Happy Valentine's Day

I am in the process of writing two posts, but do not have either one of them quite ready. Adam did help me put the video of our December ski trip on my computer, but left me to edit it on my own. What is he thinking!? Hopefully, I will become more tech savvy in the future so I do not have to rely on Adam to assist me with all of my queries regarding electronics. I have also been busy trying to snap some blog-worthy photos of the family playing Rock Band, but all of my pictures so far are either too blurry, too close, or too far away.

In the meantime, I'll just say Happy Valentine's Day to you all. We don't do much celebrating here at our house, but for those of you who do - have a great time!

Senior Citizen Brunch

What do you think of when you hear the word "brunch?" A nice restaurant with food stations full of warm, delicious breakfast and lunch items? The Finnish Center holds a very different type of brunch at their facility on the second Sunday of each month. Irma loves to attend, mostly, I think, to socialize with her old Finnish friends. Nancy, the boys, and I like to go mainly for amusement. Personally, I love senior citizens, but you cannot even begin to imagine the chaos that erupts when the average age of the folks in charge of an event is 85. We arrived at the Finnish Center today, and the hostess, Edith (age 80-something), gave us numbers to hold our place in line. There were six of us, and Edith worked for about ten minutes trying to find consecutive numbers in her pile of homemade cardboard numerals. Frustrated, she finally just handed us 11-15. And 5. The food is supposed to be served beginning at 11:30 a.m., and today it was 12:20 p.m. when the cooks were at long last ready to start. Edith shouted loudly into her microphone (yes, she loves speaking into her microphone even though the luncheon area is quite small and her voice doesn’t really need any amplification) for everyone “to settle down.” The low mumbles of conversation amongst the elderly were barely audible, but apparently Edith wanted everyone’s complete attention. She announced that brunch was ready, and numbers one through four could proceed to the buffet line. And just to reiterate, she stated, “That’s one . . . two . . . three . . . and four.” These earsplitting broadcasts continued throughout the entire meal. The food available at the brunch leaves something to be desired, and I don’t usually eat the breakfast fare because cold eggs, undercooked French toast, and raw sausage do not appeal to me. Today they offered chicken a la king, which I ate and enjoyed. Nancy went through the buffet at the end of our group of six, and had to wait about five extra minutes when they ran out of plates. The senior citizen workers just stood around flummoxed as to how they might solve that problem, and, remember, Nancy was only number 16 to go through the food line. Eventually, more plates were located, much to the relief of the 40 or so other people who had not yet eaten. We got our food, paid the 90-year-old cashier, then traded knowing shrugs & sighs with the few other under-70-year-old people who were in attendance. There is nothing like a roomful of elderly Finns to make you feel young!

Westward Ho

In a few weeks, we are going to Park City, Utah to ski. I found some awesome airfares a couple months ago (pat self on back), and now we are in the process of booking a condo for our stay. Fortunately for us, there are quite a few empty units just waiting for a nice family like ours to come along. So far, I have contacted 122 condo owners (why, yes, I do keep track) to check availability and prices. Almost all of them have emailed me back, which has made for quite a crowded inbox lately. Anyway, since there are so many units still available, I feel confident waiting until the last minute to book, hoping that perhaps a perfectly cozy ski-in/ski-out location with a hot tub and separate beds for the boys (not that Jacob kicks and moves around a lot at night) will suddenly open up at a reasonable price.

Before we head out west, I do need to purchase some replacement ski poles. On our last ski adventure in December, Jacob and I had a collision on a trail, and, as a result, the bottom few inches of one of my poles bent perpendicular to the rest. When we attempted to bend it back, the metal snapped. Jim was actually taking movies of the rest of us skiing at the time of the little mishap, so the pole-bending incident is captured on film. As soon as Adam will assist me, I will post the video clip here.

Cold

COLD IS A RELATIVE THING. . . . . . .

65 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Michigan plant gardens.

60 above zero:

Hawaiians don coats, gloves, and wool hats.
People in Michigan sunbathe.

50 above zero:
Italian & British cars won't start.
People in Michigan drive with their windows down.

40 above zero:

Arizonans shiver uncontrollably
People in Michigan throw on a hoodie.

30 above zero:
Texans winterize their homes and cars.
People in Michigan close their windows.

20 above zero:
New York landlords turn up the heat.
People in Michigan have a cookout.

Zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Michigan get out their winter coats.

10 below zero:
Children in the south get the day off school.

Girl Scouts in Michigan sell cookies door to door.

20 below zero:
Washington D.C. runs out of hot air.
People in Michigan let their dogs sleep indoors.

30 below zero:
Santa Claus and the reindeer abandon the North Pole.

People in Michigan get upset because the snowmobile won't start.

40 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
People in Michigan start saying...Cold enough for ya?

The Big Chill

It has been extremely chilly around these parts lately. There have been many days where the high temperature has only reached 5 or 10 degrees. One night the low went down to 18 below zero, and most local school districts canceled classes the next morning so students riding buses would not have to wait outside in the bitter conditions. One person who has not stayed in out of the cold is Norm. He has been hoofing around the ‘hood in the bone-chilling wintry weather, and trudging through snow and ice, as well. He told me the other day that he is closing in on 1,000 days of walking, and I don’t think that he has any intention of stopping anytime soon. Even if the arctic chill continues, Norm will probably keep on going. If I had half of his self-discipline, I would be happy. As it is, I actually did ride my exercise bike today - in the warmth of my family room. Now if only I would remember to ride it again tomorrow, then the next day, and so on, I would finally be on the right track!

Yes, Fred is Dead

Bev has been quite confused lately, especially in the evenings when she is experiencing her typical Alzheimer's-related "sundowning." Yesterday, she phoned Jim wondering if he had seen Fred recently. (And for any of you who do not know, Jim's dad, Fred, was killed in a truck-pedestrian accident in 2004.) Jim gingerly explained to his mother that Fred has been dead for over four years. She became quite angry, but not for the reasons one might think. Bev was upset that "no one bothered to tell her that Fred had been killed." She was not the least bit disturbed that her husband was dead. Only that, in her world of dementia, we purposely kept her in the dark about it and did not update her regarding family matters. Sigh.

Auto Show

Every few years, we like to attend the annual Detroit North American International Auto Show – especially when we are contemplating the purchase of a new car. It’s nice to have a plethora of vehicles all in one place to check out. Since we have no intention of buying anything new in the near future, though, we assumed we would just forgo the crowds this time around. Until we realized how important it was to Jacob to be there. The boy is a bona fide car nut. A zealous fan of all that is automotive. A passionate devotee of everything on wheels. A genuine . . . Well, you get the picture. He has attended the Auto Show the last few years, if not with us, then with Richie. But this year Richie decided that he had no intention of going, either. (As it ends up, he is going after all, although it will be an alleged "work outing" with his fellow Ford buddies.) I considered bringing Jacob myself. I figured I could tolerate walking around shiny displays of metal with the mobs while Jacob gleefully hopped in and out of automobiles. Then Jim came to the rescue. He was off work today, and, with very little prodding from me, agreed to bring Jacob to the Auto Show himself. A lovely father/son bonding day, with 50,000 of their closest friends. Anyway, they left home bright and early, stayed for over five hours, and had a grand time.

A new model.

Jacob wished this guy would leave so he could take his turn in the driver's seat.

Jacob tried out a Saab.

Winter Wonderland

Here in southeast Michigan, Mother Nature has blessed us with over 35 inches of snow since last month. Local city, township, and county road commissions, on the other hand, have deprived us of any snow removal services during this time. Apparently, due to "budget concerns," the plow and salt truck drivers are not being offered any overtime pay this year. However, they never even seem to be out plowing or salting the roads during regular hours, either. And, of course, there are the alleged salt shortages that all the nearby counties have been whining about. Seriously, there is no shortage of salt. The counties just don't want to purchase any more because they did not put that into their budgets due to the fact that some nitwits hoped and prayed that there would be below-average snowfall this winter. To get to my point, the roads around here have been just terrible - always snow covered and icy, with vehicles careening into each other and/or sliding off the highways in alarming numbers. People are getting stuck in piles of snow, much like they did before the era of SUVs and front-wheel drive cars. Driving anywhere takes double or triple the time. There is simply too much traffic, and there are too many novice drivers in the metro area, to justify cutting the road-clearing expenses so drastically. You'd think they could spare a little sand or something, anyway.

It has also been unbelievably cold around here the past few days! Last night, Adam's weather station thermometer read 11 degrees below zero. Willow Run Airport reported a low of -9. Brrr! I do enjoy all of the snow we've been receiving, but the sub-zero temperatures feel rather bracing. This will make it a lot easier to tolerate 30 degree temps when they return next week, though. Now, that'll seem downright balmy!

Birthday Party

Today was my mother’s 85^th birthday, and we had a rip-roaring party over at Nancy’s house. Well, as rip-roaring a party as a senior citizen can handle. Family and friends showed up despite the blustery snowstorm that was raging outside. (I think our total snowfall today was 8 inches or more?) We ate lunch, had cake & ice cream, gave Irma her gifts, and played Eric’s new interactive Wheel of Fortune game. The kids, along with Steve and Charlie, romped outside in the snow, and built a huge igloo, which I would have pictures of had I remembered to bring my camera. Most importantly, Irm had a wonderful time and was still raving about the party when we dropped her off at her house in the evening. Hopefully we’ll all be as spry as she is when we are in our mid-80s!

Note: I am a bit bewildered why the font of the above post is in a larger type size than usual. I am not able to change it, so enjoy the senior sized type tonight!

I'm Back

My computer is back home where it belongs, so I am finally able to post some pictures. They are a hodgepodge of our ski trip, the New Year's Eve party (and I am proud to say that, thanks to Jim, we will now display the coveted air hockey tournament "Millennium Cup" on our mantle for the year), the bowling outing, and some frolicking in the snow. I will be back to actually writing updates soon!

Party girls on New Year's Eve.

The boys on a ski trail.

Jules working on a snow angel.

Jake out front.

Julia has a bowling style all her own.

Muffin gets a little help from a friend.

Computer Nightmares

My computer is close to being done at the repair shop. Hurray! Last night, the power cord to Adam's laptop shorted out and went kaput, though. He immediately ordered a new one, complete with overnight delivery, but it hasn't arrived yet. There is only about 60 minutes of power left in this poor overused laptop computer, so I am typing rapidly. More updates and, hopefully, pictures will follow soon!

By the way, Happy New Year!

UPDATE: It is now Sunday, January 4th, and my computer is still at the fix-it shop. They tell me it will be ready on Monday. There is no sign of Adam's new power cord, either. So much for the very pricey overnight delivery option. Since Adam's laptop has long since lost all of it's power, I am now mooching computer time at Richie's house.