Today is our 40th wedding anniversary, which strikes me as a very long time. We are celebrating it in Stratford, Ontario, where I am writing this. We got into town yesterday, and basically just walked around town. They have a large park area along the river that is very nice. The town is pleasant enough, with local shops and restaurants. The only chain restaurant I saw was a Tim Horton’s. Tim is very big in Canada.
The weather here certainly doesn’t feel like July. Temperatures are mainly in the 60’s.
We are staying in a bed and breakfast. It is a nice enough place, and has a sitting area and a small kitchen.
Our plan for this afternoon is to see a play. Theater is the big attraction in Stratford. We will see West Side Story. We will drive home after the play.
Shannon got in town for a visit last Tuesday. We saw a fair amount of her, and enjoyed seeing her. On Friday she made us a peach and blueberry pie that just couldn’t be beat.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Shannon is in Town
Things have been well enough around here. Phyllis has been a little under the weather, but otherwise things have been fine.
The big news here is that Shannon is in town for a visit. She got into town Tuesday evening, and we went over to see her at Morris’s place where she will be staying for about a week. She brought us some home made brownies that were excellent.
Morris and Shannon just back from a trip they took out west. Morris showed us the pictures he took. It looked to be a very interesting trip. They both seemed to enjoy it a lot.
We got together with Shannon today for lunch and walked around downtown Royal Oak.
Shannon brought her new pug, Lola Mae, with her. Lola Mae is a rather hyper sort of beast, who jumps on you, climbs up onto your lap, likes to run in front of where you are walking, and grunts almost constantly. She is the love of Shannon’s life, and I’m sure I will grow to appreciate her as well. I tried to take a flattering picture of Lola Mae. This is the best I could do.
We are planning on going to the Ann Arbor Art Fair with Shannon tomorrow. I haven’t been there in many years. I get scared off by the crowds. Shannon is interested in having lunch at Zingerman’s.
We have our 40th wedding anniversary coming up this weekend. To celebrate, we are going up to Stratford, Ontario where we are going see West Side Story.
We’ve seen a couple of good concerts in the park recently. We saw Stuart Franke in Huntington Woods on Tuesday, where he put on a pretty good show. Tonight we went to see the Fats Waller Revue in Southfield. I liked hearing the old time jazz, which they performed very well.
The big news here is that Shannon is in town for a visit. She got into town Tuesday evening, and we went over to see her at Morris’s place where she will be staying for about a week. She brought us some home made brownies that were excellent.
Morris and Shannon just back from a trip they took out west. Morris showed us the pictures he took. It looked to be a very interesting trip. They both seemed to enjoy it a lot.
We got together with Shannon today for lunch and walked around downtown Royal Oak.
Shannon brought her new pug, Lola Mae, with her. Lola Mae is a rather hyper sort of beast, who jumps on you, climbs up onto your lap, likes to run in front of where you are walking, and grunts almost constantly. She is the love of Shannon’s life, and I’m sure I will grow to appreciate her as well. I tried to take a flattering picture of Lola Mae. This is the best I could do.
We are planning on going to the Ann Arbor Art Fair with Shannon tomorrow. I haven’t been there in many years. I get scared off by the crowds. Shannon is interested in having lunch at Zingerman’s.
We have our 40th wedding anniversary coming up this weekend. To celebrate, we are going up to Stratford, Ontario where we are going see West Side Story.
We’ve seen a couple of good concerts in the park recently. We saw Stuart Franke in Huntington Woods on Tuesday, where he put on a pretty good show. Tonight we went to see the Fats Waller Revue in Southfield. I liked hearing the old time jazz, which they performed very well.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Swell House for Sale
We are trying to sell my in-laws old house in Lincoln Park, Mi. It is a three bedroom ranch. The kitchen and bathroom have recently been renovated, and the place has been painted recently. It is in a stable neighborhood. It could be yours for the cost of a new car. If you have any interest at all, or if you would like more information, please contact me at hbbcdp@yahoo.com.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Happy Independance Day
We went to Greenfield Village last week. Phyllis typically likes this outing better than I do. This day was not an exception. I did about as well as could be expected. We didn’t stay real long, which helped.
It was the Fourth of July weekend. I, as is my habit, did a lot of the Fourth of July stuff. Just as Greenfield Village, is not my favorite outing; Phyllis feels the same way about parades and fireworks. It’s okay. Friday morning, the 3rd of July, I rode my bike down to Oak Park, where I watched their parade. This is the best of the parades that I go to. It moves right along, and there is a good diversity in the groups that parade there. As is usually the case, I ran into old friends that I typically only see there. After the parade they have a concert that I listened to part of. Phyllis joined me there just after the parade ended. I like the Oak Park 4th of July festivities.
Saturday, the 4th, we went over to Clawson for their parade. This parade isn’t nearly as good as the Oak Park parade, but it is only four blocks from our house. Seems like there are too many politicians at the Clawson parade. Other than that, the parade was amusing enough, for me anyway. That evening, I watched the Clawson fireworks show. I think Phyllis is right on this one. Fireworks are overrated.
Sunday we went to Cranbrook. Phyllis and I both enjoy a leisurely stroll around the grounds there. We had a good time.
Monday was a beautiful day, but we didn’t have a lot of good ideas on what to do. It was a little too windy to bike. We ended up going to the zoo because it was close, and because I am a member. It was pretty nice at the zoo. Crowds are down on Mondays. The gardens were very nice. The wolverines and tigers were pretty active. We didn’t stay real long, but it was a nice day there.
I get email from a guy who plays blues guitar locally. He is also a member of a tribute band that plays Beatles songs. I had never seen this group before, but I got an email saying that they would be playing on a street corner downtown Royal Oak on Monday. We went.
We like the guy’s blues music pretty well, but his Beatles shtick needs work. They played acoustic guitars, which were hard to hear over the traffic on Main Street. The vocals were okay, but they were hard to hear also. Most people just walked by and tried to ignore them. I think we might have been the only ones there who were hearing them on purpose. At least it was free.
Today I volunteered at the computer recycling place. I was actually pretty busy the whole time I was there. I was basically testing out computers that had recently been overhauled. I did find some problems, and managed to correct some of them.
Tomorrow we go downriver to look into selling my in-law’s old house. I am not expecting a pleasant day.
It was the Fourth of July weekend. I, as is my habit, did a lot of the Fourth of July stuff. Just as Greenfield Village, is not my favorite outing; Phyllis feels the same way about parades and fireworks. It’s okay. Friday morning, the 3rd of July, I rode my bike down to Oak Park, where I watched their parade. This is the best of the parades that I go to. It moves right along, and there is a good diversity in the groups that parade there. As is usually the case, I ran into old friends that I typically only see there. After the parade they have a concert that I listened to part of. Phyllis joined me there just after the parade ended. I like the Oak Park 4th of July festivities.
Saturday, the 4th, we went over to Clawson for their parade. This parade isn’t nearly as good as the Oak Park parade, but it is only four blocks from our house. Seems like there are too many politicians at the Clawson parade. Other than that, the parade was amusing enough, for me anyway. That evening, I watched the Clawson fireworks show. I think Phyllis is right on this one. Fireworks are overrated.
Sunday we went to Cranbrook. Phyllis and I both enjoy a leisurely stroll around the grounds there. We had a good time.
Monday was a beautiful day, but we didn’t have a lot of good ideas on what to do. It was a little too windy to bike. We ended up going to the zoo because it was close, and because I am a member. It was pretty nice at the zoo. Crowds are down on Mondays. The gardens were very nice. The wolverines and tigers were pretty active. We didn’t stay real long, but it was a nice day there.
I get email from a guy who plays blues guitar locally. He is also a member of a tribute band that plays Beatles songs. I had never seen this group before, but I got an email saying that they would be playing on a street corner downtown Royal Oak on Monday. We went.
We like the guy’s blues music pretty well, but his Beatles shtick needs work. They played acoustic guitars, which were hard to hear over the traffic on Main Street. The vocals were okay, but they were hard to hear also. Most people just walked by and tried to ignore them. I think we might have been the only ones there who were hearing them on purpose. At least it was free.
Today I volunteered at the computer recycling place. I was actually pretty busy the whole time I was there. I was basically testing out computers that had recently been overhauled. I did find some problems, and managed to correct some of them.
Tomorrow we go downriver to look into selling my in-law’s old house. I am not expecting a pleasant day.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
A Cold Week in July
The weather here has been kind of lousy. It has been cold and dank for this time of year. We’ve had just enough rain to keep me from wanting to do anything out of doors. The temperatures haven’t made it out of the 60’s for the last three days. The weather all spring and summer seems much cooler than normal. I thing it is all Al Gore’s fault.
Morris’s dog has been attacked by a skunk a couple of times in recent weeks. One would think that after the first time, she would have learned her lesson. I would have. Morris has kept busy bathing the beast. Phyllis says the dog still smells like a skunk.
We had dinner with Morris Wednesday. He will be meeting Shannon and a friend of hers in Las Vegas tomorrow. From there they will rent a car and tour the southwest for about a week. It gets darn hot in Vegas this time of year, but they are going for it.
We are down to one car now. We turned in our Mazda 5 on Tuesday. The lease was up. We never had any real problems with car, but for some reason neither of us liked much. It just didn’t feel right. Turning the car in was surprisingly easy. We just took it in and signed some papers. We were expecting an in depth inspection of the car, and a checkup of the maintenance. None of that happened.
I added a gig of memory to my laptop. The local computer store had it on sale for $13. It installed without a problem, and I am surprised how much faster the computer runs.
The sun is supposed to come out tomorrow, and it is supposed to warm up. I plan on going to the 4th of July parade in Oak Park, which they are having a day early this year. I don’t know why.
Morris’s dog has been attacked by a skunk a couple of times in recent weeks. One would think that after the first time, she would have learned her lesson. I would have. Morris has kept busy bathing the beast. Phyllis says the dog still smells like a skunk.
We had dinner with Morris Wednesday. He will be meeting Shannon and a friend of hers in Las Vegas tomorrow. From there they will rent a car and tour the southwest for about a week. It gets darn hot in Vegas this time of year, but they are going for it.
We are down to one car now. We turned in our Mazda 5 on Tuesday. The lease was up. We never had any real problems with car, but for some reason neither of us liked much. It just didn’t feel right. Turning the car in was surprisingly easy. We just took it in and signed some papers. We were expecting an in depth inspection of the car, and a checkup of the maintenance. None of that happened.
I added a gig of memory to my laptop. The local computer store had it on sale for $13. It installed without a problem, and I am surprised how much faster the computer runs.
The sun is supposed to come out tomorrow, and it is supposed to warm up. I plan on going to the 4th of July parade in Oak Park, which they are having a day early this year. I don’t know why.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Thursday I went to the Tiger game with Morris. This was his Father’s Day present for me. We had pretty good seats. We were high up, behind home plate. Our seats were in the last row that was in the shade, which was nice since it was a fairly hot day.
The Tigers played the Cubs. It was a pretty good game. The Cubs scored three runs in the first inning, but the Tigers came back and had a 6 to 4 lead. It started to rain in the bottom of the eighth and severe weather was in the forecast. We decided to leave. The Tigers ended up winning 6 to 5. I enjoyed going to the game.
We are walking back to the car, and when we are about a block away, I mention to Morris that this was the first time in memory that I went to a Tiger game and was not panhandled. A minute later a guy asked us if we had any spare change.
Friday I rode my bike to the zoo. This was a better than average trip. The weather was good, and the animals were more active than usual. The crowds were not as bad as they are on the weekends. This is kind of a hit or miss outing for me. This trip was a hit.
Last night we went to hear the Detroit Symphony Orchestra play at Metro Beach. This is normally a favorite outing of mine. For some reason though, it seemed a bit off this time. I don’t know if maybe the sound system wasn’t up to par. The program was all marches this year, basically music to walk to. Maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe the orchestra just wasn’t playing as well this year. Target, the generous sponsor of this event handed out bug spray and lip balm to everyone. Target should get more recognition for sponsoring events in this area.
We had the predictable 45 minute process of getting out of the parking lot. It’s always annoying but what are you going to do. I wish there was something they could do to improve exiting the park after big events.
Shannon is done teaching for the school year. Congratulations Shannon.
The Tigers played the Cubs. It was a pretty good game. The Cubs scored three runs in the first inning, but the Tigers came back and had a 6 to 4 lead. It started to rain in the bottom of the eighth and severe weather was in the forecast. We decided to leave. The Tigers ended up winning 6 to 5. I enjoyed going to the game.
We are walking back to the car, and when we are about a block away, I mention to Morris that this was the first time in memory that I went to a Tiger game and was not panhandled. A minute later a guy asked us if we had any spare change.
Friday I rode my bike to the zoo. This was a better than average trip. The weather was good, and the animals were more active than usual. The crowds were not as bad as they are on the weekends. This is kind of a hit or miss outing for me. This trip was a hit.
Last night we went to hear the Detroit Symphony Orchestra play at Metro Beach. This is normally a favorite outing of mine. For some reason though, it seemed a bit off this time. I don’t know if maybe the sound system wasn’t up to par. The program was all marches this year, basically music to walk to. Maybe that was part of the problem. Maybe the orchestra just wasn’t playing as well this year. Target, the generous sponsor of this event handed out bug spray and lip balm to everyone. Target should get more recognition for sponsoring events in this area.
We had the predictable 45 minute process of getting out of the parking lot. It’s always annoying but what are you going to do. I wish there was something they could do to improve exiting the park after big events.
Shannon is done teaching for the school year. Congratulations Shannon.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
recession friendly NY vacation - free lodging/use of my apt. and cats
I got this email from my daughter Shannon.
If anyone is interested, please contact me.
Hello friends,
I'll be in Michigan from July 14 -22. My one bedroom Brooklyn
apartment and friendly cats are up for grabs for those dates to you or
anyone you'd trust to stay in your house when you weren't home. Taking
care of the cats takes less than five minutes/day. Lola, the pug,
will be in Michigan with me.
Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in staying here
part of all of the time. I can always ask my landlord or a friend in
the neighborhood to check in on the cats the other days if you only
stay part of the time. There's free and easy parking right in front of
the house all the time in case you're interested in driving out.
-Shannon
If anyone is interested, please contact me.
Hello friends,
I'll be in Michigan from July 14 -22. My one bedroom Brooklyn
apartment and friendly cats are up for grabs for those dates to you or
anyone you'd trust to stay in your house when you weren't home. Taking
care of the cats takes less than five minutes/day. Lola, the pug,
will be in Michigan with me.
Let me know if you or anyone you know is interested in staying here
part of all of the time. I can always ask my landlord or a friend in
the neighborhood to check in on the cats the other days if you only
stay part of the time. There's free and easy parking right in front of
the house all the time in case you're interested in driving out.
-Shannon
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