November Blogging Ends

This month of blog posts is dedicated, as it has been for the last four Novembers, to my brother Jim.  I've read a number of his November posts this month, searching for inspiration -- or at least an idea.  BEDFAMM is a connection to when we did this together.

The post that drew the most comments this month was Fall Fashion, my discussion of surgical masks as a fashion accessory.  (I still think it's a good idea.)

The post you may have missed was one titled If I was going to skip a day this would be it, since I missed blogging on the 13th and went back and filled it in 10 days later, more or less.

It was a little harder to come up with an appropriate photo for today -- but I finally decided to make a stop at one of Jim's favorite spots here in Holland, the Tunnel Park dune.  It looks a lot different today that it did on any of the many times that he ran down it, but that's okay.  It's the end of November.

Also, thank you to my small but loyal group of readers for following along and offering encouragement.  NCW, Peg, BDE and Pearl.   It's been fun for me to get back into recording life here, and when I look back at all the words that have been written on these blogs, and all the photos and good memories that they provide, I'm glad we did this for all these years.

Cardinal Flowers

It’s been a dark month, some bright color seemed like a good idea, so here’s my very own cardinal flowers in a sea of black eyed Susan’s.

Blog Every Day for a Month Month is nearly over

BEDFAMM, for blog every day for a month month -- also known as NaBloPoMo, for National Blog Posting Month, is nearly over.  It's a tradition that I'm not willing to let go of, at least not yet.  So today, in search of a photo to post here, I took a walk around the neighborhood.  My first thought was to head to the beach, since I haven't posted anything current from there this month, but none of the stairs have been shoveled, or even walked on, since our Sunday/Monday snow fall.

Not willing to be the first down those stairs, I took this picture and I'm calling it good for today.

Gravy

Thanksgiving of 2014 was apparently on the 27th of November.  Here's photographic evidence that four years ago today JB made gravy at OSLO's house.  It was, as always, excellent gravy.  I remember that day very well.

Time scrams.

And the results are in --

Snow did arrive overnight as predicted, and though the TV weather people said that Holland got 5 inches of snow, it didn't seem like that much.  It was heavy and wet -- as predicted -- and may have compacted some.  Also, near the lake it's a little warmer than inland this time of year, which can affect snowfall amounts.  Confusing the issue is that all of the local schools were closed today, all along the lake shore as well as 30 miles inland or so, but our plow guy never showed up to plow our driveway.  Neighbor Joe came over with his big snow blowing machine and cleared away all of the snow on our driveway and sidewalks, so we're good for now.  Anyway, here are a few pictures of the snow on the lake side of our house, taken this morning --

And here's one of the snow on the street side of the house.  It's not all that impressive, though I took this in the late afternoon after some melting and settling had taken place.

November blogging is interesting -- I can't imagine spending three blog posts on one fairly puny snow storm during regular season programming.  But the rules do change for November.

Hunkering Down in a Dorm

The weather forecast is still pretty dismal, with heavy wet snow predicted overnight for most of southern Michigan.  The timing is unfortunate, with snow arriving after dark tonight and continuing through mid day tomorrow.  Power outages are forecast with strong gusty winds -- and visibility will be limited with the blowing snow.  Totally Jammin's plan was to return to campus this evening, after first making a Sam's Club run to stock up on non perishable food items.  Since I have the only Sam's Club membership in the family, I met the Grands at Sam's about 1:00 pm. 

He texted me this photo when he got back to his dorm.  The plastic blanket bag on the right contains some of his stash of food.  Some things went in the refrigerator he shares with a roommate. (Yes, that is a 30 pack of ramen noodles on his  desk.)  I'm pretty sure that he'll be fine.

Waiting for the storm...

It's been a quiet day here after all of the Thanksgiving company we had yesterday, so I've been entertaining myself by watching the local weather stations changing predictions of how much snow we're going to get tomorrow evening.

The current 44 degrees feels pretty good after all the cold weather we've had this month.  I took a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon after the rain stopped, and except for the wind and the lack of sun, it was a nice enough November day.  The current estimate is for 5 to 7 inches of snow overnight tomorrow, followed by some serious lake effect snow along the lakeshore.  Our plow guy must believe it because he came by today and put in the stakes to define the edges of our driveway.

I may need to make a grocery store run tomorrow before it all hits, though we still have leftover turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing.  The photo is of the very last piece of pie, sadly.

Post Turkey Day

We had pretty much the same meal tonight that we had last night, with a couple of big differences.  One, we had the company of OSLO and the Grands, which made it a whole lot more fun.  Two, there were three kinds of dessert, of which I "sampled" two.  We refer to all pumpkin flavored desserts as vegetables here, but no one is really fooled.  We noticed the setting sun just in time to get outside for a family photo.  Can you tell they are having fun?

As predicted, this was more than enough fun for us.  They are off to do some Black Friday shopping. 

Rediscover Thanksgiving Day, 2012

My nasty virus lingers, a frustratingly slow (but sure) process of recovery.  Probably an old age thing.  JB and I spent Thanksgiving alone, I abdicated cooking responsibilities and the young ones spent the day with their other family.  I facetimed with them, and a good time was had by all.  There was a toddler and a baby at the other Grandmother's house, attractions we could not offer.  So it was all good.  They will be here tomorrow for "day after" stuff, and that will be enough fun for me.  Here are a couple of photos from Thanksgiving 2012.

More later.

Four years ago today...

Google Photos sent me another one of their notices that said I had photos stored there from four years ago today.  I took a look at them, and I remember that day well.  It seems like longer than that but time is a funny thing.  I like these a lot -- here they are:

I am very lucky to live where I do.

Beech Tree Philosophy

I read something that rang true to me recently.  "There's a line between accepting the inevitable and giving up too soon.  Finding the right balance isn't easy."   My weeping beech tree has it down to a science, it definitely is not a quitter.

It's always one of the last trees in our yard to give up its leaves in the fall.  I walked outside this morning into a leaf shower (and snow shower.)  The timing is pretty consistent, it's always sometime around Thanksgiving.  Winter is knocking at the door, it is time to accept the inevitable and give up its leaves.

A Year and Change

There is another birthday that just slipped on by me here without my noticing -- or maybe anniversary is a better word for it.  Anyway, on November 9 of 2017 I bought myself a new bicycle.  A year later, I am really glad that I did.  Though my last bike ride was on October 31 and it doesn't look like there will be more rides anytime soon -- it's been a very short season this year.  The odometer on the new bike reads 1,517 miles right now.  The photo is from November of last year.

My hope when I bought the Sirrus was that it would help motivate me to bike more.  It has done that and even with sickness, more sickness and disease, I have ridden 500 more miles in 2018 than I did in 2017.  And I still really, really like the bike. 

An Important Day

The bright spot in our day was when the Grands arrived late this afternoon with soup and birthday cake.  OSLO had made me some homemade soup, and after the Friedgen family birthday party for TJ, there was plenty of left over cake.  The Girl was concerned about me since I hadn't answered her Facetime requests (the device is upstairs being charged, I was downstairs and/or on a walk with LH.)

They stayed for an hour or so before heading back to their regular lives, but it was really good to see them and share some of the birthday celebration with them.

The walk I took with LH was therapeutic -- it was good to get outside again.  I did wear my face mask, partly to protect LH, but also to warm the air going into my lungs a bit.  I'm also declaring it a fashion statement.  I do what I want.

Last Day as a Teenager

Tomorrow is Totally  Jammin's 20th birthday.  I won't be attending his party tomorrow afternoon so he and his sister drove down this afternoon to pick up food for all of us for supper, and to get his card and birthday wishes in person.

We miss the little boy he was and are very proud of the young man is becoming.  Happy Birthday, TJ.

Short walk in the woods

It was cold here, and there was snow in the air during my half mile walk around the block yesterday.

There were a few splashes of color here and there in the mostly gray landscape.

Fall Fashion

In an attempt to keep JB from getting the virus (I lied about being done talking about being sick), I have been wearing the surgical mask I was given at the doctor's office last week whenever we're in the same room.  Plus I have soapy water with a little bleach in the kitchen sink, and I rinse my hands in it regularly.  Now that I'm downstairs more often, I'm working pretty hard to keep from contaminating any surfaces he might touch.  Surgical masks are best as single use items, but they retain some usefulness even with multiple uses, I've read.  Even so, I ordered some of these from Amazon a few days ago, and they arrived this morning.  Fairly cheap, about $7 for 50 masks.

The information I got from the gerontology nurse last week said that I could be contagious for up to 2 or 3 days after I no longer have symptoms.  And as I mentioned yesterday, a surgical mask is a great attention getting device.  I think I freaked out a few people at the grocery store yesterday.  (They should have been freaked out by the people who were sick but not wearing masks, but oh, well....)

Plus, I sort of think it's a good look for me....  Covers up wrinkles, brings out the blue in my eyes, etc.  I can hear an older brother whispering in my ear "it covers up your face" with a cackle in his voice.  I recommend you get some, and slap one on any time someone with a runny nose gets within 10 to 15 feet.  My goal for today is to leave my house and take a walk of whatever length my body deems appropriate.  Yes, I will be wearing one of these.

1st Day Outfit

This photo wasn't taken by me either.  I got a text message from The Girl this morning, with this photo attached.  The message was "1st Day Outfit."  She started her new job this morning, and we're hoping this qualifies as business casual.

Her job title is Print and Marketing Associate.  She is now working for Staples, in their Grand Haven store.  It isn't her dream job, but it does involve some graphic design work, along with some customer service.  If you've been in a Staples recently, there's usually an area set up near the front where individual customers and small businesses can do their own printing of materials, or have one of the Print and Marketing Associates help them.  Brochures, manuals, business cards and a bunch of other stuff I don't really know.  It's a job and it's in her field.  She's glad to be working!

In what may be nearly the last of my health updates, today I actually got out of the house.  I drove to Family Fare, put on my surgical mask (it's a great attention getting device) and bought a few groceries and a lot of Kleenex and Clorox.  I'm considering this progress. 

If I was going to skip a day, this would have been it.

I did miss this day, but since I can select any posting date I like, it's possible to go back and fill in the missing post.  Jim and I discussed this once -- he was approaching a total number of blog posts that he regarded as an unlucky number, and after some discussion, he decided to go back in time and put in some dummy posts to get him past that number.  Who says time travel isn't possible?  Time is just relative, after all, and the past still exists.  Just one example.  I suppose a photo would be good, so here's one from a random date, also in the past.

These two specialized in showing up and looking good.  Nancy and Ted's wedding.  More good memories.

80 degrees in Port Charlotte at an early sunset

This is day 6 of "bed rest" -- though to be fair, both yesterday and today I got dressed.  The bloggable topics from here are pretty limited, but once again my next door neighbors in the south came through and texted me some nice photos from their back yard.

Sunset last night at the Southern Ranch, photo credit to Paul and Terri.

Sick-A-Bed on Two Chairs

While it's true that I am sicker than I have been in a long, long time , I have been told that it will run its course in time.  Dad's old description doesn't really fit, since I have plenty of bed space here without having to find chairs to rest on.  Sadly, these two chairs are not available for me to choose from if worst comes to worst.  (And doesn't it always?)

I think I might get rid of this upper respiratory tract infection a bit faster if I was there basking in the sunshine.  But our neighbors texted me this picture of the 80 degree sunshine and it's just going to have to do for now.

Rediscover this day...

Google Photos sends me these notices every once in a while.  Since I have no new photos to put up here, I will use a few of these ,,, These are from November 11, 2012.  6 years ago.

There was a LOT more beach then, and it's way too cold this week to be on the beach in sweatshirts.

Gloomy November

We woke up to this, just a little snow... our first this season. There will be more soon.

I hope to get outside for a walk, as soon as this nasty cold that I picked up somewhere subsides a bit.

What's in a name?

Our next door neighbor at the bay house used to have a boat called Hog Wild -- no connection as far as I know.

It's getting dark early here these days.

Wedding Photos

I have a few photos to share from the wedding I went to this past weekend.  These are cell phone photos, so not great quality, but show some of my favorite moments.

Watching his daughter walk down the aisle ....

The happy couple at the reception.

The Daddy/Daughter dance.

Still mostly photo blogging.

Right now I am trying to make the combination of blog and tablet work together -- I added a user to this blog, a much more complicated process than it should have been. Especially since that user is me, just using a different email address.  I took this photo with my tablet this morning, and posted it here.  Mixing Apple and Windows is just as bad as apples and oranges, apparently.  It did seem to work this time, and I can now sign into my blog from my Ipad.

It’s good to see my “ocean”.

P.F. Chang

I am home and thank you all for the great weekend.  Oslo and the Grands did a fine job here.

G.Z., this is the frozen stuff I told you about.  We like it.

November, day 4.

Another fall bike ride photo .....

November, day 3.

More views from the seat of my bicycle.  I have a lot of these.....

November photo, day 2

More blueberry field photos.  Views from my bicycle, as you can probably tell.

I am really not sure about this.....

This is a complicated month.