so glad we'll be able to be there! In a couple of years, it will be Jake's turn.

It's a two hour drive from Tom's to Corona del Mar, so we're driving down on Friday.
We're staying Friday and Saturday nights with Bill and Jan in their rented townhouse. Service on Friday, Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, brunch at Kim's on Sunday and then we'll go back to Tom's.

It's going to be fun and interesting to spend some time with Tom - he knows all of the cool places in San Diego, Last time we were out there we went whale watching, and I'd really like to do that again. We're also expecting to see Kevin, Amy and baby Maya, and to meet Amy's family.

Deer have been camping out in our yard - they dig a hole in the snow and then curl up in it for the night. They're nibbling on the pine trees - they have to rear up on their hind legs to reach anything. I don't think I want to come back as a deer.

We have another winter storm warning today - the snow is relentless - it's been falling since before daylight this morning. The roads are still in bad condition - icy, slippery and treacherous. Wayne County always did a much better job of clearing the roads. The salt trucks would be going up and down Haggerty Road at 5 a.m. I guess that Grand Traverse County doesn't have the funds to salt or sand the roads. They just drop a little sand at intersections, curves and hills. It's frustrating when you know that with a little salt application, the roads would be clear. Not doing that allows a lot of dangerous conditions to continue day after day. Another reason to hibernate.

Round Robin 2009

Every year a big brown envelope arrives, filled with pictures and letters from 10 members of my high school potluck club, the SLGs. After reading all of the latest news and admiring pictures of all the grandchildren, I try to put a year of my life down in a letter. Looking through 400 or so photos, I always pick 4 or 5 of my favorites to send along in the big brown envelope. Here is my letter for 2009 ************************

January 7, 2009

Hi Everybody,

The Robin arrived while we were spending a few weeks in Florida, near our kids. Now I'm back home, sitting by a blazing fire and watching the snow fall on our three foot drifts.  Quite a contrast from sitting by the pool in sunny Florida!  As usual, I enjoyed reading all of the news, and especially looking at the pictures of the grandkids.   This time I especially enjoyed the old pictures - such good memories we all have!  It's truly hard to believe that those pictures are now 50-60 years old!  Yikes.

My life is very much the same as always - we stay busy with volunteering, travel, Vital Step gym, day trips, and hobbies- reading, geocaching, scrapbooking, and computer games.  In fact we keep in touch with our entire family on the computer game called World of Warcraft - we can talk and type over the internet for as long as we want and it's free.  Sometimes all seven of us are logged in at the same time, and it's very satisfying to "see" everybody every day.

One of the major highlights of our year was a Princess cruise of the Baltic last May.  We went with friends from Belleville, and it was a spectacular experience!  Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Poland and Norway - whew - all in ten days.  There are so many places we would like to re-visit - especially the Hermitage in St. Petersburg - we could spend a week looking through those rooms of  famous and astonishing works of art.

 In June, we took a whirlwind tour out west to add the western States to our geocaching total.   This is the trip that caused us to miss the 55th class reunion.  There just weren't enough weeks in the year this year for us to do everything that we wanted to do.

We had another terrific northern Michigan summer.  We had house guests  (all family)  from  late June until Labor Day Weekend.  The kids were here for the Cherry Festival - we all enjoyed the Blue Angels,  the midway, and the Big Parade.  We took a day trip to Beaver Island - a first for all of us. It was a glorious summer - the weather was great, we all went to our grand-nephew’s wedding and Dick’s annual family reunion (GenFest).

Since we are trying to find a cache in every State, in early September we took another whirlwind road trip to New England.  Even though we went before the fall colors were out, it is a very beautiful part of the country, and we relished the mountain scenery. New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine - well, you get the idea :)   We have sixteen States left to visit, including Alaska and Hawaii.  We've been there, but we have to go back to find a cache.  What a shame!

We stayed in Ann Arbor again this year - this time for the month of October.  It was extremely enjoyable in every way except for the miserable football season.  But we enjoyed just being in Ann Arbor, re-connecting with old friends, adventuring  around the area looking for geocaches, discovering new places and  going out to eat with area family and friends.   The only downside was that I was rear-ended in our little Subaru while we were there.  The car was totaled, but I was fine - the only damage I suffered was severe bruising from the seatbelt.  My body looked like I was wearing a deep purple sash! That little Subaru really protected me. Now we're driving a 2007 Toyota Rav4, and we're satisfied with it.

We headed for Florida for the holidays - rented a house for a month just ten minutes away from our kids.  Thanksgiving, Dylan's birthday, Christmas and New Year's - we were there for all of it, and have decided that Florida is a very pleasant place to be! Of course, as many of you can testify, we’re not the first to reach that conclusion.

Our Florida kids, Laurie and Chip, are still flying with American Airlines - now there’s an industry with all kinds of problems - labor, fuel, and on and on. They are both based in Miami and living in Palm City. Tom is in San Diego - he’s a senior scientist with Cymer Corp. He’s single - says he doesn’t want to marry and have kids - where did we go wrong?? He’s had several lovely girlfriends over the years - right now he’s been dating a girl half his age for the past year or so.

Dylan, our one and only grandchild, is still the smartest, best child in the Western world! He is now eleven and in the fifth grade. School is not his favorite activity - he’s good at everything except spelling. Spelling is a real bugaboo for him. He loves computer games, biking, hiking, tennis, and chocolate cake J.

Freda - I checked my addresses, and everything is correct. Can’t explain why your email bounced! You must be so proud of your very accomplished pooch - but I know that it takes a lot of time and effort on your part, so congratulations to both of you.

Junie - Didn’t like hearing about Jerry’s Chronic Kidney Disease, but it’s good that he’s seeing a nephrologist. My doctor told me that sometimes CKD can be caused by a medication that the patient is taking that becomes toxic to the kidneys…but then I guess a
nephrologist would think of that! (Blush)

Mary - So nice to know that Charlie is comfortable and productive in his surroundings, even though he has such dramatic memory loss - his situation should be a comfort to you.
I’m so glad that you have found happiness again, and still are watching out for Charlie. I think it’s unusually sweet, miraculous and wonderful.


June, Nan, Debby and Sandy N. - you figured out way before I did that Florida is an excellent place to spend some time during the winter. We have only gone for a month each year, but even that is so pleasant and rewarding. You are a bunch of smart cookies!

Margo - It sounds as though you have bounced back from double hip replacement in grand style - what a trooper! I don’t envy you those procedures, but I’ll bet you feel terrific now, right?

Donna - I love the way you talk about your “support” groups of friends. It really is important to stay connected and it sounds like you are super-connected with some really great people. Hooray for you.

Sandy M. - did you get your deck stained? Were your hands brown for a month afterwards? If you’re like me, you got more on yourself than on the deck.

Debby - Fifty-seven years ago, on February 2, 1952, Dick and I had our first date. I went to the dance with you, and Hermie Cox went with Dick. During the dance, Hermie asked if he could take you home from the dance. You said, "Well, I came with Nancy..." and Hermie said, "Well I came with Dick so let's all go together." So that's what we did. We had burgers and fries at what is now Round's, and they took us home. And that was the first date for Dick and me, and I think it was the last date for you and Herm!

Nola -It seems that our families are all affected in one way or another by the economic slow down.  I'm really sympathetic for people who have lost their positions - it's a bad time to look for a job.  Our daughter Jana had her position eliminated and is now at loose ends.  She got a good severance package, but she is single and worries about the future, as we are all worrying for her. She lives in Washington, D.C., right in the District. I’m hoping she can get a job with the Obama Administration. I’m wishing for the best outcomes for all of our SLG kids who are in the same  boat. Good luck to you and yours - don’t lie awake nights - it doesn’t help at all!

Betty - I know you didn’t have time to write much - you had quite an influx of friends and family! Maybe we can hear all about it next time, even with pictures!

Nan - Now we know why Florida is so attractive to so many Michiganders! I know you’re having a great time down there right this minute, while Dick is out snow-blowing the driveway! That climate down there is one of life’s major pleasures.

Dick and I are in fairly good health.  We have creaky joints and crampy muscles, but we're still using our original knees and hips :)   It's wonderful that medical people can fix up almost any problem these days.  My brother has had double hip replacement, as have other friends of ours.  I sincerely hope that all of you are aging as comfortably as possible.  Our doctor keeps telling us that we have gray hair disease - which means that we're not getting any younger!

From Toasty to Frosty in Three Days

After three days of super intensive driving, we have finally arrived at home sweet home. It was a memorable trip for several reasons.

We left on Jan. 2, and it seems that every Florida visitor from the Eastern Seaboard also left on Jan. 2. The entire State of Georgia was totally clogged all along northbound I-95. I mean totally clogged. There were long periods of time when we were at a complete standstill, followed by being able to move for a while at 25-35 mph. We saw license plates from every eastern State and Province, with the exception of Connecticut and New Brunswick. If they were there we didn't see them.

We left Laurie's house at 9 a.m., and planned to spend 8 hours on the road, stopping in Columbia, SC. The reality was that we spent 11 hours on the road - way too long for rational humans. It was a stressful, tiring day.

Saturday morning we were back on the road by 8 a.m. We had awakened to dense fog advisories. For a while it wasn't too bad, but in the mountains, the fog was very dense indeed. At times visibility was severely limited. I was relieved to see that there were fewer eighteen-wheelers sharing this leg of the trip with us. Mountain driving, rain and fog were enough to deal with. Even with all of that nasty weather going on, it's clear to me that North Carolina is the prettiest state that we drove through. The mountains and valleys, rock outcroppings, and broad vistas were beautiful - even though the sun never came out. We got to our motel in Monroe, Ohio around 5 p.m.

This morning, Sunday, Jan. 4, we woke up to dire predictions of sleet and freezing rain in Michigan. We wanted an early start, and were back in the saddle at 6:30 a.m. Driving north through Ohio, it was just rainy and overcast. As soon as we could, we tuned in WJR and WWJ in Detroit. They were all talking about freezing rain in the area. Part of I-75 near Birch Run had been closed because of icy conditions. Drivers were reporting multiple spin-outs on US 23 at Brighton and also near Dundee. And so on, and so on. Fortunately, by the time we got there, the roads were not too bad - we saw salt trucks, traffic was light, and temps were above freezing. It was unnerving to see 4 ambulances flashing past on eastbound I-94 as we were heading west.
The rest of the trip was blessedly uneventful, and we are thankful to be home.

Whitehall

Henry Flagler was a Florida pioneer and developer. Along with John D. Rockefeller, he was one of the founders of Standard Oil.

Mr. Flagler established eight luxurious hotels, including the Breakers. He also developed Jonathan Dickinson State Park and the Florida East Coast Railroad. He is credited with making Florida a haven for tourists and foreign visitors. He named his Florida home Whitehall, and lived there just six weeks out of the year!

Today we went to visit Whitehall and to marvel at its beauty and opulence. The art work alone is worth the price of admission. We opted for the handheld audio tour, and it was very well done. Dylan was fascinated with the entire adventure and never tired of listening to all of the details. I enjoyed watching him as well as looking at all of the fabulous rooms. We loved the whole experience.

Mr. Flagler's formal dining room


We're all listening to the story of the Grand Hall - the largest room in the mansion.


One of the fantastic Christmas trees - this one was decorated with an animal theme. There were animal cracker boxes hanging on it as ornaments.


Drove back to Stuart afterwards for an early dinner at Shrimpers on Manatee Pocket.

Another great Florida day!

Loxahatchee River

Tom, Dick and all of the Gillespies went canoeing on the Loxahatchee River from River Bend Park to Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

The trip took a total of four hours, including a lunch stop at Trapper Nelson's for yummy PB&J sandwiches.

Dylan sat in the middle of Chip and Laurie's canoe, and I'm not sure, but I think that Dick and Laurie were racing to see who could finish first!

The scenery was a highlight with dense foliage, cypress knees and the jungle-ish surroundings with narrow passageways. Dick was irritated by a group of Boy Scouts who had no idea what they were doing - just flailing around in the river with no instruction or direction.

Dylan's favorite part was ramming the log and getting stuck. I guess getting unstuck was a ton of fun!

In Which the Whole Family Comes to Florida

I love to watch the ocean. The waves come ashore with so much force, and there's always a strong wind. There is forceful energy all around.

The Summerfield neighborhood sandhill cranes.


Wait a second! Aren't these caches supposed to be on public property??


Dylan turned eleven years old on December 17. The kids went to play laser tag for his birthday party. Afterwards, they had pizza, ice cream and cake and presents. I think they all had a super time - and the laser tag really wore them out.


Dylan transforms Uncle Tom into a reindeer.

Dining room tables are good for more than dining.

More caching


M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S










Dylan got new parts for his Battleground game. He and his Dad are checking it out.

Here's a good Battleground set-up

Dylan is ready to win


The day after Christmas Dick and I went geocaching and met everyone for lunch at Duffy's of downtown Stuart. Then we were all off to see the ocean and play on the beach. It was a very windy day, and the temperature was really nice - moderate. The beach we went to is right next to the House of Refuge. Dylan says that this beach gives Florida beaches a bad name because it's rocky and full of shells - but I thought it was wonderful and beautiful, and Dylan enjoyed the tunnel he found in the rocks!

Cacheapalooza !!

Laurie, Chip and Dylan are camping for the weekend with the Pratt family at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the location of Cacheapalooza 3.

Last night, Dick volunteered to deliver pizza to them after they got their tent set up. Chip had a campfire going - it was a blast from the past. How many campfires have we sat around in the past 50 years...but I don't think we ever had pizza delivered to the campsite! It was good pizza, too, Hobe Sound Pizza. The Pratts weren't there yet - their son was walking in the Stuart Christmas Parade with his Boy Scout group.

We had breakfast at Perkins, and wandered into the park around 11 a.m. to spend the day caching and enjoying the events.

Laurie fixed lunch for us, so then we were ready to do some caching along one of the bike paths.


PB&J at site 113
I think that 7 or 8 were found. I walked with them for a distance, and then Dick picked me up and dropped me off at the pavilion while they continued caching for another 2 or 2 and a half hours. Luckily, I had a good book to read, lots of interesting people to watch, and friends there from Michigan. I was quietly reading my book when I heard "Basswood Bend! What are you doing here? It was Trippy, who lives in Florida now. We really enjoyed talking on and off during the afternoon. I also had a chance to meet Jellyfish, another Michigander. Nurse Nana had told me that he would be there and that I should look him up. No problem! Trippy and Jellyfish were caching together.

The potluck dinner was scheduled to begin at 5:30, and by 4:45 people were beginning to congregate and it got harder and harder to save a table for everyone!

Finally, my guys showed up and I was relieved! Pratts sat with us too, and they set up chairs at the end of our table.

The raffle started right after dinner, and Dick and I won a prize (mouse pad that says I'd rather be caching, and some Cachepaloooza pathtags) and Sharkie Crew (Laurie's family) won two prizes - just small stuff this year.

Everybody left shortly thereafter - Dick and I were certainly ready to go home, and Gillespies and Pratts were ready to go back to their tents. It was a very full day for everyone.

Cache logs by Dick for 14 Caches!! Woo Woo!

2008 You attended CACHEAPALOOZA 3 (Event Cache)
This was our first Cacheapalooza and we had an enjoyable, active day. We want to thank all the folks who invested their time, energy, cache and cash to put on this spectacular. We enjoyed our conversations with Florida cachers and it was fun to travel 1500 miles south and to meet up with fellow Michigan Geocacher Organization members Jelly Fish and cache reviewer extraordinaire, Trippy.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Running Bare (Multi-cache)
On our first Cacheapalozza excursion, we tagged along with the splatt pirates and the sharkie crew to find some caches. Caching with pre-teens is a different ball game, nuff said. Thanks for the fun.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #8
After lunch, we teamed up with the sharkie crew for a stroll along the bike path. Thanks for the series.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #7 (Traditional Cache)
We started with 8 and walked the trail. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #6 (Traditional Cache)
this one turned out to be more of a challenge for us than I'm sure the owner expected. Five sets of eyes were searching high and low. After introducing my pale northern legs to the joy of the Saw Palmetto, the cache was found. Thanks for the laughs.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #5 (Traditional Cache)
Another find with the sharkies. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #4 (Traditional Cache)
We teamed with the three members of the sharkie crew to stroll part of the bike path. About the time we got here, the energy level had dissipated for one of the team and the siren call of the pavilion was heard. Thanks for the fun.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Bike Trail DECON #3 (Traditional Cache)
OK, just one more. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Gators R Us (Traditional Cache) [visit log]
On our way to work the spectrum series, we stopped to check out the fauna and grab a cache while we were at it. TFTC

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Red (Traditional Cache)
We teamed up with sharkie crew and splatt pirates to work this series. We started with this one, a short walk on a nice trail, easy find and the next one not far away. Thanks for the fun.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Orange (Traditional Cache)
With sharkie crew and splatt pirates we attempted to find a trail/path.opening from Red. As a northerner who left temps in the teens and a foot of the white stuff, it grinds me to wear jeans in such fantastic weather but thankfully, I yielded to the warnings. Bushwacking in Florida is a different experience. Got to 350 feet from this side and decided the approach would be better from the other side.
We retreated to the RR tracks and found a couple of game trails that appeared to go in the right direction. The pre-teens were left with a minder while the adults stared resolutely at their arrows and plunged ahead. Following the game trails when we could, forcing our way through the bush when we had to, we made our way to the cache. It was quite an adventure.
With so many cacher's out the past couple of days, it was a surprise to us that there was the hand writing of only two other people in the book. We added our names and found our way back to the tracks wondering what other treats were in store for us.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Yellow (Traditional Cache)
Continuing on our quest we found this one readily. After Orange, almost anything else would seem like a park and grab. Thanks for the effort and imagination that went into this series.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Green (Traditional Cache)
Continuing our quest for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. We are impressed with the way the theme is carried out in the cache contents. Thanks for the hunt.

Found it 12/6/2008 You found Spectrum of Colors: Blue (Traditional Cache)
Here we come, teamed with the sharkie crew and splatt pirates we are closing in on the end of our quest. Unfortunately, the pre-teens are getting cranky and the post teens are getting hungry. We grab the code and push on, only one color to go.

Castle Pines Place

Today is move-in day for our home away from home in the Summerfield neighborhood of Stuart, Florida. Dick took pictures of everything before we had a chance to mess things up!
Our home away from home:


Dining area


Living room/sitting area:


The Entry!


Our home in Stuart:


Small bedroom:


Master Bath:


Master Bedroom:


Pool area:


Our cool (literally) pool:


It also has a nice garage, laundry room, and a nice neighborhood. I think we should have a great month.