A Wedding, Then a Funeral

The day after we arrived home from California, we received word that my Aunt Helen had passed away in northern Michigan. My cousins planned a memorial service for yesterday afternoon, so no sooner had we begun unpacking from one trip when we found ourselves repacking for another. Jacob, Irma, Nancy, and I trekked north on Saturday. We met up with some relatives, and then stopped by our farm to inspect the trees that we had planted in the spring. Jacob was able to get in some driving time on the back forty before we retired to our hotel for the night. On Sunday, we headed to Traverse City for the funeral. The weather was strange the entire weekend – we experienced sunshine one minute, followed by wind, rain, and sleet the next. The memorial service ended up being very nice, the dinner afterwards was ample & delicious, and our drive back home proved to be uneventful.

My Aunt Helen, 95-years-old at her death, had been my very last living aunt. My mom is the youngest of eleven children and my dad had nine older siblings. Out of all of these aunts and uncles, and all of their spouses, only my 84-year-old mother is still alive. Aunt Helen was, incidentally, one of four aunts that I had with the name of Helen. My parents both had a sister Helen, and two of my dad’s brothers married Helens. That name must have been all the rage back in the early 1900s.

We Love S.F.

Cousin Jenny's wedding on Saturday was just lovely. The weather was quite accommodating – which was fortunate since the ceremony took place outdoors. The bride was beautiful and the groom was handsome, and I would actually be able to prove that if only I had taken more pictures. Hopefully Nancy snapped some photos during the nuptials because I was so engrossed in the exchanging of vows that I completely forgot to take any then. The reception was great fun, and Jacob ended up pulling a muscle while busting some moves on the dance floor. He partied so much that he still has some lingering achiness. Who knew it was necessary to stretch and limber up prior to cutting the rug at a wedding reception?

We did a lot of sightseeing during our week in California. Besides excursions to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Monterey Peninsula (where I steered our rented minivan onto a golf cart path at Pebble Beach while attempting to maneuver out of a dead-end parking lot), and Half Moon Bay, we also spent lots of time in the city of San Francisco. Driving in that metropolis is simply crazy, with the steep hills and masses of pedestrians, yet we did it almost every day we were in the Bay Area. After Jim and Adam arrived, we toured Alcatraz Island, and Jacob vowed to never, ever disobey a law after seeing what a prison looked like from the inside. In addition, Jacob was finally able to take his long-awaited cable car ride, which thankfully quieted his incessant nagging on that subject.

We all arrived home last night; including Jacob and I, who were, in fact, scheduled to leave nine hours later than the others, but managed to snag seats on the earlier plane by flying standby. So, now it is back to the old grind, and getting re-acclimated to this cold weather here at home. Brrrrr!

Adam and Jacob on the porch where the wedding ceremony took place.

The bride holding her niece. Her brother is on the right, Jacob is on the left.

Cousin Dave playing his trombone with his band, "YOWZA!"

An Alcatraz corridor. This one was named "Broadway."

A tiny Alcatraz cell, sans bed.

Jacob and Jim on their cable car ride.

California Pix

Here are a few pictures we have taken while we have been in California. Fortunately, Adam and his trusty laptop arrived here last night, so I will be blogging again soon!

Look at the funny rock towers people built on this beach.

The Golden Gate Bridge.

The streets in San Francisco are steep!

Lombard Street in the background.

This two-story Target store has an escalator for carts!

Jacob found a dead marine creature.

The New Candidate

Check out this video that my cousin Dave sent from California. He has my vote! We will see him soon, as his daughter’s wedding is a week from today.

Jacob, Nancy, and I fly to San Francisco on Tuesday. Jim and Adam will come out on Friday after work/school. Jenny’s wedding is at a country club in the shadow of the Pacific Coastal Range in one of the oldest wine regions in California. It sounds like a simply breathtaking setting. I plan to snap lots of pictures, not only at the wedding, but also during our various sightseeing jaunts. I’ll post them here as soon as I can. Unfortunately, I will not have access to a computer from Tuesday until Adam arrives with his laptop on Friday night, and I know I will suffer blog withdrawal! I am already sweating just thinking about it! Hopefully, as soon as we pick up Jim and Adam from SFO on Friday, we can rush back to our hotel and I can upload some of our photos taken throughout the week.

OCD

As many of you know, Jacob has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. He was diagnosed shortly after the automobile accident that killed Jim’s dad. While the accident was not the cause of his OCD, it did trigger his anxiety to develop into the full-blown disease. Unless you live with a mental health patient 24/7, it is truly hard to understand the depth of this particular illness. And while Jacob’s OCD was initially labeled severe, it has progressed to more moderate levels, and even mild levels over the years. I promise to write more about OCD in the future – like how it is so much more prevalent than diseases like autism and schizophrenia, for example, yet it does not receive half of the attention or funding as those disorders. For anyone interested in learning a bit more now, check out some of these websites:

OC Foundation

Kids Health - OCD

OCD - What It Is
Anyway, Jacob eagerly agreed to participate in a pediatric OCD clinical research study at U of M recently. The child psychiatrist leading the study is attempting to determine how brain development in children with OCD differs from that of children without the disorder. See This. We went last week for an “interview” that lasted an entire afternoon, and then a few days later, Jacob went back to the campus for an MRI. He had to lie inside the machine for an hour and look into a slanted mirror situated above his head in order to view a computer that was rigged up behind him. He also had a hand-held mouse-like device that he used to respond to commands from the computer, while the MRI machine whirred and clunked around him. After all was said and done, Jacob raved about how fun the study had been, especially the MRI! He was also excited to learn that he would receive $100 in compensation from U of M. The results of this particular research will be published next year, and the ultimate goal of the investigation is to make new treatments available for kids suffering from OCD. We look forward to more and more studies occurring in the future so this OCD monster can someday be eradicated!

Jacob sliding into the MRI machine.

Jacob preparing to do his part to advance science.

The Price of Fun

Last night we went to a Red Wing pre-season hockey game at Joe Louis Arena. Jim had four tickets for his work suite, but the company did not splurge on food for us because it was not a regular season game and we were not entertaining clients or anything. So, although our seats and drinks were free for the evening, we had to purchase our own snacks, and somehow we managed to spend a whopping amount of money on them. Ok, I do not really mean we, because Jim never once trudged down to a concession stand. Jacob and I made all of the refreshment jaunts, and I must say it is shocking how much they rip you off for food at sport venues. A family of four could easily drop, say . . . $40, on pretzels and ice cream and such, and that doesn’t even include any drinks. Or parking fees. And, if a family actually had to pay for tickets, they would end up spending $300 or more for a night of hockey. It can safely be said, therefore, that if Jim’s company did not offer their suite to us occasionally, we would never, ever get to see a Red Wing game in person. How do some families justify spending that much money on sporting events week after week anyway? They must truly be bona fide fans! Or spendthrifts. Or rich.

On a separate note, I asked Jim the other day if he ever reads my blog, and he replied dryly, “I don’t have to read it, I live it.” Cute.

Our view from the rafters, er, suite.

Jacob in the outer seating area. Jim is inside.

Ford vs. Honda

Back in July, Jim and Jacob were driving to Bev's rehab facility one evening for a visit. An ambulance with wailing sirens came up behind them, and Jim obediently reduced his speed and pulled over to the side of the road. Unfortunately, a Ford Focus following them did not slow down quickly enough, and rammed into the back of Jim’s Honda Civic. The teenaged driver of the offending vehicle was very apologetic, and Jim graciously chose to ignore the ding in his bumper since it was only about the size of a nickel. Jim did, however, sometimes gripe and whine about the cosmetic damage to his still-fairly-new car. My advice was to just leave it alone, because the dent was, in fact, scarcely even noticeable. (Official repair estimate: $400)

Last week on his way to work, Jim’s Civic was hit once again. This time it was sideswiped by a Ford Explorer that was changing lanes on the freeway. The driver evidently did not see that Jim was already occupying the lane he desired to be in, and his SUV collided with the Civic while attempting to merge. Jim filed a police report because that was the only way our insurance company would reimburse us for fixing these more obvious bangs and scrapes. (Official repair estimate: $1,200)

Yesterday evening, Jim and Jacob were on their way to Lowe’s when the Civic was struck for a third time. They were simply waiting at a red light, when a Ford F-150 pick-up plowed into them from behind. And using the term “plowed” is appropriate since it was a snowplow hitch-thingy on the front of the truck that actually caused the new damage to the Civic’s rear bumper. The driver never even apologized, and actually made light of the situation, saying, “Things like this happen all the time.” Well, yes, they do seem to happen to the Civic rather frequently. But hitting someone’s automobile, causing damage, then not even expressing a hint of regret seems somewhat discourteous to me. (Educated guess on repair estimate: $800)

So, although Jim is a very careful driver, he has become a bit paranoid about people continuously running into his car. Either the Civic has some sort of magnetic field that attracts other vehicles (Fords in particular), or it is just plain cursed. The insurance company will cover most of the $2,400 collision shop fee. And, they say that since none of the incidents were Jim’s fault, our insurance rates will not go up. (Har har, riiight!) Maybe we should not bother to have any of the dents repaired, and we can just enter the Civic in a Demolition Derby or something instead. We would barely even notice any additional scratches or bumps on the poor little sedan.

Riki's Wedding

Jim and I went to his cousin Riki’s wedding reception Saturday night. We were not invited to the actual wedding ceremony, as it was apparently a small, private affair held earlier that afternoon. Riki is the daughter of Aunt Mavis, Bev’s younger sister. When Riki was born, her father, Rick, was disappointed that she was a girl because he intended to name his first child after himself. I didn’t know Uncle Rick very well, as he passed away shortly after Jim and I were married, but most relatives do not speak of him in a very positive light. Anyway, Uncle Rick insisted that his newborn be known as some variation of “Richard,” so his daughter was christened Richelle. The year after Riki was born, Aunt Mavis and Uncle Rick had another baby, and this time it was a boy. If they would have just had the patience to wait, Rick could have had his little Rick, Jr. a short time later. They went on to have two more sons in two more years, and Rick apparently never got over the fact that he wasted his good name on a daughter. Nice guy.

Riki ended up marrying an old family friend, who is a divorced father of four young kids. His children looked adorable and seemed quite attached to Riki. Bev’s cousin, Nancy, had originally planned to pick her up for the wedding, and then the two of them were going to sleep over at another relative’s house. At the last minute, however, Nancy had to cancel, so Debbie agreed to drive Bev to the shindig. Bev was well behaved, but did keep referring to her senior apartment as her place of employment. She spoke of leaving her job at five o'clock, punching out, and forgetting her bag of Hershey bars on her desk at work. Sigh. Overall, the reception ended up being very enjoyable. And now Riki, who always vowed to have a “household goods shower” for herself if she had not tied the knot before she turned 40, has all the domestic items she needs. Including a ready-made family. And, since she recently celebrated her 40th birthday, her engagement and wedding shower both occurred within her self-imposed time frame. Whew.

Tae Kwon Do

Tonight was Jacob’s first tae kwon do lesson at our local community center. He went eagerly, and looked forward to purchasing his uniform when he arrived for the class. There were almost 20 students, and the majority of them were beginners like Jake. Jim and I sat with the other parents, and watched our kids learn basic punches, kicks, and blocks. The instructors emphasized respect and the fact that tae kwon do is only to be used in self-defense. If Jacob actually sticks with this martial arts stuff and becomes skilled at performing the moves properly, Adam eventually won’t stand a chance of landing a blow on Jake while they are “playfully tussling.” (Playfully tussling, clashing, brawling, whatever you want to call it!) And, lest anyone thinks that tae kwon do is an inexpensive activity in which to partake, let me be the first to reveal that the darling little uniform actually cost more than what we paid for the entire 6-week class. At least it will make a charming Halloween costume if this tae kwon do gig doesn’t fly.

Mr. Tae Kwon Do practicing his bow.

Genealogy 101

Next month, we are traveling to San Francisco to attend the wedding of my cousin’s daughter. Jenny, the bride, is my first cousin, once removed. She is a second cousin to Adam and Jacob. Jenny’s father, Dave, is my first cousin, but for simplicity sake – and Lord knows I like things simple – I just think of us all as cousins. The wedding sounds as if it is going to be fabulous and Jenny will make an absolutely stunning bride! We are all looking forward to being there for the big day.

Dave, the father of the bride, is a great guy who we do not see nearly as often as we would like. We rendezvoused with him when we were in the U.P. in July, as he travels there annually. The boys and I visited California two years ago and spent some time with Dave then. He gave us quite a grand tour of his hometown and the surrounding environs, and, believe me, it is a gorgeous area. Check out his city’s website – http://www.newark.org. Oh, did I mention that Dave is also the mayor of his city, and has been for 30 years or so? He is the longest-standing mayor in California and one of the longest-serving in the country! (Kwame, can you hear me?) I will be sure to take lots of pictures when we are in the Bay area so you can see for yourselves how pretty it is out there.

A Visit from Ike

July and August were extremely dry around our house. It seldom rained, and I neglected my outdoor plants terribly. My flowers would wither and shrivel until I was ambitious enough to lug out a watering can, after which they would perk back up for a day or two. Our lawn became a dismal shade of brown, due partly to the fact that our underground sprinkler system was out of order for the entire summer and we never took the time to repair it. Our township imposed voluntary odd-even watering restrictions, and we had no problem obeying those rules since the sprinklers were sitting idle anyway. There have been benefits to this drought of 2008, too. Most importantly, there have been very few mosquitoes this year. I never even brought out the bug spray during our camping trip last month, or at any other time for that matter.

It was with great confidence, therefore, that we planned numerous outdoor activities for last weekend. First, Jacob and I looked forward to meeting a group of friends at a park late Friday afternoon. Well, guess what? It started to rain. Hard enough to call off our get-together. Then, Jim’s company had its annual golf outing scheduled for Saturday morning. Employees came not only from his office, but from out of town as well. The torrential downpour continued and the company shindig was cancelled. Pattye organized a housewarming party for Janet on Saturday afternoon, and the rain persisted. When all was said and done on Sunday night, we had received almost 4 inches. Many areas were flooded, some folks lost electricity, and a tornado even touched down about 5 miles north of our house. And, during the height of this three-day monsoon, our sump pump conked out, resulting in an overflow of ground water into our basement. Talk about crappy timing! (At least it was not crappy water!)

Well, the weekend is over, the sun has returned, and, of course, we do not have anything planned outside for the next few days. We did not have to endure the full wrath of Hurricane Ike, though, just the measly remnants of the storm. So I guess I will quit griping about our bad luck and appreciate the fact that we have water, power, and a roof still over our heads. Which is more than some of Jim’s colleagues in Houston currently have. On a positive note, our grass has turned green and my flowers have started to bloom again. I just hope we don’t get an early frost now, so I can enjoy the impatiens for a few weeks.