Funeral Attire

Our football game outfits just might not be quite the right thing for a funeral, so we're driving up to T.C. to get more formal attire. It's a nice day for a drive and it will be nice to be home even for one night, but we need a lot of hand-holding to get through this.

Today we found out what kind of kids we have raised. All three are flying in for Odette's memorial and funeral - Tom from San Diego, Laurie from South Florida, and Jana from D.C. We never suggested that they do this, we just provided them with the info and updates, and all of a sudden we were getting emails with flight information. It's a tribute to Odette and how much they valued her influence during their lives.

Dear Odie

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday we go to Briarwood at 9 a.m. Dick does the U of M Geezer Workout and I use my walker and circumnavigate the mall. During one of my rest stops, I checked my phone for messages. I heard Dave's voice telling me that his Mom had passed away the night before. This was not totally unexpected - Odette has been fighting multiple problems for several weeks now - problems involving surgery, hospital stays, nursing home, therapy, in-home help and so on. Still - we had hopes that she would recover. It had been a relief to hear that she had been able to go home. Consequently, it was still quite a shock to hear of her passing.

I went over to the Geezer workout area and signaled Dick to come talk to me, and I broke the news. We left immediately.

Family needs to be notified and updated, and so we called or texted all of the kids, and emailed Barb and Sharon, talked to Dave and Sue on the phone, and waited for the details of funeral arrangements.

47th Annual Kanitz Reunion

We picked up a chocolate cake and some ham at Meijer, and headed off for the Tri-County Sportsman's League in Saline. When we arrived, the cousins were setting up extra tables because more people showed up than were expected. Last year there were 110 folks who came, and the final count this year was 147!

Cousin Jack, whose family was in charge, was just ecstatic, and so proud to have such a turn out. There was so much food that for the first time in my memory, the desserts were displaced by dinner items, and they came up with a new location for desserts. The tables were groaning!

Dick and I sat at one of the newly set up tables, and as it turned out, we sat alone for the whole deal. I kept expecting late arrivals to show up and sit with us, but it didn't happen. Joyce was scandalized that we were sitting alone, but to be honest, it was kind of nice to have a little solitude in the midst of the multitude!

I enjoyed talking to Jack, Joyce, Wayne, Dawn and others of course. It's always fun to see all of the new babies - there were many this year. One of the little boy babies is seven months old, and his daddy proudly stated that the U of M has won every football game for his son's whole life!

Wolverine Warriors

Michigan played Eastern Michigan today, and we invited Heather and Justin, the Wolverine Warriors, to sit with us. It turned out to be a great day weatherwise, and they are always good company.

Eastern played way too well at first, and made our team look a little silly at times, but then the sleeping giant woke up, and our team took control of the rest of the game.

This from mgoblue:

Big Rushing Day, Stout D Carry Michigan Past EMU

Sept. 17, 2011
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 31, Eastern Michigan 3
Records: U-M (3-0), Eastern Michigan (2-1)
Attendance: 110,343
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Sept. 24 -- vs. San Diego State (Michigan Stadium), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior quarterback Denard Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) and junior running back Vincent Smith (Pahokee, Fla./Pahokee) each eclipsed 100 yards rushing as the University of Michigan football team ran over Eastern Michigan, 31-3, on Saturday (Sept. 17) at Michigan Stadium. Robinson neared his career high in rushing attempts with 26, amassing 198 yards and a touchdown, while Smith ran the ball nine times for 118 yards.
*************

You might say that this was the perfect football day.

September Monthly S.E. MiGO Meet & Eat

This event takes place over in Southfield usually at the same time as rush hour. Not wanting to fight the rush hour traffic on the freeways,we left early and took surface streets over in that direction, and cached our way to the event at Panera Bread on Southfield Road.

Laura of LightPeople


TopKat, Cyclops, Basswood Bend - doesn't get much better than that!


Crowd shot - looks like a very serious crowd!


OK, Melissa P. keeps coming up with ideas for new challenges (a new geocaching opportunity). This one was to eat a sweet treat - so of course we both complied!




It was very enjoyable - a nice day and many new and different caches to explore. Including the event, I think we logged 10 caches for the day - most of them in very nice Southfield parks.

How Much Fun Is This???

The Maize and Blue faithful will appreciate this. Somebody had the great idea of dubbing a Bob Ufer broadcast over the last play of last Saturday's Notre Dame game. Fun fun fun!

Sweet 9/11 Tribute

Ann Arbor Precis

Dick just wrote a letter to our nieces and it's a good summary of our time in Ann Arbor so far.  

Greetings from Ann Arbor. With the exception of a few minor glitches,
we are having a great time. To summarize our trip so far, here's what
we have been up to,

1) Games;
Wow! The first one, Western, started so hot that a woman up behind us
had collapsed and needed medical attention before it even started. The
heat got to Nancy and she left to find shade at the end of the first
quarter was over. She went back to the car to sit in the air
conditioning. Tom and I stayed to the end which was late in the 3rd
quarter when it was called off due to the weather.(Lightning) A
first! That has never happened before. It rained so hard that we were
drenched. The game was stopped, then restarted and then stopped again.
I told Dylan that I might have gotten wetter if I just jumped in the
pool with my clothes on but I'm not sure.

The second one, Notre Dame was the first night game and set a new
national attendance record, 114,804. Nancy decided she wasn't ready to
go back to the stadium and so I took some old coaching buddies. In the
last 1 1/2 minutes, we scored to win, they scored to win, and then we
scored with 2 seconds on the clock to win for real. What a roller
coaster! 3TD's in just over a minute! My pals said they thought I was
having a heart attack. I'm not sure what time we got home but I was so
wired that I was still up reading the early comments in the papers at
2:30 in the morning.
In the afternoon we had a chance to watch the Spartans and they are
definitely impressive. I hope they kick some more Irish butt this
week.

2)Social;
We have gone out for breakfast, lunch, dinner coffee and a tailgate
with old friends. At the teacher retiree breakfast, someone was nice
enough to point out that Nan and I were the oldest ones there. You can
sure tell that we are all getting old when the topics most discussed
are grand children and medical conditions. We did a coffee with local
geocachers. One of the most fun events was a tailgate. Some of Tom's
HS buddies claim we turned them on to tailgating when we took them to
games and tailgated 30 years ago. They bought a house near the stadium
which they rent out to students except for the basement and the back
yard on home game days. They have named it the Wolverine Den. It has
its own web page which you can google. On Saturday they had a pig
roast which we attended along with over 250 others. Steve, the guy who
started it said that 50 - 60 don't go to the game, they stay and watch
it on one of the TVs. I met a number of former students and their
kids.

3)The downside;
We are not happy with our unit. The development we stayed the past 3
years was well maintained and convenient, a 10 minute drive straight
to our stadium parking. This one is 30 - 45 in heavy Interstate
traffic. This development is poorly maintained. It's called Village
Green, Nancy says the name comes from the green mold on the outside of
all the buildings. When we moved in, the kitchen faucet leaked and
they had just placed a towel on the shelf under the sink. We thought
that the oven needed cleaning but but they say "it is just corrosion".
The kitchen contains one dishtowel, one fry pan, one sauce pan and one
other pot. Oh well, we'll just go to Meijer and pick up some stuff. It
is what it is.

All in all we are having a good time. Next to Traverse City, Ann Arbor
is our favorite town.

If all goes well. on Wednesday we are driving to Rochester to see
Odette and Doug. We were scheduled to go last Thursday but their
Medical problems wouldn't permit a visit then.

Under the Lights

Robinson Finds Roundtree with Two Ticks Left, Michigan Overtakes Irish

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	Roy Roundtree

Sept. 10, 2011

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31
Records: U-M (2-0), Notre Dame (0-2)
Attendance: 114,804
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Sept. 17 -- vs. Eastern Michigan (Michigan Stadium), Noon

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the third straight season, the University of Michigan football team overtook Notre Dame in the final 30 seconds, as junior quarterback Denard Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) completed a 16-yard pass to senior/junior wide receiver Roy Roundtree (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) with two seconds remaining to give the Wolverines a 35-31 comeback victory in the Under the Lights contest on Saturday (Sept. 10) inside Michigan Stadium. In front of a record crowd of 114,804 fans, the Wolverines clawed their way back into the game from a 14-0 deficit in the first quarter, tallying 28 fourth-quarter points.

Retiree's Breakfast

Oh Boy, we got to go to the Bomber! It's in the rundown section of Michigan Ave. in Ypsi. The food is good, the servers are friendly and efficient, regardless of the purple hair :)

We had a great time - it really is a blast to see all of the former faculty members - some of them are getting really old. Come to think of it, I believe that Dick and I are now the oldest of the old at this point.

I especially enjoyed talking to Jan, Bill, Kay, John, Dan, Cindy, Diann and Linda. Diann and Jan and I plan to go see "Contagion" next week.

We gave Notre Dame game tickets to Dan and Bill for Saturday's game. The guys are going to the Wolverine Den for a pig roast before the game! Should be quite a time!

Phooning. Phooning?

We ran into Melissa P. at Meijer, and she said, "Are you coming tonight?" Huh? Seems the South Lyon Trekkers Meet and Greet is tonight in South Lyon - we had thought it was tomorrow.

We made it over there, and I had so much fun talking to the kids who came - it was their first day of school, and I loved hearing all about it from the kids' perspectives! Daniel (1st grade) showed me his broken thumb - it's a little crooked. He said he broke his thumb in the Thumb! Then he said, "It was a day of irony."

I also enjoyed talking to andrew.r.brown and his son Jason (3rd grade) - such nice people!

Then we were told that we had to Phoon, and this is the result:

Fooning Fools (proving that you don't have to be young to be foolish.)




@ Biggby Coffee
22729 Pontiac Trail
South Lyon, MI 48178
N 42° 26.913 W 083° 39.059
This is a challenge for those geocachers who attend our twice monthly coffee shop event. To complete this challenge, have your picture taken while phooning in front of this coffee shop. (Don't know what phooning is? Check here: http://www.phoons.com/ ) The picture must be of your entire body (so we can see proper form of the phoon). Each person who claims credit must upload a picture of him or herself phooning at this location. Make sure the coffee shop is recognizable. Have fun!

Sweet Sunday

Almost a whole day with Tom! Hooray!

We slept in and just foraged for breakfast. Then we took a drive around North Campus and some old haunts.

Zingerman's Roadhouse is the perfect spot for Sunday lunch, and that's where we headed. I had wonderful mac and cheese. Tom had an oyster poorboy, which I guess was not that wonderful.

Back to the apartment for rest and relaxation and conversation - holy cow - we even talked about Beth! I guess Beth and Lani's husband both work for the DNR, or DEQ or whatever it is now.

Dropped Tom at the airport in timely fashion. A nice hug and a wave, and he's gone again.

This is Football Weather?

The Gimper approaching Section 37:

Sept. 3, 2011

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: Michigan 34, Western Michigan 10 (declared final with 1:27 left in third quarter due to weather)
Records: U-M (1-0), Western Michigan (0-1)
Attendance: 110,506
Next U-M Game: Saturday, Sept. 10 -- vs. Notre Dame - Under the Lights (Michigan Stadium), 8 p.m. (TV: ESPN)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Senior weakside linebacker Brandon Herron (Stafford, Texas/Dulles) became the first Wolverine in school history to post two defensive scores in a single contest, helping lead the University of Michigan football to a 34-10 win over Western Michigan in the 2011 season opener, which was declared final with 1:27 in the third quarter due to weather on Saturday (Sept. 3) inside Michigan Stadium. The victory is head coach Brady Hoke's first at the helm of the Michigan program.

Although the opening kickoff featured 90-degree heat and sunny skies, storms from the southwest rolled over Michigan Stadium in the second half. The game was suspended twice in the third quarter after lightning was spotted within six miles of the stadium. The first suspension resulted in only a 30-minute delay, but the bleak outlook of the second suspension forced Michigan and Western Michigan officials to call the game with 1:27 left in the third quarter and declare the Wolverines the winner. This is the first Michigan football game to end due to weather before all 60 minutes of regulation have been played.

The game with Western was quite the experience. It was amazingly hot, hot, hot followed by amazingly wet, wet, wet and windy.

The rains came (and thunder and lightning!):



The students didn't want to leave!



At least it cooled off by 10 degrees or so. Tom and Dick hung in there until the end...I left after the first quarter - just couldn't handle the heat and no shade. Wimpy wimpy wimpy. During the storm, the thermometer in the car said 84.

When we got back to the apartment there were trees and branches down everywhere. What a storm. We ordered pizza and the delivery person actually found our apt.

We had a great time with Tom - he loved the game and had a good time, weather notwithstanding. He wanted the game to continue, claiming that 8 year old girls play soccer in the snow!

Speaking of Tom, our plans have changed and we're not going to Tom's in Dec. Chip has made Captain and will be flying reserve - most likely will have to fly on Christmas Day, and will not be as able to adjust his time off for a while. We're all going to Florida again, and we figure that we'll have Christmas on whatever day he can be home.

Our First Full AA Day

What a mad social whirl (for us!)



We met Dennis and Chris at Zukey Lake Tavern in Pinckney for lunch. They are leaving Sunday for two months in Australia! We always enjoy their company, and love listening to their stories. They are now the grandparents of two, a girl and a boy.

The new baby is named Tiberius James - which we thought was interesting and unusual. Later, Tom pointed out that on the TV show Star Trek, William Shatner's character is named James Tiberius Kirk. Chris' son must be a Trekkie!

Then, after a lovely lunch, we went out to dinner with Sniders and Grignons at Carrabba's in Canton. Good food, good friends, good conversation, and anticipation of picking Tom up at the airport after dinner. What a nice time!





We picked Tom up without incident, and now we're all ready for tomorrow's game!

The Village Green

Here's the Village Green Apartment, our home away from home for a while:

Apartment 105



Bedroom #1


Bedroom #2



The well-stocked kitchen



The living area


Dining area


Big closet

Bessie's Ready

Dick likes to set Bessie out on the riverside deck to greet kayakers. Today he equipped her in all kinds of U of M paraphernalia. I think we're excited about the approach of football season!