What every 86 year old should be doing a few days before their birthday
Leak & Squirrel Repairs
Finally, almost time for fruit in the front yard
Blueberries in the Making
After 11 games in 10 days – the boys are here (and the girl, but she was not on the beach at this time)
Beached Baseball Boys
Finally, a calm, almost warm end to a day (and we almost reach 70 degrees inside the cabin)
Obligatory Sunset Shot
Big day today – we went into town for lunch.
Ate at the Freighters (in the Ojibway). Quite good.
What this really provided was a chance to turn on my phone.
I did not have any messages, and forgot to check messages on the home landline, but did get to speak to the man and the boy. Good to hear their voices, and that after several days on the road together, they are still talking (to each other).
Their 10-games in 10-days trip has morphed into 11-games in 10-days because they got a double-header yesterday. They are currently watching the Mariners at Cleveland. (Ms 5 – Indians 2 last time I checked)
Tomorrow is the Tigers, pick up the girl and then head north the next day.
Life in the north is good, generally slow-paced, and colder than we would hope for a summer vacation.
The lack of beach is making for some good speculations with respect to a beach wedding planned for Friday. I am sure it will work out, but it will be special because of the rather extreme water conditions this year. Lots of relatives are around and arriving. It is good to have the sounds of all generations filling the woods.
Grandma (or Mom)
We did get out for a beach walk today – in the sun and wind, before the fog and rain.
There is a real reason for wearing high-water pants. Or get them wet – whatever suits your fancy.
After dinner we settled back to read, write a bit, and watch the fire.
Mighty Mac
It is wonderful to see family and it is wonderful to be in the north woods.
Water has been a dominant part of the weather scene.
But that is not all bad.
It is lush and green, and the blueberries are starting to turn purple.
I am hopeful that they will be available by the handful before we leave.
So much of the water has been coming down from the sky.
There were torrents for a bit, but more frequently drips and light rain.
Bars of water on the window
Of course the bigger source of water is the lake.
It is high – or the beach is small, and ever-changing.
And it does seem to be colder than normal, although my ankles have been in for more than just a moment.
The amethyst rock is more exposed than I ever remember.
And at the water’s edge, rather than up by the grass. (It is really not too far from the grass, but it is definitely also near the water.)
Amethyst Rock in the Water
Let’s start with yesterday, because they lend a backdrop under which today was operating.
OK – so two days ago.
I left work a little after 8 PM!!!
That is GOOD. I have stayed much later on the days before I leave for a few days.
I packed, cleaned a bit and got to bed before midnight!
That is also GOOD. I have been known to stay up until two packing.
Granted, much of that was when I was packing for the entire family, not just myself.
Caveat – I did not fall right to sleep…
Yesterday I had two champions on either side of my travel that went out of their way to make my life easier.
My carpooler picked me up 1/2-hour before our usual rendezvous so he could drop me at the airport.
Let’s just say my carpooler is not a morning person, so this is perhaps a bigger favor than it sounds.
And on the other end my sister younger stayed up way past her bedtime to pick me up at the other end.
She may have slept a bit while waiting for our slightly late flight to land, and baggage to be acquired.
The trip itself was fairly uneventful. Just long.
From a 7:00 AM arrival at airport 1 (PDT) to a 1 AM arrival at airport 4 (EDT), it was just a long day.
I got to spend a few hours at SeaTac (~65 degrees), did see the San Jose airport from the tarmac (~75 degrees), and then got to spend several hours in Phoenix (~115 degrees), before the final and longest leg to Detroit (~70 degrees). Reading and people watching. And a long walk through all of the concourses in Phoenix, just to stretch my legs. All of the planes were essentially full, but I had nice enough seatmates each time.
The only snag, or almost snag for me, was on the last flight. Not too long after we had reached cruising altitude, so people could cruise the aisles, the voice in the tube first asked for, “The woman traveling with the older man who is visiting the rear galley,” then, “Ms. ABC please report to the rear galley area,” then, “Is there any passenger on board with medical experience.” The tenor and actions that I could see of the flight attendants seemed to indicate something more than a scratch. I was sure we were going to be making an unscheduled landing. In the end, apparently the gentleman had a seizure, fell and hit his head. Perhaps the seizure was not his first, and it really was a scratch or bump, plus a general check-up, because we just kept flying. The only difference was that everybody was visiting the loo up front. (The paramedics and ambulance were waiting at the gate, but they did not stop everybody else from getting off first, so it must have been under control.)
So – with that backdrop, Jane dropped me at home at about 2 AM. I was probably asleep by 3.
Needless to say, I did not set an alarm and when I first woke up was trying to determine whether the first digit on the clock was a 6, 8 or 9. That was apparently too much effort, because when I woke next my phone range. After about a 30 minute conversation, I noted it was after 11 AM.
Time for a shower and to figure out what to do for breakfast. (Really coffee, because Jane had been kind enough to leave a yogurt and banana for me.)
Now post shower I was not too concerned about my appearance in the house. It is not directly adjacent to the road, Jane was at work, and nobody was expected. So I am “starkers” and opening up the window to let the breeze clear the mirror. And less than a minute later, there are voices in the back. I pulled the curtain back to peek out, and there are two men walking on the path around the deck, pointing at the plants and talking. My immediate thoughts were, “I am not clothed, Who are they? and What are they doing here?” In great keystone cop fashion I was trying to gather clothes, find my phone, and find Jane’s number at work (because I figured she would know of any planned visitors). These items were scattered in different rooms, and there are either sheer curtains or no curtains on the windows, and I was still trying to get myself into decent enough shape for an interaction. Jane did not know who they were, so I headed out the front door – after spending interminable seconds trying to figure out how to make it not lock behind me – and yelled after their car that was starting to move away.
They were, a young man and a man of about my age with a wheelbarrow and a car. The wheelbarrow was full of flat stones.
The father explained that they lived just down the drive, and dad (Harry) had given them permission to use some of the excess stones piled around our path. This seemed reasonable and plausible, so I let Jane get back to work, and proceeded to chat with them for several minutes more.
A nice family it seems, and I may try to touch base with them on our way back through A2.
And the vacation is now officially on. I can tell because I allowed myself to stop at Panera’s for coffee (and a sandwich) instead of walking all the way to Starbucks. (Carl – if you see this, I had your birthday treat from Panera.)
This week the Seattle Metro area decided to see how the population would react to a round-the-clock, round the week major restriction of a major highway.
The population responded admirably. They suggest that schedule changes and telecommuting are making a difference, but I think a lot of people just went on vacation. To be truthful, the traffic has been extremely light most of the time – and I have not seen or experienced any major delays.
So today they decided to push this one step further.
And Obama came to town.
This is what a presidential highway looks like.
Emptiness
And this is the other side of the coin.
Not empty, and completely stopped
We missed seeing the actual motorcade by about 2 minutes.
The English Premiere League came to town today.
The Sounders tied Tottenham-Hotspur 3-3.
In my mind the Sounders won because they scored two goals from the flow of play, and Tottenham only one goal.
The other three goals were scored from penalty kicks, and one was for a hand ball that really could not be avoided (hand already occupying a space when a ball was kicked into it from about 5 feet away).
They even started the game with an 18-year old on a Make-a-Wish grant by starting for the Sounders. He took the kick-off down for a shot on net (saved by the goalie), and then was subbed out. It was very nice and he had been able to spend several days training and hanging out with the Sounders as well.
I thought I might be able to add a little bit about Tottenham, like where they are located. Except that I did not know. So I went to their web-site. No real location information, but they did have a nice bit about the Make-a-Wish event with pictures of their players. Continuing on my quest, I put their pitch’s name, White Hart Lane, into Google-maps. It shows the site, and it is either in London, or north of London. I realize how little I know about the London area. Saw several other English Premiere League stadiums noted on the map as well.
Anyway, I feel like I am drifting away on a tangent – and am sort of tired.
So I will close with our close brush with an athlete of note.
Roger Leveque, retired Sounder, was standing at the front of our section during halftime.
Roger, close enough for my camera even.
Let’s call this first bit, before Carl left.
It is Wednesday.
Work / 2 because I left at halftime.
Drive, drive, drive, drive, drive, drive.
That is to work, home from work, down to SeaTac (airport), kiss-kiss-hug, home, down to SeaTac (errant cell phone in hand), home.
Let’s call this second bit, after Carl.
Life can sometimes seem focused on work and food, so lets stick with those.
Pizza
Juice (new day)
Pizza & Salad
Pizza
Broccoli (new day)
SALAD (as in big salad)
Stumbling Goat OMGood. <– Seriously, really, really good! both food and friends.
In the meantime, several states away, Carl is missing his work so much that he tries to become an ankle-biter himself. Something about a wine glass, not quite a catch, and 4 stitches in his ankle. Not sure I got the entire story, but I was just about to stumble out of the Goat, and a bit distracted myself.
I was checking off many of my many to-do items tonight.
Most of these included use of a computer.
There was a pile of to-do’s because we were computer-less this last weekend – as it went in for an upgrade.
It does seem to run rather seamlessly now – so thank you to my IT guru.
One of the minor items on the list was handing over some baseball tickets.
The recipient is originally from New York City, and getting ready to take a visit with his family to see more of his family and some sights.
I was trying to tell him where Ashlan’s store was located, and had to go to the Potbelly site to figure out which store was hers.
Luckily, once I have found the right store – I am sure I am in the right place.
GM and Perky too
Now, there was a bit of a name issue. But we will just gloss over that.
And for those that read last week – tomorrow I am first on the agenda.
Of course – this is during the All-Star game, but we all must make sacrifices.
I got bumped tonight by Big Rock Park.
My early evening was to be spent with a certain City Council.
I get to talk to them about sewers because a certain other government official tried to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Well, you just can’t control some people, or most people, and certainly not politicians.
Now my office is about as non-political as water and sewer can be, but electeds will be electeds.
Anyway, because of certain mouthpieces, instead of just a few staff members reading my work (actually my overseen work), the entire City Council has been given copies and I am to address them on some subjects they have an interest in learning more about.
So I stayed up late last night power-pointing, and a good part of today completing the words to go with the bullet points and pictures.
I arrived a bit early, and the meeting got started promptly at 6:30. Of course they said the pledge, listened to a few public comments, and then started in on the subject of Big Rock Park’s Master Plan. It was interesting – at least for the first 1/2 hour. And then it became apparent that it was going to be a while before they finished this subject, and there was at least one other subject after this before my turn.
Our consultant, who was also in attendance, noted that the Councilmembers would be too tired to ask many questions by the time they got to us.
But it was not to be. After 1-1/2 hours they decided that we should come back next week – and be first on the agenda. I am not sure whether this is a good or bad thing. Theoretically I have completed the work, so I just need to wait a week. But I was ready today! (Sort of like cramming for an exam.) I am sure they would not have many questions, and I would not have to give up another evening.
On the positive side, I did get home in time to watch the Brazil v Germany semi-final match, and can still get to bed on time. Of course, the game was probably one of the worst of the tournament. [Note: I did not tell the score, or who won, so you can choose to watch a replay with only my words of caution.]
Here’s to a good night sleep. It is possible that City Council meeting is still in session.
One of the enduring memories of the kids growing up centers on Rey’s orchestra activities.
He took up piano sometime in early elementary school, and then added the cello when instrumental instruction was offered. The cello was eventually replaced with the stand-up bass, which is currently living at our house. (It did take a working vacation to Portland earlier this year.)
Each level of stringe ensemble had a uniform. The shirts were generally white, with additions of bow ties, cumberbuns, frills and tuxedos. The pants were usually black.
One thing you should know about Rey from is that he was quite slim during this time. Buying pants required finding slims, not as easy as it sounds.
Orchestra concerts happened a few times a year. More than once on the day before the concert we would be searching for his pants, as this was the only time they were worn. And on multiple occasions I would say, “No, those are the old pair, where is the newer pair.” Only to realize that these were the new pair, now high-water, and we needed to find a new pair in the next 24 hours.
One time, in high school, we just could not find a pair that fit. In desperation we put him into a pair of my black pants, with a big pin cinching in the waist. This became our solution for several concerts.
This story came to mind yesterday as we walked through the mall that was the sight of many of these last minute pants runs.
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