Twas indeed the night before Christmas and I'm almost to bed. At times it seems such a chore but when the kids and grand kids walk through the door tomorrow all the effort is forgotten. Smiles and grins all around as they see the tree surrounded by brightly wrapped gifts. It always good to be home for the holidays
We again have a great deal to be thankful again this year and hope each and every one of you all the best this holiday season.
Wait! Is that Rudolph and jolly old Santa I see out on the neighbor's roof? Gotta get out the cookies and get in bed. See ya!
Still livin' the dream.
Phil
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Somebody special
A special shout-out and Merry Christmas to one of our dear friends who lives in Finland. One of my most loyal readers whom we've known for a good many years, Susanne lives (I think) very near Santa Claus so ... if all you other readers think very nice thoughts about her today, maybe she can put in a good word for you.
Thank you Susanne for your friendship and support.
Still livin' the dream and thinkin' good thoughts.
Phil
Thank you Susanne for your friendship and support.
Still livin' the dream and thinkin' good thoughts.
Phil
Time warp ... or something
Last Wednesday at 12:30 in the afternoon and again at 8:30 the following morning I entered a United State Postal facility with items to mail and found no one ... repeat ... no one waiting in line ahead of me! Actually there wasn't a soul in the place except the postal workers. The last time I was there there were at least 15 people standing in line ahead of me. Hey folks this is the holiday season! Let get out there and support our money starved postal service. I can't imagine I was the only one who didn't get the message to mail early before the deadline... was I? I was planning on meeting new friends and kibitzing about the weather and such while waiting, but no. I walked in, went straight to the counter, shipped my package, wished the clerk a Merry Christmas and out the door I went. Or was I in some sort of seasonally induced parallel universe thing? Stay tuned.
Confused but still livin' the dream.
Phil
Confused but still livin' the dream.
Phil
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Time flies
We really forgot how lazy we could become. With big plans to clean out the garage, clean out the office, and clean out the spare bedroom ... I think the only thing that got cleaned out so far was the refrigerator. Intentions, much like New Year's resolutions sure look good on paper but it always seems 'something' comes up.
No sooner than we got back into Michigan and we met with our summer RV neighbors at an eatery in Battle Creek to get caught up. Sure good seeing everyone and are already looking forward to returning to Cousins RV Park in South Haven next spring. We jabbered awhile, took a quick trip to the local casino (lost) and before long we had to depart for a pre-concert dinner with our dear friends from Battle Creek. This time a nice downtown eatery, followed by a great Brass Band of Battle Creek (www.bbbc.net) concert at W.K. Kellogg Auditorium.
Just a side note on the Brass Band of Battle Creek. If you ever plan to be travelling in Michigan check out their website and performance schedule. This is not a tuba player and a couple of trombones with folks playing Sousa marches but a gathering of some of the finest brass instrument players on the planet. From the London Symphony to Carnegie Hall to New Orleans and Chicago jazz, these people can play just about anything you can imagine and do it so you won;t forget it. If you close your eyes when they're performing you'd swear there were wind and string instruments playing as well but no, only brass and percussion some 40 players strong. If you do have an inkling to go ...plan ahead ... many times they are almost fully booked 6 months ahead. By-the-way, if you were expecting maybe a hundred music buffs showing up for one of these at the Kellogg Auditorium (one of Michigan premiere acoustical gems) think again ... more like 2000 attend every performance.
Okay let me get back on track. The following day Sharon and I attended a baby shower (girls) brunch (guys) for Kim, the daughter of our dear friends George and Paula at Clara's Restaurant (www.claras.com) in downtown Battle Creek. The charming restaurant is an old New York Central train station of the 1940's and 50's era and is full of lots of historical items from the town. The shower was a gala affair that had all the neat stuff expecting mothers do and get and an extra special treat for the guys who got there own separate room to eat, drink and tell outrageous stories of bygone years. All-in-all a pretty good outing.
Finally getting home that evening, it was good to be back and was really great to discover the house was not flooded nor taken over by a herd of raccoons this year. We knew we could now get at all those projects we'd planned on. Oh but did I forget? We had other duties to do first. Within a few days we were going to stay with our grand children as their folks headed off on a cruise out of Miami.
Five days with two young adults, one brown dog that likes everybody, one grey, stripped cat who is almost too friendly, and finally one white cat with big black spots who doesn't like me. It was interesting to spend some time with our fast maturing grand kids. We quickly learn the kids are growing up fast and the need for us to look over them in their folks absence will soon pass. We look forward to being a part of their lives as they continue the journey into adulthood but will miss the 'little kid' times.
So now maybe I can get to work on the garage. Oh wait!. The temperature is dropping fast so maybe I should work inside on the office or the spare bedroom. Oh wait again!. What about Christmas shopping Sharon says. Okay, I give up. Maybe next year I get started on the cleaning jobs.
Still livin' the dream here in the North country.
Phil
ps ... a get well fast goes out to our friends Miki and Tracy
No sooner than we got back into Michigan and we met with our summer RV neighbors at an eatery in Battle Creek to get caught up. Sure good seeing everyone and are already looking forward to returning to Cousins RV Park in South Haven next spring. We jabbered awhile, took a quick trip to the local casino (lost) and before long we had to depart for a pre-concert dinner with our dear friends from Battle Creek. This time a nice downtown eatery, followed by a great Brass Band of Battle Creek (www.bbbc.net) concert at W.K. Kellogg Auditorium.
Just a side note on the Brass Band of Battle Creek. If you ever plan to be travelling in Michigan check out their website and performance schedule. This is not a tuba player and a couple of trombones with folks playing Sousa marches but a gathering of some of the finest brass instrument players on the planet. From the London Symphony to Carnegie Hall to New Orleans and Chicago jazz, these people can play just about anything you can imagine and do it so you won;t forget it. If you close your eyes when they're performing you'd swear there were wind and string instruments playing as well but no, only brass and percussion some 40 players strong. If you do have an inkling to go ...plan ahead ... many times they are almost fully booked 6 months ahead. By-the-way, if you were expecting maybe a hundred music buffs showing up for one of these at the Kellogg Auditorium (one of Michigan premiere acoustical gems) think again ... more like 2000 attend every performance.
Okay let me get back on track. The following day Sharon and I attended a baby shower (girls) brunch (guys) for Kim, the daughter of our dear friends George and Paula at Clara's Restaurant (www.claras.com) in downtown Battle Creek. The charming restaurant is an old New York Central train station of the 1940's and 50's era and is full of lots of historical items from the town. The shower was a gala affair that had all the neat stuff expecting mothers do and get and an extra special treat for the guys who got there own separate room to eat, drink and tell outrageous stories of bygone years. All-in-all a pretty good outing.
Finally getting home that evening, it was good to be back and was really great to discover the house was not flooded nor taken over by a herd of raccoons this year. We knew we could now get at all those projects we'd planned on. Oh but did I forget? We had other duties to do first. Within a few days we were going to stay with our grand children as their folks headed off on a cruise out of Miami.
Five days with two young adults, one brown dog that likes everybody, one grey, stripped cat who is almost too friendly, and finally one white cat with big black spots who doesn't like me. It was interesting to spend some time with our fast maturing grand kids. We quickly learn the kids are growing up fast and the need for us to look over them in their folks absence will soon pass. We look forward to being a part of their lives as they continue the journey into adulthood but will miss the 'little kid' times.
So now maybe I can get to work on the garage. Oh wait!. The temperature is dropping fast so maybe I should work inside on the office or the spare bedroom. Oh wait again!. What about Christmas shopping Sharon says. Okay, I give up. Maybe next year I get started on the cleaning jobs.
Still livin' the dream here in the North country.
Phil
ps ... a get well fast goes out to our friends Miki and Tracy
Monday, December 5, 2011
What on earth are we doing?
We saw the first signs of trouble around Dayton Ohio. A little unnerving ... but manageable. As the miles went by our worst fears became a reality. It was unmistakable ... something no rv'er ever wants to see. Call it angel dust. Call it Santa's dandruff. But it's still Snow. OMG. There it was ... covering the fields ... covering the green ... covering life itself. And it was a dirty, nasty white at that. Leaving our winter retreat in central Florida meant no more sunshine. No more 80 degree weather. No more fresh picked oranges. We've returned from once we came. But alas... but for such a short time; then we'll return to the land of bright skies, warm winds, blue haired ladies and a ribbon of left turn-signal lights in the right lane in early January.
With some some very special reasons we returned to Michigan for the month of December. Friends and family, being the most important, made the return despite the weather, a worthwhile adventure. A baby shower ... a wedding ... a meeting with summer rv'ers ... and of course, Christmas and New Years holidays. It's still good to be home.
For those snowbirds still contemplating heading north for the holidays or those late starters heading south, a couple of warnings. If going through Cincinnati, Louisville, or Atlanta try to do so sometime between 11:00am and 2:00pm. Sundays would be best but on workdays, mid-day seems far less hectic.
Longest tie-up we noticed coming north was south bound traffic in Cincinnati. North bound was bad enough but those heading south the lanes looked like a parking lot half way back to Dayton. Speaking of Dayton ... we stayed at the Hilton's Homewood Suites in Miamisburg (south side of Dayton)http://homewoodsuites1.hilton.com/en_US/hw/hotel/DAYSOHW-Homewood-Suites-by-Hilton-Dayton-South-Ohio/index.do. Take exit #44 off north bound I75 then east one block then south one block. Best price we could find on short notice, including dinner and breakfast was $89. Plus beer for 50 cents per glass and wine at 75 cents per glass. Rooms were large, clean and very quite. Great shopping nearby as well. Dayton Mall, Barnes & Noble, etc.
So Mother Nature give it your best shot while we're here. Show us what a white Christmas really is but please make sure the snowplows have cleared a path for us in January cause' we're again ... outta here.
Shivering but still livin' the dream.
Phil
With some some very special reasons we returned to Michigan for the month of December. Friends and family, being the most important, made the return despite the weather, a worthwhile adventure. A baby shower ... a wedding ... a meeting with summer rv'ers ... and of course, Christmas and New Years holidays. It's still good to be home.
For those snowbirds still contemplating heading north for the holidays or those late starters heading south, a couple of warnings. If going through Cincinnati, Louisville, or Atlanta try to do so sometime between 11:00am and 2:00pm. Sundays would be best but on workdays, mid-day seems far less hectic.
Longest tie-up we noticed coming north was south bound traffic in Cincinnati. North bound was bad enough but those heading south the lanes looked like a parking lot half way back to Dayton. Speaking of Dayton ... we stayed at the Hilton's Homewood Suites in Miamisburg (south side of Dayton)http://homewoodsuites1.hilton.com/en_US/hw/hotel/DAYSOHW-Homewood-Suites-by-Hilton-Dayton-South-Ohio/index.do. Take exit #44 off north bound I75 then east one block then south one block. Best price we could find on short notice, including dinner and breakfast was $89. Plus beer for 50 cents per glass and wine at 75 cents per glass. Rooms were large, clean and very quite. Great shopping nearby as well. Dayton Mall, Barnes & Noble, etc.
So Mother Nature give it your best shot while we're here. Show us what a white Christmas really is but please make sure the snowplows have cleared a path for us in January cause' we're again ... outta here.
Shivering but still livin' the dream.
Phil
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