The Lights Are On

A Prairie home Companion with Garrison Keillor was on NPR this morning. He was broadcasting from Detroit. One of the featured musicians was a song writer named Joel Mabus. This song about Michigan touched my Michigan heart. It doesn't mention T.C., but it's still a grabber:

How Dick Spent His Snow Day

I was on the computer early this morning when Dick came upstairs and said he wanted to show me something shocking. I followed him downstairs, thinking I was going to see some deer, or a bobcat or even tracks of a bobcat. He opened the garage door and the driveway was blocked by a fallen tree! It really WAS shocking!

He plugged in his small electric chain saw and went to work removing it piece by piece, branch by branch and hauling all of the bio-mass off to the side of the driveway.











It's all cleared away now - at least enough so we could drive the car out if we wanted to. Dick is really good at clearing away downed trees and brush!

This is Spring?

Dick and I are ready for winter to be over. Over - really over - no more snow and freezing temps. He sent this letter to the kids. It's a good description of what passes for Spring in T.C.

We have had a few signs of spring, all the normal ones; robins, redwing blackbirds, even a butterfly, but we still have 6+ inches of snow on the deck and the pile outside the front door is chest high. This week however, we've seen the first human signs of spring. The biker boys are cruising River Road on their Harleys, based on the noise level back here in the house, their lives are not at risk. ("LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES")

On Wed, after an 8 inch dump and with the temp about 35, in the mall we observed a group of young women (girls?) in flip flops. Sure they were wearing jeans and hoodies, but heck, they wear that in July.

After our walk in the mall, we made our mandatory Tour du Traverse. One has to observe the Bay and one of the States top ten Main Streets. Our overnights have been in the teens and the water mass in the bay is near 32 so each morning, if the wind is calm, there is a skim of ice that traps the floating ice masses. Well, on Wednesday, there was a fellow out in it using his kayak as an ice breaker. Nobody swimming yet but there are usually some folks walking the beach.

Down town there have been boys in shorts and tee shirts but the brew pubs might explain that. Then, yesterday was the topper, Although it was sunny, nary a cloud to be seen, the temperature was still in the 40's. Outside the mall having her smoke was a young thing in flip flops, tee shirt and shorts! Who needs Florida? Spring is here. (Ignore the snow in the forecast!)

Oops! It's falling. Big wet flakes but it's not sticking.

Anyway, the folks making syrup are happy.

Leelanau Day

Nice day for a drive! The sky is blue and the sun is shining, but there's still plenty of snow on the ground.

Of course our favorite drive is around Leelanau County. We began in Suttons Bay - went to Hansen's grocery store because they have exciting, exotic, and different items. We got some exotic items and headed for Northport on good old M-22, and then a leisurely drive to Leland.





It was a quiet day, so Lake Michigan was very calm and beautiful.

Oh hooray! By the time we got to Glen Arbor it was lunch time, and you know what that means! ART'S !

Hooray for March 22

Picket

Our new Governor wants teachers and other public employees to make salary and benefit concessions so that he can give all kinds of tax breaks and enticements to corporations. He also wants to severely curtail state school aid, cut the number of police and public safety personnel. These measures ae so counter-intuitive to effective state governance that it would be laughable if it weren't so very sad. As in Wisconsin, he wants to eliminate collective bargaining from the negotiating process - wiping away union rights which have been hard won over the past 50+ years.

Today there was a demonstration in downtown T.C. by teachers, public employees and sympathizers. I don't know how many there were, but there were many.

My favorite picket sign was "Real Nerds Love School".

A close second was "UNIONS - the people who brought you weekends."

Only a teacher would carry a sign that says "I am very upset."

They are chanting "Recall Rick".





We see these actions by newly elected Republican governors as an all out attack on public education. They are also attacking established institutions which are usually supporters of the Democrtic Party. I love this post by my niece Pam on facebook:

Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS crashed the stock market, wiped out half of our 401Ks, took trillions in TARP money, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, and gave themselves billions in bonuses while paying no taxes? Yeah, me neither.

Pictures, WoW,Puzzles, Caches, Haircut, Library and Groceries

Our whole day is in the title!

I started the day at the computer, first emailing Mike R. with a report about the beta testing I'm doing on his crossword puzzles. Puzzle making is his new hobby, and he's quite good. Then I spent an hour uploading old photos from the scanner to my photo program - object: preservation. Next of course I had to play Wow for another hour - then it was time for cache maintenance.

Dick is working on Expanding Your Universe, which has one stage for each planet. It needed some post-winter upgrading and coord checking. It was a nice day to drive around town from one planet to the next!

Dick had scheduled a haircut, so he dropped me off at the library. I read 5 different magazines - some of it was fascinating stuff.
I found some recipes, some great sounding websites to visit, and a great story about a foundling home 18th century London.

On the way home we stopped at Oleson's to pick up one item, and wound up with two bags full.

My knees still don't hurt and my back is about 75% better. Tomorrow the injection should take full effect. I'm still optimistic.

Shot in the Bum

Still working on getting rid of low back pain. Today's effort consisted of 2 sacroiliac injections - a real low blow! I should know if it's working by Friday or Monday. Already my back is better and my knees don't hurt - a nice side effect.

The injections are very unpleasant, but if it works it will be worth it. Today' shots were number 8 and 9.

I can still feel the "footprint" of the chronic pain - kind of a shadow discomfort, not really pain. I'm patiently waiting for that to go away, but I'm optimistic. Skipping gym tomorrow to give it a chance.

Small Town

We've been walking at the mall every day that we don't go to the gym. It's very pleasant there, and you're out of the weather. In a small town like T.C. when you're at the mall you're bound to run into friends and acquaintances.

Ron W. and his wife Joyce walk the mall around 4 days a week, and it's fun to run into them. Ron and I were classmates from Grade 1 at Union Street School until graduating from Central High, so we have a lot to talk about.

Today we met up with cachers Bird's Eye View and Bluejay Team - a lot to talk about there, too. Then the best part - Gerri F. walked in and we had old home week. When I volunteered at Munson, I worked at the Information Desk with Gerri for 5 or 6 years, and we became quite good friends. I haven't seen her for 11 1/2 years so we had a lot of catching up to do after the hugging was over. She's had some sad times - but we had a great talk and I was so glad to see her again.

At the gym, Carol R. showed up. She hasn't been there for months, and it was a real treat to see her and know that she's ok. She's on oxygen, so we were all kind of concerned when she stopped coming. She just stopped in to say hi. She now goes to the "Lung" gym to improve her breathing.

Wis-cairo

Financial or Political?

Union busting or fiscal responsibility?

The Wisconsin teachers have agreed to the budget cuts, but are standing firm for the right to collective bargaining. Their governor refuses to consider that, even though collective bargaining has no impact on the state finances.

WinterWowFest

The only part of the WinterWowFest that we did this year was to check out the snow sculptures. Such talent! I can't imagine how this is done. The artists had to battle above freezing temperatures, too.

This is my favorite - and I don't really know why. Maybe it's a World of Warcraft thing.

Although the lion and the mouse sculpture is really cute too.

This one is clever. It's a little hard to see in the picture, but it's showing how Michiganders use their hands to show people where they live in the State. The girl is pointing to Traverse City, of course!

9th Annual MiGO Winter Social

Where else can you go and be greeted by hugs?

My first hug came before I was even inside the door - (Justin of Wolverine Warriors). The second was just inside the door -( Jodi - LiteonCache).

And so on, and so on, and so on! So many great hugs and friendly faces - Heather, James and Sheryl, Tim and Susie, Gary and Donna, Rosie, Melissa - it was a great gathering. We are estimating that there were between 150 to 175 people there. We both had a super time - it's the perfect winter weekend get-away.

I really wanted to have a chance to play with Braylon - or maybe just hold him for a while - but he was very sleepy, and the wrong age to warm up to a stranger! Maybe next year.

This Bingo game is a fun, effective ice-breaker

Justin and Braylon - Wolverine Warriors

Crowd shot

James and Sheryl of...well...James and Sheryl !

Turkey for Valentine's Day ?

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. These turkeys came by to give us greetings.

Icicle Icicle

If there were an icicle contest, I think we might be in the running!

Snow, Snow, Snow

Today is Laurie's Birthday. Happy birthday Sweetie - hope you have a good one.

If you were here, you could enjoy our snow, snow, snow.

On our cruise of down town we noticed a little ice and snow at the Marina and Clinch Park Beach.

The railing on the breakwater walkway is covered with ice from splashing waves

The beach is piled high with ice from wind and wave action.


Please don't try to launch your boat today.

The Corporate Barracuda

Our corporate barracuda has been like a fish out of water for the past 2 years.

The first year she spent most of her time flopping around and gasping for air. The flopping around was interrupted at times by classes on how to conduct a job search, and by the occasional job interview.

The second year was highlighted by working under contract in a comparatively small barracuda aquarium for relatively small amounts of sustenance.

The Powers That Be noticed the excellence, confidence, and competence of our barracuda, and decided that they could not proceed without her. She has signed on the dotted line. Now she is floating around once again in a big pond with suitably adequate compensation!

The Corporate Barracuda Swims Again !

Snow Snow

In Which We Still Have Plenty of Snow

A Minor Miracle

Jan. 27, 2011

Site: East Lansing, Mich. (Breslin Center)
Score: Michigan 61, #25 Michigan State 57
Records: U-M (12-9, 2-6 Big Ten), Michigan State (12-7, 4-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 30 -- vs. Iowa - Care Package Drive (Crisler Arena), 4 p.m. (TV: Big Ten Network)

Big Games from Novak, Morris Send U-M to Triumph at No. 25 Michigan State
1/27/2011
Nineteen points from Zack Novak and 17 from Darius Morris guided the Wolverines to a 61-57 road victory at No. 25 Michigan State.

Winter Wonderland ??

We're very snowy here in Northern Michigan. We easily have over a foot of snow blanketing our deck. More snow falls each day, and the 10 day forecast shows snow every day. Our usual daily snowfall varies from 1-3 inches and seems quite manageable to me, who merely watches from the window. Our snow is white, beautiful and fluffy, and I hear it's great for skiing.

However - the East Coast has been getting gigantic snow storms this winter. They say that 19 inches of snow fell yesterday in Central Park!

At first Jana reported a Winter Wonderland in D.C. - but then things got really bad - here's the email from her that was waiting for us this morning:

On the 4:00 news broadcast yesterday, the VDOT lady said, if you are in DC and you haven't left your office, don't. Just stay there, don't add to the number of cars on the road.

The anchor said, what do you expect them to do? VDOT lady said, go have dinner, get a hotel room if you can.

The anchor was gobsmacked -- that was unprecedented advice.

I passed it along to a friend on IM, he said, pah, I only have a few miles, I will be fine. He was not yet home by 10 PM. Dork.

Now there are power outages all over (not here, I have never, knock wood, lost power here), so the traffic lights are out and the slush on the streets has frozen. It's anarchy. And supposedly there are still people stuck on GW parkway, who spent the night there.

The news keeps repeating phone numbers to call if you had to abandon your car -- apparently streets all over md, va and dc are just littered with abandoned cars that have to be towed before the plows can be effective, but the tow trucks can't get there because the streets aren't plowed.

Apparently the presidential motorcade even got stuck in traffic! He cut his visit to Wisconsin short, but it was already storming when AF1 landed, and the helicopters couldn't fly. So they joined the gridlock and got back to the white house a few hours later. (Luckily, the president did not have to relieve himself by the side of the road ;)

Sad -- a tree fell on a car at about 6:30 last nite killing a woman. By the 11:00 news broadcast, police and emergency vehicles had still not been able to make it to the scene. She just had to just sit there and be dead all that time :(

Now, as for this snow -- it was heavy and wet and fell fast. Really heavy. It was like falling slush, and it accumulated fast into inches and inches of slush. hard to say how many inches because it didn't stack up all fluffy, it sludged into the existing slush. But right now I have about 6 inches (of crusty half-frozen slush).

This morning after gym we had breakfast with some geocachers from Indiana - two women and 2 kids, Joe and Kacey. We had a really good time talking to them - Vonnie is the real geocacher of the crew - and we spent about 2 hours swapping tall tales.

Snow

In Which We Find Plenty of Snow on Our Deck: