On the Farm With Larry and Teddy

Catching Up

2012-01-20T14:01:00.005-07:00

It seems that I have been negligent lately in keeping up with our blog. Reason being, that in May 2005 after selling our home in Appleton, Wisconsin we purchased a large 5th wheel RV, a heavy duty PU truck and began our adventure of traveling and living full-time in an RV. This blog was created shortly afterward on 1/1/2006 so that our family and friends might follow us in our travels.
Mainly because of health concerns, this spring after six years on the road we decided to discontinue full-time RVing and moved into the Schlueter family farmhouse on a cherry farm in Leelanau County Michigan. We have a life lease on the house which has been vacant since the passing of Teddy's parents.
Teddy's brother, John owns and operates the farm and lives in his own house across the road from us.
And, since we are not RVing any more, I no longer feel compelled to update the blog very often.
Life on the farm or any permeant home for that matter, although not boring, is much more static than while traveling as day to day events often repeat themselves. I will, however, make an entry every so often for the benefit of the many RV friends that we have made while traveling.

Lets see now...where was I...oh yeah...life on the farm... or "The Farm" as we have named our newly remodeled farmhouse.
I won't go into the updating and remodeling which actually began two years ago as it has been well documented in previous blogs.
We now have obtained Michigan drivers licenses and have registered to vote so as of January 1, 2012 we are now legal Michigan residents. We still remain loyal Packer fans even though we seem to be outnumbered by Lion loyalists. Some things just have to be regarded as sacrosanct. ;-)
This winter I have been catching up on my reading, we both read on Kindles; I logged over 60 books read last year on two different web sites for readers Shelfari and Goodreads If you are a reader I highly recommend joining a readers club. It is an excellent resource for exchanging reviews and other info with like minded readers. Teddy has also been kept busy working as a volunteer at two local different thrift stores, one in Traverse City on Mondays and one in Lake Leelanau on Thursdays.
Up to now were fortunate to have an unusually mild winter but winter has now struck in its full fury with blizzard conditions for the past two days.

Here is how "The Farm" looked when we arrived

last May...

...and this is how it looked last week, before our current blizzard.

As for the snow, the nice thing about being retired is the fact that we don't have anywhere that we have to go to; we don't even have to walk out to the mailbox to pick-up our social security check as we have direct deposit. So let it snow, and if need be I can do most of our shopping on the internet and let UPS & FedEx do the driving. Hell, you can even buy groceries on Amazon.com.

Life in the 21st century is good!

THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE!!

2011-10-23T14:39:00.001-07:00

If I do say so myself, we live in one of the best places on planet Earth.

The following is from The U.S. News & World Report which listed The Traverse City area third in "The 10 best places to retire in 2012"...

The 10 Best Places to Retire in 2012

These cities will meet your retirement lifestyle needs and suit your budget

By EMILY BRANDON

October 17, 2011

Water views on a budget: Traverse City, Mich.

Dream of retiring to a lake house? The Traverse City area offers more than 180 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 149 large lakes measuring 10 acres or more. Residents can climb the high sand dunes and lounge on the freshwater beaches at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, or take a ferry out to the Manitou Islands. There are also plenty of opportunities for boating on the twin Grand Traverse Bays. Housing prices in this lakeside city average a reasonable $155,715.

...and this is from the Denver Post, Oct 15, 2011

October 15, 2011

TRAVEL

Indulge your inner hermit in Michigan's Leelanau

Private beach hideaway

By Tucker Shaw
The Denver Post

Unspoiled dunes and crystal-clear water draw more than 1.3 million visitors a year to Leelanau Peninsula. (Courtesy of the Leelanau Herald)

There's something strange about the beach here.
It's not the fact that it stretches for miles, white sand as far as you can see.
It's not the fact that the water is fresh, so the mist tossed into the air by the crashing waves doesn't carry a briney aroma. It's the fact that you're the only one here. Oh, glory.
The Leelanau Peninsula (pronounced LEE-lah- naw), located at the tip of the pinky finger of Michigan's mitten, was never on my shortlist of places to visit. Until, that is, I spent a week there. Now, I'm eager to return.
It's in the sweet spot for domestic tourism: Plenty of infrastructure for visitors, but not a crowd to be found.
Deep evergreen woods, reminiscent of the Maine coast, line

Temperate weather makes Leelanau a great place to grow cherries, wine grapes and apples. (Courtesy of the Leelanau Herald)

the Lake Michigan coastline. It gives you the feeling of remoteness and privacy, even when you're just a mile or two out of town (that town being, depending on your travel planning, Leland, Northport, Suttons Bay or Glen Haven). If you wanted to, you could go full-bore hermit here, and rarely see another soul.
But a quarter-mile in from the big lake, you'll find a lovely, civilized, urbane community, fairly buzzing with activity. Much of the land has been cleared to make way for orchards (cherries and apples abound) and vineyards (there may be more wineries per square mile here than any place I've ever been).
It adds up to a picturesque slice of Americana that, while rooted in tradition, is anything but old-fashioned.
The foodie scene in Leelanau is intense (Is that Mario Batali at the farmers market in Northport? Yes, it is!). This is particularly true in the summer months, when the rich Midwest soil throws forth fruits and vegetables with enthusiasm. Produce here rivals the best anywhere, and every tiny town has a farmers market — honest-to-goodness farmers markets, staffed by local farmers, not farmers from other parts of the state or faux-farmers hawking produce they picked up off a truck.

Historic Fishtown on the northwest shore of Lake Michigan in Leland. (Courtesy of the Leelanau Herald)

And if you happen to miss market day, you'll find tomatoes, corn and lettuces at the end of nearly every driveway in the county. Just drop a couple of bucks in the jar, bag your goods and head back to your rented house to cook 'em up.
Renting a house is the best way to handle lodging in Leelanau (there are dozens listed on vrbo.com). Here's why: The restaurant scene, while passable, is limited, so having your own kitchen is a big plus. Pick up some smoked fish and wine in Leland, some steaks in Cedar, a pie down in Traverse City, and some fruit and vegetables along the way, and you're good.
If your budget is generous, you'll want a house on the big lake, Lake Michigan, where the sunsets sprawl across cocktail hour and where after dinner you can build a fire on the beach (hello, s'mores).
When you do choose to go out, your best breakfast is a cinnamon twist from Barb's Bakery in Northport. Midwesterners do know their way around baked goods, and this soft, homey, not-overly-sweet breakfast pastry is no exception.
Lunch calls for a sandwich and a "Chubby Mary" (a Bloody Mary garnished with a small smoked whitefish, whole) at The Cove, located on Leland's charming dockside strip. You'll find sandwiches and salads and an excellent whitefish spread. If you're picnicking, visit the Village Cheese Shanty. They stock plenty of local wine, too.
For a special dinner, visit the upscale Riverside Inn, also in Leland,

If your budget is generous, you'll want a house on Lake Michigan, with its sprawling sunsets. (Andy Fishering )

for their resplendent Porchetta plate, a slow-roasted spiral of local pork belly rich with herbs and fat and a barely sharp red wine sauce. (You won't finish it, so take the rest home for lunch tomorrow.)
For a more casual dinner and a chance to hang with the locals, head to Fischers Happy Hour, halfway between Leland and Northport. You'll grab a burger and a beer, or perhaps a bowl of navy-bean soup. Another option, the Bluebird Bar in Leland, for a basket of fried smelt and a glass of Michigan wine.
This being Michigan, there's water everywhere, including many smaller "inland" lakes in driving distance — the most notable being Lake Leelanau, which stretches for much of the length of the peninsula and offers swimming, fishing and generalized hanging out. (Don't skip a swim here: The water's much warmer than in the big lake.)
Summer is not the only season on the Leelanau Peninsula — far from it. This region rivals New England for fall foliage. Bring a sweater: The average October temperatures top out at about 59 degrees.
Tucker Shaw: tshaw@denverpost.com, twitter.com/tucker_shaw

Leelanau Insider's Guide

Get here:Your best bet is to fly to Traverse City. United/SkyWest operates one daily direct flight starting at $547 round-trip.
Dine
In Northport
Fischer's Happy Hour Tavern, 7144 N Manitou Trail, 231-386-9923
Barb's Bakery, 112 N. Mill St., 231-386-5851
In Leland
Bluebird Bar, 102 River St., 231-256-9081, leelanau.com/bluebird
The Cove, 111 River St., 231-256-9834, thecoveleland.com
Riverside Inn, 302 River St., 231-256-9971, theriverside-inn.com
Meats
Pleva's Meats, 8974 South Kasson St., Cedar, 231-228-5000, plevasmeats.com
Pies
Grand Traverse Pie Co., 101 N. Park Street, Traverse City, 231-933-3972, gtpie.com

Follow Tucker Shaw on Twitter.

Read more:Indulge your inner hermit in Michigan's Leelanau - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_19107370#.TpuXV6lQ2Pk.email#ixzz1bdXELnIX

The only possible bad downside to all of this sudden publicity is that we could be suddenly overrun with with a population influx, driving property values up and straining our available resources.

But, then again, "A stranger is a friend that you haven't met yet", so come ahead and be my neighbor.

The Tomato Sandwich

2011-10-03T11:31:00.003-07:00

One of my favorite summertime treats is a big sloppy, with juice running down your arms, tomato sandwich made with fresh ripe tomatos straight from the garden.

Now this is a "TOMATO SANDWICH" NOT a "BLT" or a "Club Sandwich". Just as a hamburger is not the same as a cheeseburger, they are another kind of sandwich, which I also sometimes enjoy, however, a pure tomato sandwich is sans any flavor detraction such as bacon, lettuce or any other ingredient other than those listed here.
In our family this was a treat shared through the years of my youth by myself and my mother, Donna Page and I credit the invention to her. I don't recall any other members of my family relishing them with as much uninhabited gusto as me and my mom.

A. The Ingredients

1. Tomatoes: You must start with a summer-ripened tomato. Any color will do, but it has to be dead-ripe, succulent, and bursting with juice. It should never be refrigerated.

2. Mayonnaise: You need mayonnaise, NOT ‘Miracle Whip’…Miracle Whip is a nice condiment for making potato salad but should never be used on sandwiches as it’s strong flavor overpowers the other fillings. If you don’t have any mayo on hand, STOP now and go to the store and get some. Mayo is part of the magic of a perfect tomato sandwich.

3. Bread: Two lightly toasted slices of that soft and squishy bread that you never admit buying. You don’t want highly flavored bread that detracts from the filling.

4. Onion: Sweet onion sliced, preferably Vidalias if in season.

5. Last but not least, salt.

B The Assembly:

While the bread is toasting, use your sharpest knife (if you don’t have a Cutco #1721, you should get one it is the best tomato slicing knife in existance) to slice the tomato vertically in 1/2 inch slices & then cut off the tops of the slices that have bellybuttons where the stem was. Peel the onion and slice it horizontally in 1/8th inch slices. Slather the mayonnaise on both slices of the toast, making sure it flows all the way to the edges, perhaps with an artful drip over the edge. Carefully fit the tomatoes onto the toast cutting it to fit the best you can. Top with a layer of the onion slices, lightly salt, put the top on and VOLA!

C The Eating:

Sandwich in hand, you may now move to the sink and start eating. Grasp the sandwich with both hands, shielding the backside as the tomatoes sometimes try to escape by squishing out the back. Have plenty of napkins or paper towels handy, as the juice will run down your chin or your hands. Optionally put your sandwich on a plate and eat at the table, don’t forget the paper towels.

The first bite is all about texture—the soft bread, the velvety emulsion of mayonnaise, the luscious tomato, bursting with juice – a unique and wonderful sensory experience. By the third bite, be ready for the harmony of flavors in which yeasty bread, creamy mayonnaise, crisp onions and tart-acid-sweet tomato come together, accentuated with the salt. Don’t hurry. Savor the flavors.

Tomato sandwiches are about as basic as you can get, every one of them is delicious. In the summer I eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or in between. And every last one of them is perfect.

The Eyes Have It!

2011-09-13T16:59:00.004-07:00

Last fall before we went west for the winter I noticed that I wasn't seeing as sharply as I was used to, particularly with my right eye. This was somewhat surprising to me because I had my glasses prescription updated just the year before and my prescription usually did not change much over a much longer period of time. "Oh well," sez I, "I'de better go in for an eye exam to get new glasses before we depart." So I made an appointment with Dr. Jodi Hummel at the Cedar Run Eye Center here in Traverse City for an exam.
Well it didn't turn out as I expected when she informed me that I needed eye surgery as I was developing cataracts in not only my right eye but the left as well, although not as advanced. But because we were leaving shortly to spend the winter in the Southwest she assured me that I could wait until this spring when we returned.
So in May after we had gotten settled in here at "The Farm" I made an appointment with Cedar Run Surgeon, Dr. Timothy Hanley for a total lens replacement in my right eye. The surgery on my right eye was done on August 3, followed on August 31 on the left eye. The good news is that there is now an improved lens implant called Crystalens that allows eye focusing with your eye muscles just as your natural lenses. Since Mother Nature saw fit to give me lenses were not focusing correctly I have been nearsighted all of my life, but with the new lenses I am not nearsighted anymore and no longer have to wear glasses. Hooray, hooray! For the first time in my life I can buy sunglasses right off the rack.
But...now here's the rub, medicare will only pay for the old fixed lenses. The new lenses come with an additional out of pocket expense of $2500 per eye that medicare will not cover. What would you do?
To me it was Hobson's choice...we forked over the additional five grand which means that we will be rag picking and eating gruel for the next year or so. ;-)
I am still on a daily course of eyedrops but the outcome on both eyes appears to have been successful and I am now driving for the first time sans glasses.
Here is a video of actual lens implant surgery. It is a large file so unless you have a high speed connection it may take a long time to download.
Warning: Not for the faint of heart

"I Can See Clearly Now"

You CAN go back again!

2011-08-25T10:30:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday evening, 9/20, Teddy & I motored down to my old home town, Manistee, MI, a distance of about 70 miles, to attend my 55th High School reunion.

Here's a page from our yearbook showing what some of us looked like then..

That's me, 2nd from left, bottom row.

..and here's what we look like now.

That's me, left end, front row.

Hmmm, looks like I've put on a few lbs. ;-(

We had a lovely dinner at the Manistee Golf & Country Club.

It was great catching up with old friends and finding out what paths their various lives had taken them. We had Doctors & Lawyers but I don't think that we had any beggars or thieves, at least I certainly hope not.

Visitors from Wisconsin

2011-08-10T22:44:00.002-07:00

July 27 thru 30 we were again honored with a visit from our very good friends from Appleton, Dick and Jen Orr. They timed their visit to coinside with the annual Traverse City Film Festival which was running all that week. We had great plans to take in some of the film at the festival but we got caught up with other activities and never got to any of the films. Oh well...there's always next year. (smile)
They arrived Wednesday evening; we had a nice dinner and then we spentThursday visiting the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Dick wanted to have a go at climbing the dunes. He was ill and missed going to the dunes last year and didn't want to let the opportunity go by again. It turned out to be a beautiful day; not too hot, just right for a dune climb.

I waited in the car while Teddy , Jen & Dick attacked the dune.

Here they are just starting out...

...and here they are just cresting the first stage about 20 mins. later.

After that they disapeared from my sight as you can't see the second rise from the ground.

Meanwhile I amused myself by watching people play on the dunes and engaging total strangers in conversation, as I am wont to do. (grin)

About 40 minutes later the reappeared none the worse for the wear. Next we drove the "Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive" a 7 1/2 mile loop that meanders through forest and dunes with several overlooks of Lake Michigan along the way from the top of the dunes which rise some 400 feet above the lake in this area. If you should ever visit the area this is a not to be forgotten look at the magnificence of Northwestern Michigan. Growing up here I was not aware of how beautiful it is where we live, I suppose I was thinking that the whole world was like this. It wasn't until I left that I appreciated the land of my birth.

We arrived back at "The Farm" late in the afternoon tired and happy and toasted our friendship with double Martinis all around before dinner.

Then on Friday we went on a drive through Leelanau County, stopping at historic "Fishtown" in Leeland, had a smelt lunch at "Dick's Pour House" in the village of Lake Leelanau, drove to the tourist town of Suttons Bay and finished up the day with ice cream at Moomers, named the best ice cream in America by ABC's "Good Morning America" a few years back.

Sadly, Dick & Jen had to return to Wisconsin Saturday morning so after a hearty breakfast of Belgian waffles made by yours truly, the waffle King, we bade them Bon voyage for their trip home.

Their visit was all too brief but we are looking forward to seeing them as well as all of our other Wisconsin friends when we visit Appleton later this fall.

Off The Road & On "The Farm", With Larry & Teddy

2011-07-30T21:57:00.003-07:00

There comes a time in every full-time RVer's life when he/she must give in to the revenges of age, claim a spot on this planet and hang his hat there.
The physical demands and the cost of travel have finally convinced us that we must now bite the bullet and stay here in Leelanau County, Michigan year around on the Schlueter family cherry farm. Teddy's brother, John owns the farm but has his own home and as the farmhouse was standing vacant since the passing of Teddy's parents, John has given us a life lease on it in lieu of Teddy's share of the farm. We have named the house "The Farm" and I am changing the title of our blog to "On The Farm With Larry & Teddy" to be more indicative of our current life style. In the past three summers we have had some badly needed major upgrades done and are now finally finished with the remodeling. I really enjoy being here and am thinking that I might even enjoy looking out at the snow covered fields this winter, knowing that I don't actually have to go outdoors to shovel snow as John will plow us out and I don't have a job to go to anyway. So Teddy and I will just stay indoors, drink hot chocolate, read books and watch the birds on the feeders.
We have made many lifelong friends during our six years if RVing and treasure their friendship. We are hopeful that some them as well as our Wisconsin friends might, visit us here on "The Farm" winter and/or summer. There are many things to see and do here in the Grand Traverse region of Michigan and it is truly one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

CPAP

2011-07-17T12:17:00.005-07:00

As I mentioned in my blog of June 13 We decided to establish local doctors and dentists here in Traverse City. Well one of the upshots of that resulted in my new cardiologist, Dr. Michael Lauer putting me through a pretty through physical examination. I've had blood tests, a chemical stress test, had funny machines whirl around my body probing my insides with mysterious rays, underwent a cardiac catheterization where they run a probe up the artery in my groin to my heart and then squirt a dye into my blood stream and watch it on a TV which is mysteriously looking at my insides. Then he had a self administered test kit sent to me where I hooked myself up to some kind of a computer, slept through the night with it and then mailed it back for analysis. Results were that I supposedly need more oxygen at night so I was sent to a gas man (Harbor Oxygen) to get an oxygen machine to wear nights. But hold on, Dr. Lauer wasn't done with me yet; On Tuesday night July 12, I had to go to a "Sleep Center": where I slept in a room with about a hundred wires attached to my body & head, with a "Darth Vader" mask over my nose and a voyeur watching me on CCTV all night. The voyeur, was apparently disappointed that he failed to catch me in some kind of self-abusel activity, and to get even, he diagnosed me with sleep apnea. So on Thursday the 14th, back I went to the gas man to get hooked up with a CPAP machine.
To use the machine you have to wear a "Darth Vader" mask which covers your body's air input ports and supplies you with a constant positive air pressure when you inhale. There are several types of masks available, some that cover your entire face, some that only cover your mouth & nose, some that only cover your nose, and some, called nasal pillows, that seal directly to your nostrils. I went with the Swift FX Nasal Pillow mask as it seemed less invasive. Well...that night I lasted about two hours with that CCRAP machine. It made the inside of my nostrils very sore. Torquemada could have used one during the Spanish Inquisition. So Friday morning I packed it all up and back to Harbor Oxygen. They then sent me back home with a nasal mask made by Drive Medical.

Here I am pretending to sleep in my second mask all ready for SCUBA diving. I wore this one thru Friday night but it makes the bridge of my nose quite sore so Monday it goes back for a third try. If I'm gonna do this then I hafta get it right or I won't wear it.

You will notice that Nazzie appears to be a bit skeptical of the whole thing. ;-)

Reflections on turning seventy-four

2011-07-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

Reflections on turning seventy-four

Tomorrow, July 4, 2011 I attaine the ripe old age of 74. In truth I don't feel much different mentally than when I was 24. It's just that the old body starts to break down like an old Buick.

It brings to mind the old adage, " if I had known that I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."

Here are 15 good things and 15 bad things about being 74 years old in the modern world. I'm sure that those of you who are seniors can add some more of your own.

GOOD THINGS:

1. Senior coffee at McDonalds.

2. Can flirt with young girls as they just dismiss you as a harmless old coot. (men only)

3. Can drive at 55 as have nowhere that you have to be any way.

4. No longer a slave to fashion; i.e., Can buy your clothes at Goodwill.

5. Can take a nap whenever you want.

6. Don't understand popular music, nor care to.

7. Food you used to not care for is now delicious.

8. Get to wear your cap with the bill facing forward.

9. Men talk to you while looking directly at your face instead of staring at your boobs. (women only)

10. Don't have to worry about gall stones as have no gall bladder.

11. Don't have to shovel snow.

12. No more periods. (women only)

13. No longer get a "stiffy" every time you see a hot girl. (men only

14. Don't have to pay income tax as income is not high enough.

15. The knowledge that you aren't going to die young.

BAD THINGS:

1. Decaf coffee.

2. Remembering how much things used to cost.

3. All your friends are old people too.

4. Have to take a whole lotta' pills every day & don't know what most of them are for.

5. Your feet hurt, your back hurts, your knees hurt...everything hurts.

6. Don't understand popular music, nor care to.

7. Hot flashes. (women only)

8. Food that you used to like doesn't taste quite so good.

9. Insomnia.

10. Anti-insomnia i.e., fall asleep at inopportune moments during the day. Like in the middle of a movie or when talking to wife. (men only, could be a good thing too)

11. Getting up to pee two or three times in the night.

12. Going into the next room to get or do something and then forgetting what it was.

13. Have to wear suspenders to keep your pants up. (men only)

14. What used to be your cute perky breasts now are not cute and definitely not perky. (women only)

15. Most of the time you can;t find your glasses.

BEST THINGS ABOUT HAVING A BIRTHDAY ON THE FOURTH OF JULY:

1. Strawberry shortcake.

2. Burgers & Dawgs on the grill.

3. Get lots of cards & greetings as folks usually remember your B'Day when it's on the 4th.

4. Fireworks on your birthday. How great is that?

5. Never have to work on your birthday as it's a holiday. (What, never? Well,...hardly ever)

BAD THINGS ABOUT HAVING A BIRTHDAY ON THE FOURTH OF JULY:

1. NONE

Meanwhile, down on "The Farm"!

2011-06-13T18:47:00.003-07:00

Greetings from "The Farm"

My blogging frequency has been suffering lately because I've run out of things to say. We live our lives day by day, for the most part repeating what we did yesterday and there is a limit on what you can say about a trip to the dentist, beach, movies, garden walk, etc. Since we arrived here on "The Farm"May first we have been busy sprucing up the place, mowing lawns, grocery trips to Traverse, visiting, my brother & family and Teddy's brother and sister & their families.

American Robin

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downey Woodpecker

I have also been busy trying to photograph the many birds that visit the feeders that Teddy so faithfully maintains. (click on a picture for a larger view)

American Crow

Mourning Dove

Blue Jay

Chipping Sparrow

Bluebird

Northern aka Baltimore Oriole

These are all photos that I have taken this year since we arrived May 1st.

Common Grackle

We have also had visits from Chickadees, House-sparrows, House-finches, Ring-billed gulls and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds which I haven't gotten picts this year yet.

Goldfinch

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

White-crowned Sparrow

Pileated Woodpecker

So we haven't been just sitting around twiddling our thumbs, although now that I think of it, that might be fun except that I'm not sure I know how to twiddle.
We had previously decided that if we were going to continue spending our summers and possibly future winters here in the Traverse City area that we should probably establish a local doctor, dentist, cardiologist, optometrist etc. With that in mind we picked up all of our medical records from Dr. Mckee's office in Appleton and made a "get acquainted"appointment with a family practice physician, Dr. Rebecca Hoffman here in Traverse. It went well and we both really like her. She recommended a cardiologist and we now have an appointment to see him. We already had a local dentist, Dr. Macare Lumbrezer as Teddy had to have a crown last summer and last week we went in and had our annual cleaning; we have to go back next week, me for a crown and Teddy for a filling. Bummer! We did have one little scare in that my vision in my right eye had been deteriorating over the winter. We already had made an eye appointment later this summer for cataract evaluation. I was told at my last eye exam that I had the beginnings of a cataract. However, three weeks ago I suddenly got massive strings of floaters that sort of looked like bird nests that covered my entire field of vision in that eye. We went in and they found that I had a torn retina. The eye clinic immediately sent my across town to an eye surgeon and within two hours I was having laser surgery done on that eye. Fortunately it went well and my floaters are gradually being reabsorbed. It isn't fun getting old but at least I now know that I'm not going to die young (or rich).
Here on "The Farm" we have finally reached the end of our remodeling and are now beginning to enjoy the fruits of our (Gerard the contractor's) labor. Over the winter Gerard drywalled and painted the ceilings in the dining room, living room and bedroom as well as the walls in the dining room and bedroom. He also put chair rail in the dining room and crown moulding in the living room. The difference is visually striking; when we walked in May first we were gobsmacked!
Here are some photos of the place now. A far cry from when we first moved in two years ago.
(Click on picture for a larger view)

Bedroom looking toward entrance

Bathroom from Entrance

Bedroom from entrance

Dining Room looking North

Dining Room looking South

Kitchen from Dining room

Living room looking West

Living room looking North

Living room looking South

The Good Life

2011-05-18T08:40:00.005-07:00

Today Teddy surprised me at breakfast with some freshly caught morel mushrooms that she discovered in our yard (actually at an undisclosed secret location).
That combined with a sunny-side-up egg, toast, coffee, bacon & V8 made a breakfast fit for a king. Life is filled with surprises both good & bad and today's ranks right up there with the best of the best.
In the words of Mel Brooks in the movie, History of the World: Part I, "It's good to be the king."

I do love that woman to pieces!!!!

Now if that Readers Digest Sweepstakes guy would just stop by......

Back on "The Farm"

2011-05-11T10:05:00.011-07:00

Well, we're back from our "long winters nap" in the Southwest and are settling in to our summer habitat here in Leelanau County Michigan. We had our contractor, Gerard Belanger do some final drywall upgrades to the farmhouse while we were gone and are very pleased with the outcome. The remodeling took three years and a lot of our cash reserves but we feel that it was worth it. We now have a comfortable home to settle into when we can no longer maintain our full-time RV lifestyle. Our twilight years, so to speak; it's hard to imagine but somewhere along the years we have evolved into a couple of old farts. It just doesn't seem that long ago that I was inviting this cute 18 year old coed out for coffee after class at Northwestern Michigan College. SIGH!
We arrived here on May 1 and Teddy has been busy every day tending her gardens and I have been busy holding down my recliner so that it doesn't fly away. ;-)
In the week and a half that we have been back we have already had quite a number of our feathered friends in or about our yard including:

Purple Finch

Goldfinch

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Mourning Dove

Black-capped Chickadee

Ring-billed Gull

Blue Jay

American Crow

Chipping Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Baltimore Oriole

American Robin

Northern Cardinal

Common Grackle

Ruby-throat Hummingbird

Needless to say our cat, Nazzie is quite excited for, as you might expect, he has a consuming interest in ornithology.

Click on photo for full size image

I haven't taken many photos yet but did manage to snap this shot of a Northern aka Baltimore Oriole.

Movin' On

2011-04-20T22:02:00.005-07:00

Our time is up here at Nevada Treasure in Pahrump, NV. Tomorrow morning we will pull-out for our annual trip East to our summer home in Leelanau County, Michigan where we will stay until October.

Here is an itinerary of our planned overnight stops along the way from here to Appleton, WI where we will spend a few days visiting our son & daughter in-law and old friends from when we lived there.

Here is a map showing those same overnight stops.

Barring any unforseen snags we then will travel on to Michigan arriving there on or about May 1.
Over the winter we had some additional work done on the farmhouse by our contractor, Gerard Belanger and can't wait to see the result.

Recent Advances in Science 2011

2011-04-01T00:36:00.003-07:00

4/1/11 • AF News
by Pearl Gray

WASHINGTON –– At a press conference held this morning at the Sleep Research Center at the The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland it was revealed that for over a decade neurologists have been working on a project that allows humans to live without the need to sleep. While working on a program investigating the underling causes of Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Doctor Roland Jerrome noticed cognitive function correlations between REM sleep patterns and sleep deprivation. He was then able to get a research grant for further research and formed the "Sleep Research Center" under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health. A breakthrough came in 2001 when he implanted a microchip transducer behind the ear of a rhesus monkey. Probes from the implant were then routed into the ocular nerve center in the cerebral cortex and occipital lobe of the brain. It was then programmed to send artificial REM sleep signals. Astonishingly it appeared that the subject did not seem to require sleep and in fact was quite active during normal sleep periods.

In late 2003 an improved device dubbed a "stemulator", was implanted successfully in a human volunteer, another in 2005, two more in 2006, two in 2009, and in four subjects in 2010. That makes a total of ten subjects who are currently "wearing" the device and Dr. Jerrome said that they will be taking applications for twenty more volunteers in 2011. None have slept at all since their implants were installed. The stemulator implants are programmable wirelessly from a central transmitter which sends a pre-programmed "Sleep Dose" individually to each participant when it detects prefrontal cortex and parietal lobe activation.

Currently the only drawback is that the subject has to remain within range of the center's transmitter for at least twenty minutes in any 24 hour period. However, Dr. Jerrome is working on a physical receptacle not unlike the USB connector on your computer that can be implanted behind the ear to allow an individual to plug in a dose of eight hours of sleep whenever the need arises. If the individual desires, he or she can skip this step and would then go into a normal sleep cycle. It is presumed that most people would initially opt to live their lives with normal sleep cycles and only program in sleep when needed (a cross country motor trip for instance). The advantages to emergency responders, long haul truckers, airline pilots, medical workers, military personnel, etc. are obvious. Applications may also include the ability to produce a suspended animation state that would allow astronauts to travel to deep space regions.

Future generations will most likely adjust work and production schedules for most activities across the board. Dr. Jerrome also stated that it is not unforeseeable that in the future, DNA or RNA splicing may make it possible to achieve the same results without the need of a physical device.

Dr. Jerrome predicts that barring any unforeseen setbacks, the procedure could become available to the general public by mid 2015.

2011 NEVADA SPRING SAMBOREE

2011-03-15T13:20:00.008-07:00

Just about everybody that RVs joins the "Good Sam's Club". The Good Sam Club is an international community of RV owners. Its stated primary goals are to make RVing safer and more enjoyable, and to save members money through club-endorsed benefits and services. It claims over a million members. The Good Sam Club is currently owned by the Affinity Group Inc., which also owns Trailer Life Publications, Motor Home Publications, Camping World and Woodalls RV park directories. Members also receive discounts at affiliated RV parks.
Many Good Sam members have formed smaller regional clubs or "Chapters" of like inclined members to share camping outings and social gatherings. These regional chapters then periodically host large "Samborees" where members of various chapters and members at large get together for a mass themed rallies usually lasting from three or more days. We had never attended a Samboree but noticed in the monthly Good Sams magazine, "Highways" that there was to be one at Nevada Treasure March 10 thru 12. Since we were going to be there anyway we decided to attend.
Starting Wednesday the 9th the park started to fill up and by Thursday afternoon the park was full with overflow parking regulated to a dry camp area specially created by the park.

A huge tent was erected in the parking lot and many of the activities were held there such as opening & closing ceremonies,

morning coffee & rolls,
(here Teddy and our good friend Eva Syberden enjoy their morning coffee)

and a catered breakfast & dinner on Saturday.

There were game and card tournaments, a pet parade, golf outings etc.

The park has a large convention center and it was filled with various vendors including "waterless cookware", name badges, clothing, flags, books, RV accessories, and tour companies.

The theme was "Pirates of Paradise at Pahrump".

Saturday afternoon there was pirate costume judging at the pool area

several of the pirates forced the host chapter president to"walk the plank"

We had a great time and will probably attend another Samboree in the future if opportunity permits.

We've moved!

2011-03-04T12:37:00.004-07:00

On March first we left Lake Havasu City for this season and moved 200 miles NW to Pahrump, Nevada. It will soon to be too hot in Arizona to suit us; it's about ten degrees cooler here than in Lake Havasu City.
We are once again at Nevada Treasure RV Resort where we will stay until The first of May when we head back East to our summer haunts in Cedar, Michigan (Near Traverse City).
We have been busy settling into our new location and dealing with all of the petty annoyances that accompany moving, leaky hoses, leveling the trailer, hooking up to sewer, replenishing my Scotch supply etc.
More later.

The Green Bay Packers win Superbowl XLV

2011-02-11T15:14:00.010-07:00

Last Sunday, February 6th we watched our hometown Green Bay Packers win Superbowl XLV.

The park hosted a superbowl pizza party in the clubhouse but after consuming our fill of pizza, Teddy and I opted to watch the game here in our fifth wheel......less distractions. Here in Arizona, rather than in Wisconsin, the Packer fan base is in a minority. Most of the folks here in the park were more interested in socializing than in watching the game. Also we get a much better picture in HD here in the trailer than on the clubhouse video projector.

Following are some game stills taken from the GB web site.

Rogers with Lombardi trophy

Charles Woodson #21 celebrates with his family

Tom Crabtree holds his son Bryce

Terry Bradshaw looks on as head coach Mike McCarthy holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy

Aaron Rodgers #12 and Clay Matthews #52

A.J. Hawk #50

Woodson #21

Touchdown

U.S. Navy, sailors and Marines watch Super Bowl XLV aboard aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75)

Scott Wells #63 celebrates holding the Lombardi Trophy

Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy as Clay Matthews #52 looks on

Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers

Rogers rehydrates on the sideline

President and CEO of the Green Bay Packers Mark Murphy

Packers General Manager Ted Thompson celebrates

Nick Collins (36) celebrates a touchdown with Clay Matthews during the first half

Packer fans celebrate a touchdown

Packers celebrate in the locker-room

A cheesehead Packer fan celebrates after the Green Bay Packers win Super Bowl XLV 31-25 against the Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike McCarthy

Matt Wilhelm #57 celebrates with his son Mason

Matt Wilhelm #57 celebrates with his daughter Tianna

Mark Murphy, left, and general manager Ted Thompson hold up the Vince Lombardi Trophy

MVP Aaron Rodgers #12

Korey Hall #35 sits on the side of the field with his family after the game

Jordy Nelson #87 and Greg Jennings #85 celebrate after a late touchdown

Jarius Wynn #94

Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy

Greg Jennings & Aaron Rodgers

Head coach Mike McCarthy of the Green Bay Packers holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy

James Jones #89 of the Green Bay Packers tries to avoid the tackle of LaMarr Woodley #56 and Ike Taylor #24 of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Green Bay Packers Fans

Fans Celebrate

Donald Driver kisses the Vince Lombardi Trophy

Donald Driver #80 celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy

Clay Matthews, right, is congratulated by his father Clay Matthews Jr

Clay Matthews #52 celebrates late in the game

Clay Matthews #52 and Desmond Bishop #55

Charles Woodson gives a TV interview

Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers gets sacked by Frank Zombo #58 of the Green Bay Packers

Bryan Bulaga #75 Chad Clifton #76, and James Jones #89 celebrate the win

C.J. Wilson #98, T.J. Lang #70 and Ryan Pickett #79 of the Green Bay Packers dump Gatorade on head coach Mike McCarthy after they defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31 to 25 in Super Bowl XLV

Charles Woodson, right, & family

B.J. Raji, left, and teammate Robert Francois celebrate

Andrew Quarless #81 kisses the Vince Lombardi Trophy

Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers poses with the Vince Lombardi Trophy

A.J. Hawk holds his 2-month-old daughter, Lennon

A Thai Buddhist monk walks past the half time show on a TV screen at the Roadhouse Bar in Bangkok, Thailand

TEDCO Refinishing

2011-01-26T20:24:00.029-07:00

Teddy has really gotten into the furniture refinishing business big time. She has been haunting all of the thrift stores down here looking for quality furniture that just needs some TLC and this is what she has come up with. If this keeps up we are going to have to get another trailer to pull behind our Cardinal. Seriously though she has come up with some real bargains and has learned a lot in the brief time that she has been refinishing them.

They will go perfectly in the farmhouse when we get back.

Meanwhile back at the farm our contractor has informed us that he is finished with the drywalling. We are excited to see it.

It all started when she found this 48" round oak table at a thrift shop in Pahrump. (see previous blog entry on Thursday, November 18, 2010)

On Dec. 1 we left Pahrump and relocated here in Lake Havasu City. Shortly after arriving she continued refinishing the 48" table. Here, after staining she applies the first of three coats of poly.

After the final coat of polyurethane varnish was dry we wrapped it securely in bubble wrap for it's trip back to "The Farm" in Michigan.
We will use it for our dining room table.

Teddy had enjoyed her refinishing project so much that after a couple of weeks she began searching the thrift shops here for well built furniture items that were also in need of some TLC.

She bought this solid Maple Captains Chair for $5.00 and was soon hard at work This is the result after stripping, sanding, staining and varnishing with 3 coats of poly. It will go into a corner of the dining room back at "The Farm".

I thought that she was done but once the fever had struck
there was no stopping it.

She got this small 24" round table for $15.00 at another thrift store. It is made of solid Oak but someone had finished it with a mahogany almost black stain so dark that you could barely see the grain. Stripping it revealed this beautiful oak grain that was a shame to hide.

Here it is after 3 coats of poly and hand rubbing.

By now Teddy was becoming somewhat of a celebrity here in the park and folks were stopping by to see what she was working on now.

Soon after finishing the 24" table she came

back with this console table which she

picked up for $30.00. It is 16" wide by

49" long and will go nicely against one

of the walls in the dining room.

(that's the pedestal for the 48" table and a wine rack sitting under it in the back of our trailer where it will ride during the trip back)

And now she's working on this solid maple end table which she picked up for $15.00 Here it is after stripping, sanding and applying the first coat of poly.

She plans to use it as a night table in the bedroom.

Teddy has learned a lot since she started, picking up hints from
woodworkers here in the park and by trial and error.

I must say that I am quite proud of her.

Even so she has to stop or we will have to make two trips
to get all of this back to Michigan.

Still Here

2011-01-05T16:27:00.002-07:00

I haven't updated our blog in a while. It's just that when you are having fun, the days just seem to run together. Additionally we haven't been engaged in many activities that I haven't previously blogged about. Every morning I rise at 5am and join a group of guys in the clubhouse for BS and coffee. I generally get back to the trailer at about 7:30 as Teddy is just rising. She then disappears for an hour or so to join a morning exercise group. Then when she gets back around 9 we have breakfast...and so it goes. I know that doesn't sound very exciting but we really are enjoying our winter stay in Lake Havasu City.

For several years now on Saturday mornings from 7 to 9 am we host a breakfast at the clubhouse staffed by volunteers from the park and I, once again am the chief waffle maker making waffles to order. To maintain authenticity, I claim to have graduated from the Waffle Institute in Brussels.
Teddy OTOH spends her Saturdays with a geological club out foraging in the desert for what I call rocks. They sometimes travel up to 100 miles from here in their quest for their stoney specimens. Oh well, different strokes...

My other function here at the park seems to be the court jester, providing comic relief to the other RVers, as in, "What is that crazy Larry Page up to now?".

I write poems for our semi-frequent buffet dinners, collect and print oddities from the internet, act as the park photographer, maintain a park directory, sometimes MC at the dinners and...

...ham that I am, this year have taken over as the bingo caller on Tuesday & Thursday bingo nights.

Other evenings we generally sit out in lawn chairs with our "Snowbird" friends, sip scotch or drink beer and swap lies.

So you see, we do keep busy with our little make work activities but even so I do manage to sneak in an afternoon nap just about every day.

Lake Havasu City

2010-12-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

We are in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. On December 1 we pulled up stakes and migrated down here to Lake Havasu City. Night temperatures were getting a bit too chilly for our "snowbird" taste. Lake Havasu is about 200 miles further South and more importantly about 2000 feet lower in altitude. That makes for about 10 degrees of temperature on the average.
We were warmly greeted with hugs & kisses by all of our fellow Havasu RVer friends from previous years that were already here, however several of our friends also wait till after Christmas before coming on down from the Northern climes.
Since arriving we have been busy visiting with old friends and Teddy is still working on refinishing her table. She has re-stained all of the parts and has just finished applying the third coat of poluurethane varnish. I think that it will look good in our summer home at "The Farm". She has also renewed her membership in a local rock & gem society and has been going with them on geological field trips every Saturday morning,
I have rejoined my fellow early risers for our morning coffee bull session every morning from 5:30 to 7:30 am. I know that it sounds nuts but there are about ten or twelve of us that show up and we always have a jolly good time swapping lies and solving all the problems of western civilization. ;-)

2010-11-18T17:42:00.003-07:00

Teddy’s Table

Last week Teddy and her friend Eva Syberden spent an afternoon visiting local used book and thrift stores. She came back all excited about a round antique DR table that she had spotted at a thrift store. She thought that it would be a perfect fit for the dining room back at “The Farm” in Michigan. She wanted me to go and look at it to access the quality of the table and to determine the feasibility of transporting it back to Michigan.

So the next morning we drove over there to look at the table.

It was a solid oak 48 inch round table. It was on a hexagon pedestal with solid oak hand carved claw feet. It was a leafed table, however the leaf(s) was/were missing. It was marked at $60.00 which I thought was a real good buy. I figured that I could make an expansion leaf or leaves and decided that transportation would be no problem as we could store the top in the trailer and the pedestal and legs in the basement cargo bins.

But…there’s always a but…when I attempted to open the table to determine how much it would expand, it would not open. There was no visible locking mechanism but it would open approximately one inch and solidly stop. Thrift store personnel could do no better than I, so declaring that the table was hopelessly defective we offered them $20.00 and they accepted.

Upon getting the table back here at the park my friend Hank Syberden and I determined that the previous owner had inserted two drywall screws into the expansion slides, apparently to lock it closed as there was no expansion leaf anyway. We removed the screws and it works beautifully.

Teddy could not wait to get started and before day’s end made a trip to the local Ace Hardware and loaded up on refinishing supplies, zip strip, sandpaper, steel wool, scrapers, etc.

She has been hard at it ever since and is making good progress as the following photos will attest.

Pedestal stripped & sanded ready for staining.

Claw foot legs stripped & sanded.

Strippin the sides

...and the top.

I expect that after she is done we will be able to take it to the “Antiques Road Show” where we will be told, “If I had this in my shop, it would definitely be worth $(put your guess here)”.

;-))

Halloween at Nevada Treasure

2010-11-01T19:59:00.002-07:00

Halloween being primarily a children's holiday, doesn't usually get much attention in most of the RV parks that we visit because most of the RVers are usually older citizens. However we have also observed that there is usually at least one site in every park that seems to enjoy decorating for holidays whatever it be. And Nevada Treasure is no exception. We remember these folks from last year and this year they really have went all out. Their exhibit went up during the first week of October and is lit up every evening.

Teddy went over there last evening and sapped these picts.

When I ride by on my Segway I trigger a voice that says, "Where ya goin'".

We never see them to talk to and just wonder where they put it all during the rest of the season.

Oh well...we do enjoy their display(s).

The annual move to the Southwest

2010-10-09T00:55:00.004-07:00

With winter rapidly approaching we vacated our summer digs in Leelanau County, Michigan and fled to the Southwest for the winter. We left "The Farm" on September 20 and traveled through Michigan's Upper Peninsula,

stopping for the first night in Escanaba at the home of our good friends, Dan & Pat Martenson. Pat as usual treated us to a first rate dinner complete with apple pie, my favorite.

We left Escanaba very early the next morning and headed for our RV dealer in Appleton, Wisconsin where we had an appointment for some minor RV repairs. We spent the next four days in Appleton, our old home town, visiting friends & family and checking in with our family physician for annual physicals. I had my three year colonoscopy scheduled for friday the 24th and everything, literally, came out ok.
On Saturday the 25th we continued traveling west across Wisconsin and Minnesota overnighting in Albert Lea, MN. On subsequent days we overnighted in Council Bluffs, IA; North Platte, NE; Laramie, WY; Evanston, WY and Cedar City, UT arriving in Pahrump, NV on Friday, October first for a two month stay here at The Nevada Treasure RV Resort.

We happily settled into the very same site, 9-4, that we had last spring. We love this park for its beauty and many amenities and were pleasantly surprised to find that they had lowered the monthly rate.
Life is good. Happy happy, joy, joy.

Moomers

2010-09-15T19:05:00.001-07:00

Our time here in NW Michigan is coming to an end for yet another season. Next Monday September 20 we will depart for the Southwest to escape the revenges of another Michigan winter.

However, we could not leave without a last visit to our favorite summer "watering hole", Moomers Ice-Cream parlor.

Voted "Best Ice-Cream in America" in an ABC "Good Morning America" contest, Moomers specializes in homemade "farm fresh" Ice Cream from their adjacent creamery and dairy farm.
In our frequent trips to Traverse City from our summer home here in Cedar we usually take a route that will take us past their store. In the dead of summer there is usually a line snaking out the door but the wait is well worth it. With over 100 flavors to pick from the most difficult part of the visit is deciding what flavor to try. At the beginning of last summer I vowed to try every flavor but in the last two years I haven't made much progress. Reasons being that...
1. I keep going back to my favorites.
2. They keep adding to and/or changing the flavors.
3. The calories, OMG the calories.

Oh well, It was a noble aspiration.

Here we are on our final stop of the summer of 2010 on our way back from a Traverse City grocery run.
Me with German Chocolate and Teddy with Butter Pecan.

Following is a listing of their advertised flavors
In addition they will make custom flavors by request.

Flavor Descriptions

Amaretto Cherry - amaretto flavored ice cream with real halved Northern Michigan black sweet cherries, cherry swirl and chocolate chips
Apple Crisp - dutch apple pie flavored ice cream with chunks of fresh homemade apple crisp
Apricot - Apricot flavored ice cream with fresh apricots
BPSwirl - peanut butter flavored ice cream with peanut butter swirl and pieces of Reese's Peanut Butter cups
Banana Bread - Banana flavored ice cream with homemade banana bread pieces
Banana Peanut Butter - Banana flavored ice cream with peanut butter swirl
Bear Paw - chocolate ice cream with a caramel swirl and chocolate covered cashews
Black Cherry - black cherry ice cream with halved Northern Michigan black sweet cherries
Black Raspberry - Black Raspberry flavored ice cream with a black raspberry swirl
Blue Moon - blue moon flavored ice cream
Blue Raspberry - blue raspberry flavored ice cream
Bubble Gum - Bubble Gum flavored ice cream with pink bubble gum flavored dip swirl
Brownie Batter - brownie batter flavored ice cream with brownie pieces
Butter Brickle - Toffee flavored ice cream with toffee brickle pieces
Butter Pecan - butter pecan ice cream with halves & pieces of butter roasted and salted pecans
Caramel Apple - caramel flavored ice cream with a caramel apple swirl
Carrot Cake - carrot cake flavored ice cream with pieces of carrot cake and cream cheese frosting swirl
Cheesecake(blueberry, cherry, raspberry, caramel apple, pumpkin, lemon, strawberry, turtle) - cheesecake flavored ice cream with the fresh fruit pieces or swirls throughout and chunks of real New York cheesecake
Cherry Brandy - Cherry brandy flavored ice cream with a cherry swirl
Cherries Moobilee - black cherry flavored ice cream with chunks of black sweet cherries, red tart cherries, chocolate fudge swirl and chunks of homemade brownie pieces
Cherry Pie ala Mode - Vanilla ice cream with pieces of our made from scatch cherry pie pieces
Cherry Praline Pecan* - cherry flavored ice cream with local black sweet cherries and candied praline pecans
Chip Chocolate - chocolate ice cream with white chocolate chips
Chocolate - Moomers homemade premium chocolate ice cream
Chocolate Almond Brownie - chocolate ice cream with chunks of homemade brownies and pieces of fresh butter roasted and salted almonds
Chocolate Cabernet - chocolate ice cream with a bottle of local Cabernet wine
Chocolate Caramel - chocolate ice cream with creamy caramel swirl
Chocolate Caramel Nut - chocolate ice cream with fresh roasted and salted Spanish peanuts and creamy caramel swirl
Chocolate Cherry Pecan - chocolate ice cream with chopped chocolate covered dried cherries and roasted pecans
Chocolate Chip - vanilla ice cream with miniature chocolate chips
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough - vanilla ice cream with pieces and chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough
Chocolate Chocolate Chip - chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips
Chocolate Chocolate Waffle Cone - chocolate ice cream with pieces of broken chocolate dipped waffle cones
Chocolate Cookie Monster - chocolate ice cream with Oreo cookie crumbs and chocolate chip cookie dough
Chocolate Malt* - chocolate ice cream flavored with malt extract
Chocolate No Bake - chocolate ice cream with homemade pieces of no bake cookies
Chocolate Nuts To You - chocolate ice cream with loads of roasted almonds, butter roasted pecans, pistachios, walnuts, spanish peanuts and cashews
Chocolate Orange - chocolate ice cream with an orange juice background
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk - chocolate ice cream with pieces of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and creamy peanut butter swirl
Chocolate Raspberry Cabernet - chocolate ice cream flavored with a bottle of local cabernet wine
Chocolate Raspberry Chunk - chocolate ice cream with raspberry swirl and chocolate flakes
Chocolate Silk - a light chocolate/caramel flavored ice cream
Chocolate Turtle - chocolate ice cream with swirls of chocolate and caramel and pecans
Cinnamon - cinnamon ice cream
Cinnamon Bourbon* - cinnamon ice cream with 1/5 bourbon per 10 gallons
Cinnamon Pumpkin Crisp - cinnamon ice cream with pieces of pumpkin crisp
Coconut Almond Delight - coconut ice cream with flecks of sweetened coconut, miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips and pieces of fresh butter roasted and salted almonds
Coffee Caramel - coffee caramel ice cream with a rich caramel swirl
Coffee Toffee - coffee ice cream with pieces of Heath candy bar
Coffee Fudge Swirl - coffee flavored ice cream with a chocolate fudge swirl
Cookie Monster - vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookie crumbs and chocolate chip cookie dough
Cookies & Cream - vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookie crumbs
Cosmo - chocolate ice cream with swirls of chocolate fudge, marshmallow and caramel
Cotton Candy - cotton candy flavored ice cream (color may vary)
Cow Tracks - vanilla ice cream with pieces of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate fudge swirl
Cranberry Walnut - cranberry flavored ice cream with cranberries and walnuts
Creamsicle - vanilla ice cream swirled with orange sherbet
Cupcake - cake batter flavored ice cream with pieces of "cake pieces" and rainbow sprinkles
Double Chocolate - (raspberry, cherry, chunk) a dark double chocolate ice cream can be used for a base for any chocolate flavors, with the fruit swirl
Egg Nog - egg nog flavored ice cream with nutmeg
French Vanilla - french vanilla ice cream
German Chocolate - chocolate ice cream with chunks of homemade brownies, caramel-praline swirl, butter roasted and salted pecans and flaked coconut
Ginger* - ginger flavored ice cream with grated gingerroot
Ginger Snap - ginger flavored ice cream with pieces of ginger snaps
Grasshopper - crème de menthe ice cream sprinkled with pieces of Oreo cookies
Green Tea* - green tea flavored ice cream
Irish Coffee - Irish cream flavored ice cream with irish cream liquor
Just Caramel - caramel flavored ice cream with caramel swirl and pieces of chocolate covered waffle cone
Lemon Custard - lemon custard ice cream
Lemon Dream - a refreshing lemon flavored ice cream with lemon zest
Lemon Poppyseed Muffin - lemon dream flavored ice cream with lemon poppyseed muffin pieces
Licorice - black licorice flavored ice cream (white ice cream)
Mango - mango flavored ice cream with mango puree
Maple Walnut - Maple flavored ice cream with walnuts throughout
Marshmallow - marshmallow flavored ice cream
Mint Chocolate Chip - crème de menthe ice cream sprinkled with miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mocha Almond Fudge - mocha ice cream with fresh butter roasted and salted almonds and chocolate fudge swirl
Mocha Mudslide* - mocha flavored ice cream with caramel swirl, chocolate swirl and chocolate flakes
Mooberry - vanilla ice cream with red raspberry and tart cherries swirled throughout
Mr. Monkey Tail - banana flavored ice cream with crushed peanuts and a chocolate swirl
No-Bake Cookie - vanilla ice cream with chunks of homemade no-bake cookies
North Star Hat Trick* - white marshmallow, wild cherry and blue raspberry ice creams swirled together
Nuts To You - hazelnut ice cream with loads of roasted almonds, butter roasted pecans, pistachios, walnuts, spanish peanuts and cashews
Oatmeal Cookie - cinnamon flavored ice cream with homemade oatmeal cookie pieces
Orange Pineapple - orange pineapple ice cream with bits and pieces of orange and pineapple
Oreo Mint Meltdown - mint flavored ice cream with Oreo cookie bits and chocolate fudge swirl
Peach - peach ice cream with bits and pieces of peaches
Peach Reisling - Peach ice cream with bits and pieces of peach and a bottle of local reisling wine
Peanut Butter Oreo - peanut butter ice cream with Oreos cookie pieces
Peanut Butter No-Bake - peanut butter ice cream with no-bake cookie pieces
Peppermint Stick - white peppermint ice cream with pieces of red and green peppermint candy
Pink Peppermint Fudge - pink peppermint flavored ice cream with a chocolate swirl and red and green pieces of peppermint candy
Pistachio - pistachio with fresh roasted and salted pistachio nuts
Play Dough - blue moon flavored ice cream with pieces of brightly colored sugar cookie dough
Pralines and Cream - french vanilla ice cream with fresh butter roasted and salted pecans and creamy caramel-praline swirl
Pretzels Plus - vanilla ice cream with pieces of yogurt and chocolate covered pretzels and a caramel swirl
Pumpkin - pumpkin ice cream made with canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices
Pumpkin Chip - pumpkin flavored ice cream with chocolate chips
Pumpkin Roll - pumpkin flavored ice cream with a cream cheese frosting swirl and cake pieces
Raspberry Chocolate Chip - raspberry ice cream sprinkled with miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
Raspberry Truffle* - Vanilla ice cream with a raspberry swirl and raspberry filled chocolate cups
Raspberry White Chocolate - white chocolate ice cream sprinkled with miniature white chocolate chips and fresh raspberry swirl
Red Pop - red pop flavored ice cream
Rice Pudding - vanilla ice cream with real homemade rice pudding, golden raisins and cinnamon
Rocky Road - chocolate ice cream with marshmallow swirl, miniature marshmallows and Spanish peanuts
Rum Raisin - rum flavored ice cream with rum soaked gold raisins(made with real rum if requested)
Russ' Cookie Jar - vanilla ice cream with pieces of broken cookies
Sherbet - flavorful orange, lime, cherry lemon or red raspberry sherbet
Smore - vanilla ice cream with a marshmallow swirl, graham cracker pieces and cream filled chocolate cows
Sorbet - red raspberry, peach, orange, strawberry, lemon, lime, cherry, a non-dairy product)
Spumoni - an exquisite combination of chocolate rum, pistachio and cherry ice creams, swirls of marshmallow and plentiful chunks of pineapple, maraschino cherries, mixed nuts and pistachios
Sticky Bun - light cinnamon ice cream with chunks of homemade sticky buns and cream cheese swirl
Strawberry - strawberry ice cream with pieces of fresh strawberry swirled throughout
SuperMoo - blue, red and yellow flavored ice cream Flavors may vary
Sweet Tart - vanilla ice cream with local black sweet cherries and local tart cherries
Toasted Coconut - toasted coconut flavored ice cream with toasted coconut and macadamia nuts
Toffee Heath - toffee flavored ice cream with Heath candy bar pieces
Vanilla - Moomers homemade premium vanilla ice cream
Vanilla Fleck - Moomers homemade premium vanilla ice cream with vanilla bean fleck
Vanilla Malt* - vanilla ice cream flavored with malt extract
Very Cherry - wild cherry flavored ice cream with chunks of Northern Michigan black sweet cherries, red tart cherries and maraschino cherries
White Chocolate Oreo - White chocolate flavored ice cream with pieces of Oreos

Next May when we return for another summer, Moomers is sure to be one of our first stops. ;-)

Summertime is tomato sandwich time!

2010-09-03T18:15:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite summertime treats is a big sloppy, with juice running down your arms, tomato sandwich made with fresh ripe tomatos straight from the garden.
Through the years I have perfected what I consider to be the ultimate tomato sandwich as follows:

A. The Ingredients

1. Tomatoes: You must start with a summer-ripened tomato. Any color will do, but it has to be dead-ripe, succulent, and bursting with juice. It should never be refrigerated.

2. Mayonnaise: You need mayonnaise, NOT ‘Miracle Whip’…Miracle Whip is a nice condiment for making potato salad but should never be used on sandwiches as it’s strong flavor overpowers the other fillings. I f you don’t have any mayo on hand, STOP now and go to the store and get some. Mayo is part of the magic of a perfect tomato sandwich.

3. Bread: Two lightly toasted slices of that soft and squishy bread that you never admit buying. You don’t want highly flavored bread that detracts from the filling.

4. Onion: Sweet onion sliced, preferably Vidalias if in season.

5. Last but not least, salt.

B The Assembly:

While the bread is toasting, use your sharpest knife (if you don’t have a Cutco #1721, you should get one it is the best tomato slicing knife in existance) to slice it vertically in 1/2 inch slices & then cut off the tops of the slices that have bellybuttons where the stem was. Peel the onion and slice it horizontally in 1/8th inch slices. Slather the mayonnaise on both slices of the toast, making sure it flows all the way to the edges, perhaps with an artful drip over the edge. Artfully fit the tomatoes onto the toast cutting it to fit the best you can. Lightly salt, put the top on and VOLA!

C The Eating:

Tomato sandwiches are about as basic as you can get, every one of them is delicious. In the summer I eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or in between. And every last one of them is perfect. At dinner the perfect accompaniment is a cob of fresh buttered & salted sweet corn.

A Prairie Home Companion

2010-08-14T16:37:00.008-07:00

Getting ready for the show

Last Tuesday evening, Aug. 10, Teddy, Teddy's sister Deb, and I had an entertaining date night at a "Prairie Home Companion" show with Garrison Keillor at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. It was a sold out crowd of us an 3,997 other (mostly over 50) folks at Interlochen's 4,000 seat Kresge Auditorium.

It was the first stop in their month long, twenty-three city "Summer of Love Tour".

Shuffling scripts

We joined host Garrison Keillor, Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins, the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, and sound-effects man Fred Newman for tender duets and ballads, poetry (Poe, Shakespeare, Anonymous), stories of passion and marriage.

Garrison Keillor & Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins

During the intermission Mr. Keillor entertained the audience with a walk through sing-along of “Unchained Melody” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” All this and favorite elements of A Prairie Home Companion — Guy Noir, Dusty and Lefty, the News from Lake Wobegon.

It was a fun evening and bought back many memories of when I was on the staff of Interlochen in the 60s, both as a recording engineer and ultimately Chief Engineer of their Radio Station, WIAA. I left in 1968 when I became "The Director of Broadcasting" at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.

Teddy and I have decided that from now on we will make sure to attend at least one major venue at Interlochen each summer.

Wha's Up

2010-08-05T15:30:00.007-07:00

Now that we are done with the inside remodeling, at least for this season, our attention is now directed toward our outside activities.
Couch potato that I am...hey, I do run the garden tractor to mow the lawn but anyone that knows us knows that "outside activities" means Teddy's outdoor activities and busy she has been. When we began moving into the farmhouse last summer Teddy set about cleaning up the yard and flower beds and as these photos show, this summer she went at in full attack mode. (Click on photos for larger size)

One of her first projects, started last summer, and continued this May was covering the cistern mound with iris bulbs. Although now done blooming they were in full bloom in late May.

Next she cleaned up this old rock garden that had been neglected for several years as her aging parents could no longer tend it.
Teddy's dad never threw anything away, he just stored it. She found a lot of old farm relics in one of the farm outbuildings including several old tractor seats, wagon wheels, an old kitchen sink, a hand pump, hand tools, & a hand cultivator and has themed her gardens with them.

She also planted a variety of flowers along the front of the house.
These marigolds have been blooming all summer.

On the north side-yard of the house she made another flower garden and populated it with some more of her picks.
She isn't done, by a long shot, she scours the country side with her sister, Deb for old abandoned ghost farms where vintage flower bulbs might be ripe for transplanting. I often look out the window and there she is digging up another section of lawn. ;-)

My outdoor efforts on the other hand have been more utilitarian.
When we arrived here in May we found that our cell coverage out here in the country was not reliable enough for internet use so I subscribed to HughesNet satellite internet and it works well. I am on a 24 month contract but can put it on time out winters when we are not here. (Oh..oh that means that it'll be about five years before I complete the 24 months)

Secondly, Teddy had been wanting an outdoor clothesline for some time so I had a welder make up this post from 3" pipe.

I told him that I wanted the cross section to be 4' long but neglected to specify the vertical length and when I got it it was 10' long which meant that I had to dig a 4' deep hole to plant it.

This did not turn out to be an easy job as he had welded two 12" cross members on the bottom to stabilize it. With Teddy's help we got the hole dug but it took about three hours. I mixed up a 50 lb. bag of concrete mix to set the pipe and this baby isn't going anywhere. Teddy spray-painted it green while I lagged a 2 x 6 between two trees for the other end and we now have a first rate solar clothes dryer.

A visit from Dick & Jen

2010-07-22T13:40:00.007-07:00

This past weekend July 16 - 19, we were honored with a visit from our good friends Dick & Jenny Orr from our old home town of Appleton, Wisconsin. They arrived Friday evening around 5:00 and stayed until Monday morning when they had to return to their busy life in Appleton.
Dick and Jen had never been to this area of Michigan so we had no trouble showing off the area's many points of interest. On Saturday we went for a long drive through Leelanau County showing off the many cherry orchards and wineries that Leelanau is famous for. We circled the county on M-22 which winds its way north on the western side of the county along Lake Michigan to the village of Northport and then doubles back on the eastern side next to Grand Traverse Bay ending in Traverse City.
Along the way we visited a winery, made the obligatory stop at "Fishtown" in Leeland, and visited the numerous gift shops in Leeland and Suttons Bay.

After a lunch of deep fried smelt at "Dick's Pour House" in Lake Leelanau we drove to Moomers famous ice cream shop near Traverse for a diet busting afternoon treat. (We did skip dinner Saturday evening as no one was hungry...I wonder why?)
Exhausted we fell into bed early for a "long Summer's nap." Sunday morning arrived right on time as it always does following Saturday night and we were treated to a breakfast of Teddy's famous "Swedish Pancakes". On Sunday we had planned to take them to visit the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Teddy, Jen & I went but Dick wasn't feeling well and elected to stay home and rest.

We first visited the famous Sleeping Bear Dune climb and I was astounded to see Teddy & Jen climb all the way to the top.

From there we drove the 7 1/2 mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive which winds through both dune and wooded areas of the park with many point of interest stops along the way. Although the drive in itself is only 7 1/2 miles long it takes about 90 minutes at a minimum to complete it due to all the stops along the way.

At one point it looks out over Lake Michigan on a dune with a 450 foot drop to the lake.
You can climb down but signs warn that it is a very strenuous climb back up. (3 minutes to go down, 30 minutes to climb back)

The next morning we bid farewell to Dick & Jen with hugs & kisses and promises to visit again as they departed for the drive back to Appleton.
We sure enjoyed their visit and we will see them again in September when we pass through Appleton on our annual winter sojourn to the Southwest.

Kitchen Final

2010-07-06T17:51:00.002-07:00

Two momentous events occurred over this past weekend. We finished with the kitchen remodeling on Saturday and I turned 73 years old on Sunday. Both were celebrated with much gusto and many hurrahs.

This is a view of the completed kitchen

taken from the dining room.

Quite a difference from this pre-remodeling pict

taken from roughly the same perspective.

And here are comperable picts of the south end of the kitchen.

New

Old

And the North end.

New

versus Old

We are very pleased with our new modern kitchen. and our heartfelt thanks goes out to our builder, Gerard Belanger for his attention to detail and his many suggestions throughout the remodeling.

If anyone here in Leelanau County or in the Grand Traverse area of Michigan needs a reliable and conscious builder we highly recommend him without reservation.

As for my turning 73 on Sunday, I'm afraid that the before and after picts are just reversed in that as the years go by the before picts seem to always look better than the after. ;-)

My left knee update

2010-06-27T22:55:00.004-07:00

My knee replacement appears to have been successful and I seem to be progressing satisfactorily (at least that's what they tell me).
These x-ray photos show how the titanium knee joint is attached to the leg bone. It appears that they actually seat the new joint into a drilled out a cavity.
With both knees now looking like this I am truly a bionic man. Ain't science wonderful?

It has now been four weeks since the surgery and as this pict shows the incision has healed nicely. I am now walking sans cane, albeit with a bit of a limp. The home visits from the therapist have run out as have the weekly visits by a nurse/phlebotomist to draw blood. Since my pacemaker was installed in February I have been on a daily dose of Coumadin taken as a precautionary measure to prevent blood clots. Normally it is checked once a month but after surgery they check once a week.

So...I appear to have survived another of life's little traumas and am ready once again to do battle against the world.
Now, it's back to the kitchen remodeling of which my only involvement thus far has been with my checkbook. We are hoping to wind that up by next weekend just in time for the 4th of July and my 73rd birthday.

Kitchen Progress Report. (the build - part 2)

2010-06-24T15:59:00.000-07:00

Today, Teddy got an early start on the painting. She was wielding brush and roller well before 8 o'clock and was finished by 10. Since the appliances are going to be black we decided that a light grey would be a good color for the kitchen. Last week with that thought in mind Teddy went to Lowe's and bought paint, however something got lost in translation and when she started today it turned out to be a light lilac. Actually we like it so it turned out to be a non issue.

Then at about 4 pm two stout fellows in a large delivery truck arrived with the cabinetry and countertops which they proceeded to load into our entry/utility room.
The poor room is so stuffed that we couldn't get at anything if we wanted.

It's hard to believe that all of this will fit into the new kitchen.
Tomorrow our builder will start installing them.

Kitchen Progress Report. (the build - part 1)

2010-06-23T15:32:00.011-07:00

Drywalling & seaming

The teardown complete, Gerard, Jim & Jason undertook to drywall the walls and ceiling of the entire kitchen.

Following that came the seaming & taping which turned out to be a three day job, a primary application, the next day a reapplication and then after drying, a final sanding.

Following that Jason installed new Pergo laminate flooring.

Then today, June 23 Teddy applied the primer as a prelude to the final painting which she will do tomorrow.

Tomorrow will also be a big day for us as the cabinet company in Indiania emailed me yesterday that they have shipped the cabinetry and countertops. Delivery here to "The Farm" is scheduled for sometime tomorrow.

We are beginning to see the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel". Barring any unforeseen delays, by sometime next week, we just might have our kitchen back.
Happy happy joy joy! ;-)

Kitchen Progress report (the teardown).

2010-06-22T14:27:00.009-07:00

Here are some before and after picts of the kitchen progress.

Teddy grew up in this house as did her father.

This is the old cast iron and porcelain sink. Teddy can remember that it was a wonderful upgrade when it was installed. Before that there was no indoor running water. Water had to be hand carried into the house from the cistern which was filled from a well powered by the windmill.

Needless to say the bathroom was an outdoor outhouse.

The refrigerator stood next to the left end of the sink next to a narrow steel cabinet, taking up most of the space to the front wall.

This shows part of the steel cabinet set which was a wedding gift to Teddy's parents.

There were three six foot tall cabinets, the short cabinet shown suspended over a metal countertop.

Across from the steel cabinets was this electric cookstove nestled between the back wall and the chimney.

As there wasn't room in the kitchen, Teddy's mom had a small microwave sitting on an end table in the dining room.

Last summer I built the shelf over the stove, shown in this pict. for a full size microwave. We soon found out that because of electrical inadequacys we could not microwave and make toast at the same time without blowing a fuse.

So, this summer we decided that it was time to bite the bullet and bring the kitchen and electric service up to modern standards as this is going to be our summer home for the foreseeable future and most likely our permanent home when we can no longer RV.

This is the NE corner after the sink and plywood walls were removed. Also shown here is a new window already installed where the new sink will be.

Note the paper glued to the old framing boards, apparently to stifle wind drafts. Teddy found that some were old newspapers dated in 1906.

This part of the house is purported to be comprised of an original "log cabin" with the present structure built around it.

The far wall appears to have been the north end of the house and you can see an old boarded up window. The other side of the wall is now the south end of the living room.

This is the south end of the kitchen.

The chimney has been removed. It was unused as we now have a modern direct vent propane furnace.

The stove stood on the far end of the right wall. The new stove will be installed against the far wall facing this way.

The little alcove on the left will be boarded up. It is a small crawl space about four foot high at the highest under the stair. Teddy's grandmother kept her pickle crocks there and her mom kept an assortment of kitchen paraphernalia and supplies in there as she was cramped for storage space.

We also enlarged the kitchen entrance from an ordinary doorway to a larger kitchen entrance. That should open up the kitchen and make it a more welcome adjunct to the dining room.

Next step: Drywall

My left knee

2010-06-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well I had to take some time off of my remodeling activities and check into the Munson Medical Center here in Traverse City to get my left knee replaced. , "Take some time off", isn't exactly right as the remodeling is continuing right along without my valuable assistance.
But I digress, my knee has been progressively getting worse since I had the other knee done three years ago. The doctors then said that I should have the other one replaced as well so I think that I did well holding out this long. As my friends in Lake Havasu will attest it was giving me a lot of trouble while we were there last winter. The reason for the procrastination is that although the surgery isn't so bad, the therapy afterward is quite a long ordeal. The surgery was two weeks ago on Tuesday June 1st. and I am coming along quite nicely. This time my surgeon was Dr. Andrew S. Boyce from the same clinic as Dr. Peters who did the other knee. I now have a hospital therapist, Rod Ranger that comes out to the farm three times a week and puts me through a regimen of exercises to get the knee moving again. I am now to the point that I can walk without the walker, using only the cane and can bend the knee about 80 degrees; my goal is 110 degrees which I finally reached on the other knee. I had the staples out last Friday and the scar already looks better than the other one looked at this stage.
Meanwhile, the rehabbing of the farmhouse is coming along quite nicely. We decided to go ahead and gut the whole kitchen and replace it with a modern kitchen. Our builder/contractor, Gerard Belanger has been hard at it and as of now the entire kitchen is down to the bare walls with new cabinetry set to arrive around June 25th. We have already purchased a new refrigerator, range and microwave but are cooking on a hotplate. The fridge is temporarily sitting in the dining room, plugged in and running.

Remodeling The Farm

2010-05-30T08:55:00.012-07:00

As soon as we got here on May 7 we resumed our rehabbing the farmhouse from where we left off last summer. See: '09 #1; '09 #2; '09 #3

The very first thing was to paint the living room a light cream color. As seen here getting rid of the dark paneling brightens it up emmensely. We also added the oval rug shown under the coffee table.

I found this antique spring driven pendlum schoolhouse clock on eBay and luckily, being the only bidder, snagged it for only $9.95 plus $14.00 shipping. We think it fits the living room feng shui perfectly.

EBay also rewarded me with this weight driven skeleton clock which we mounted in the dining room. I wasn't the only bidder but I still got it for less than $50.00 including shipping. It's a Chinese knockoff of the $400.00 German skeleton movement but so far seems to work well.

The dining room also received this much needed chandelier.

Moving on to the bedroom, Teddy had her heart set on this antique style iron bed. We had ordered it last fall before we left for the west. All we had to do was pick it up from the furnature store and set it up.

We also added a new ceiling fan/light fixture and the lamp in the corner so that we can read our Kindles & iPads in bed...

...and at a used furniture store in Traverse City we found this vanity.

There will be more coming in a subsiquent blog as we are now beginning an extensive kitchen remodel.

But Teddy will have to carry on by herself for a while as I am going into the hospital on June 1 for a total knee replacement on my long suffering left knee.

I had my right knee done three years ago and it was only a matter of time until the left also had to go.

Oh well...at least I still have all of my own teeth. ;-)

Catching up

2010-05-21T22:40:00.007-07:00

Teddy and I have been so busy for the past month that I have not been able to post. To bring things up to date we left Pahrump on April 26 for our annual trip back to Michigan to spent the summer months on "The Farm". We left a few days earlier than we ordinarily would have as we had to lay over in Sioux Falls for a couple of days to renew our drivers licenses. We obtained our DLs in 2005 when we started fulltiming and in South Dakota drivers licenses are good for five years and expire on your birthday. Fortunately for us both of our birthdays are in July so in our case, the family that expires together renews together. ;-) Also in SD one has to stay overnight in a motel or campground and show a receipt in order to obtain a DL as they will not accept a mail-forwarding address on the application although they do put our mail-forwarding address on the actual license. A lot of bureaucratic red tape nonsense but nevertheless rules be rules.
While we were in Sioux Falls we drove the truck up to Erwin, SD to visit Randy & Sandy Bratland, friends from Lake Havasu, AZ. They showed us around their farm and treated us to a wonderful dinner.
From Sioux Falls we continued on to our old hometown of Appleton, WI. In Appleton we dropped the RV at Appleton Camping for some needed repairs and settled into a motel for a week's stay.
Because "The Farm" in Michigan is approximately twenty miles from the nearest shopping center in Traverse City, we decided to purchase a small economy car to use during the summer months instead of driving the one ton dually Silverado.

I had previously spoken to Bill Kolosso at Kolosso Toyota in Appleton and purchased a 2009 Toyota Yaris over the phone on his recommendation, so our first order of business was to stop by Kolosso's to finalize the purchase and pick-up the car.

While in Appleton we visited our son Mike and his wife, Toni. We had dinner one evening with Ed & Karen Thomas, former neighbors who are now also RVing seven months of the year in a motor home. Another delightful evening was spent at the home of our good friends Dick & Jenny Orr. Another of our Appleton friends Tom & Carol Sykes also are fulltiming in an RV and Jenny Orr put together a dinner party including them and us as well as Wes Evans, Kate Ewing and Greg & Sue Madson. All members of our famous Monday martini club. It was fun catching up on each other's goings-on.

We each had doctors appointments for our annual physicals at our family Doctor in Appleton on May 5th, that done we continued on toward our summer home in Leelanau County, Michigan, but not before stopping overnight in Escanaba to see Dan & Pat Martenson. Pat as usual treated us to a great dinner and we stayed up late playing dominoes. The following day, Friday May 7, with me driving the truck & RV and Teddy following in the Yaris we finally arrived here at our summer home in Cedar, MI. The Yaris performed superbly averaging 46.8 MPG for the trip from Appleton to Cedar; we are very happy with that result.

Now the next task that awaits us is to continue with the upgrading and remodeling of our summer home aka "The Farm"
Note: See our posts from last summer for details of our previous remodeling efforts.

Addendum Sunday 5/23

Oh...I almost forgot. While in Appleton I finally got to meet Marcy, a "Flickr" friend. Flickr is a photographic site that allows photo hobbyists to upload pictures to display for family & friends and to exchange critiques of photographs. A few years ago we became "Flickr Friends" probably originally because of our common Appleton connection. Marcy is an interpreter for the Deaf in the Appleton public school system. On previous visits to Appleton our attempts at meeting in person always fell through because of scheduling difficulties, however this time we were able to meet for lunch at a little bistro near her school. I found her to be a delightful young lady and we got along famously swapping war stories and catching up on each other's bios. Teddy couldn't come along as she was having lunch with one of her Appleton girlfriends that day but if we can schedule another lunch on a future Appleton visit she wants to meet Marcy too.

Life in Pahrump

2010-04-19T23:41:00.003-07:00

We have been enjoying beautiful spring weather here in Pahrump for the past few weeks. I've been using the spa & sauna in the fitness center alternating with the swimming pools, reading on my Kindle and socializing with our RV friends. Several of our friends from the Havasu Falls RV Resort followed us here to Pahrump and it has been fun having them here. They have all moved on now to their respective summer homes and we will be pulling out next Monday for our trip back to Michigan for the summer.
The last to leave were Hank and Eva Syberden from Cochran, Alberta who left this morning. Eva and Teddy share an interest in geology and Hank is a retired television engineer so we also have common interests in technology. Last Wednesday the four of us took a day trip to the old "ghost town" of Rhyolite, Nevada. Rhyolite is about 50 miles Northwest of here on the Eastern edge of Death Valley.
According to a volunteer host that we met there, in the early part of the last century it was once the third largest city in Nevada, teeming with people and homes, two banks and a railway station all supported by a gold mining operation that failed in the big market crash of the 20s. All that remains now are a few crumbling foundations, a preserved home made with glass bottles for walls, the aging railway depot and several standing building ruins including two large concrete edifices that are the remains of the two banks.

The Cook Bank, Rhyolite, NV

The old RR Station

The Bottle House

Standing at the entrance to the town is an odd collections of sculptures apparently put there by a frustrated artist looking for a place to exhibit his art.

This strange collection of

ghostlike figures was titled

"The Last Supper"

And here Teddy seeks protection

from one of the "Disciples".

While I relax on this

giant ceramic couch.

We had a lot of fun and of course being "rockhounds", Teddy and Eva managed to bring back several pounds of rocks that they collected. ;-)

Recent advances in science 2010

2010-04-01T21:00:00.006-07:00

Click on date below for other advances in science

2011

2009

2008

Recent advances in science 2010

As the above picture shows, botanist at the Silverton Botanical Laboratory in Hoopoe, California have been hard at work attempting to modify the chromosomes of common fruits and vegetables to cause them to display UPC symbols on their skin when they ripen. According to Dr. Steven Washburn, Director of Operations, they have had some limited success on apples, pears, oranges and bananas and have now reached a point that will allow them to introduce graftings of some of these fruits to growers in selected areas. Washburn also said that one of the problems that they had to overcome was to modify the scanners to maintain accuracy as the fruits wrinkle and darken due to aging. He also admitted that they have not as of yet been successful with root crops such as potatoes or carrots. Peaches also proved to be problematical due to the fuzz. But he predicts that these problems will be solved by perhaps altering the outer peel (skin) to present a more acceptable surface. Also the color of some food crops might have to be changed to provide more contrast to scanners. Of course the public would have to be educated to accept the different appearance of their favorite fruits or vegetables. It is also not known what the public reaction to the system will be given the recent reluctance of some people to accept milk from genetically enhanced cows. Dr. Washburn stressed, however that this "in no way, affects the quality or taste of the product providing that the skin itself is discarded."

Only time will tell! ;-)

Catching UP

2010-03-27T19:05:00.002-07:00

We have been having such a good time here at Nevada Treasure that I haven't blogged recently. Several of our friends from Havasu Falls RV in Lake Havasu City have now joined us and we have been oh so busy with the lunchon outings, winery tours, happy hours and steak Bar-B-Qs, that blogging was the furthest thing from my mind.
Lets see....first came Randy & Sandy Bratland, followed in short order by Dean & Annette Shipley. Then Don & Carol Dingman arrived, and a few days later Stan & Bev Howe. We also had a one day visit from Rich & Linda Peterkoski who are camped in Vegas. Still to come are Hank & Eva Syberden and Jim & Carol Babcock. I guess that we did a real good job of talking up this place while we were in LHC.
In fact the resort here is now giving a "Larry Page discount" to campers if they say that they are friends of us when they check in.

Snow

2010-03-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

As the "snowbirds" that we are, having earned the title by successfully avoiding seeing snow for the past five years, we were gobsmacked to wake to this sight Tuesday morning 3/9.
Big heavy wet flakes fell for about an hour soon covering everything with a beautiful white blanket. I rushed out to snap a few picts before it melted off. It seems that snow is a lot prettier when you know that you won't have to shovel it. I later found out that 8 miles away in the center of town it didn't snow at all. It was all gone by noon. Just another example of the unpredictability of "Mother Nature"

Pahrump

2010-03-05T10:27:00.011-07:00

We are in Pahrump.
Last Monday, March 1 we hitched up the horses and moved here to Nevada Treasure RV Resort in Pahrump, NV. We were here last October & November and liked the park and area in general. Teddy has already been scouting the area for rocks. She contacted some local "Rock Hounds" and learned that opals could be found near here. She has been out twice but so far no opals ;-(.
She did, however come back with some nice photographs.

This is the area that she scouted yesterday.
That little white dot in the upper right is our truck.
(NOTE: click on photos for larger view.)

No, that is not snow.

She said that in the cliff faces there were several holes or caves similar to this.

This interesting seam of black ran right through this highway cut. No idea what it is. A little help, Laurie?

(5 days later identified as Obsidian by a local rockhound.)

Looking out from the mouth of one of the cave entrances.

Another hole in the wall!

She did come home with another bucket of rocks though. Oh well...whatever makes her happy!
And she gave me some bacon for breakfast this morning proving the old adage, "A happy wife makes for a good life". (smile)

Pacing my Heart

2010-02-20T11:38:00.009-07:00

One of the problems of owning an older car is parts wearing out. If it is a part that you don't really need like a cigarette lighter or rusty fenders then you don't have to fix it; you can just ignore it and get by just fine. However, if it's your timing belt or spark plugs then you have to either get it fixed or junk the car to the boneyard.

Well, the same is true of the human body. For many years I got along just fine with all of the parts that I was born with but as time went by I began to discard several parts that didn't work anymore or I didn't seem to need. At first it was just small things, my tonsils, and foreskin were the first to go followed in my youth by my appendix. Then in my 20s by my wisdom teeth. After that for a long long time everything seemed to be operating as designed until 1994 when my prostate gland after many years of faithful service had to be discarded. And, of course throughout the years, hair follicles here and there but mainly on my head began to die out. Fast forward to 2006 and it was my right knee, in this case I had a new one installed as I decided that it would be difficult to get along without one. The following year, without warning, my gall bladder quits...so bye bye gall bladder. And a few years back, I disremember exactly when, my engine began to miss, something to do with my fuel injection system which my doctor treated with the fuel additives Sotalol & Coumadin. Well...things seemed to be progressing pretty much OK until Tuesday morning, February 9th when the ol' engine began to really sputter and I ended up in the local hospital here in Lake Havasu City.

That afternoon around 5pm my heart briefly stopped entirely for several seconds and then spontaniously restarted. It was really exciting to see all of the people running into my room with the "crash cart" and a bunch of other machines that go "BING"! Then, happily, (well happily for them as they got to see it in person) it did it again two more times. I, of course, sort of blanked out briefly during those times so I don't remember it all but I do remember that it was sort of like an episode of the TV show, "Greys Anatomy". Apparently clinically speaking, I was briefly dead for a few seconds a couple of times with no pulse. I didn't get to see any angels though as both sides (both up & down) rejected me and sent me back. Then that night and the following night my heart would slow down to 20 BPM and they would have to rouse me. I asserted that naked nurses might do the trick but then when they volunteered a male nurse I recanted.

So... on Thursday afternoon my cardiologist Dr. Pareed Aliyar installed a shiny new Boston Scientific Altrua pacemaker in my chest. So now, I am home and happily beating along at 60 CPS right in tune with the house current.

Oh... I almost forgot, yesterday my other knee gave out so next summer... well… you get the picture.

Rocks

2010-02-05T20:00:00.004-07:00

Teddy has a continuing interest in Archeology and Geology. The second weekend in November the Lake Havasu Gem and Mineral Society held their annual show and she attended. Vendors had set up sales booths featuring faceted and cabochon jewels, fossils, tools, books, findings, slabs, finished jewelry and gifts. Members for fun and competition set up display of handcrafted jewelry designs and collections of unusual minerals, fossils and rocks. Teddy loved it and subsequently at their November monthly meeting she joined the club. Since then she has been accompanying the members on their Saturday field trips.
They meet at an agreed to parking lot here in town and share rides in 4WD vehicles sometimes one to two hundred miles into the uninhabited desert. Off she'll go at 8 a.m. with her hammer & chisel, a bottle of water and lunch, not returning sometimes till dark...minus the lunch, toting great quantities of what look to me as just so many rocks. She will then spend hours cleaning and sorting said rocks..discarding some and keeping some. I will admit that once she points out what the the various specimens are it is quite interesting. She has found quartz, agates, silver, garnets, hematite, barite, jasper, epidote and other minerals with unpronounceable names. I joke with her that it's getting to look like the classic Lucy & Desi comedy, The Long Long Trailer.

Norm

2010-01-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Teddy and I have a new roommate who has to come to live with us. He is quite small so won't take up much room. His name is Norm.

This is Norm

This morning I took Norm with me to
morning coffee to meet the guys.

Then Norm checked out

some of the clubhouse

pool equipment

Here Norm studies the

Lake Havasu City Map.

And he was quite interested in the goings on posted on the clubhouse bulletin board.

All in all he seemed to have a good time and the guys at coffee seemed to like him.

He doesn't talk much but as they say, "Still water runs deep!".

Honoring George Blake

2010-01-16T00:07:00.015-07:00

One of the "Snowbirds" here in the park, George Blake, is one of the few remaining living survivors of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. George was a 19 year old soldier in the US Army stationed in Pearl at the time.
Last evening we, the residents of the park hosted a special surprise program to honor George. We announced it as an event to honor all of the former service men here in the park so little did he know that the main focus of the evening was for him. The Lake Havasu City VFW sent a color guard and the local newspaper sent a reporter to cover the event. We presented him with a special custom made shirt, photos, flowers for his wife, Helen and showed a short video produced by Brenda Bauldic, a talented videographer here in the park. I wrote the following special poem for the occasion and read it as part of the ceremony. At the conclusion we had all of the former servicemen stand and announce their branch and dates of service. We even have one resident, now living in Canada, who served in the British Army.

The program:

HONORING THE MILITARY PROGRAM

Havasu Falls RV Resort, Lake Havasu City, AZ

Jan 14^th, 2010

6:30 PM Honor Guard…….………....Don Dingman

Invocation & Pledge……….……........Carol Dingman

Introduction of George Blake.….…..Pat Schumacher

Presentation of Gifts to George Blake

Presentation of Flowers to Helen Blake

Poem: "Out of the West They Came"…....…Larry Page

Video Presentation………………........Brenda Bauldic

Retire Colors

Conclusion………...…Recognition of past servicemen

Following the retiring of the colors we had a social hour with cake and ice-cream.

2010

2010-01-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Once again we welcomed in the new year with snacks, music and dancing in the Havasu Falls clubhouse.
Unlike the New Years parties of my youth, no one got drunk, no one threw up, there were no fights, no couples went out to their cars to "make out" and most everyone had gone home by ten p.m.
After all, it was already the New Year in Nova Scotia and that was good enough for us. ;-)

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T22:56:00.011-07:00

We celebrated Christmas 2009 with a grand Christmas buffet in the clubhouse. Ham and turkey were provided and the park residents bought dishes to pass. I, of course, made my famous "Spanish Deviled Eggs Supreme" and Teddy prepared her favorite, butternut squash.
Ham that I am, I read the following poem to the assemblage which I had written for the occasion and folks seemed to enjoy it.

Havasu

Merry Christmas to all of you

Who’ve come to camp at Havasu.

Folks from Ontario & Minnesota

From the Puget Sound to North Dakota

From Alberta and Idaho

Where the snow makes drifts and the cold winds blow

We all are known as “Land Yacht Sailors;

In our motor homes and fifth wheel trailers.

Guests of Ron and his brave crew;

Don’t miss your payment when rent is due.

Just pull right in and set up camp

Plug your cord into fifty amp.

And make real sure your sewer’s tight

And your water don’t drip, ‘cause that ain’t right;

Now here’s a word, I’m sure you’ve heard

You’ve now become a real Snowbird.

Snowbirds one and snowbirds all,

Avoiding Decembers winter squall;

We’re free of ice and blowing snow

Freedom from temps of 30 below.

Free from winter’s slushy sleet,

Arizona sun is hard to beat;

And now we’re gathered for buffet treats

Of salads, casseroles and tasty meats.

So get your plates and line right up,

Don’t forget your coffee cup;

And when you’re done…and if you’re able,

Belly up to the dessert table.

And tonight as you lie upon your bed,

When day is done and prayers are said;

On your lips a smile may play,

As you look back upon this day.

Larry Page 12/25/09

Following the dinner we had music and dancing which lasted well into the evening.

Happy Hour(s)

2009-12-15T19:02:00.002-07:00

Every Thursday at four o-clock or thereabouts we have a whole-park happy hour in the clubhouse. It's "BYOB" and most folks bring some kind of snackey thing to share. That's not to say that we don't have "happy hours" on other evenings but they are generally composed of small convivial gatherings sitting out by someone's trailer or motor home.
The clubhouse get together, however, is generally a little bit more organized and attended by more people, friends as well as strangers (strangers being newcomers who soon become friends). And occasionally we will be treated to a special treat if someone agrees to showcase a special talent.
Such was the case a couple of weeks ago when some folks showed up with a karaoke machine which seemed to bring out the ham in a few individuals including yours truly.

As you can see here, even Teddy belted it out in a karaoke sextet.

And then just last Thursday a newcomer camper entertained us with his accordion

It didn't take long before several of us were out on the dance floor having a gay ole' time.

This is the very reason that we love the RV lifestyle

The Grey Cup

2009-12-01T11:30:00.007-07:00

On Sunday 11/29 we had a "Grey Cup" party in the clubhouse.

For those not familiar with Canadian sports The Grey Cup is the Canadian equivalent of our "Super Bowl". It was only available on Canadian satellite so one of the Canadian campers here in the park set up his satellite dish on the clubhouse patio and ran the cable to the clubhouse TV.

There are several important specific differences between the Canadian and American versions of the game of football:

The playing field is 110 x 65 yards instead of 100 x 53 1/2 yards, the end zones are deeper, there are 12 players per team instead of 11, and a team has only three downs to reach 10 yards instead of four. Additionally there is a scoring difference in that a single point is awarded on kickoffs to the kicking team if the receiving team declines to return the ball from the end zone (at least that's the way that I understand it) and there are some other subtle differences that I don't understand.

This year the Grey Cup was between the Montreal Alouettes from the East and the Saskatchewan Roughriders representing the West. We were all pulling for the Roughriders who led the entire game against the highly favored Alouettes up till a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds. Bummer.

We all had a good time though and hope to do it again next year.

I'm becoming a big fan and might even order myself a Saskatchewan T-shirt.