Girls Running

First -- I won't be blogging every day in December, but I'm not done yet.  Feel free to check back --

This may be my favorite picture of our beach -- more familiar faces, more family ties. The back of the photo says August of 2001.  It was a different time.  It seems like a good note to end on.

As always, November blogging every day for a month is dedicated to my brother Jim.  I miss him.

Black Friday

Black Friday has never been a thing for me.  I despise waiting in lines, I strongly dislike crowds and in general wouldn't go near a shopping center on Black Friday if you bribed me.  Which, I guess, they do -- that's what sales really are.  So today I stayed home and loaded and unloaded the dishwasher a few times.

Here's a photo from when we had actual beach in front of our house.  It's from September of 2011, if memory serves.

Yup, back to the sea wall as of yesterday.  The local news is reporting significant damage to Holland State Park, including the walkway from the parking lot to the pier.  Big sections of the sidewalk ripped out, erosion of the picnic areas, that sort of thing.  Apparently Kirk Park lost 30 feet of dune in Wednesday's storm, and on and on.  Not a good feeling.

Thanksgiving Day -- with a dog.

OSLO and the two young adults spent the afternoon with us today.  We all ate too much, even though we tried to pare things down a little bit.  There was enough to send plenty of food back with them and still have a few meals worth of food left in our possession.  Before they left to share some pie with their other grandmother we took a three generation photo.

The dog that the girl is cuddling is Maya, a relatively new addition to the household.  In some unhappy news, Nancy's partner was not with us today.  Sadly, his father passed away this morning in the Muskegon hospital.  He turned 84 this month and had been in poor health for a long time.  These things are never easy.

What is a bomb cyclone?

There's a new weather phrase -- bomb cyclone.  It sounds excessive to me -- surely either bomb or cyclone would have been adequate to describe a weather event.  Anyway, we're all still afloat here, and we'll have to wait for morning to see how the beachfront looks.  I took this photo out of our window at the same time our weather station was recording a 53 mile an hour wind gust.  It's dropped into the low to mid 30's since then, and hopefully the worst is behind us.  The wind is supposed to calm down overnight.

This afternoon I did some cooking and baking in advance of tomorrow's eating festival.  I made a loaf of Martha Stewart's cranberry bread and a batch of fudge for JB.

I also cooked a batch of wild rice for Barbara's Stuffing, so I'm ready enough.  I'll do the rest of the cooking tomorrow.  Dinner will be mid afternoon, about 2:30 or 3:00, mostly because I'm not willing to get up early to get the bird in the oven.  I am looking forward to spending the day tomorrow with OSLO and the COTU, and glad I'm not travelling in this weather.  Be careful out there.

Blogging Slump

Thanksgiving preparations have taken my focus off of my blogging routine, I think.  Or maybe its just the end of November blahs.  I read somewhere that November is the Norway of months.  Although the only time I was in Norway it was mid June and there were 24 hours of daylight, at least on the northern part of our trip.  Of possible interest, we're waiting for another "wind event" to arrive, with dire warnings about 50 plus mile per hour winds and power outages tomorrow with the potential for 16 foot waves.  We may be back to the sea wall by this time tomorrow.  JB's plan is to move to Florida if this house falls in the lake....

 Here's a photo from Sunday's beach walk.  It didn't make the cut on Sunday, but it's looking a little better today since I have fewer options.  It was taken on the climb to the stairs to the Tunnel Park overlook.

My adventure for the day was to cut down some oak saplings on the dune that have been blocking our view this summer.  (Someone must have been throwing acorns off the deck???)  I was also going to move the ladder back further from the edge of the foredune, but someone had already moved it behind the bench.  This picture was taken from the bottom of the stairs, and the edge of that grass that you see in the photo is the edge of the foredune.  We are definitely getting close to the sea wall. 

Time to Hit the Phone Camera Files

For the sake of finishing my stories -- despite my dire prediction, the wild rice did arrive from Amazon in one day, so I can use BDE's stuffing recipe on Thursday.  We've also clarified who is bringing what for Thanksgiving dinner, it won't be an all dessert meal after all, and today I bought a fresh 12+ pound turkey.  Busy work took up much of the day -- Monday's often look like that for me, and I took no new photos with either my phone or my camera.

My own rule is that there must be at least one photo with every blog entry, and these two will do.  Late fall flowers in my flower garden by my front step is the first one and holly berries at the end of Straight Street near the Tunnel Park fence here in the neighborhood is the second.  Taken on a walk at the beginning of the month, so fairly recent.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Update on the beach front.

The house that was hanging over the edge of the dune a few miles north of us was demolished on Friday.  According to the news report one wall fell into the lake in the process, so not good news on that front.  Today was breezy but late tomorrow is when the winds are supposed to ramp up and more erosion warnings are expected, and I think they wanted to get it torn down before it fell in the lake.  One of the traditions of my Michigan family is, weather permitting, to walk to Tunnel Park after we're done eating Thanksgiving dinner.  The weather doesn't look like it's going to cooperate on Thursday so I took the walk today, starting at the south Association staircase, the one nearest our house.

We're losing some foredune, but still not back to the seawall in our neighborhood.  Those posts are my landmark, they used to be right next to the edge of the foredune drop off.

Even with the waves the beach was walkable, but if you look up the shoreline a ways you can see where the water comes right up to the edge of the foredune.  When I got that far I scrambled up onto the foredune to keep my feet dry.  The amount of debris that was on top of ledge surprised me.

Walking had to be done carefully, the wood debris had nails and was splintered.   Obviously the sun was behind me.

Looking ahead the beach resumes, so I just needed to get past these sketchy parts.

Quite a wide stretch of beach here.

Debris in the water isn't anything new, but this was all from a single tree that somehow ended up in the lake.

 I eventually got as far as Tunnel Park.  It took me two tries to scramble up the drop off, and it was still a climb to the stairs, but I took my time and it all worked out.

I haven't climbed those stairs since -- I'm not sure.  It's been a while.  I've been up there using the inland stairs, but not the lakeside ones.

I had the place all to myself except for the ghosts of Thanksgivings past.  And the wind.  And my shadow.

Thanksgiving pre-prep has begun.

A lot of planning goes into the Thanksgiving meal, even more so when it's a group effort.  I made up a list of what I thought would be on the menu, and then asked for volunteers to help out with some of the acquisition and preparation.  The Grands were here this afternoon and we worked our way through part of the division of labor -- the girl is bringing the rolls, the corn (and she's fixing it according to her other grandmother's recipe) and in a surprise move, she's making a chocolate pie.  The boy's role is a little muddled at this point, so some additional conversation will be required to get that straight.  For sure he is coming here Wednesday night to help get down the big platter and roasting pan from the cupboard over the refrigerator and add a couple of leaves to the table.  He also offered to bring ice cream, and perhaps marshmallows and maybe spinach dip.  So TBD, as they say.  Then I took my list with me to the restaurant this evening where we met OSLO and her partner, and the conversation continued.  (This was the family dinner to celebrate the college boy's birthday, and we all met at Wild Chef -- a Japanese hibachi style restaurant.)

 

OSLO always brings the green bean casserole and pie for Thanksgiving, but the choice of pie changes from year to year. She's thinking about a sweet potato pie at the moment, and possibly an apple pie. Bear in mind that there will only be 6 people eating Thanksgiving dinner here, and we're already at 3 pies.  At this point JB remarks that he'd like fudge, and I'm thinking we'll just skip the turkey and eat dessert.  Plus this was the year that I was hoping to have a simpler, perhaps less heavy meal.  It will all get straightened out, with any luck, but I'm not sure that we made much progress today.  To make it even more interesting, I have had no luck finding wild rice in any of the local grocery stores this year, so this afternoon I ordered some on Amazon.  It's supposed to be here tomorrow  -- we'll see -- this one day delivery stuff rarely works where I live.  In truth, it was all kind of fun and good spirited, and I am glad that all of my little family is interested and engaged in the process.  More on this later, most likely.

More Bicycle Faces

Here are a couple of photos from 2006 that I quite like.  The first one is my daughter, also known as OSLO on the blog, at Kirk Park.  In those days she and I would do at least one mother-daughter longish bike ride every summer.  I remember this one, and at least one other epic ride to the south around Lake Mac then to it's westernmost point near Big Red lighthouse.  We quit doing this quite a while ago -- probably because I just don't ride that far any more.

Here's another one for that folder of photos of Siblings on Bicycles -- also from 2006, from a trip that Jim and Gene and I took to Wisconsin on a non-TRAM year.

Jim took the picture.  We're standing in front of the condo we rented, across the parking lot from the restaurant where we went to the world famous meat raffle.  Some fun was had by all.

All the old familiar places....

It's cold, windy and rainy as I write this.  I must be in Michigan.  My plane arrived on time last night and ruined a smooth flight by having a parking incident at the gate after we'd arrived.  After the fasten seat belt sign was off and the aisle was full of people waiting to get off the plane, the plane rolled backwards and the pilot hit the brakes.  All of the people standing in the aisle went flying, including me -- I ended up flat on my back on the floor of the plane.  No serious injury that I can tell -- elbow, shoulder, back -- it feels pretty much like I fell down recently.  At least one person seemed to have been hurt, an older woman near the front of the plane was in tears.  Kids, dogs and luggage all ended up in the tangle.  The pilot said it was a communication error from the ground crew who signaled that they'd blocked the front wheel of the aircraft when they had not.  Here are a couple of photos from the trip -- today was all about getting caught up here on stuff.

Everything was fine when I got home -- the COTU effectively tag teamed their grandfather -- taking turns checking in on him.  They each had pizza and cake for supper with him on Monday and Tuesday...  TJ on Monday and the girl on Tuesday.  Our next door neighbors brought in the mail daily and checked in on him, and he and I Facetimed multiple times each day while I was gone.  It was a good plan and it worked well.  9 more days left in November.

Changing scenery again.

It’s been a productive trip. This is my last day here, and I made time this morning for a short bike ride to the beach with a side trip to the park across the street.

And a photo of my trusty old bike. It’s the same bike, with some modifications, that I used on the last two TRAM’s.

Later.

Sunset over East Spring Lake

Time is flying by, and my to-do list is shrinking too slowly. I keep adding things to it about as fast as I check things off. Today I ventured out to mingle with the folks of Walmart, returning home with basic provisions for when I return to P.C. later this year. I also replaced a broken handle on one of the toilets and “fixed” the printer.  It needed a new power strip.  Everything seems to take longer in real life than in my head. Oh well, that’s what plan B’s are for.  Here’s a photo of the after sunset sky last night, taken from my next door neighbors back yard.

Favorite

I took a short bike ride this morning before the cleaning crew arrived to remove 8 months of dust and cobwebs from the house.  This was my favorite photo from the ride, taken from the foot bridge in Kiwanis park.

It was about 60 degrees when I left the house, nearly 70 now.  Also, Happy Birthday TJ🥰

Southern Ranch

The flight was smooth, and the WiFi is working, so it’s off to a good start. I am currently draining the water heater while simultaneously blogging and pumping the tires on my bike.  Multitasking.  It’s cool and overcast, 55 or so, and I am too tired to take a bike ride today anyway. It was a very early morning.

Mailboxes

This is a topic from that list that I mentioned a couple of times this month -- blog topics for days when nothing else catches my attention.  A mailbox theme may not seem like it has much potential for any kind of story to go with it, but hold on, I think I have one.  It's a small one, but it's a blog entry, not a short story, right?

I spend a fair amount of time outside, especially during biking season.  Odd things catch my attention along my regular routes, which is where the above photo came in.  The neighborhoods around here, including this one, have a lot of group mailboxes.  I don't remember this from other places I've lived -- mostly our mail was delivered to a box at the end of our driveway, or in a few cases, to our door.  (Fort Wayne and DeKalb both.)  In Coleraine we picked up our mail at the Post Office downtown.  The last time I was in Coleraine I noticed that there's a new Post Office and it's in a different part of town.  Things change.

Our mailbox here is at the end of our driveway, but it is one of three in that location.  So we're just lucky, I guess.  Now to the sort of interesting part of my mailbox story.

Sometime last month my next door neighbor in Florida texted me this photo.  The mailbox on the right is ours.  We eventually learned that the granddaughter of the people who live across the street from us had backed her car into the mailbox.  Our neighbor offered to fix it for us, and install a single post for the two boxes, improving their appearance, as well as their durability.  We said yes.  (Actually we said YES!!!! THANKS!!!)

This is the "after" photo of the new boxes and post.  Apparently the post is an old light post from their dock/ramp.  It was repurposed, with three feet buried in the ground, and should be pretty strong.  It's definitely hefty.  And now to the surprise twist.  I plan to fly to Florida tomorrow morning, and spend a few days getting the house opened up and cleaned up before our hoped for trip down there later this year.  I plan to  meet a cleaning crew there, who are named -- You've Got Maids.

I hope to be able to update my blog from Florida for the next few days, but that will depend on whether or not our Internet connection is up and running when I get there.  It's supposed to be, but one never knows.  So if things go dark here for a while, don't be concerned.  I should be home late Wednesday.

Novembruary

Novembruary -- the word is stolen from another blog that I read regularly. Fall was really short this year, as it was last year and as a result I'm not getting much exercise, mostly because of the cold and the icy slush. I'm going to have to figure out a way around that soon. Today I managed a trip to Walgreen's to buy a birthday card for the college boy who turns 21 on Monday. (Really? How did that happen. Surely there's some mistake!)

I am going to miss his family party on Sunday (more on that at a later date) and he'll be on campus on Monday, his actual birthday. We have plans to Facetime sometime Monday, and he and his sister met us tonight for an early birthday supper. There will be a larger family dinner next weekend, at the local Japanese steak house.

Today marks the mid point of this month and thus half way through the blog every day for a month month.  I still have my list of topics with only a handful of them checked off, which helps.  Plus there's a holiday in there with its built in theme, too.  And the beat goes on.

Lake view

Another gray day.

It's been a dull week.  For exercise yesterday I walked around the neighborhood with LH, and neither of us fell down. We both were wearing yak trax for traction. Monday’s snow fell on warm ground which melted then refroze, so we have ice on all walkable surfaces.  I did get a little desperate for someone to talk to about bikes and stopped in at the bike shop yesterday and talked to Laura and Nate.  Laura may or may not be trying to sell me an e-bike. She's buying her second one, she said.  I'm not ready for that, at least not yet.  I'm not ruling it out, though.  Other than that, things are quiet here. 

Only photos and good memories remain.

More bicycle faces, from a story we told in November of 2015.  These were from the day we left Lanesboro and rode the bluffs along the river to Wabasha.  OOTNDITHOD.

I'm liking this mixing of themes.  Obviously bicycles are a typical topic for me, but there is and always has been that common thread of siblings and family.  So siblings on bicycles -- makes me smile.

Bicycle Face

I think this one could be a multi-post topic, and a little explanation may be required before I start.  I was reading on a blog about how bicycles contributed to the emancipation of women.  Apparently one of the arguments used to discourage women from riding bicycles was something called "bicycle face."  It seems it was along the lines of that phrase we all heard as children, "be careful or your face will freeze like that."  So on this snowy November day, this is my topic.  Bicycle Faces.

OSLO on her bicycle in Ft. Wayne, the fall of 1970.  That's our house in the background.

Here are a couple of other adorable bicycle faces -- the COTU, or as they were referred to then, the Small Loud Ones.

More beloved bicycle faces -- or maybe one bicycle face and two roller blade faces.  Is it terrible to say that I'd be okay with their faces freezing like that?

I couldn't resist adding this one, though it's been posted a number of times before, but it really seems to fit the theme.  Of course my mind wandered off to other possible ways to interpret bicycle face, and Jan and Lance both came to mind.  So instead of a story of shoveling snow, this is my blurb of the day.

Digital Format

There were a couple of reasons behind the choice of today's entry.  First, my Michigan family has been enjoying the old photos from last week -- OSLO commented on the fact that all of those pictures were taken before digital cameras existed, so putting them here helps preserve these.  At least more so than sitting in a plastic box in my bedroom closet.  OSLO and the girl enjoyed finding family resemblances in these old photos -- OSLO declared that TJ looks like his grandfather and the girl looks like her grandmother, and she (OSLO) looks more like me than her father, but she got some of her features from him, too.  The girl commented that her Uncle Gene had apparently "always" had his mustache, and that really she couldn't imagine him without it.  Obviously not always.

This one says July 1970 on the back.  It also leads me to the other thing -- it's Veteran's Day, and I want to thank you Gene, for your service and sacrifice.  You were so young then.  Just a kid.

Here's another one -- late 80's I think -- that I think I've seen floating around the internet somewhere, but I couldn't find it on my computer, so I scanned it in and I'm posting it here for posterity.  This is the last photo of Dad's six children together that I am aware of.  Time scrams.

It's As Cold As Ice

One of the local weather forecasters recently said that the next couple of weeks would feel like a taste of January in November.  Just to be clear, here's what January looks like --

This is the Dekalb GE plant, in January of 1980.  I believe that was the year that the roof of the plant caved in from the weight of the snow.  Nothing like that is going on here yet, and yesterday it warmed up enough (42) to melt all of our snow.  Another 1-3 inches is forecast tonight, again tomorrow and again tomorrow night, so I took one last bike ride today.  Cold and dank, but I wanted to get a couple more miles in on my new bike.  This was the turn around spot -- Ransom and 160th.

And this was what was on my odometer when I returned to the garage.  I expected it to round up, but I'm not going to go out and ride around in circles until it does.

The reason I am posting this here today is that tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of the day I bought that bike.  A younger me might sneer at this total, but septuagenarian me is more than happy with that many miles in 2 years.  And all on one set of tires.