Waves

There is something so soothing about water.  The waves can be crashing onto the sand or gently rolling in, both still soothe my soul.  Lake Michigan had both in spades, we went to a little city park on the lake, people were laying in the sun, riding various things.  The park has a playground, you can take your dog.  And on Saturday nite someone was having a party with live music.  And the cherries, Traverse City declared itself the cherry capital of the world and they might have a legitmate claim.  Jim and I ate cherries like grapes all week and bought some more to bring home.  I don’t think I have ever seen as many orchards for one fruit, (not even the peach or apple around here).  We went to see the old mission lighthouse and we drove around the Northport pensiula we looked for the lighthouse we saw the sign but gave up on finding the lighthouse.  The town was what I imagine a New England town would look like, You can rent houses for a week.  (hint! hint!) 

Ok back to the cooler problem,  I looked for a new leash for Zoey since we had lost one,  I didn’t find one so I bought a smaller cooler that would set on the floor,  we used this one with Ice packs from Kmart (we had a fridge in the room).  No more ice all over the car life was good. 

For the next part of the trip we had a goal D.C. by 1530 on Monday.  We didn’t leave on that part until afternoon Sunday, Jim had to work that morning.  We had a deadline so we didn’t get to make stops (Lake Erie).  We did stop at the largest Christmas Shop in the world, its in one of those little towns that decided to be a German town and a tourist stop.  We were kinda  of disappointed (for those of you that don’t know we have wooden mostly Christmas tree ornaments from Germany which we decorate our tree with, a bottle of glue handy to make repairs) we were looking forward to adding to our collection and they didn’t have them, they did have glass ones from germany (they had a lot of pickles) but no wooden ones.  But if you need a particular ornament they proably have one similiar to what you imagined.  It was kinda over whelming so many choices.  We did buy a santa on a lighthouse, for our tree.  We only looked at half the store time was an issue.

The sunset across northern Ohio was beautiful but we didn’t stop, we only saw the toll road.  Before we got to the storm we got the rainbows, so we didn’t even see the lights of Cleveland in the distance, Pittsburgh was a blur for most part we just wanted to see a exit with hotels.  Ok I’m going to complain we stayed in a room with a king size bed at a Fairfield Inn by Marriott, it was the smallest room ever.  We didn’t have to worry about someone breaking in, for them to get thru the door we would have to get up and move the cooler.  Because it would hit the ottoman which was against the bed already.  I was loading the car the next morning while Jim was checking on some work, he had to move the desk chair everytime I went out the door.  So remember that leash we lost.  I was putting stuff in the car and there was something in the pocket on the back of the seat (we had a bad experience with pockets in rental cars so) very carefully I opened it and looked in and there was Zoey’s leash.  We used it to make sure the cooler stayed where we wanted it and the rush to DC by 3:30 was on.  Thanks to the GPS we didn’t have to much trouble finding our way across, it kept telling us to on 270 local which we never got on,  didn’t see a sign that said that but the GPS thought we were on it and then it would tell us to exit back onto it.  Anyway we made it.  Jim worked on Tuesday morning and we checked out and headed home after being on the road for a week we just wanted to be home.

Road Trip

Jim had a work trip and he drove so I went with him.  This was possible because of the great and loving dog sitters we have.  Thank you for dog sitting.  There were a couple of places that I wanted to see, we grabbed a map loaded the car and set off.

Our first stop was in Columbus, IN.  We got there to late for the visitors center, but the lady at the Library was very helpful.  This small city has attracted some of the most well known architects to design public buildings.  The city hall, the churchs were great but the best was the War Memorial.  I think this was the most touching of the War Memorials I’ve been too.  It was simple columns inscribed with the names, but not just the names it was the letters they had written home, letters to their mothers, wives, children and one to a grandmother.  I want to go back to see the building and hear the story, they have a bus tour in the morning that I would like to do.

The deer lived and the kindle limps on.  A deer started to cross the road and stopped and started.  I hit the brakes and then I had to stop, rather quickly.  The cooler didn’t stop, it dumped ice and water all over the place and especially into my purse where the kindles were (so I could grab them when we got out of the car).  I had ice all under my feet, we dropped some out the window and stopped at the rest stop and tried to mop up.  Water just ran out of Jim’s kindle (he has the newest one, wouldn’t you know it). Passports, money, and all the other stuff that lives in my purse all wet.  The kindle isn’t holding a charge very well but it is working. 

I enjoyed Michigan, I liked walking in the sand without it burning my feet.  The days Jim worked were the best ones, it rained the day he was off.  It was hot without being unbearable.   We went across the Mackinac Bridge, (then I found out that cars have blown off it)  It was raining and foggy so we didn’t go to Mackinac Island, we went to Canada instead.  I missed the cherry festival but not the cherries they were every where. 

We crossed the 45th parallel that is halfway between the equator and the northpole.  This is kinda like standing in the center of Alabama of no use what so ever but you do it anyway.  I haven’t crossed the equator, I’ll have to find out how close we’ve been. 

There is more to tell maybe tomorrow.

Cenus

After filling out my cenus form this week, I got to thinking about the cenus forms from the past.  A couple of years ago I did a lot of  searching (actually nosey looking) thru past cenus forms.  It helps that my relatives have been in the same location for about 150 years.  The great great …Aunts from the oldest one I found couldn’t read (the boys could).  Other cenus ask where your parents were born, some ask for maiden names (which makes it easy to track people), your occupation which for my family was mostly farmers.  My Dad would talk about this boy that lived with them when he was growing up and there he was on the cenus form.  There was some satisfaction in finding people right where they were supposed to be.  But, I don’t know what people are going to learn about me from this cenus form in 70 years.  Race and whether you own your home doesn’t seem to be much info for the future generations.  By the way I’ve been in the same location for 3 cenus years.

Sunshine

A couple of days of sunshine and warmer weather and its amazing how much more human I feel.  I walked Zoey with just a jacket this morning and no thermal underwear, I repeat no thermal underwear.  We sat outside this afternoon to read.  And speaking of being outside, last fall Jim and I planted daffodils and some other flower that I’ve forgotten and they are poking thru the ground.  I swear  they grew an inch today.  So here’s a question if  Zoey helps them out of the ground (she isn’t digging them more just moving the grass and leaves off them) are they more likely to freeze when we have cold weather again?  Is this like helping the chicks out of thier shells?  We put fertilizer in with the bulbs and had a hard time keeping her out of them and she still can find them.

I love watching curling and now I have Jim addicted, every four years I get to watch.  Now I have to go watch basketball.

Time

What if we find out we can travel thru time?  Have you ever had one of those days where time just seem to drag? and then someone you said something about it too, goes me too.  What if time really had slowed down?  (I can’t  explain how a mechincal clock slows down, so don’t ask)  Would we be able to change things and make the future different or would you just know what was going to happen and be powerless to make it change?  I really need to watch less tv.

Christmas was great.  I got a Wii and Jim got the 2nd gen Kindle.  I’m perfectly happy with my version but I do like the cover for his.  His hooks into the cover and stays there, which is great for him because he was always trying to read mine in the cover which isn’t that easy.  We played video games yesterday Santa brought me lots of games of the golf and bowling variety.  We did the archery which we both liked more than we thought and not the sword so much or boxing.  I like the rowing one and I plan to try the cycling one today.  I was horrible on the wave board.  Over Christmas Jim got this receipe at work for appledumplings which are great and easy.  So we still have some of those for breakfast, and mostly the kitchen is cleaned up.

Sunrise

I miss my personal sunrise.  At home we have a lamp that gradually lights up the morning making it so much better.  When the alarm goes off it is so much less jarring.  Here the alarm scares me every morning.  I leave the curtains open a little bit, but its foggy in the morning so its not helping.  This is the second lamp we’ve had.  Gotta go Jim needs the computer.

Football

Yesterday we went to a college football game.  I’m not a big football fan.  I went to a highschool so small that everyone would have been required to play to field a team, a college without a football team you get the picture.  I watch NFL football but I depend on the camera man knowing where the ball is going and to keep me focused on the game.  At the stadium, I’m distracted by the little girls wearing their cheerleading uniforms, little boys making their upteenth trip somewhere.  The river of people moving thru the aisles.  It could be that I’m easily distracted by all the people, I miss a lot of the game.  I follow the fakes, forget to look while I’m people watching.  Yesterday walking to the stadium we walked thru the greek section of campus, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many beer cans on the ground ever.  My thought was this isn’t a very good look for parents of students (Jim pointed out that potiental students would love it).  Today we were catching up on the wall street journal and there was an article about the football culture of southern universities.  About the guys picking dates for the game and the girls spending the summer getting dresses to wear to the games.  Is this still true that the fraternity have the sections of the seats and the sororities have use the guys to get seats or just sit in the student section?  After all of these years can this still be the way it is?  The boys were dressed nice and the girls had on cute little dresses and impossible shoes.  After reading the article I have a new understanding of what I was seeing.   And just so you know wearing sensible shoes walking to and from the stadium I ended up with blisters.

Jim and I are going on a road trip, should be fun.  We haven’t picked a book for the trip yet.  I need to check and see if we have the directions from the last time.  Sorry didn’t mean to digress to my list for things to do.

One more wedding

Congratulations to the newlyweds on their one week anniversary.  Only my daughter would have a nut case at a wedding party brunch  and a snake at the reception.  Not a snake in the grass kind but an honest to goodness snake, identified as a copperhead by two who should know.  Thank goodness I didn’t know until much later or the brides mother would have been a no show, but in the list of things that happened for this wedding that would have been way down on the list.  I don’t think anyone took a picture and I’ll have to ask Jim if he told the people in charge of renting the lodge that we had an extra guest.  I thought you all would want to know.

Happy Birthday to my sister.  The big 50, a half a century, 5 decades feeling old yet? 

Weddings and Thank Yous!

I want to thank all of the people that worked so hard yesterday to make the day beautiful.  My Sisters, great neice, her friends and and a lot of people who don’t fit so neatly into a catagory, you made the day.  Thank you for getting the fountain to work, thanks for the receipes, thanks for getting the food out, there was just so much going on I’m sure I don’t know the half of it.  A special thanks for the cakes they looked great.  Thank you for helping load cars, hauling stuff in your cars, carrying bags of trash to the dumpster.  Thanks to the dad and his checkbook.  and the list goes on….

IHOP or not

Sorry I haven’t written, I didn’t realize it had been so long.  Mostly we have been wedding planning, those are mostly in hand.  Just the last minute stuff that can’t be done until the last minute.

I have been to a lot of resturants and I have been embrassed by the way people have behaved (a very few times) but until today I had never been in the position of possibly being ask to leave.  I thought the police were going to be called.  You have to read the daughters blog.  We had a bridal luncheon/breakfast at IHOP this morning, the mothers, a few friends and the loon.  How to describe this morning?  There was so much.  i was there for the whole thing and I can’t even begin to keep the order straight.  One thing she said that I accept as truth was that money didn’t mean anything to her, and its a good thing because she kept promising everyone that when she got money she would share or in some cases give the money to them.  She wants us to think good thoughts for her because she’s going to New York on $60.00 and I do.  I’m so glad I was there, the telling will never live up to this morning, but its a great story.  Early on she ask the waiter about his tip and hoped he would get a lot today, so maybe? this was all an act (if it was it was a really really good one) because we went a long way to making it Christmas and said sorry to everyone in the resturant in fact daughter gave the manager a written apologoy (someone has stolen my misspellers dictionary).  We couldn’t get her to leave and the manager finally escorted her outside and stayed talking to her until her ride came out of the restroom.   She kept saying we didn’t all arrive at the same time so why did we have to leave at the same time.  When he goes home tonight he’ll have a story to tell, the waiter and the people at the Quick stop where they stopped to get gas on the way home.