Category Archives: RV-Travel

Posts related to our active involvement in RVing.

20240823-25_BdW_AAF_BAF-et-al

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NOTE:  This post has two (2) photos, with captions, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

FRIDAY 23 thru SUNDAY 25 August 2024 — BdW; AAF/AG(AA); A visit with Family

 

Friday 23 … A BdW guest leaves, and another one arrives; my sister has a birthday; and our painter stops by to chat.

Today was my (Bruce’s) sisters 69th birthday.  Happy birthday, sis!

BdW guest Shannen J. left early this morning, headed for points east, specifically Cuyahoga Valley National Park near Cleveland, Oho.

Our painter, Jim Pipoly, stopped by for pre-arranged chat concerning mobile communications options.  Jim knew we were “hams” (amateur radio operators) and figured I might know something about this.  Well, yes and no.  I know a few things, but there are a lot of things with which I am not very familiar.  Our discussion ranged from walkie-talkies and Citizens-Band (CB) radios to Family Mobile Radio Service (FMRS, which requires registration), General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS, which requires an easily obtained license), and amateur (ham) radio (which has several levels of licensing, each requiring a passing score on a written test).  We also talked about short-wave radio, as a way to receive information from all over the globe.

While Jim was here, we also discussed possible painting projects, both inside and outside.  The inside project would involve patching and touching up paint that has been, or will be, damaged as we prepare the oak floor for refinishing, and that work gets accomplished.  The major outside project is cleaning and re-staining the decks on the back of the house.

We were still chatting with Jim when BdW guests Bonnie &  Jimmy D. called to say they were 30 minutes out.  They arrived on time and called from the end of our street.  I met them by our first driveway entrance and guided them into our guest RV site.  They are scheduled to be here for five (5) nights.

 

Saturday 24 … A BdW guest leaves and another one arrives.  We visit Ann Arbor to look at DR furniture, and swing by our son’s house to visit with his family

We had our usual morning coffee and a light breakfast and then conferred with our son about his family’s plans for the day.  We drove to Ann Arbor (AA) to visit the AllAboutFurniture Amish Gallery (AAF/AG) store and see if they had the dining room table we thought we might be interested in, as seen on their website.  It was also a chance to ask questions about wood, color, and finish choices, customization options, prices, and delivery times.

The table that interested us was the Seymour, a 54” diameter round, extendable, dining table that would become a 78” x 54” “racetrack” shape table with the addition of two (2) 12” rectangular leaves.  A single leaf would make it a 66” x 54” racetrack shape.  Our interest was finding a table that was just big enough for the two us (98% of the time) while not crowding our dining room and providing for unrestricted flow between the kitchen, dining table, rear doorwall, buffet, entry foyer, and hallway.  But, we also needed it to expand to seat eight (8) people comfortably while still not restricting movement through the space.  A round extension table seemed like just the thing to meet our requirements.

They did not have the Seymour in the showroom, but had one that was very similar, the Julia.  It was also nice, and the salesman (Mark) thought it was a slightly better made product, but it differed in some minor aesthetic details that were important to us.  AAF/AG has relationships with many Amish furniture/cabinet makers in Indiana and elsewhere, and most of their products have to be ordered.  Delivery time for either table would be 12 – 14 weeks from when the order was placed, with something like 50% down.

The table was paired with a chair (Mariana) that we really liked.  The back was low, it mirrored the shape of the table legs, and had a comfortable (padded/fabric) seat in a fabric that we liked, and did not have a fabric back (Linda does NOT want a fabric-backed chair).  We made note of the name and clarified available woods and finishes.  The one on the floor was Brown Maple with a Tavern 10 Sheen finish and C2-39 Birch fabric for the seat.  We also looked at a buffet/sideboard that might work well with either table, and made note of that as well.  Mark wrote up a quote for us to take home and ponder.

When we were done at the furniture store, we went to our son’s house to visit.  The grand-daughters start school on Monday, and we will not really be able to host visitors at our house until the floor refinishing project is done, which includes removing the railing for the basement stairs for the duration of the project, repairing drywall (patched and painted), and then installing a new (Cable Bullet) stair railing as well as putting furniture and appliances back in place and re-connecting the later.

The front portion of the wine refrigerator as seen from above with one of the racks pulled all the way out so I can photograph the bottles on that rack before removing them for transport to the basement.

Back home, we moved the wine refrigerator to the basement.  This was one of the three appliances sitting on the oak floor that had to be put somewhere else while the refinishing work was being done.  We don’t access it every day and decided it could just live in the basement going forward.  It was fairly full, so I unplugged it and unloaded all the bottles.  The bottle racks in this wine refrigerator have extension slides, the bottles can be completely revealed.  I removed the bottles one rack at a time and photographed each rack before removing them.

We moved all of the wine bottles to the basement, keeping them organized by rack as best we could.  We then moved the wine refrigerator down the basement stairs using a dolly.  As seen in the following photograph, the wine refrigerator is short, just under waist high on me, and was not too heavy.  We positioned it at one end of our “L-shaped” bar because it fit there nicely, and there was already a 120VAC/15A receptacle at that location.

 

Sunday 25 … Need to figure out what we did today

The wine refrigerator in its new location in the basement at one end of our L-shaped bar, with all of the bottles put back on the same racks, and in the same locations, where they were previously stored.  You know … because.  (Paintings behind the bar is part of our “dead relatives gallery,” all from my side of the family.)

 

 

 

Since I have no notes from today, and there is nothing on our calendar, I presume we took the day off and relaxed a bit.  We had been working hard in recent days, and we deserved a break.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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20240821-22_BdW_projects_friends-for-dinner

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NOTE:  This is a longish post.  It has one (1) photo, with caption, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

WEDNESDAY 21 & THURSDAY 22 August 2024 — BdW; Flooring, furniture, & new UPS; friends for dinner; fixing the garage door

 

Wednesday 21 … BdW guests sell their MH; Preparing food for dinner with friends

Tammy (RAMTAM19) messaged us to lets us know that they had sold the unit and the new owners would be taking possession of it today, assuming the money transfer occurred without any issues.  I visited with Tammy & Randy briefly, and then left them to their tasks as they were in the final stages of emptying out their motorhome and putting things in storage locally.  They are closing on a house in a week, and plan to stay in a local suites motel until then.  They are from this area, and have adult children who still live within a reasonable distance of Brighton, so our BdW site has been a good, central location for them to deal with the sale of their rig and visit with their children and grandchildren.  Their stay request had them leaving on Friday morning, but they will be leaving early, which is never a problem.

I put out food for the wildlife that frequents our property and then returned to inside work.  Our first task was to remove the paper we had taped to the floor yesterday to help us visualize a round dining room table of several different diameters, located directly under the existing dining room pendant light fixture.

Linda spent the morning and early afternoon preparing food for this evening and doing some final house cleaning.  She also helped me get a few measurements to locate the point on the floor directly under the dining room light fixture.  With that information, I added a 54” diameter round table to the QCAD drawing of the hardwood floor area of the main floor of the house.  I also drew the table in it’s extended (oval/race-track) configuration, and added the refrigerator, Linda’s desk, and sideboard to give us a visual and measured indication of how the table would fit in the space.

John and Diane arrived around 3:30 for a visit and dinner.  They brought a nice wine.

 

Thursday 22 … Moving the desk; mounting networking and power components on the wall; a BdW guest arrives; and fixing the new/small garage door

With the new UPS in hand, we cleaned off the top of Linda’s desk (computer, printer, adding machine, and Lamp) and moved everything onto our bed.  We then emptied Linda’s desk and moved it to our bedroom, which she had previously cleaned and rearranged slightly.  The top of the desk was not attached to the base cabinets, but they were joined together by the center drawer assembly.  I looked at disconnecting the center drawer assembly and decided it would be more pain than gain.  We took out the six (6) drawers, 3 from each base unit, and the center drawer, so we had 10 pieces in all to move and reassemble.  Plus the large UPS, of course, but I could not move it until I had mounted the new/small UPS to the wall and moved the power connection for the network switch.

Before we disassembled an moved the desk, I marked out the open space between the drawer boxes and the top/center drawer on the wall with blue painters’ tape.  The top, box drawers, and center drawer have been removed and temporarily placed in the bedrooms.  The boxes will be moved to our bedroom and the desk reassembled in front of the doorwall opposite the foot of our bed.  It will live there until the oak flooring is refinished and then be put back in its normal location next to the refrigerator in the kitchen/dining part of the house.

I selected the new UPS in part because it has keyhole slots on the back to allow wall mounting, or anyplace that supports a VESA 100mm mounting pattern.  I mounted it on the wall in the area between the two desk pedestals, which I had marked out with painter’s tape before we moved the desk.    I then moved the small network switch into the same area and bundled up the data and power cables to keep them up away from the floor.  This area is above and either side of the duplex receptacle and networking outlet box, so a good location for the switch and UPS.  This arrangement will remain when we move Linda’s desk back into its permanent position.  The small UPS for the network switch will be on at all time, but we can switch off the big one if/when we are away.

Around mid-afternoon, BdW guest Shannen J. arrived with her dog, Jack.  ABIR a couple of weeks later, Jack was a spirited yellow Labrador Retriever.  They were here for a 1-night stay.

Dan (Everlast Doors) showed up at 16:30 to fix the smaller garage door.  This involved several things.  First, he unplugged the motor-operator from AC power disconnected the spring-loaded drive shaft (mechanic release), and manually released the deadbolt, allowing him to move the door a bit and see what it was doing.  He moved the shaft and got the lift cable on the operator side back on to the pulley.  He then reattached the vertical track on the opposite side to the front wall, using molly anchors, and got the twist out of it.  This wall is just 1/2″ chip board and the original screws, which were not in 2×4’s underneath, did not hold.  He also adjusted the horizontal tracks near the ceiling to remove any twist and make them parallel and the correct distance apart.  This required some “adjustment” of the angle irons that protrude from the ceiling drywall, which were left over from the original door installation(s).  Operator re-engaged, power ON, raise and lower the door and make any final, minor adjustments.

With the door working correctly, Dan then installed two additional LED light fixtures on the east side of the ceiling for the larger bay.  He paired one of them with the operator for the large garage door and the other one with the operator for the small garage door.  With the addition of these two lights, which are plugged in to 120VAC power but wirelessly controlled by their respective door operators, whenever either door is opened we now have light between our vehicles and between the truck and the door to the library.  He was here for several hours.

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20240818-19_A-busy-2-days

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NOTE:  This post has one (1) photo w/ caption, taken by me (Bruce ) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

SUNDAY 18 and Monday 19 August 2024 — Visitation for K8UT/SK, a ZOOM meeting, a flooring decision, BdW activity, and the DNC.

 

Sunday 18 … Visitation for K8UT/SK

We had a well-deserved relaxing morning.  Breakfast was scrambled “Just Egg” served open-faced on top of a slice of a lightly-toasted piece of bread with a slice of lightly-melted non-dairy cheese.  We split a grapefruit, but it was not very good.  The one’s we have had recently excellent, but smaller than today’s, which was large but dry, tasteless, not sweet, and had a strange texture.  That probably meant it was too old, but might also reflect the growing conditions and when it was harvested.

In the afternoon I went to the Keehn-Griffin Funeral Home in Brighton for Larry G.’s (K8UT/SK) visitation.  (K8UT was his amateur radio call sign and /SK indicates “silent key,” as in no longer operating a key for sending Morse code.  It’s the ham radio community’s way of indicating that some has passed.)  I was going to leave around 1400 local time, but it started raining heavily as I was preparing to go.  (“Chucking it down” as I often hear in Youtube videos from the British Isles.)  I actually left at 14:45.  There were quite a few people there, but only a few that I knew from the South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Club (SLAARC).  Display boards were set up highlighting Larry’s interests and accomplishments, which were varied and significant.  As is often the case with someone I only knew through a specific hobby interest, he had led a full, rich life that I was largely unaware of, and was well-represented by the other people in attendance.

Back home, I worked at my desk until dinnertime.  Linda prepared cauliflower gnocchi with mushrooms, onions, vegan sausage, and arrabbiata sauce.  So good.  After dinner we reviewed documents from our financial advisors in preparation for a ZOOM meeting tomorrow morning.

 

Monday 19 … A financial advisor meeting, and floor refinishing decision, BdW guest activity, starting to move things off of the hardwood floors, and the DNC on PBS

During the morning, we had a ZOOM meeting with one of our financial advisors.  Our investment objectives are well defined but there’s always something to discuss and decisions to make.  In this case, we made a couple of decisions about RMDs from IRA accounts.

With the meeting concluded, I called Christine, the owner of Boardwalk Floors in Milford, to let her know that we wanted to use her company for our hardwood floor refinishing project.  She was glad to hear that and comparing our calendars, we agreed on Monday, October 14 (this year) to start the work.  It should be done by Friday the 18th, but if it runs over into the following week it will still work for us.  We will get a deposit to her a couple of weeks in advance of the start date.

We have moved the dining room table out of the way, taped two pieces of paper to the floor, and marked the outer edge of a 54” diameter table, centered under the existing light fixture.  We have positioned four of our existing placements to see how they would work with a round table of this size.  Not very well, as it turned out.  That led to an online search which quickly revealed the existence of placements with a curved edge and sides that taper in toward the center of the table.  We are often surprised at the things that exist, but that have never crossed our minds, because we had no need to know about them until we did.

We took some time in the afternoon to mark out three sizes of round dining room table, 48”, 54”, and 60” diameters, on the dining room floor using paper and painter’s tape.  We are considering such a table with an extension feature of up to 2 feet.  We quickly agreed that the 48” size, when extended, would be too small to seat eight (8) people.  I liked the 60” size, which would easily accommodate a party of 8, but Linda felt that the table, in its round configuration, was too large for the space for everyday use.  I ultimately had to agree, and we settled on the 54” diameter as the right size after confirming that it would still seat 8 people in reasonable comfort.

Part of our discussion regarding the size and placement of a round dining room table had to do with the single outlet box that powers the ceiling light fixture for our dining room table.  I wanted to avoid having to alter the location of the outlet box, but was concerned about providing good lighting for both the round and extended (oval/race-track) configurations.  We did not come up with a definitive solution, but I was satisfied that we could figure out something that worked.

We noticed that our current BdW guests, RAMTAM19, were busy moving things out of their motorhome, but I didn’t want to bother them to ask why.  They messaged us at some point to let us know that they had a potential buyer for their motorhome, and ask if it would be okay for an RV inspector to come to our property tomorrow to inspect their rig.  We were okay with that, of course, but appreciated being asked first.

After dinner we watched the DNC convention coverage on PBS.

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20240817_Lots-of-balls-in-the-air

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NOTE:  This is a longish post with no photos.

 

SATURDAY 17 August 2024 — BdW guests leave & arrive, overseas travel planning, wood floor refinishing, DR furniture donation (HfH), ACI CPP via HH/BW, e-waste recycling and UofM Health.

Mike & Sheila came to front door to thank us for hosting them and say “farewell until next time” before pulling out.  Not long after they left I got a call from our Ontario, CA friend and fellow bus nut, Bill G.  I had commented to Linda several times over the last week or so that I needed to call Bill (and Marty, and Ed), but he beat me too it.  This happens a lot.  We had a nice/long chat, mostly about house/shop projects and cruising.  He and Karen have been going on at least an annual (January) cruise for years and are much more experienced cruisers than we are.  They have mostly sailed on Royal Caribbean, so they have a lot of loyalty points, but they are doing a Princess Cruise Lines repositioning cruise in the spring of 2026 from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Southampton, England because Royal Caribbean does not offer a similar cruise.  We will have to check the PCL website, but it sounds like the same cruise we are doing in the spring of 2025, with perhaps slightly different ports-of-call on the European continent.

After the phone call, Linda helped me load the electronics we were recycling into the back of the F-150 and drove to the county e-Waste recycling location.  The line was short, and I was in and out in very reasonable amount of time.  On the drive out of the facility, the line of vehicles coming in was backed up all the way to road, a considerable distance.  Timing is everything, and good luck helps a lot.

When I got back home, Linda and I had a long conversation about the floor refinishing project and its implications for the house and our ability to use it while the work was ongoing.  She has wanted to replace the dining room table and buffet/sideboard for a while now.  They are matching pieces to the living room and recreation room furniture that we have already donated to the local Habitat for Humanity (HfH) ReStore.  Most of our bedroom furniture is also from this same Bassett Mission-style product line.  We bought all of it the J.C. Penny store in NOVI, Michigan many, many years ago.  We still like it, but we have gotten our use out of it and are ready to pass it on to some who can use it, and getting something different for our house.

There are quite a few things we have to do before the floor refinishing work commences, and a few things we have to do after it is completed.  It was time to make a list.  The decision to donate the furniture, for instance, was a result of thinking about this task list.  By donating it we won’t have to find a place to store it.  And, we won’t need to replace it until after the floor project is done.  Genius.  This decision, of course, led us into an online search for a new dining table and buffet/sideboard.  More to come on that in future blog posts.

We have been in this house for just over 11 years, and plan to still be here for more years than that.  The recent flurry  of projects is motivated by wanting to refresh and improve things now, so we can enjoy them for many years, but still have the house and appliances in nice condition if/when we decide we want/need to sell.

While we were working on task list, BdW guest RamTam19 (Randy and Tammy B.) showed up.  They were our first visitors this year (April 16), so they just pulled in and parked in our guest RV site.  Normally I have people stop in the street but they new just what to do and just went ahead and did it.  No problem, in this case.  I went out to help get them into final position.  It was starting to rain, so we only chatted briefly and I left them to make camp.  They will be here for 5 nights, so I hope we have some good weather and get a chance to chat.

I got a reply from Kathy G. regarding the ACI/HH CPP system.  She was on vacation, but replied promptly.  While not necessary, it was appreciated.  She indicated that she was meeting with the ACI Executive Director and the HH software team on Wednesday, and would share my e-mail with them.  I replied to her e-mail, and reiterated the details of an unresolved concern regarding the logic of the BdW stay request system.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on blog posts, and e-mail.  I received an e-mail a few days ago about the passing of a long-time member of the South Lyon Area Amateur Radio Club (SLAARC), Larry G.   Larry (K8UT/SK) was a technical superstar, especially with computer networking, a highly skilled operator, and an important contributor to the Ham radio hobby in SE lower Michigan.  I received an e-mail today with the visitation information (tomorrow) and funeral Mass details (Monday).

Earlier in the day I got a message from UofM Health reminding me to check in for my upcoming audiology appointment on Tuesday.  I don’t think I have any serious hearing issues, but my new primary care physician in the UofM-H geriatric clinic sort of indicated that he would like a baseline measurement.  It’s been a long time since I have had my hearing tested, so this seemed like a good idea, even though insurance won’t cover it.  While logged in to do the check-in, I also checked for any new invoices or outstanding balances.  I did not have any.  Linda does a great job keeping our bills paid, as long as she knows about them.

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20240815-16_Lots-Happening

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NOTE:  This is a shorter post with no photos.

 

THURSDAY 15 and FRIDAY 16 August 2024 — BdW guests, oak floor, ACI addition to HH/BW

 

Thursday 15 … Deep-cleaning, wood floor refinishing project planning, blog work, and BdW guests

Mike & Sheila returned to Greenfield Village today (in Dearborn) and visited The Henry Ford (Henry Ford Museum).

Linda continued deep-cleaning, turning her attention to the cabinets in the hall and master bathrooms.  She was on a mission.  I spent most of the day at my desk working on blog posts.

As part of refinishing the oak floors in the house, we want to remove the existing railing around the basement stairwell and replace it with something more attractive.  The product that we would like to use is Cable Bullet.  It’s a clever system that uses stainless steel cables, installed horizontally or vertically, between/through posts, and includes a tensioning system.  The posts can be wood (existing or new) or metal, which can be purchase from the company, along with top handrails.  The product can be used inside or outside, and even on stairs.

Linda revisited the Cable Bullet website and saw that they supply online estimates, but you have to submit a sketch of your project; limit 10 MB.  No problem.  They will accept a hand -drawn sketch, but why would I do that when I have CAD software?  I wouldn’t, of course, so I started working on a simple CAD layout of this project.  I had already done a CAD layout for the floor refinishing, so I simply reused that portion of the drawing, which was already to scale.  I eliminated all unnecessary details, and added necessary ones specific to the railing.

FedEx delivered the replacement hinges for Mike & Sheila’s Dometic refrigerator.  The hinge that holds the bottom of the upper/freezer door and the top of the bottom/refrigerator door, broke in half while they were driving to our house.  The only place they could locate a replacement part was Panther RV in Washington State.  They had it shipped FedEx 2-day, and it arrived this afternoon.  They got back from The Henry Ford (Museum) in Dearborn around dinner time, and came over to chat, but it was a shorter visit as they were tired.

 

Friday 16 … Different day, same stuff as yesterday

Linda spent most of the day on her deep-cleaning / reorganizing project, and I did a load of laundry while working at my desk.  First up was finishing the CAD drawing for the Cable Bullet railing estimate.  I saved it as a PDF, which turned out to be 27 KB file, much smaller than the 10 MB limit.  To upload it, however, I had to go through a whole series of options and specify my “design” choices.  I had not really studied the complete product line enough to know exactly what we wanted, but I was only interested at this point in an approximate cost, so I consulted with Linda and we made choices that were probably close to what we will actually want.  I received confirmation that the request for estimate was submitted successfully and waited for a reply.  My understanding was that an actual person would review what I submitted and assemble the quote.  The company is based in Indiana, which gave it a nice, local touch.

In light of the-mail I received on the 13th from the Airstream Club International (ACI) about the immanent release of the ACI/HH CPP joint venture, I e-mailed Kathy G, the ACI coordinator for the project, to ask a few questions and reiterate a few concerns regarding just how this will work for existing Boondockers Welcome hosts.

I spent the rest of day working on blog posts, doing final clean ups and adding to the one for this week.

Mike & Sheila were due to depart tomorrow, and came over after dinner for a long chat, a lot of which was about travel.  They were headed “up North” (northern lower peninsula) from here, with numerous stops planned in nice areas.  They would then cross the Mackinaw Bridge into the U.P. (Upper Peninsula and head west through Michigan, with a detour up to Copper Harbor, before going through Wisconsin and into northern Minnesota.  They will be doing much of this trip in September, which should be a beautiful (and cool, literally) time to be there.

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20240814_flooring

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NOTE:  This is a moderate length post with no photos.

 

WEDNESDAY 14 August 2024 — Hardwood floor refinishing

 Christine, the owner of Boardwalk Floors (Milford), arrived promptly at 10 AM to look at our oak floor refinishing project.  Another experienced and knowledgeable business owner, she understood quickly what we wanted to accomplish with the project, and made several suggestions that we had not previously received.  She e-mailed her estimate (quote?) that afternoon.

One of the things we heard from all three of the flooring contractors we met with was that the refrigerator and range have to be removed from the space before the work begins.  The range is natural gas, so it will just have to sit somewhere (inside the house) until it is re-installed.  There’s no room in the garage at the moment, so it will probably end up in the living room.  We have a corner in the living room with a duplex 120VAC/15A receptacle where the refrigerator can sit and be plugged in so we can use it.  We won’t have chilled water or ice, but we will survive without them.  We will be responsible for having the appliances removed and re-installed, and will hire someone to do this work.

Heritage Hardwood Floors and Boardwalk both indicated that the second half of October would work well for them.  Functional Floors indicated that they could do the work later this month or in September, but October would be fine with them as well.  This month seemed too quick for us, and we will be traveling from mid-late September to early October, so we are looking at Monday, October 14 as a possible start date.  All three companies indicated that this would be at least a 1-week job, and their intention would be to start on Monday and have it done by the end of the day on Friday.

While the work is ongoing, and for about a week afterwards, we will not be able to walk on the floor.  That means we cannot use it to move from one part of the house to another.  It also means we cannot use our kitchen or have access to our pantry, crockery, utensils, small appliances, medications, etc.  Nor will we be able to access our hall bathroom, small and middle bedrooms, our two coat closets, the linen closet, and the basement stairs.  That sounds like a big potential problem, but we think it will be quite workable.

Our bedroom has a doorwall to the upper deck and has an on-suite bathroom and walk-in closet.  Our library has a front and rear doorwall, with the rear doorwall opening onto our middle deck, but also has a doorwall into the living room.  There is also a door from the library to the garage as well as a rear entry door to the garage.  (The library was originally a breezeway between the garage and the house, so all means of egress are outdoor rated.)  The basement is a walkout with a doorwall, so we have access to that part of the house without using the inside stairs.

There is a bar area in the basement rec room, with a microwave and an old Jenn-Air cooktop/oven.  Linda intends to move the Breville toaster/oven from the kitchen to the basement, as she does not intend to use the Jenn-Air, but it’s there if we decide we need it.  There is also a bar sink that includes a faucet for our RO system.  Our TV is down there, along with my office, the laundry, and a full bathroom, so we think the house will be quite useable while the work is ongoing.

As long as we move a anything/everything we might need out of rooms we cannot access, we will be able to get to the rest of the house by using outside pathways.  Since we will have to leave the doorwalls unlocked, one of us will be home at all times.  The cat (Cabela) will still have access to the library (food, water, sleep at night), as well as our bedroom (door to the hallway closed) and possibly the basement.  The issue with the basement will be sealing off the staircase so she cannot go upstairs.

Besides having the refrigerator and range removed and getting everything we need out of inaccessible areas, we will have a few things to do in advance of the work beginning.  This includes removing the existing “baseboards” (which are actually door casing) and scraping out the small gaps between the floor boards.  The floor boards are tongue-and-groove with beveled edges, so these gaps are an intentional “decorative” feature.  They are not our favorite feature in the house, but they are okay and will remain after the refinishing is done.  The refinishing will look better, however, if we clean all of the grooves before they are sanded and stained.  This will be hand work, done on our hands and knees.

I spent most of the rest of the day in my office, dealing with e-mails and working on blog posts.  I selected and post-processed additional photos and worked on narrative.  Linda continued with her deep-cleaning in the kitchen, going after the grout for the tiles on the countertops and the floor on three sides of the island.

Mike & Sheila went to Greenfield Village in Dearborn today.  They got back a bit later and we did not see them this evening.

For dinner, Linda served a vegan Korean BBQ (TVP) product over white rice.  It was very tasty.  For dessert, we had a few cookies (animal crackers) and peppermint bark dark chocolate (Lake Champlain Chocolate Company) and watched the last two episodes of the final season of The Last Detective on Prime.

 

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20240813_Intl-Trav-Plan_ACI-HH-CPP

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NOTE:  This is a long post with no photos.

 

TUESDAY 13 August 2024 — International/overseas travel planning and HH/ACI CPP update

Next April and May (2025) we are booked on a 24-day cruise on the Regal Princess (Princess Cruise Line), followed, but not immediately, by a 16-day Rick Steve’s land tour of England and Wales.

The cruise starts in Ft. Lauderdale (Port Hollywood), Florida and ends in Southampton, England; twice, actually.  The repositioning part of the cruise is Ft. Lauderdale to Southampton, with ports-of-call in the Azores (Portugal), France, Belgium, and The Netherlands.  On our first visit to Southampton, some passengers will disembark, some new ones will embark, and the rest (like us) will remain aboard.  The ship will then continue for another 10 days, going around the southern end of England and stopping in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland (several locations) before returning to Southampton, where we will finally debark (disembark).  Our Rick Steve’s tour begins in Bath, England six (6) days (5 nights) after we debark the ship, and we will be on our own for that time.

Having spent considerable time over the weekend booking shore excursions for our Virgin Voyages cruise this December, we were in a frame of mind to deal with those aspects of our cruise/tour trip that were still undecided.  We had itineraries for the cruise and tour, so we knew where those would take us and what we would/could see/do in each place.  We also have several Rick Steve’s travel guides, maps (including the London “tube” system), and our most valuable resource, Kate, our friend who has been to the British Isles many times.  The Rick Steve’s tour ends in London, but we will only have a couple of days there as part of the tour.

Our initial thought was to get off the ship and go explore places in England that are not part of the tour itinerary.  The more we thought about it, however, the more the idea of moving around constantly, luggage in hand, did not seem to be the right approach.  The easier, and more productive, approach would be to stay in one place, within easy distance of many things, including public transportation, and avoid having to rent a car.  In other words, stay in London.  Coming to that conclusion provided focus and clarity to what was starting to feel like an overwhelming task.

We studied our map(s) of London and compared them to the map of the tube system (subway, underground, etc.).  We would also likely need to use the train system, to get to Cambridge for instance, but less so than if we were trying to travel great distances across the countryside.  We knew what hotel the Rick Steve’s tour was using, so we concentrated on that part of London to see what was there.  It turned out to be an area with a lot of things to see and do, good access to the “tube,” and a good selection of restaurants for lunch and/or dinner.  Linda started looking seriously at hotel options, and found one in that area that looked nice enough, and was reasonably priced (by London standards).  We ran this past Kate to get her perspective, and got a “thumbs up,” so Linda booked it.  We paid a small premium to have the ability to cancel the reservation, and an additional amount to have (continental) breakfast included each day.  (The various restaurants in that area do not serve breakfast an we wanted more choice than a typical coffee shop.)

With that piece of our travel puzzle now in place, we turned our attention to our return trip to Detroit.  Ideally we would have taken the Queen Mary 2 to New York City, but we would miss its westbound departure by a week.  Besides, having been away from home for almost seven (7) weeks by this point, we though it best to fly back.  We usually fly DELTA; their main hub in the USA is DTW (Detroit Metropolitan Airport) which is also THE main airfield in southeast Michigan.

Delta only had one non-stop flight from Heathrow (or Gatwick, not sure which) to Detroit, and it was eye-wateringly expensive just for economy seating.  Ugh.  So, Linda looked at other airlines.  What she found was that we could fly Iceland Airlines (Icelandair, IcelandicUS, IcelandicCA, IcelandicUK, etc.) from London to Reykjavik to Detroit for HALF of the cost of the Delta flight.  AND … wait for it … we could do up to a 7-day layover in Iceland, and explore at least some of yet another country.  Wait … does this sound familiar?  Why, yes it does!  This is exactly what our son and his family were doing, right now.  We just hadn’t realized that Iceland Air does this with many other countries in Europe.

We did not book a flight at this time, but we almost certainly will, and do so well ahead of time.  My guess is that we will make it a 5-night layover and see as much of Iceland as we reasonably can in that time.  We have Rick Steve’s guide to Iceland, so we already know what he (his company) thinks is the best way to use that amount of time.  Before booking this flight, we need to make one last decision, how much time do we want between the end of the Rick Steve’s tour and getting on the airplane for Reykjavik?  I think the ideal arrangement would be to spend a minimum of one more night in the final tour hotel, allowing us to get up the next morning at whatever time we need to, and make our way to the airport without being rushed.

We received an update e-mail today from the Airstream Club International (ACI) about the joint venture with Harvest Hosts (HH) to move the ACI Courtesy Parking Program (CPP) from the ACI Membership Directory to the HH platform.  We think this is a good move, as they will apparently add an icon for ACI/CPP to the existing map function.  People who are ACI members, by not HH/BW members, will only see the ACI/CPP icon, but will not have to pay to use the site.  HH members who do not belong to ACI, will not see the ACI/CPP icon, but will see it if they are ACI members.  I’ve been told that, as a BW host who has also signed up to be an ACI/CPP host, ACI/CPP stay requests will be integrated with the BW stay requests.  As such, nothing will really change for us, which will be great.  We have had a fair amount of BW traffic this year, and all of the last few years except 2022 when we were traveling eastern Canada.  (We don’t accept stay requests when we are traveling.)  So, it’s not that we need more visitors, but it would be nice (for us) if fellow ACI members stopped here and we could discuss “Airstreaming.”

Mike & Sheila came over again around 5:30 PM and we had a second night of interesting and lively conversation.  We always ask guests to bring their own beverage of choice.  They brought two bottles of red wine, and insisted on sharing.  Well, okay, if we have to, I suppose.  🙂  We have always made ourselves available to guests, and many have spent time chatting with us over the years, but this year has been different.  We think it has been a confluence of factors, namely; temperature (either hot or chilly), rain, mosquitos, short (1-night) stays, or people just being busy with their own affairs.  Whatever the reason, it’s fine; we do not expect guests to spend time with us, but we enjoy and appreciate it when they do.

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20240812_BdW_Firepit

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NOTE:  This post has one (1) photo with caption.  Photo taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 12 August 2024 — More BdW guests, burning yard debris, and international/overseas travel (not us)

Linda and Diane met at the park to walk this morning, the first time since the funeral for Diane’s mother on July 23rd.  We had Boondockers Welcome guests arriving today, so I had a few chores to take are of ahead of time.

First, I pruned some of the weeds and saplings along the edge of the wooded area that parallels the south edge of our visitor RV site.  These grow out to the north (towards the site) looking for light, and eventually become an impediment to working on the south side of rig, or mowing along the edge of the forest.  I got out the lawn tractor and trailer and moved all of the pruned material to our fire pit.  I then drove around the rest of the property collecting downed branches and transporting them to the fire pit.  I removed all of the material that had accumulated in the fire pit and sorted it by size and type before piling it around the outside, about 8 feet away.  This left only the central stack of organized twigs and larger pieces of branches I had built a couple of weeks ago to serve as the core of the bonfire I was about to light.

While deep-cleaning the kitchen, Linda found a package of fire-starters.  They were wax impregnated corrugated cardboard.  We typically use shredded paper to start our bonfires (we usually have a lot of it), but it doesn’t always light well if it has absorbed moisture.  The fire-starters did the trick, and fairly quickly I had a nice, but not overly large, fire.  I added some of the stacked material to the fire and then mowed the areas on either side of the driveway by our guest RV site.  The weather has been dry, so Keith will be here tomorrow to mow the whole property, but this way he won’t have to mow right next to someone’s RV.

The bonfire has been lit (right side of wood stack in the fire pit).  Various sizes of branches, and a pile of weeds, waiting o be added to the burn pile.

Our BdW guests, Mike & Sheila M., arrived around 2 PM.  They were aiming for 1 PM, but got caught in really bad traffic on westbound I-96 between Novi and Brighton.  The improvements to the highway system in our area will be amazing when they are finished and operational but until then, getting anywhere during the daytime can be difficult.  (You need patience to make sure you don’t become a patient.)  I met them in the street, per usual, and directed them into our guest RV site.  Linda came out to meet them as well.  We chatted briefly, invited them to get-together on the deck later if so inclined, and then left them to make camp.

Our guests came over around 5:45 PM and we had along, spirited conversation.  Mike is native Hawaiian.  Sheila was from the Carolinas, but moved to Hawaii many years ago and stayed.  They moved to the mainland a few years ago, bought a Coach House Platinum Class B+ MH, and started full-time RVing.  They flat tow a Toyota CJ Cruiser.  The Toyota required a driveshaft disconnect modification.  The MH is able to handle the weight of this vehicle, but struggles on steep upgrades, so they got a custom/tuned ECM program installed.  Apparently it makes quite a difference in the vehicle’s performance.

Around 8:30 PM, our son and his family took off from DTW enroute to Sweden via Reykjavik, Iceland.  Their destination was Stockholm (Shawna had a conference in Uppsala, so it was a work-related trip).  There were, however, several reasons for the intermediate waypoint in Iceland.  He and Shawna had been to both countries before, but this would be the first time for the girls to visit either one.  At 11-1/2 years old, Mads sees herself as a sophisticated world traveler, and at 5-3/4 years, Sadie is up for almost any adventure.  The stopover in Iceland would also break up the flight into two legs of more reasonable length and time, which would be much easier on everyone.  But what really made this interesting, to us as well as them, was that Iceland Air allows passengers to book this as a single, continuing (round-trip) flight, rather than two separate flights, AND allows the layover to be up to seven (7) days!  Obviously Iceland Air has a very good and cooperative relationship with whomever is in charge of tourism for the country.  Icelandair will come up again in a future post.

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20240810-11_Cruise-excursions_&_Home-projects

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NOTE:  There are no photos in this post.

 

SATURDAY 10 & SUNDAY 11 August 2024 — Cruise shore excursions, and continuing work on electrical wiring, deep-cleaning, and the CAD layout of our oak floor

 

Saturday 10 … A big day for cruise shore excursions, and continuing electrical work and deep-cleaning

We continued to defer yard work in favor of house projects, a decision made easier by the continued presence of mosquitos.  But first, it was time to make decisions about shore excursions at each port of call for the cruises we currently have booked.

For the Virgin Voyages cruise in December (2024), we have never been to most of the islands we will be visiting, and wanted shore excursions that would let us see them and give us a feel for each place, so we selected and booked a shore excursion for each port-of-call.  I won’t describe the details at this time, but generally speaking, we selected experiences of moderate length with a cultural or nature focus, and a combination of touring on a bus, and moderate hiking/walking.  We did not book excursions that involved snorkeling, beaches, drinking, or ATVs.  With the shore excursions taken care of, Linda texted Nancy to let her know what we had booked.  They had only booked one so far, and we booked the same one.

For our Princess repositioning & British Isles Cruise in April 2025, we selected and booked a shore excursion at each port-of-call except for Brest, France.  Only one (1) shore excursion was on offer for Brest.  It was short, and not very interesting, so we decided to wait and check back occasionally to see if additional excursions became available.  If not, we will just get off the ship and walk around or take a city trolley into the center of town and explore on our own.  We did this quite a bit on our NCL Alaska inside passage cruise and it worked well for us.  This is the only port-of-call in France, and since neither of us has ever been in the country, we have to get off the ship and put our feet on French soil (or pavement, or whatever).

With the shore excursions taken care of, Linda returned to her cleaning project and I finished up the electrical work for the new circuit for the new clothes dryer.  I tested the GFCI receptacle and it was functioning properly.  I put the cover back on the main distribution panel and updated the circuit breaker legend that I maintain in MS Excel.  It’s an 11” wide x 17” tall document that uses up the entire sheet of paper, except for some margin space.  (Our inkjet printer can print up to 13” x 19” format.)

I put all of the suspended ceiling tiles back in place.  Linda helped vacuum the carpet and move the coffee table back into position by the sofas.  We had to move the table as I needed to work directly above where it normally sits.

 

Sunday 11 … A breakfast treat, and trying to finalize the CAD drawing of our oak floor

After our morning coffee, we had pancakes for breakfast.  Pancakes or waffles for breakfast are an occasional treat that is usually reserved for Sundays.

After breakfast, I finalized the CAD drawing for the hardwood floor area/project.  With the changes/additions I had made, I was able to calculate/approximate the linear feet of shoe molding and baseboard that was needed.  We now had a document that provided a fairly accurate estimate of the square feet of flooring to be refinished, the amount of new wood to be installed, and the length of baseboard and shoe molding required to complete the job.  We were able to look up “average costs in our area” online and get a rough idea of what this project should cost.  This will allow us to decide if an estimate/quote is “in the ballpark.”

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20240807-08_Home-&-Travel-Tasks

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NOTE:  This post does not have any photos.

 

WEDNESDAY 07 & THURSDAY 08 August 2024 — Cleaning, cruising, dental, electrical, & flooring/CAD

 

Wednesday 07 … Cleaning continues and some CAD work for the floors

As usual, we started the day with coffee and breakfast.  Around 9:30 AM I started calling the short list of floor refinishing companies Linda had compiled.  The father of the father-son team scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, the medium firm for Friday morning, and the larger firm for next week on Wednesday morning.  And just like that, our floor refinishing project was moving in the direction of becoming a reality yet this year.

Linda continued her deep-cleaning and reorganization of the kitchen and I worked on the CAD layout of the hardwood floors, which occupied the rest of my day.  After dinner we watched the NBC recap of the Paris 2024 summer Olympics.

 

Thursday 08 …  A crowning achievement, cruise finances, and a first look at refinishing hardwood floors

I had an 11 AM dentist appointment to get my new (replacement) crown.  I left around 9:45 AM for the estimated 1-hour drive.  The drive to the clinic was no worse than I expected, and I arrived a bit early.  The appointment lasted about an hour.  I decided to stay off the highways on the drive home; it took longer, but at least I was moving most of the time.  I do not like sitting in stopped highway traffic.

Our final/full payment was due today for our December 2025 Virgin Voyages cruise to the Windward Islands in the southern Caribbean.  Linda also checked to see if we could start booking shore excursions.  We could, so it was time to look at what was on offer, make decisions, and then make reservations.  Soon, but not today.

I turned my attention to the new electrical circuit for the new heat-pump dryer.  I spent some time studying the situation and decided to surface mount a PVC electrical box behind the dryer location and use a piece of PVC electrical conduit to get the new wire from the ceiling to the box, where I would install a 20A duplex GFCI receptacle.  Linda helped me use a 100’ tape measure to get an idea of how many feet of wire I needed.  It turned out to be more than 50 feet, and since most of it would be run through holes in the joists for the main floor of the house, I would need Romex (non-metallic sheathed multi-conductor cable) rather than the individual insulated conductors I had run through conduit in the barn.

Michael, from Heritage Hardwood Floors (Howell), called to confirm his appointment, and showed up around 2:30 PM.  He was on site for about 75 minutes and took the time to understand what we were looking to have done, discussed the details with us at length, and explained how he would approach the job.  He was obviously very experienced and knowledgeable, and we were confident he could do the job.  The last time we had floors refinished (at our previous house) we used a father-son team, and they did fabulous work, so we were comfortable with this business model.

Michael’s visit had raised questions, but after he left I returned to working on the new electrical circuit.  Dinner was followed by watching the Olympics recap on NBC.

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20240801-04_A busy-start-to-August

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NOTE:  This is a moderate length post (for me).  It has two (2) photos with captions, both taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

THURSDAY 01 thru SUNDAY 04 August 2024 — Heat, rain, mosquitoes, and a busy week (BdW guests, laundry appliances, dogs, glasses, finances, and more) but no more yard work

 

Thursday 01 August … New glasses, a dead battery, more work tables, and Wild Turkeys in a tree

I got a text message yesterday that my new/remade tri-focal glasses were ready, so we made a trip to the Brighton SVS Vision Center to pick them up.  But not in the F-150.  When I tried to start it, the battery was completely dead.  It turned out that the headlight switch had been moved from the AUTO position to the Running Lights position, and left that way overnight.  Mea culpa, and I should have known, but I ignored the chime that continued when I turned off the engine last night and removed the key.  Dumb.  We took Linda’s car instead.

My new tri-focal glasses were correct this time, improving my distance vision just enough to make road signs at various distances sharper.  The reading and middle portions of the lenses were the same as before.  The optician made adjustments to the ear hooks and the nose pads until they sat correctly on my face with its slightly askew nose, which was broken many, many years ago.  I also had her look at my reading glasses.  I got the lenses there a month or so ago, but had them use an existing frame that I liked.  One of the ear covers had cracked and separated into two pieces.  She was able to heat them both up (left and right, one at a time) to remove them and replace them with new ones.  She also noticed that the nose pads were cracked and needed to be replaced, so she did that as well.  She then adjusted the ear hooks and nose pads so they sat correctly on my slightly crooked face.  No charge for the extra services.

Back home, we stopped at the barn and I retrieved a battery charger and a set of jumper cables.  The truck was in the garage.  The engine compartment is “tall”, so I placed the battery charger on the fold out platform of a 6 ft stepladder.  This allowed the battery cables to reach the battery in the engine compartment and the power cord to reach a nearby ceiling outlet.  I connected the cables, plugged in the power cord, and set the operating parameters:  AGM, 25 Amps.  The display quickly ramped up to 25.8 Amps and stayed there.  That was good news; some battery chargers will not work unless they detect at least some minimum voltage level from the battery.  I am hopeful that the battery will recover; it’s only a few years old had never been abused prior to this accidental discharge.

The bottom end of one of the Rockler Rock-Steady 32” legs with the adjustable foot installed, but not adjusted or tightened.

The Rock-Steady leg is a simple, but cleaver, design.  A flat sheet of steel is machined with various openings, both round and square, to allow other components to be attached, either with machine screws/bolts, or with carriage bolts.  The bottom end is partially slit at the mid-point to form two tabs, one slightly longer than the other.  The tabs are then bent 90 degrees, shorter one first and then the longer one.  The entire sheet is then folded along its midline, forming an angle iron, with the tabs overlapping.  The overlapping tabs are drilled to accept the adjustable feet, and the whole piece is then power-coated.

I changed into my work clothes and headed to the barn to assemble the last (for now) Rockler Rock-Steady Work Table.  I attached this one to the table along the south wall of the shop that was already attached to the Corner Table in the SE corner of the shop.  In this configuration, I will have a work surface along the south wall of the shop that is at least 20” deep and 144” (12’) long.  It will end just shy of the “protected” (no storage allowed) area in front of the shop/storeroom electrical sub-panel.  A picture will make this much clearer.

The workshop (in the barn) as seen from the entry door looking east.  The Corner Stand to the left (NE corner of the shop) has two Rock-Steady Work Stands attached.  The Corner Stand to the right (SE corner of the shop) also has two Rock-Steady Work Stands attached, plus a third Rock-Steady Work Stand along the wall on the right, which is attached to the one from the Corner Stand.

It was warm in the shop, even with a box fan running, so I got a bit sweaty and took a shower before dinner.  Having only had a muffin for breakfast, and skipping lunch, Linda made a large salad and we had an early dinner around 4 PM.

As we were eating, Linda noticed a lone Wild Turkey resting at the base on one of our large White Pine trees to the east of the valley for our walk-out basement door.  We thought that was odd, but it seemed to be okay.  As we were clearing the table, I saw a small turkey (jake) drop out of the tree, and then another one.  I called Linda over, and we watched the entire flock, including the other adult, drift down out of the tree.  So, it wasn’t a lone turkey after all; it was our usual flock of 10.  It was the second time this week that I had seen them in a tree, and the first for Linda.

 

Friday 02 August … Boondockers, bus chat, and financial chat

Rick (BdW PeachyTravel) was out this morning with their dog, Barkley, and we had a nice chat.  They pulled out before I left to meet Chuck S. at 11:30 AM for lunch at Leo’s Coney Island in S. Lyon.

Chuck and I had a lot to catch up on, and occupied a booth for three (3) hours!  The restaurant was busiest from noon to 1 PM, but had open seats the whole time there, and no one suggested we should move on.  It rained off and on while driving there, while we visited, and on the drive home.  By 5 PM we had a lot of standing water in the usual low spots around our property.

During the afternoon, I got a call from Kishen, one of our financial advisors at Stifel-Nicolaus.  We had a nice chat and made an investment decision.  We have been 100% satisfied with this company and the specific team of people we work with directly.  Sometime during the day, Linda also talked to Nan (of Paul & Nancy) regarding the cruise we are all taking in early December.

BdW guest Marcia B was supposed to arrive today for a 2-night stay, but cancelled last night.  It happens, and cancelations are never a problem for us as long as we know.  We are also RVers, and we understand that things can happen, even at the last minute, that change travel plans.

 

Saturday 03 August … A birthday and party planning

Today was our son’s 46th birthday (1978).  Linda wanted to have the family over to celebrate, but today was not convenient, so it was set up for tomorrow.   I do not recall what I did today, but it probably included a trip to Recycle Livingston to get rid of our household recyclables, doing laundry, and working at my desk.  The mosquitos have been very bad, so we have temporarily eschewed working on the property.  Linda spent a good part of the day preparing for the family get-together.  That included cleaning the house, a trip to the grocery store, and preparing food.  At some point, I brought chairs up from the basement and we put the expansion leaf in the dining room table.

 

Sunday 04 August …  A family gathering and a birthday celebration

Linda arranged a family gathering for today at our house to celebrate our son’s birthday.  Brendan was there (of course) with his daughters (Sadie and Madeline) and our daughter, Meghan, was there with her husband, Chris.  Brendan’s wife, Shawna, whose birthday was in 11 more days, had previously made plans to go out of town for a weekend with her girlfriends.  She was missed, but everyone still enjoyed themselves.  Our daughter made a vegan peanut-butter chocolate cake for dessert; vegan for us and peanut-butter/chocolate for her brother.  It was amazing.

When everyone had left, we just relaxed.  In the evening, we continued watching the NBC recap of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

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20240729-30_Penultimate-July

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NOTE:  There is one (1) photo with caption in this post, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 29 thru TUESDAY 30 July 2024 — Heat, rain, mosquitoes, and a busy week (BdW guests)

 

Monday 29 July … An anniversary, more BdW guests, and more rain

Our good friends Paul and Nancy were married on this date in 1989.  We didn’t know them back then, but having eventually made their acquaintance (through RVillage), we wish we had.  Linda sent them best wishes for a Happy 35th wedding anniversary.

Our current BdW guests, Ted & Peg H., pulled out around 10:30 AM this morning, but not before taking the time to sit and chat with us a bit.  Other than a certain “pay it forward” spirit, we like being Boondockers Welcome (BdW) hosts because we get to meet fellow RVers traveling to/through our home area; we get to hear their stories, and share some of ours.  We also get BdW guest privileges in exchange for being hosts, but we have made very limited use of the program as guests since we joined.  We are also Harvest Host guest members, but have only used the program a few times.  We like both programs, but have found that host sites (that can accommodate us) are often not on our travel routes.

Four hours later, Dan & Marsha T. arrived in their Class A MH with a car in tow using a tow dolly.  I met them in the street and directed them into our guest RV site.  They were a repeat visitor, last here in 2020 at the beginning of the CoVID-19 pandemic.  They were only here for one night, but took the time to chat with us, which we appreciated and enjoyed.  We have not had a lot of repeat visitors, nor do we expect very many, but we have been hosting long enough that we are seeing a few of them.  We appreciate that folks liked their stays here, for whatever reason, enough to want to come back.

We have been watching the recap of the summer Olympics every night on NBC since the opening ceremony.  We have watched most of the Summer and Winter Olympics coverage since we were adolescents.  (According to Wikipedia, world-wide TV coverage began in 1956.)  It’s been a nice change from all of the shows we have been streaming.

Rain was in the forecast for this evening and overnight into tomorrow.  It started raining around 9 PM and was very heavy for quite a while.  I’m sure we got at least 2” of rain, but never saw an official measurement for our exact area.

 

Tuesday 30 July … 

Given the rain last night, there was no way Keith would be able to mow our property today.  We exchanged text messages, leaving open the possibility of him stopping by and checking the situation.  In case he decided to try mowing, I picked up some small branches that had come down in the storm and rearranged a few large branches that were over-hanging the firepit.  By early afternoon, however, he waived off on today and eventually texted that he would be here tomorrow.  The rain had pushed his schedule for the entire week back by one day.

While picking up sticks, I noticed that most of our resident Wild Turkeys (2 adults and eight jakes, as I think they are now too old and too big to be poults) were roosting in one of the Blue Spruce trees near our north property line, just NW of our firepit.  These recently pruned trees are now much more open in their lower portions, and cleared underneath, making it easier (possible?) for the Turkeys to fly up to these branches.  Or perhaps they have been doing this for a while now but we just could not see them.  Either way, we know that Wild Turkeys roost in trees at night (and on fences, roofs, and anything else they can get to, including the railing of our deck, our grill, and the roof of our house), but this was the first time we had seen this flock of two adults and eight young actually in a tree.

In-between other events, I worked on blog posts, and finally uploaded a few.  With as busy as we have been, I am doing well if I can even make notes about our activities and get those written up in at least a draft form in a timely manner.  And I have apologized repeatedly for constructing posts my memory long after the fact.  Selecting and processing photos, deciding where they go in posts, and then writing captions, all take additional time.  The actual uploading/publishing in WordPress is the least time-consuming part of the process, but it can’t happen until everything else is done, checked, and checked again.  This is not a complaint—if I didn’t want to do this I would stop—just a statement of fact.

BdW guests, Dan & Marsha T. left mid-late morning after a nice chat, and arriving BdW guest PeachyTravel (Rick & Vivian, and family) messaged me with an ETA for mid-afternoon.  They needed to stop and dump, which took extra time, and encountered heavy traffic enroute to us, which pushed their arrival to 3:30 PM.  They were schedule to stay four (4) nights, so needed to top up their fresh water tank.  I had them stop in front of the house (where the water spigot is located) and take care of that before proceeding into our guest site.

Given the hot, humid weather we have been experiencing we worked inside.  I worked at my desk, finalizing and uploading several blog posts, and Linda worked at her desk on bakery-related accounting tasks.

A view of the workshop (in the barn) looking east from near the entry door in the SW corner.  One of the two Rockler Rock-Steady Corner Stands is in the SE corner of the shop, with 56” x 20” by 32” Work Stands attached as wings.  Another Work Stand (same size) will be attached to the one along the wall on the right (once I have all of the needed components).

Sometime during the day, UPS delivered the one remaining Rock-Steady Leg Set that I needed to assemble the last (for now) Work Stand.  It had been mis-routed from the 27 July delivery, but was eventually located and made its way here.  Rockler customer support was VERY helpful in resolving this, which I really appreciated.  I am certain that their C-S is based in the USA.  While talking to them, I also let them know about the bag of missing bolts (qty 32).  They forwarded that to their technical support team, and few days later they arrived.

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20240722-28_A-typical-week-plus

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NOTE:  This is a long post that includes four (4) photos with captions.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photo by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

MONDAY 22 thru SUNDAY 28 July 2024 — A busy BdW week and then some; laundry appliances, more yard work, and a gathering of neighbors

 

Monday 22 …  An anniversary, laundry appliances, and a new pair of glasses

The younger of Linda’s two older brothers (Ron) and his wife (Mary) were married on this date in 1995, so today they celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary.  They life near Hershey, Pennsylvania, so we do not see them as often as we would like.

While we were enjoying our coffee and using our iPads, our neighbor, Gail, stopped by to chat.  Linda had sent out invites to our neighborhood friends for a get-together on Sunday (28th) and Gail let us know that she and Mike would attend.

We worked fairly hard on our yard this past weekend, and were satisfied with what we accomplished, so we decided to give yard work a pass today.  We spent the mid-morning looking at laundry appliances online—washers and dryers—as our current ones seem to no longer be performing at their best.  We bought them almost exactly 20 years ago, and moved them from our previous home when we moved to our current location 9 years ago.

The dryer, in particular, seems to be under-performing, failing to get a load completely dry by the end of a cycle, even through it has a moisture sensor feature.  It also has an annoying (lack of a) feature, in that I cannot tell it to just run for a fixed amount of time at a set temperature.  The moisture sensor seems to always be in play.  This has been true since it was new, but perhaps it no longer senses moisture as well as it should.  The washer still works, but the tray that holds the detergent (softener, bleach, etc.) is sometimes full of water at the end of a cycle.  That was never the case until recently.  We could probably have them repaired, but newer/better technology is now available, especially as regards efficiency.

I have been intrigued for a while by heat-pump (ventless) dryers.  They claim to be 3 – 5 times more efficient than electric dryers, but I have not seen a comparison with gas dryers.  While all variety of home appliances seem to be moving away from natural gas (or propane) we have natural gas to our house, and use it for heating (space and water), cooking (including an outside grill), and for our whole-house generator.  Gas is, therefore, an option for us, but it has two downsides:  1) It would still be a vented dryer.  Even if the dryer is more efficient than an electric model, it still draws air from inside the building and vents it to the outside.  That air gets “made up” with air from outside the house—cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer—which puts an additional load on our HVAC systems;  2)  We might want to move the laundry from the basement to the main floor of the house someday.  Our pantry is already plumbed and wired for a laundry (water, drain, and power for a washing machine), but does NOT have a dryer-specific electrical receptacle and does NOT have a vent.

From prior research and recent reviews, the dryers of most interest to us are made by Miele.  It’ a premium brand, and the one most seen in high-end boats and yachts, both kitchens and laundries.  That means they are pricey, but because they are a European company, they also tend to be smaller than standard USA units, with approximately 1/2 the capacity.  While that might be considered a negative, it would allow them to fit easily in our kitchen pantry space, and adding a dedicated 120V/20A circuit for it would be relatively straight-forward.  I would need to do smaller loads more often, but I sort of do that already.  Not a deal-breaker in any event, but something to consider in making this decision.

For breakfast, we had a Just Egg scramble with plant-based sausage in it, served on a piece of toast, with half of a “cutie” orange and half of a banana on the side.  A right-sized, tasty meal.  After breakfast, Linda did the menu planning for the rest of the week and made a grocery list.  I suggested that before going to the supermarket we go to the SVS Vision Center in Brighton and have her order a new pair of glasses.

She selected a FLEXON frame (just as I did, but not the same one) with progressive lenses that darken with exposure to sunlight.  With the order placed (and paid for), we stopped at the Brighton Meijer’s for groceries.  The store is undergoing a major renovation, but parking was not a problem and it was easy to navigate the store and find what we wanted.  As part of the renovation, they are installing new upright refrigeration (and freezer) units; the ones with doors that open out.  We don’t know what else the renovation will involve, but we suspect it will be extensive.  Being in the heart of Brighton, this particular Meijer’s does a LOT of business

Once home, with the groceries put away, Linda went for a walk while I went to my desk to work on blog posts and clean up e-mails.

 

Tuesday 23 …  A Funeral

Earlier this month, our Friend, Diane’s, mother (Helen) had her 100th birthday.  She had a good, long life, living independently in an apartment until her late 90’s.  She was in a care facility not far away from Diane and John’s house, so they had a party for her at a facility nearby so she could attend.  Much of her very-extended family made it to the party, even those who had to travel some distance.  She passed away last week, and today was the funeral mass, celebration of life, and luncheon.  We were invited, and of course we attended.

Many years ago, when our children were still at home, John and Diane would host large family gatherings that included relatives from both of their families.  We lived nearby, and had become good friends, as had our children, and we were often invited to these gatherings.  Being from out-of-town, and not having any relatives or long-time friends in the area, we appreciated being included and always had a good time.  As a result, we met most of their siblings and their spouses and children.  We even got to know a few of their “clan” members.  With everyone’s children grown and off making their ways in the world, they no longer host these large gatherings, so we had not seen most of the people in attendance at the funeral for quite some time.  There was mutual recognition with the ones we had known best, and a chance to meet and chat with some that we had only heard about over the years.

 

Wednesday 24 …  A right, and a responsibility, and something unhinged

We recently received our mail-in ballots for the upcoming August primary elections.  We filled them out this morning and dropped them off at our Township office.  We have voted in almost every local, state, and federal election since we became eligible to vote.  I say “almost” as we might have missed a library or city council election somewhere along the way, but if so, it has been very few.  Indeed, we think that voting for the local library board is as important as voting for representatives, senators, governors, and presidents.  It is a right that is meaningless if it is not exercised, and we feel it is a responsibility of citizenship to do so.

Dan (Everlast Doors) stopped by mid-late afternoon to work on the garage doors.  I had discovered that one of the hinges on the smaller door was missing an attachment screw on its upper portion and that the other screw on that portion was not fully seated.  Since the doors are new, I did not want to take on the task of installing the missing screw, lest I not do it correctly.  While Dan was there, we discovered several more missing screws on the large door, and he installed them as well.  He checked both doors to make sure they would still open and close correctly, which they did.  Dan did a nice job with the installation, and has been quick to follow up on any issues, which have been few and minor.

During the evening, we watched the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, officially The Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, aka Paris 2024.

 

Thursday 25 …  Different day, same routine and chores

Linda met up with our daughter, Meghan, for a walk this morning.  There was nothing else on our calendar for today.  I failed to make any notes about what else happened today, although I suspect we worked in the yard.  Late in the afternoon, we got a text message that a pair of glasses was ready at SVS Vision Center in Brighton, but it didn’t say if they were for me or her (we both have pairs on order).

 

Friday 26 … 

BdW Members Patrick & Ruth W. left sometime during the morning and BdW members Ted & Peg H. (NatlParkEnthusiasts) arrived around 13:00.  As always, I met them in the street just before our first driveway entrance and directed them into our guest RV site.  We chatted briefly and then left them to setup while we ran errands.

We needed to pick up some things at Costco, so we stopped at SVS Vision Center on our way.  A sign on the door indicated they were closed today through Monday the 29th.  No further explanation offered, but none really needed either.

 

Saturday 27 …  Yard work, fire, and shop stands

Our fire circle (burn pit) with pieces of branches and twigs neatly piled, ready to serve as the center of our next yard detritus fire.

This photo was taken from inside the Rocker Work-Steady Corner Stand in the SE corner of the workshop (in the barn) looking north along the E wall through two of the Work Stands and into the Corner Stand in the NE corner of the workshop.

We had enough material in our burn pit to justify starting it on fire, but we prefer to do that on days when we can also work in the yard, either gathering up additional downed material or pruning dead branches from trees.  Well, today was one of those days, so we got to work sometime before mid-morning.

In the early afternoon, a UPS truck showed up and delivered 3 of the 4 Rockler Rock-Steady 32” 4-pack leg sets, still leaving me short one (1) set of legs.  Later in the afternoon, I decided to start assembling one of the two corner stand kits and opened the boxes of required parts.  To my dismay, the leg set I opened had two bags of nuts/washers (there should only have been one bag) but NO bag of bolt.  Thirty-two (32) bolts (size 5/16-18 x 3/4”) are required to attach a set of 4 legs to all of the upper and lower stringers.  I opened the other three leg sets and was relieved that they all contained the right parts.

 

Sunday 28 …  Chores, projects, and Friends/Neighbors

Error code and message on wired remote control for our smaller garage door.

When Linda left to go to the grocery store, the smaller garage door did not finish closing; it stopped, reversed direction to the fully open position, and displayed an error code/message on the wired remote by the door into our library “Excessive Closing Force Detected.”  I eventually texted Dan (Everlast Doors) to let him know.

Today was a partial laundry day, a partial shop work table assembly day, and a party preparation day.  They first two items were mine, the last one was mostly Linda’s.  The neighbors arrived around 6 PM.  Mike was not able to attend at the last minute, but Gail came anyway.  Linda had prepared some food (snack) items, and everyone brought sometime to add to the table, as well as their own beverages.  Marta and Gary were accompanied by Marta’s sister, and Rose and Jerry as came.  It’s a small circle of neighbors who are lively conversationalists, and we feel fortunate to have them as friends.  Everyone stayed until after it got dark.

A view of the east end of the workshop in the barn with a Rockler Rock-Steady Corner Stand in the SE corner with two (2) 56” x 20” x 32” Work Stands attached to it.  None of the work stands have top surfaces, shelves, or drawers yet as I was still pondering configurations and materials.

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NOTE:  This is a longer post that contains one (1) photo with caption, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

FRIDAY 19 thru SUNDAY 21 July 2024 — Vision, cruises, SW licenses, yard work, Boondockers, and a Buck Moon

 

Friday 19 … More vision, a cruise dream, and a software license

Yesterday was a hard day so today was an easier day, by comparison.  Linda had a 1 PM follow-up visit with Dr. V, her ophthalmologist at the KEC-BCSC.  She got an excellent report; both of her eyes are healing well.  Dr. V tested her vision and gave her a prescription for bi-focal glass lenses.  Linda can actually see fairly well now without glasses, both for reading and distance.  She is far-sighted in one eye and near-sighted in the other, and Dr. V inserted lenses that work with that difference.  But she still does not see quite well enough for extended work at her desk, staring at her laptop computer and working with our personal financial and travel records, or reams of accounting printouts from the bakery.  And while her distance vision is okay, the glasses will make it better, especially in her near-sighted eye.  This will allow here to see better while in a vehicle, whether driving or as a passenger helping to read road signs.

We got a brochure in the mail today from Oceania Cruise Line (OCL).  Oceania is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCL-H).  Having sailed twice on NCL, they know who we are and they know where we live.  OCL is a luxury cruise line featuring smaller ships than the ones we have been on (so far).  Their cruises are commensurately pricey, so not something we have seriously considered.  But just like the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs at Christmas (when we were kids), we went through the brochure to see what was on offer.  They offer a lot of cruises in the Far East, including Australia and New Zealand, the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean.  But the one that caught our eye departed from Buenos Aires (Argentina) and ended in Santiago de Chile (Chile) with a 2-day stop in Antarctica and a trip around Cape Horn through the Drake Passage.  The sailing dates were northern hemisphere winter, so southern hemisphere summer, when the Southern Ocean is not quite as fierce as it is in the southern winter.  And it was on sale for what seemed to be a relatively good price.  Setting foot on Antarctic continent is a true bucket list item for me, but it won’t happen in 2025 (we already have two big trips planned) and probably not in 2026 (when we plan to RV to Alaska).  The 2025 trips are set in stone (as much as any trip can be) but 2026 is still just an unplanned intent.

I have been using the QCAD software package for a few years now.  I made extensive use of it to design the barn, but I use it for other things as well.  The basic version is open source and free to download and use, but the professional version unlocks some important features and provides access to updated versions as they become available.  For $39 a year, having the professional version is a no-brainer for me.  My current license expires this coming Sunday, so I went ahead and renewed it tonight.  I always use PayPal for things like this, and it will be interesting to see how this hits my credit card.  I selected $USD on the website/store but the invoice came up in $EUR.  I don’t know if this was related to the worldwide CloudStrike/Windows outage, but the transaction completed successfully using PayPal.  While processing this transaction, I discovered that my password app on my phone would not allow me to log in with my fingerprint.  Humm; that was strange and annoying as this is how I usually open the app.  I got the password from one of our other devices and logged in that way.  In the app settings on my phone, the ability to biometrically authenticate (face scan or fingerprint) was turned OFF.  I did not turn it off, so it probably got reset as part of an update.  I really hate it when that happens.

Last, but not least, UPS delivered most of the Rockler Rock-Steady work stand components and kits.  I knew these weighed quit a bit as all the pieces are steel and the driver confirmed this immediately upon arrival.  I asked if would deliver them to the barn, and he was more than willing to do so.  I helped him unload everything and get it into the barn.  The delivery included two (2) Corner Stand kits (complete), and the following components for the five (5) 56” x 20” x32” Work Stands:  5 x 4-packs of 56” Stretchers, 5 x 4-packs of 20” Stretchers, 5 x 2-packs of 32” Center Supports, 5 x 4-packs of Stand Connectors, 10 x 2-packs of Drawer/Shelf Brackets, and 1 x 4-packs of 32” legs.  Missing from the delivery were 4 x 4-packs of 32” leg sets for the five (5) 56” x 20” x 32” Work Stands.  We checked the order on Rockler’s website and verified that they were still on backorder.  Also, that we had only been charged for the pieces that actually shipped.

 

Saturday 20 … More yard work

I knew the refill date on my blood pressure medication was coming up soon, so I logged into my online pharmacy to check.  I quickly discovered that they were going to automatically refill it, so nothing for me to do except wait for it to show up.

After coffee and breakfast, we got dressed to work in the yard.  I had previously added enough material to our firepit to justify lighting a fire, and we knew there were enough tree limbs on the ground in the west yard to keep us busy for a few hours.  Linda eventually turned her attention to weeding under the large stand of pine, and fir trees just NW of the house, which included cutting out saplings.  We worked from 10:00 to 13:00 and put our tools away.

A shower and some lunch and we were good as new.  I then settled in to work on blog posts and launder the bed linens while Linda made a new batch of her amazing granola.  Our middle grand-daughter was due back today from a two-week stint at the YMCA camp, but we did not get a chance to Facetime with her.  Dinner was the second go-around of the Mexican corn salad, and it was just as good as the first time.  After dinner we settled in to watch our usual Saturday evening TV programs on our local PBS station.

The “Buck Moon” about 8 hours before it’s precise occurrence.  This photo was taken a 10:20 PM, about 20 minutes after moonrise.  The view is southeast from the end of our first driveway, the only place on our property that afforded an unobstructed view of the orb, and I had to wait for the disk to be above the tree line of the properties southeast of us.  This is a long/night-mode handheld exposure that received more than my usual post-processing.  In particular, I tried to make the details on the surface of the moon at least a little bit visible, while also bringing out some details in the surrounding clouds and the trees along the bottom of the image.

I had noticed for the past week that the moon was near full.  A news headline popped up this morning about tonight being the “BUCK MOON,” the name given to the full moon in July.  Online research indicated that in North America the name is ancient and spiritual, and refers to the time of year that male deer start to grow their antlers.  The actual time of the Buck Moon was tomorrow morning, but we had an excellent view of the moon this evening, low in the southeast sky but above the trees.  The weather was clear and the moon appeared very large and very bright.

 

Sunday 21 … Another BdW guest arrives

The exact time for the “Buck Moon” was 6:17 AM EDT, but we did not see it this morning; I was up, but the weather was cloudy.  We also have trees in our yard, as do adjacent properties to the east and southeast, that obscure the eastern horizon, so we often cannot see a moonrise.

We continued our work on the property again today.  Linda pulled weeds while I cut down one of the four (4) “bushes” that grow in the northeast portion of our yard.  They are not attractive, consisting of a tangled mix of samplings, vines, and wild raspberries with plenty of thorns.  Even mowing the grass near them requires some care.

When we had a sufficient pile of material in the burn bit I started the fire.  I then switched my attention to the stand of large pine trees in the northeast corner of the property.  I removed limbs and branches that were already on the ground, and then cleared a path around the east side of the stand.  I then pruned a few of the lower/dead branches from the trunk of one of the trees.  I hadn’t planned on pruning today, but we needed more/larger wood for the fire, and these were easy to get to and relatively close to the fire pit (compared to material from the western portion of the property.)  We worked for about 3 hours and then called it quits.

BdW members Patrick & Ruth W. notified me around 17:30 that they would arrive at 20:30.  Our preferred arrival window is between 13:00 and 17:00, but later times are okay as long as we know.  Knowing they would not arrive for a while, we opened our BdW Hosting Profile in the HH-BW app and reviewed our information.  We confirmed that our profile does state a preferred arrival window of 1 – 5 PM.  As long as we were logged in, we made some minor edits to our information.  I tend to error on the side of TMI, the error being that the more words you use the less likely most people are to actually read and retain all of them.  Still, there are things guests need to know about our site and expectations.  Linda then prepared a dinner meal of mushroom root steak, corn, baked sweet potato, and a small green salad with plant-based “blue cheese” dressing.  Yum.

After dinner, we watched an episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot on PBS at 19:00 and then the latest episode of Martijn Doolard on Youtube at 19:50, which filled the time until 20:30 rather nicely.  That meant we missed this week’s episode of Professor T (PBS) but we can stream that sometime this coming week.  Our guests arrived on our street right at their ETA and phoned me.  Linda came out with me and after I got them parked we had a brief welcoming chat before leaving them to make camp.  We returned to our Sunday evening PBS TV programs and watched Grantchester at 21:00 and DI Ray at 22:00, both of which appeared to be the concluding episodes for this season.  That might also be true of Professor T, but we won’t know until we watch it.

 

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NOTE:  This shorter post contains one (1) photo with caption, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 15 and TUESDAY 16 July 2024 — Vision and Hearing

 

Monday 15 … Optical

By today, Linda was well on her way to recovery from her cold.  I was also a lot better, but definitely not fully recovered yet.  We had another fairly easy day, but I did test my new tri-focal glasses as well as my previous pair (from at least 8 years ago).  I was only interested in the distance portion of the lenses, as the reading and arm’s length prescriptions in my new glasses were fine.

My test setup consisted of a box of cat litter as a target; a white box with a solid blue panel, with white letters.  The large letters were ~ 3/4” high and the small letters were ~ 1/4” high.  I set the box on our patio table facing east so it was illuminated by the morning sun.  Beyond the box were bushes and trees at various distances, all well-illuminated.  I estimated the farthest trees to be about 130 feet beyond the target.  I secured the free end of my 100-foot tape measure at the front edge of the target and un-reeled it along the deck to the far east end, which turned out to be 70 feet.

The front panel of a box of Dr. Elsey’s Cat Litter served as the target for testing my new tri-focal glasses and comparing them to my old ones.  It was well lit with sunlight, and had both larger and smaller letters with good contrast, so it made a good target.

With Linda’s assistance, we noted how clearly I could see the letters on the target at increasing distances in 5-foot increments, starting at 5 feet from the target.  (Somewhere around 40 feet, we went to 10-foot increments up to 70 feet.)  We also noted how sharp things appeared beyond the target.  We did this first with my un-aided vision.  We then repeated this procedure with my new glasses, and then again with my old glasses.  What we found was that I could see the target fairly well without glasses out to about 45 feet, and that things farther away were less sharp, but not too blurry.  With my new glasses, everything was less sharp at every distance, getting worse with increasing distance.  With my old glasses, however, the target and everything beyond was sharper at every distance compared to my un-aided vision.

I had a return visit at 16:00 with our new optometrist at the Kellogg Eye Center (KEC) at the UofMH-BCSC.  I shared the results of my testing with the technician, and again with the optometrist.  The technician did not really seem interested in my test, re-checked my eyes, and then checked my new tri-focal glasses as well as my previous pair.  She basically told me my new glasses were fine.  Uh, no, they are not.

Fortunately, the optometrist listened carefully, took my concern seriously, and acknowledged what I needed my tri-focal glasses to do.  She re-tested my eyes and came up with a revised prescription.  She even took me to an outside window with a view of several signs in the parking lot at various and considerable distances.  She held up additional corrective lenses until I could see the signs clearly and then finalized a new prescription.  If my replacement lenses achieve the same clarity, I will be very satisfied.

Rain was in the forecast again for today and overnight, which probably meant our lawn care guy (Keith) would not be able to mow tomorrow.  Such are the vagaries of weather-dependent work.

 

Tuesday 16 … More optical, and an online Cochlear meeting

Well, it did indeed rain overnight, a lot.  We had standing water around the property and mowing the grass did not seem prudent.  Keith texted me around 8 AM to see what the situation was and we agreed that he would skip mowing our property this week.  Unfortunately for his, his makeup day is Monday, so if he cannot mow us on Tuesday (our regular day) it has to wait a week, or I have to do it.

Our Boondockers Welcome guests, Dave and Martha T., left around noon.  Their next stop was the Jellystone Family RV Resort in Frankenmuth, Michigan.  We will be there in early Fall.  When they had left, I headed to the SVS Vision Optical Center in Brighton with my new tri-focal glasses and my revised prescription.  The optician was very helpful and it did not take very long to return the glasses and get the new prescription ordered.  There will not be a charge for the replacement lenses as I was well within the 45 “no questions asked” return/adjust period.

Back home, Linda had a 4 PM online meeting with a representative from Cochlear.  There was another woman (client) in the meeting, and I sat in out of curiosity.  The meeting was conducted using Microsoft Teams, but Linda did not have to install anything on her laptop computer.  (I had to use MS Teams back in June 2022 just after we entered Canada.  I was randomly selected for a CoVID-19 test, and the test had to be monitored by someone online.  I used my iPad Pro, and had to install the MS Teams app.)  The reason for the meeting, was that Medicare covers the cost of replacing a Cochlear device every five (5) years and Linda was now eligible for a replacement.

Cochlear is always working to improve their products, and Linda was excited about getting the newest version of the external processor.  Cochlear handles the entire order and delivery process, coordinating with our BCBS Medicare Plus health insurance and with Linda’s audiologist.  The new processor will be shipped directly to our house, and will be pre-programmed with the current settings as last determined by the audiologist.  Linda had already uploaded a lot of information to Cochlear, and the purpose of the meeting was to finalize the details on what she wanted, including a choice of accessories.  Of no small importance, we learned that Linda does NOT have to return her current processor, but will retain it as a backup.

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NOTE:  This is a moderately lengthy post that contains one (1) photo with caption, taken by Linda with a Google Pixel 6.

 

MONDAY 08 thru FRIDAY 12 July 2024 — A busy week in the context of illness; dental and optical visits, and a rare broadband outage

 

Monday 08 … More yard work, new glasses, and illness

I got up today not feeling 100%.  I actually started coming down with something yesterday, including a mild sore throat (never a good thing) but shrugged it off to just being tired.  Linda and I had both been working hard on the property (weeds and trees); we were both tired and needed a rest.  Linda was also just getting over what she thought was a bad cold.

Our BdW guests (Mark & Kathy) left around mid-morning for their next destination at Burt Lake.  Mark had spent time there at an earlier point in his life and was looking forward to revisiting the area.  They said they enjoyed their brief stay and had a very quiet night.

I received a text message around 10:30 (AM) letting me know my new glasses were ready.  I decided to pick them up before getting to work on the yard.  This was a pair of tri-focals that I intended to use for driving, but the distance (upper) portion of the prescription made my distance vision much worse than my un-aided eyes.  Hummm.  The reading portion was the same as my reading glasses, and the intermediate portion (intended for the dashboard) seemed to be OK.  The optician said they would remake the lenses if needed (within 45 days) for no charge, but they would need a new/different prescription which I would have to obtain from my optometrist.  Ugh.  That meant trying to get an appointment with our OD at the UofMH KEC at the BCSC within the next 40 days.  Double ugh.

Back home, we got to work in the yard, making a pile of dead tree branches in our firepit and lighting it on fire.  I continued to prune dead limbs and branches from pine, fir, and spruce trees and Linda helped cut them up into sizes that fit our burn pit.

 

Tuesday 09 … a “crowning” achievement

When I got up this morning it was obvious that I was really sick.  My sore throat had worsened, and I was coughing up quite a bit of phlegm.  When this happens, the problem for me is that I cannot tell if the phlegm is the result of nasal drainage or is being produced in my lungs.  I wasn’t having any breathing difficulties or pain, other than the coughing itself, but the origin was still undetermined.  A trip to the clinic was probably in order, but I did not go, in part because I had a dental appointment this afternoon.  I called to let the clinic know I was symptomatic.  They said to come in anyway.

Because of the myriad road construction projects in our area, I left about 90 minutes ahead of my 2 PM dental appointment.  I arrived early, but not stressed.  Dr. G confirmed that a partial crown (or cap) had failed on my right lower rear molar.  The hole in the cap, however, was not the result of it having been drilled out in order to do a root canal procedure on that tooth.  Indeed, that tooth still had an intact root.  I was surprised to hear that, as I have not had any discomfort following the loss of the cap.  I will need a new crown, and the appointment to prepare the tooth will take 90 minutes, which their schedule did not allow for today.  I made an appointment to return on the 17th in the late morning and will have another appointment approximately three (3) weeks after that to get the crown installed.  So, all told, it will be approximately five (5) weeks from when the crown came off until the new one goes on.  I know these things take what they take, but that felt like a really long time.  No doubt the 1-week delay waiting for today’s appointment added to my sense of extended time.

There was a major Security and Bug-Fixing Update from Microsoft today, so we made sure our computers were up-to-date.  Over 140 security flaws across all MS products were patched and some other “bugs” squashed.

The weather had turned very warm by now, and with my continuing illness I was not up to working in the yard.  I used various OTC products to try and ease my “suffering,” including Acetaminophen, DayQuil, NyQuil, MucinexDM (for expectorant), and Unisom (to sleep).  Not all at the same time, of course.  MucinexDM and Unisom were my main “go-to” products.  It was probably around this time that we discussed what to have for dinner, and I suggested that soup would be an excellent choice for the next few days.  Linda was willing and able to accommodate that suggestion.

 

Wednesday 10 … Starve a fever, feed a cold

The day did NOT dawn bright.  Rain and wind started overnight and continued through the day, very heavy at times, as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl swept up from Texas and into the Great Lakes region.  (We later learned that we got about 3” of rain in 36 hours, but some areas around us got over 6” of the liquid sunshine.)

I called the UofMH KEC at their BCSC and was able to get an appointment with our optometrist (Dr. T) on Monday the 15th at 4 PM.  It was a relief to be able to get an appointment that soon.

The base for the Vitamix small capacity blending container.  The Vitamix imprint and part number are on the blade pointing to the right.  We had to fiddle with the lighting, and do some post-processing, to get the information to be legible in the photo.

I helped Linda get a photo of the base of the small vessel for her Vitamix.  Vitamix recalled this part, but needed a photo as proof that we actually had one.  They rejected the first photo she sent has it did not have the company logo and product number clearly visible, and the file was larger than 3 Mb.  Both pieces of information were on one of the cutting/chopping blades, and I had to orient the unit very carefully relative the very bright LED lamp on Linda’s desk in order to get the inscribed information to standout from the rest of the blade.  (The blades on metal, and highly reflective.)  The new photo was also less than 3 Mb so she submitted it.  She got a fairly quick reply that they new photo was acceptable!  Good job team!

Other that that, I rested most of the day, even to the point of taking at least one nap, which is unusual for me.

 

Thursday 11 … Picking up sticks

On lawn care guy (Keith) texted me around 8 AM to let me know he would be mowing today, and ask if I wanted him to do our property.  In spite of the large amount of recent rain, I said “yes,” but as late in the day as possible.  Linda met Diane at KMP at 9:30 AM for their weekly walk.  In spite of still not feeling well, I got dressed and picked up all (most) of the tree limbs and branches that had come down in the last 36 hours.  As long as I was up and out, and put out corn and refilled the bird feeders.

ABIR, Linda worked at her desk a bit.  If she’s not doing accounting work for the bakery, or tax returns for family and friends (late winter and early spring), she is doing routine accounting and finance tasks for us.

At some point during the day, we got another Boondockers Welcome stay request, this one for very late July into early August, which I approved.

 

Friday 12 … A rare loss of service

I was still feeling poorly today, albeit a bit better, but it was still basically a “do nothing” day for me.  ABIR, Linda took it fairly easy too.

Apparently, we lost our Xfinity/Comcast broadband service sometime around 5:30 PM.  Linda and I were not aware of this at the time as we were both doing things on our iPads that did not require us to be online.  I got a call form our neighbor (Mike G.) around 17:45 checking on whether we had our Internet connection.  I checked, and we did not.  I called him back to let him know.  While chatting, I mentioned that we had both been sick, and described my symptoms.  He suggested that we test for COVID-19.  Apparently a new strain with milder symptoms like mine has been circulating.  We both tested and both results were negative, but it was good to know for sure.

Mike checked to see when service might be restored.  He got 10:30 PM SUNDAY NIGHT as an answer and shared that information with us.  What?!!!  Linda checked, and got 10:30 PM tomorrow (Saturday) as an estimate; better, but still a long way’s off.  I eventually got a text message from Xfinity about the outage and signed up for updates.  Not long after, I got an update indicating that service should be restored by 10:40 PM THIS EVENING.  Well, that’s more like it.  Our service was actually restored sometime prior to that.  No indication of what had happened, there rarely if ever is, but it was good to have the service back.  While it was out we watched OTA TV programs on CBS.  These are shows that we used to watch every week but haven’t in quite a while.  We don’t miss them.

 

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NOTE:  This post contains one (1) photo with caption, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

THURSDAY 04 thru SUNDAY 07 July 2024 — The USA has another birthday, celestial motion, & mead

 

Thursday 04 … Independence Day

We do not have a family tradition of getting together on the 4th of July for a meal or other activities, and we have never been inclined to buy and use fireworks on this, or any other occasion.  When we were younger we would, however, often attend large public fireworks displays.  But many people do gather on this holiday, and we have plenty of neighbors who indulge in fireworks, so we were not without a sense of festivity today.

If I understand dates correctly, the Declaration of Independence was unveiled publicly on this date in 1776.  Thus, the first anniversary of “Independence Day” was July 4th, 1777 and today was the 248th anniversary of this world-changing event.  I hadn’t really thought much about it, but July 4th, 2026 will be the 250th anniversary of the birth of the nation.  I presume there will be lavish celebrations that year.

As for what we did today?  I have no idea or, rather, I don’t have any helpful notes.  If I have to guess, I suspect we worked in the yard, but it’s also entirely possible that we just took the day off and relaxed.  It’s been known to happen.

 

Friday 05 …  Aphelion & Mead

Our new wine refrigerator with the racks pulled part way out.  The wall hanging is a hooked rug that I (Bruce) made sometime in the 1976-77 timeframe.  It was my own design, based on a pseudo-colored x-ray radio photograph of the Milky Way galaxy.  The photo was just of the central portion of what is portrayed in the rug.

Aphelion and mead don’t really have much to do with one another, other than the fact that they both happened today.  Aphelion is the point (in space and time) when the earth is the farthest away from the sun during its annual revolution.  This is a distance of 1.01 AU (astronomical units), approximately 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers.  (I think 1 AU is the average/mean distance of the earth from the sun.

Since the earth’s orbit is elliptical, rather than circular, there are only two points in the orbit where it  is1 AU from the sun.  The rest of the year it is slightly farther away or slightly closer.)   Most sources I checked seemed to indicate this occurred today, but some indicated that it actually occurred tomorrow.  It’s not so much important as it is interesting, at least to astronomy geeks.  Indeed, it’s the hottest time of the year in the northern hemisphere.  That’s because the distance from the sun has very little effect on our climate.  It’s the 23.5-degree axial-tilt of the earth relative to the plane of its orbit, and how that tilt is oriented to the sun throughout the year, that determines our seasons.

Today was the mead tasting at Schramm’s Mead in Ferndale.  We left early enough to have lunch before going to Meadery just ahead of our 1 PM tasting appointment.  The tasting was in a small room that could comfortably accommodate 6 – 8 tasters.  For our session, there were only three tasters, us and another woman.  We had asked for a guided tasting, so our host (Charles, I believe), told us a bit about each mead before and as we tasted it, with some discussion following each one, and comparisons to those previously sampled or tasted elsewhere sometime/someplace in the past.

All meads are made with honey as the main source of fermentable sugar, and Schramm’s has a wide range of products based on a careful and skillful selection and blending of both honeys and fruits.  The six we tasted today were, in order, Marionberry, Pacific Bramble +, Patty Fay, Apple Crisp, Leatherwood, and Sunflowers.  The first three are fruit meads, Patty Fay is made with ginger, while the last two are classic meads.  That is to say, they contain nothing but water and honey.  These are the meads in which the essential character of the honey is the sole determinant of the taste.

We had a bottle of Patty Fay at home, that I purchased when I visited the meadery some weeks ago to have lunch with Ken (the owner and namesake of the business), but we had not opened it yet, so all six of these meads were knew to us.  They were each different from one another, all interesting, and all very much to our taste; really fine examples of the art of mead-making.  We bought three (3) bottles, 1 each of Leatherwood, Sunflowers, and Heather.  Heather was not part of the tasting but was also a classic mead and was strongly suggested by our fellow taster, who was clearly a regular, and more experienced mead drinker (and customer) than us.  As best I recall, we were told it has a strong ginger presence that we would like, given how much we liked the Patty Fay.

 

Saturday 06 … Why we have desks

Linda had work she needed to do for the bakery, and spent the day at her desk, so I did the same (at my desk).  There’s always stuff to do at our desks, especially things that involve our computers rather than our tablets.  Besides, we both needed a break from yard work.

 

Sunday 07 … Off to camp (again), more yard work, and another BdW guest

Madeline took the bus back to Camp Algonquin today, this time for two back-to-back 1-week sessions.  I think that one of these sessions included some equestrian experiences.  She had already been to “horse camp” (locally) a summer or two ago, and was looking forward to getting back in the saddle.

I resumed my tree pruning work, but wasn’t feeling well.  I had a sore throat but no fever.  Still, after a few hours I was tired, not feeling the joy of the work, and called it quits for the day.

BdW guest Mark and Kathy L. arrived in the early evening for a 1-night stay.  It had been a long day for them, so Linda and I chatted with them briefly and let them settle in.  I mentioned that I wasn’t feeling well and kept my distance.

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NOTE:  This is a short post that includes one (1) photo with caption, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 24 thru SUNDAY 30 June 2024 — Summer is here, BW guests, and a birthday brunch

 

Monday 24 …  Property maintenance

Nothing noted on our calendar.  Linda was still in Dexter cat-sitting.  I’m not sure what I did, but I might have spent part of the day pruning trees.  I microwaved something for dinner.

 

Tuesday 25 … Wet weather, inside work

We had heavy rain this morning, so I had Keith skip the mowing today.  It was unlikely that I worked outside, so it must have been an inside day.  That usually means I worked at my desk, either cleaning up e-mails, backing up files, working on blog posts.  I microwaved something for dinner, again.

 

Wednesday 26 … Another BdW guest arrives

Boondockers Welcome (BdW) guests Elizabeth G. and spouse arrived around 1 PM for a 1-night stay.  As usual, I met them in the street and got them situated in our guest site.  We visited briefly, and then I left them alone to set up their rig and do whatever else then needed to do.  Linda was still in Dexter cat-sitting, and I have no idea what I did the rest of the day other than microwave something for dinner.  I know it sounds like “Groundhog Day” all over again, but it really wasn’t that repetitious.  I had a nice selection of vegan microwaveable meals to choose from.

 

Thursday 27 … Medical follow-up, and a return home

Our BdW guests pulled out sometime before noon.  Meghan and Chris returned home from the trip to Las Vegas and were very happy to see their kitty cats. Linda had a 4 PM phone follow-up with UofMH KEC Ophthalmology, which she might have done from her car while driving home.

 

Friday 28 … Another BdW guest arrives

ABIR, we had an easy day of it today.  Linda had been away from the house for a week, and was ready to just settle back in to our normal routine.  BdW members Wjrdmr945 arrived mid-afternoon for a 2-night stay.

 

Saturday 29 … A Mead tasting opportunity

We received an e-mail from Schramm’s Mead announcing tasting opportunities at their meadery in Ferndale, Michigan.  Various dates were available with specific time slots for each.  A reservation and pre-payment were required.  I signed us up for Friday, July 5 at 1 PM.  The tasting included six (6) different meads for $25 per person.  Tasting of their very best (and rare) meads was available for considerable added cost, but we have had those meads, and were more interested in developing a broader understanding and appreciation of their range of products.

 

Sunday 30 … Happy Birthday Linda!!!

Our daughter invited everyone (us and her brother’s family) to The Lake House for brunch to celebrate Linda’s birthday.  She’s not bashful about her age, but I will leave the specifics for those who have a need to know.

Meghan made two different kinds of really excellent vegan French Toast, one using cinnamon raisin bread.  She also cooked up a batch of vegan sausage patties along with actual bacon.  There was (real) maple syrup (of course), plant-based as well as dairy butter, and a mixed fruit salad with CocoWhip (a vegan replacement for whipped cream).  Oh, my goodness, what a nice meal.

Brendan & Shawna gave Linda a bottle of white port.  They did not bring it home from Portugal (too difficult to transport) but they tasted quite a bit of port while they were there, and discovered white port as a result.

Sadie ended up at the beach playing in the water (just her lower legs, it was a cool day) and “digging a tunnel to China” in the beach sand.  Uncle Chris helped her with the tunnel.  All-in-all, we had a nice long visit with family.

We had not planned anything else for Linda’s birthday, but it didn’t seem right for her to have to fix dinner.  I had planned on cooking, so we decided to go to the local Olive Garden restaurant for dinner.  It was just okay, but we didn’t expect it to be outstanding, so we were not disappointed.

Back home, we had some of the white port.  It was very sweet, but quite good, and we both enjoyed it.

A view of the outside of the new garage doors.  It’s placed here because this is the date when I took the photograph.

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NOTE:  This is a very short post that includes one (1) photo with caption, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 17 thru WEDNESDAY 19 June 2024 — Grand-daughters, friends, workshop tables

 

Monday 17 …  Supervising grand-daughters in Ann Arbor and meeting a friend

Linda went to Ann Arbor yesterday for three (3) nights to supervise (and entertain) the grand-daughters.  She arranged to have brunch with Kathi S. today.  Kathi is the mother of childhood friends of our children, and a friend of ours, who now resides in Ann Arbor.

 

Tuesday 18 …  More Ann Arbor & More Garage Doors

Both of the new garage doors are installed and in the open position.  Each one has a wireless exterior keypad.  The one for the smaller door is visible in the photo.

Linda wrapped up her initial 3-nights of child-supervision and entertainment, mostly for our 5-year-old grand-daughter (Sadie).  Our daughter, Meghan, took over from there.

While Sadie was at her day-camp (at Daycroft Montessori), Linda went to Meghan’s house to get detailed instructions on taking care of the cats while Meghan and Chris are away.  She returned to Ann Arbor to gather up a few things and did some light grocery shopping (Whole Foods Market) before returning home.  Meghan picked Sadie up from camp, and provided her supervision and entertainment until Saturday morning, when Linda relieved her.

Our friend, Kate, texted us today to see if we where available/interested for/in getting together tomorrow evening.  We were, but deferred making a decision about where to go until tomorrow morning.

Dan (Everlast Doors) texted to see if he could stop by late afternoon to continue working on the installation of the new garage doors.  He arrived around 16:30.

 

Wednesday 19 … A big delivery; dinner & coffee with Kate

After sharing suggestions back and forth with Kate, we all agreed to go to Bigalora Wood Fired Cucina in Ann Arbor for dinner.  They have non-dairy cheese available for their pizzas, so that worked for us.

I recently ordered numerous work table components from Rockler for the workshop in the barn.  Many of the items arrived today, but the remaining ones are on back-order, with estimated availability of July 28 (this year).  Everything was coming via UPS with a delivery window of noon-16:00.  Shortly after noon, the truck pulled in front of the house.;  I saw it come in, and dashed outside to ask the driver if he could unload at the barn, as that is where all of the pieces will be assembled and used.  He was more than willing to do that.  I met him down there and helped move the boxes from the door of the truck into the barn.  I did not, however, immediately verify if what I had received matched the shipping notifications I got from Rockler and UPS.

Linda booked our flights (DELTA) for our Thanksgiving trip to Florida to visit with Nancy and Paul.

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NOTE:  This is a long post that includes six (6) photos with captions.  Unless otherwise indicated, photos taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SATURDAY 01 thru SUNDAY 09 June 2024 — the first nine days of June

 

School was done for the year for our two younger grand-daughters, but their mom and dad still had to work.  The girls would be headed off to various camps over the summer, some local and some a few hours away.  Our son and daughter-in-law would also have some time off and engage in some adult-only travel.  All of which added up to Linda and Meghan (our daughter) being “on tap” for child-care services.  (The girls are too old to call in babysitting anymore.)

 

Saturday 01 …

Sadie takes a break with her dad while Apa (me) looks on.  (Photo by Linda)

Sadie had her last soccer game of the season at 9 AM and we were glad to finally be spectators.  Her dad (our son) brought her to the game and stayed to watch, but afterwards we took her to Anna’s House for breakfast.  It was a special treat as she usually has to share the attention of the adults in her life with her older sister.  But not this morning, as Mads had to be elsewhere.

 

Sadie with her after-game gift/treats bag.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ama (Linda) and Sadie working on something with crayons while we wait for our breakfast an Anna’s House in Ann Arbor.

 

Sunday 02 …

We went for a walk at Kensington Metropark today.  It was very nice and I’ve included a couple of wildlife photos.  Linda walks almost every week, usually with Diane, but I am not so much into that.  I prefer working around the property, but I need to walk more regularly in preparation for a 14-day Rick Steve’s tour of England (with one stop in Wales) in May 2025.  We will be transported by motorcoach, but we will do a LOT of walking on this tour.  We will also be touting our luggage to and from the motorcoach and, in some cases, up and down stairs to our hotel rooms.  Rick Steve’s Tours tend to book smaller (boutique?) hotels in city centers.  This provides ready access to the city for tour participants, but these hotels sometimes lack elevators, and might include communal restrooms.

 

While walking a trail at Kensington Metropark, we spotted this Red-Bellied Woodpecker.  The wildlife at this park is somewhat acclimated to the presence of humans, sometimes lots of them, all moving around and doing things, like hiking and bicycling and having picnics.  As such, people can sometimes get close enough to them to take a decent photo without needing specialized/expensive camera equipment.

 

The same bird as above just a moment later, having moved from a tree trunk to the ground.  It has something in its beak, but I’m not sure what it was.

 

Monday 03 …

The last time I used our gasoline powered string trimmer, it leaked fuel.  BTW:  I have suddenly discovered on Youtube that folks in Europe refer to these as a “strimmer.”  Okay, I get where that comes from, but I have no idea when/where that originated, and I don’t understand being so lazy that you feel the need to reduce two words to one. Anyway, rather than fuss with it, I decided to buy a battery powered one.  I chose a Milwaukee model at Rural King that came with an extra M18 6.0 W-Hr battery for free.  Those batteries are not cheap, so it was a decent deal.

 

Tuesday 04 …

Our BdW guest, Wade S. left today for their next destination.  Yesterday or today (I/m not sure which one) we decided to book a cruise for early December (this year).  We found a Virgin Voyages “Pre-Holiday Caribbean Refresh” cruise departing San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 6 and returning there on December 14.  We booked an XL Sea Terrace (balcony) cabin on Deck 12 Forward.  Paul and Nancy subsequently decided to book the same cruise.  It will be nice to be out cruising with them again.  The main attraction of this cruise, for us at least, was that it spends most of its time in the south Caribbean visiting some of the Windward Islands, specifically; Tortola, St. Maarten, Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts & Nevis.  We have cruised the eastern and western Caribbean several times now, but never the southern islands; the only ones in that list we have previously visited are Puerto Rico and Tortola.

 

Wednesday 05 and Thursday 06 …

Our calendar is blank for these dates.  We probably worked in the yard, weather permitting, or at our respective desks, or a bit of both.  One thing that probably happened during this time was that I called Glenn Williams of Tenor Clock to set up an appointment to fix our grand-father clock.  It was still keeping time, but had stopped chiming recently after I rewound the drive weights.  I jammed the gears once before while doing this, but was fairly certain I had not done so this time.  I was, however, unable to diagnose the problem and repair it myself.

 

Friday 07 …

Glenn Williams (Tenor Clock) showed up at 9 AM, as scheduled.  After spending time with the clock mechanism still in the cabinet, he concluded that the mechanism was dirty to a degree that he could not clean it “in situ.”  The problem was my own fault; in an attempt to get it run/wind better, I had tried to oil it, thus gumming up the works.  The only solution was for him to remove the entire mechanism, including the weights, pack them carefully, and taken them back to his shop where he has a fully-equipped bench and a stand (or stands) for mounting such mechanisms to work on them.  This clock was a gift to myself upon the completion of my Ph.D. program in the fall of 2003, so it was important to me to get it repaired and running correctly again, however long that takes.  Glenn always has a backlog of such work, so “late summer” was his best guess at this time.

Sometime during the afternoon (I think) BdW guest “Virg and Clio” arrived for a 1-night stay.  We’ve had a steady, but not continuous or over-whelming, parade of guests since mid-April, and several others who had confirmed stay requests but had to cancel.  It happens; travel plans change for all kinds of reasons, and we certainly never take it personally.

 

Saturday 08 …

The grand-father clock cabinet, sans the clock mechanism.  The chimes are still there but, alas, nothing to strike them.

Glenn Williams (Tenor Clock) was here yesterday, but I only got around to taking this photo today.  BTW: the reason for the name of Glenn’s business is that he is the tenor in a 4-man singing group named “Three Men and Tenor.”  You might think that’s a bit of a take-off on “Two Men and a Truck” (and it might be, for all I know) but Glenn is not a big guy, while the other three singers are, so the name pokes fun at that contrast.  Plus, tenors sing in a higher range, so there’s that. 😊

BdW guest “Virg and Clio” left sometime this morning.

 

 

 

 

Sunday 09 …

Linda might have gone to Ann Arbor to supervise (and play with) one or both grand-daughters, but it’s tentative on our calendar, so maybe not.  I am writing this some time after the fact, and neither of us any longer recall the facts.

 

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NOTE:  There are two (2) photos with captions in this post.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 22 – TUESDAY 30 April 2024 — The end of April

 

During the 4th week of April, we might have started working on pruning trees and bushes, and pulling weeds, but we tend not to record these kinds of work days on our calendar, and I did not capture that information in real time.  As of Wednesday, June 5, however, I think the burn pile had been lit at least twice, and maybe three times.  We are trying to not accumulate numerous/large piles of stuff for the burn pile, like we have in the past.  We do wait, however, until we have enough to justify lighting it, a bit more to add to, and have decided to work in the yard and create even more material to add to it.  So far, it seems to be working out for us fairly well.  Some highlights of specific days of the week were as follows:

 

Monday 22 …

Nothing of note, apparently.

 

Tuesday 23 …

I had a note on the calendar to call the University of Michigan Health (UofMH) Travel Clinic so see about getting additional vaccinations in advance of some of our planned international travel.  I was told that the clinic currently only services faculty, staff, and students and was referred to a private clinic in town.  I might have called that clinic as well, but I don’t recall specifically.  HFHS Columbus Center also has a travel clinic, so I called them.  Linda still has here primary care physician there, but I do not.  No matter, as it turned out, they will still see me.  We will need to send them our itineraries in advance of an appointment, which we have deferred until later in the summer.

 

The new cat tree, fully assembled and positioned in the library near the doorwall to the living room.  Only time will tell if Cabela deems it interesting enough to be worthy of her use.

 

Wednesday 24 …

Linda had a mid-morning appointment with her ENT, and we both had early afternoon appointments for eye examinations with an optometrist in the Kellogg Eye Institute at the UofMH Brighton Center for Specialty Care.  I got a new prescription for glasses, but Linda got a referral to an ophthalmologist at the Institute for possible cataract surgery.  We met our friend, Kate, at 17:30 for dinner.  We dined somewhere in the Ypsilanti / Ann Arbor area, but I did not record where we went.

 

Thursday 25 …

Linda met Diane at Kensington Metropark for their weekly walk.  Boondockers Welcome guest Woosch32 arrived for a 1-night stay.

 

Friday 26 …

Sometime earlier in the week I had scheduled a used furniture pickup with the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore for 9 AM this morning.  ABIR, they showed up right on time, and shortly thereafter all of the living room furniture that had been in our Rec Room was out of the garage and on its way to the ReStore.  This was the second batch of this furniture we have donated.  The first batch found a new home (or homes) very quickly (so we were told) so we hoped this batch would as well.

 

Saturday 27 …

I took a photo of the boxes for the pigment ink refills (that I needed to order) for our Epson EcoTank 16650 multi-function wide-format inkjet printer.  The photo was not worth displaying, but apparently I ordered the refills today.  This printer uses Epson’s 542 series pigment inks (CMYB) which come in reasonably large volume bottles; 70 ml for C, Y, and M, and 120 ml for B.  The special bottles are keyed to match the refill ports on the printer’s built-in ink tanks, making it essentially impossible to put the wrong in a tank.  It’s a very economical way to buy ink (thus the ecoTank branding), and the system is very easy and clean to use.

 

Sunday 28 …

Nothing of note, again.

 

Monday 29 …

After an exchange of e-mails over the last month or so, I was able to set a date to get together with Ken Schramm, founder of Schramm’s Meadery.  Ken and I both worked at Wayne RESA at the same time, and became friends as well as colleagues.  Linda and I, with Paul and Nancy, had been to his retail shop and tasting room in Ferndale, Michigan just before the CoVID-19 pandemic, but he wasn’t there that day, and they ultimately had to close the storefront due to the loss of retail business.  The meadery, however, survived the economic difficulties of the time.  It was located just around the corner, in a housing area just off the main commercial street.  I met Ken there and got a personal tour of the operation before we went to a local Thai restaurant for lunch and a prolonged, and much overdue, conversation.

Back at the meadery, I bought bottle several bottles of mead, including a “Patty Fay.”  Patrica Faye was Ken’s mother’s name, but Patricia is also my sister’s name, her last name is still “Fay,” and she has always gone by “Patty.”  She does not drink alcohol, however (to the best of my knowledge), so the bottle is for us, in her honor.  Here’s to you, Sis.

 

Tuesday 30 …

A picture of the new Hisense wine refrigerator (taken in early July 2024)..  I pulled the wine racks out, which is more obvious in the reflection in the door window.  The fabric artwork on the wall (partial view) is a hooked rug I made in the late 1970’s.  The pattern was inspired by a pseudo-colored X-ray radio telescope image of the Milky Way galaxy.  The various colors indicate portions of the galaxy that are moving towards our position or away from it, and how fast.  The complete piece is about 4’ x 6’ in size.

Sometime in the past few days I ordered a new Hisense wine refrigerator from the local Lowe’s store.  It was delivered today mid-afternoon.  They had them in stock at the store, but with delivery and take-away service, it was easier to do it this way.  In advance of its arrival, I moved the dining room table to make room, and emptied the old wine fridge, putting the bottles out of the way.

The new wine fridge looked good, although I did have to figure out how to attach handle.  I had to partially remove the door gasket to get the holes in the door frame for the handle bolts.  One of the things I really liked about this unit at the store was that the bottle racks each slide out, making it much more convenient to access the bottles.

 

 

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NOTE:  There are four (4) photos with captions in this post, taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 15 – SUNDAY 21 April 2024 — The third week of April

 

Monday 15 … TAX DAY!

  • Nothing of note on our calendar for today. Personal tax returns needed to be postmarked by midnight, but Linda had already filed or delivered all of the returns that she prepared.

 

Tuesday 16 … A delivery, a project, and a guest.

  • … The towable lawn rake was delivered today by XPO. The truck had a lift-gate service and dolly, so the driver was able to unload it and move it into the garage.  ABIR, the shipping weight was about 180 lbs., so I was glad to have this service.
  • Delivery of the lawn rake meant that I now had a project assembling it and connecting it to the lawn tractor. I had previously moved the F-150 out of the garage to make room for all of this so I could work on it inside.
  • Our first Boondockers Welcome (BdW) guest, RamTam9, arrived today.
  • Linda met Diane at the Metropark for their weekly walk.

 

Wednesday 17 … The project continues; and a birthday.

  • … ABIR, I unpacked the lawn rake and did some preliminary assembly, but did not finish the job until the next day. I also needed (wanted) to get a properly sized bolt and lock-nut to secure it to the pin hitch on the lawn tractor.
  • Today was Nancy’s birthday. Happy birthday, Nancy!

 

 

Some of the components for the towable lawn rake.  (The furniture was eventually picked up by our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore.)

More lawn rake components.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nuts and bolts of the lawn rake, literally.

 

Thursday 18 … Dinner with friends.

  • Our BdW guests left for their next destination.
  • We had dinner at John and Diane’s house and visited well into the evening.

 

The assembled lawn rake attached to the Cub Cadet lawn tractor, ready to clean up branches, twigs, and leaves around the property.  I do not recall when I actually used it for the first time, but it was relatively soon after this photo was taken on the 18th.

 

Friday 19 …

  • I think Linda started proofreading the backlog of blog post drafts, beginning with our AK-HI cruise. (I did not start uploading them to our WordPress site until she was well-along with this work as I wanted to post them in chronological order and wanted all of them ready to go for any given time period or event, such as this cruise.)
  • I continued to trim trees that were not part of the work done by Davey Tree Service
  • I arranged for Keith to do the first mowing of the property this year in early May.

 

Saturday 20 …Another BdW guest, and continued work on the property.

  • Our second Boondockers Welcome guest of the season arrived today; WildCoddieWamplers.
  • I suspect that we spent at least part of the day continuing with the tree trimming and yard clean up, but we do not tend to record things like that in our calendar.

 

Sunday 21 … Just another day at home.

  • Nothing of note on our calendar today. We might have been busy, or we might have relaxed, or we might have visited with our BdW guest, or all three, or none of these things, or something else entirely.  No idea.

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NOTE:  This post is mostly narrative, but there are two (2) photos with captions.  Photos were taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro.

 

MONDAY 08 – SUNDAY 14 April 2024 — The second week of April

 

Monday 08 … A solar eclipse, oh my!

  • I called Lakeside Service Company to set up an appointment for annual service on the air-conditioner portion of the HVAC unit for our library. The temperature has to be above 45 deg. F for them to test the system, so I made an afternoon appointment for the first week of May.
  • We observed the solar eclipse from home. It was not total at our location, so not total darkness and no corona or stars, but it was still interesting to see.  We thought about driving south, perhaps as far as Bowling Green, Ohio but decided against it.  Probably for the best as it turned out, as there were reports of people taking many, many hours to get home from there.  We tried to photograph it with our phones using a neutral density filter, but were not really equipped for this and the photos did not turn out very well.

 

Our new Rec/TV room furniture, minus the cardboard and Styrofoam packaging.  (Photo from 05 April.)

 

Another view of the Rec/TV room furniture and its relationship to the location of the TV/monitor and associated equipment.  (Photo from 05 April.)

 

Tuesday 09 … I took care of a couple of errands and a major task (with Linda’s help).

  • As I headed out to take care of the errands, I performed my first turtle rescue of the season. I spotted a small turtle on our street just east of our house.  It was crossing the road from the small swampy area on the south side to the pond on the north side.  I picked it up and placed in on the north side, well away from the edge of the road.  I know that one has to exercise great care when doing this on any road, especially with heavier and/or faster traffic, but I am always dismayed by the utter disregard that most drivers seem have for these small, vulnerable creatures, who are not evolved to deal with motor vehicles and roadways.
  • My first errand was a visit to our local Tractor Supply Company store. I was looking for a tow behind lawn rake with a pin-hitch that would work with our lawn tractor/mower.  They had the one I wanted online, and I had seen one in the local store many months ago, so I was hoping they still had one in the store.  They did not, so I ordered one for delivery to our house.  Delivery was by freight truck, and would take about two weeks to get here.  Oh well; there was rain in the forecast for the later part of this week, so I would be lucky if the property is even dry enough to use it when it arrives.
  • Errand number two was a visit to our local Rural King store for some work clothes. I put on few pounds during 2023 and early 2024, mostly due to dining on cruise ships, and I needed some work trousers with a slightly larger waist size.  I ended up buying two pairs of bib overalls; built-in suspenders and no belt.  Perfect!
  • Our major task was to disassemble and clean (wash) all of the bird feeders. I handled the disassembly and brushing out (both done outdoors) and Linda handled the cleaning (inside).  When they were dry, I reassembled them and then filled them with the appropriate feed.  We did not fill the hummingbird feeder, as Linda’s research indicated that they had only just made it to southern Ohio.  We decided that the Oriole feeder needed to be replaced so Linda found one on Amazon and ordered it, along with some kitty litter.  Yup, we decided to set up a litter tray for Cabela and see how that goes.
  • Sometime during the day, I received our first Boondockers Welcome (BdW) stay request for the 2024 season; one-night on Friday 26 April. Our site is typically “blocked out” on our hosting calendar from the beginning of fall until the end of winter, plus any time we are traveling, but the exact dates vary each year.  We also block it out if we have projects with workers on site, or have social gatherings.  This year, we kept our guest site blocked out through April 15.

 

Wednesday 10 … early release, vision, streaming.

  • We received notifications that our vision examinations, set for tomorrow, needed to be rescheduled. Linda called the clinic and got us back-to-back appointments with an optometrist the last full week of the month.
  • Today was an “early release” day for the Ann Arbor Public Schools, so Linda was on-tap to drive down and retrieve the grand-daughters from their respective buildings. Because she handles child care when needed, she sees the girls more often than I do, so I decided to go along and get some grand-daughter time.
  • After dinner we were discussing what to watch on TV/streaming and decided to subscribe to Netflix. We watched Netflix a lot during the CoVID-19 pandemic, and have some favorite programs that are only available there.  Our profile was part of a friends’ account, however, and Netflix has since clamped down on that arrangement, so we needed our own account.  We set up two-factor authentication (2-FA) for the account, something we are gradually doing with most of our online accounts, along with setting up Passkeys to use in place of usernames and passwords.

 

Thursday 11 … rain, Rx’s, deliveries, and another BdW stay request.

  • Rain started overnight and continued through the day and evening, so we did not get any outside work done today.
  • My new blood pressure medication prescription arrived, but it was not exactly what I expected. My new doctor told me during my visit last week that he was raising my dosage from 10 mg per day to 20 mg per day.  I watched him type in the new prescription, but I could not see what he was typing.  When I looked at the bottle, it was for a 20 mg tablet, but the instructions said to “take 1/2 pill daily.”  Oh oh.  I checked and, sure enough, the bottle only contained 45 pills and could not be refilled for 90 days.  In other words, I had enough medication to take 10 mg per day (my original dosage) for 90 days, but only enough to take 20 mg per day for 45 days.  This was not what I expected and not what I needed based on what the doctor told me to my face.  I called the number for our mail-order pharmacy (OptumRx) to verify that they had filled the prescription as submitted.  They had, and there was nothing they could do other than suggest I contact my doctor.  Since this was not an emergency, I messaged him about the situation  via UofMH’s version of the EPIC portal.  I had still not received a reply to my earlier message from late last week, and I did not expect one right away to this new one, but it would be an understatement to say that I was a bit miffed at this point about the situation, and the lack of a timely response.  I decided to wait until next week to follow up with a phone call.
  • We had an Amazon delivery of coffee pods, Red Lentils, and other such things. Amazon Prime trucks seem to stop at our house a lot.
  • Sometime during the day, I received our second Boondockers Welcome request for the 2024 season. This one was for one-night on April 16, the first day for which a stay request could be requested.

 

Friday 12 … More rain, and a walk (but not in the rain).

  • The rain continued overnight and into today, so Linda met Diane at the mall to get their steps in. She stopped at the grocery store on the way home to re-provision fresh fruits and vegetables.  Or vegan (whole-food plant-based) diet require more frequent visits to the store for fresh items.
  • I hung out at the house and worked on our blog. An Amazon delivery showed up with our kitty litter and new Oriole feeder.  Amazon Prime trucks are on our street almost every day, sometimes more than once, and we do not have that many houses in our little subdivision.

 

Saturday 13 … Nothing of note.

  • There was nothing of note on our calendar for today. I’m sure we did something, probably many somethings, but whatever we did is lost to the sands of time.

 

Sunday 14 … A partial family get-together.

  • Our son and his family were here for brunch/visit, and to pick up a printout of their 2023 tax returns.

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NOTE:  This post contains 20 photos with captions and some narrative.  All photos were taken by me (Bruce) using a Google Pixel 6 Pro, except for the last one, which was taken by Linda with a Google Pixel 6.

 

March 2024 — Return to normal home life; tree pruning and house/home/family stuff

Upon returning from our Disney DREAM family cruise at the end of last month, we quickly settled back into the routine of normal home life.  Besides the usual chores of cooking, laundry, paying bills, and tending to the cat (Cabela), this included extensive work catching up on blog posts (which included processing a LOT of photographs), making and attending appointments (medical/dental, automotive), providing child care (Ann Arbor public schools were on spring break the last full week of the month), hosting or attending get-togethers with friends (walking, dinner, phone chats, and ZOOM), doing some travel planning (for the fall and next year), and a few special projects.

Special projects included the following:

  1. A chat with Phil Jarrell of Precision Grading to firm up trenching and grading work he will do for us this year, including a French Drain and sump drainage in the back yard.
  2. Taking delivery of the new furniture that we ordered last month for our recreation/TV room.
  3. Purchasing comprehensive travel insurance from Allianz.
  4. Getting CoVID-19 booster injections.
  5. Successfully booking a full-hookup site at Wilderness State Park (Michigan) for a couple of weeks this September.
  6. Meeting with Dan from Everlast Doors & More to firm up our options for new garage doors.
  7. I (Bruce) also signed up for the MyUofMHealth Portal and completed a new patient intake ZOOM meeting with a social worker in advance of my early April visit with my new primary care physician in the Geriatric clinic at UofM Health in Ann Arbor.

Most of the photos that follow, however, relate to one special project on March 11 and 12.  Not too long ago we contracted with Davey Tree Service (DTS) for “dormant season pruning.”  This term applies to the pruning of trees that must be done between late fall and early spring; in our case, mostly Oak, Ash, and Maple trees.  (Elm trees, and perhaps some other hardwood species, also require dormant season pruning, but we do not have any of those on our property.)  We do have a lot of Oak trees, however, and we still have some living Ash trees.

It doesn’t hurt to prune other trees during this same period of time, so we contracted to have DTS do some fairly extensive trimming, including the large grove of diverse trees in the northwest portion of the property.  This stand of trees had not been professionally pruned under our ownership of the property, and I doubt that previous owners ever hired anyone to do this work.  Over the years, I have done what I could removing deadwood with a pole saw or chainsaw, but these trees are large/tall and needed more serious attention, especially higher up where I cannot reach.  We did not have DTS prune most of the pine and fir trees, however, as they can be trimmed any time of year, and I can usually do that myself.

In addition to the debris from their own work, DTS cleaned up most of the brush piles that we had created around the property over the last many years.  I think we had 13 of them, and they disposed of at least eight (8), but it might have been 9 or 10.  That meant we did not have to cut them up, transport them to our “burn pile,” and set them ablaze.  Money well spent, in our opinion.

 

A boom truck positioned to work on the Oak trees near of east driveway entrance.  The small tracked vehicle, left-center, has claws on the front for picking up limbs, branches, and other related debris and moving it to the chipper/truck.

 

The chipper and truck in the east section of the pull-through driveway in front of the house.

 

Looking west at the boom truck positioned in the street just beyond (west of) our center driveway entrance.  Most of the large trees that are visible here are Oak trees.  The crew has set out orange safety cones around the truck as well as “Workers Ahead” signs.  DTS is a very safety conscious company that uses good equipment and knowledgeable, well-trained crew.

 

The tracked brush loader moving limbs and branches to the chipper, visible in the lower right corner of the frame.

 

A view of the bucket truck looking east.  As mention in a previous caption, DTS is very safety conscious.

 

The crew leader studies the Ash tree behind our house.  The central trunk above the large branches is dead.  It’s unattractive and not good for the tree, so it will be removed.  DTS cannot get its boom truck back here without damaging the yard, so the crew will climb the tree using climbing gear.  DTS’s technicians do NOT use spikes to climb trees, something we very much appreciate.

 

This is the Tulip tree behind our house.  (These are often called Tulip Poplars, but that is incorrect as they are not poplar trees).  Again, climbing gear was used to get up into the tree.  This tree had a lot of deadwood to be removed.  Unfortunately, the entire southern trunk (closest to the house) is dead.

 

A wider view of the back of our house and the work being done on some of the trees.  L-2-R:  Tulip tree, Mountain Hickory, and Ash.  Barely visible at the left edge of the frame is our Crimson King Norway Maple, which also got some deadwood removal and decorative pruning.

 

The Locust tree at the SE corner of our house.  This tree tends to put out lower branches that swoop down, posing a risk to someone (like me or Keith, our lawn care guy) hitting their head when operating a riding lawn mower.  DTS has very nicely trimmed it up.  Not visible in this photo are the power and phone lines that are just out of the frame at the top and relatively close to the tree.  Dave is not allowed to work on any limbs or branches within a certain distance (10’ I think) of the power lines.  Again, it’s a safety thing, and might be a power company requirement.

 

Our small stand of Black Walnut trees in the yard ENE of the NE corner of the house.  Barely visible just below the center of the frame is a pile of logs, the remnants of a Pear tree that was long dead.  We try not to remove dead trees that show signs of use by woodpeckers, squirrels or other critters looking for food or shelter, but at some point they have to come down.

 

The nicely pruned Crimson King Norway Maple.  This is a beautiful tree when it’s leafed out, but they grow prolifically, and in a somewhat tangled way.  As such, they require a lot of maintenance to keep them under control and attractive.  They are also not native to this part of Michigan, and are considered somewhat invasive.  I do as much of that as I can with this tree, but it was nice to have the DTS professionals have a go at it.

 

I just liked the composition and exposure of this photo.  It’s hard to provide a context for it, but basically this tree had a long, large limb that was rubbing on the trunk of a nearby pine tree and damaging the pine tree.  Removing the limb ensured the health of the affected pine tree, and opened up the area where the limb had been to allow light to get to other adjacent trees.

 

A portion of the stand of trees in the northwest part of our property.  The crew leader and the newest hire are discussing how to approach pruning the tree closest to them.

 

The crew leader (L) explaining to the new guy (R) how to prune this tree.  I walked over and ended up getting a lesson in how to properly prune a limb or large branch.  Basically, an enlarged area called a “collar” forms around the base of the limb and, ideally, the limb needs to be cut cleanly right at the collar without cutting into the collar, and without leaving any of the limb protruding.  ABIR, the tree produces four (4) different types of growth to heal the wound left by the removal of the limb, and pruning it in this way maximizes the tree’s ability to do that.  Even with hiring DTS, I still end doing a lot of pruning every year, so I was grateful to have this in-person lesson.

 

The boom-truck and the chipper/truck combination have moved just beyond the third/west driveway entrance (by the barn) to work on the trees on the north side of the road.  The trees on the left side of the road (and the grassy area leading up to our neighbor’s pole barn) are also part of our property.  This portion of the property also includes a stand of large Oak trees, but it was not part of the work order for this job.  Next year, probably, maybe, hopefully.

 

Another view of the trees in the northwest portion of the property, to the W and NW of the barn, showing the telltale signs of having been pruned.

 

A wider view of some of the trees in the northwest portion of the property.  Showing this entire area required a panorama, which I could not take as the DTS crew was moving around as they worked.

 

The new furniture for our recreation/TV room.  L-2-R:  Metal end table with metal lamp, 3-cushion sofa with two power loungers (one each end), metal end table with metal lamp, 2-cushion love seat with two power loungers, metal coffee table.  We purchased custom cut protective translucent matts from Linovent for the top surface of each of the three tables.  The matts feature beveled edges and appear to be a high-quality product.

 

A panoramic view of the new furniture in the recreation/TV room showing its relationship to the repositioned television set and associated equipment.  As a result of this rearrangement, both of us now have the same viewing angle and distance from the TV, with no glare from the lighting, and much more comfortable/adjustable furniture to sit on.  We really liked our old furniture, but it was over 30 years old, and we were ready for a change.  The old furniture was still serviceable, and will be donated to the local Habitat For Humanity ReStore, if they will take it, or somewhere else if they won’t.

 

Linda provided childcare for a week at the end of the month while the Ann Arbor Public Schools were on spring break.  She snapped this photo of Madeline (L) reading a book about dinosaurs to Sadie (R) at their house.  (Photo by Linda)

…

 

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NOTE:  This post has 11 photos with captions interspersed with narrative.  The photos are in chronological order, but do not always correspond to the closest text.  Photos by me (Brue) taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

WEDNESDAY 28 February (T8-C6) — Debarkation & Flying Home

 

Cruises always end and, like any vacation trip packed with things to do, there is a sadness at it being over combined with a sense of relief (exhaustion?) that’s it’s done (for now) and the anticipation of returning to “normal” life.  We have always experienced that same combination of emotions at RV rallies, both small and large.

The Disney DREAM is back at the dock at the Disney Cruise terminal in Port Hollywood, Florida.  Looking aft from out stateroom balcony we see the RUBY Princess (Princess Cruise Line) at dock.  (In late January of this year we booked a repositioning and British Isles cruise on the REGAL Princess for April 2025.)

The Disney Dream returned to Port Hollywood early in the morning and was docked by sunrise.  Debarkation is generally less of a hassle than embarkation, which includes the check-in process, but it can also be somewhat abrupt.  One gets the sense of “here’s your hat, what’s your hurry.”  Or, as my parents relayed to us after their visit to Hawaii, where they were presented with leis when stepping off the plane and greeted with “Welcome to Hawaii, enjoy your visit, go home.”  (True story.)

A wider view of the Disney Cruise terminal at Port Hollywood showing some of the activity taking place on the dock prior to debarkation of passengers.  The full length of the RUBY Princess is visible.

Our stateroom on the Disney DREAM looking in from the balcony doorwall.

While Disney tries to make guests feel welcomed everywhere, and at all times, the reality of a cruise ship is that they need ALL guests off the ship as soon as possible so they can “turn it around,” i.e., prepare it for the guests embarking for the next cruise, which usually leaves that same day by late afternoon or early evening.  While guests are getting off the ship, large amounts of trash are being off-loaded, and large quantities of supplies—including food, beverages, and fuel—are being taken on-board.  It’s quite an operation, and I always find it interesting to get a glimpse of it.  For me, at least, seeing these operations does not detract from the “magic” or luxury of the cruise experience.  Indeed, one of the best cruise ship experiences I have had was the “behind the scenes” tour of the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) JOY on our Panama Canal cruise with Paul and Nancy.  Cruise ships are floating cities and amazing machines, with everything on-board to provide the necessities and comforts of life, including culture and entertainment.  How all of these systems function is fascinating to me.

The “bath” room in our Disney DREAM stateroom, which had an actual bathtub and included a sink.  This made perfect sense as these staterooms can accommodate more than two people, some of whom are often children, and younger children need a bathtub rather than a shower.

We were off the ship at 9 AM, the scheduled time for our debarkation group.  We claimed (found) our checked bags, and then cleared customs (since we had been out of the country).  We used our Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) Global Entry (GE) status for the first time.  (ABIR the entry process was fairly quick and easy, but I don’t recall the process ever being slow or difficult, except when re-entering the USA from Los Algodones, Mexico at a walk-through CBP station.)  Everyone else also got through Customs without any hassle or delay.

The “water closet” in our Disney DREAM stateroom.  Again, it has a sink.  We really liked the two room, dual sink arrangement.  The DREAM was the first ship we’ve been on that had this as part of a regular stateroom (not a suite).

All of our group was flying home from the Fort Lauderdale International Airport, with the Michigan contingent flying home on the same Delta flight.  Marilyn was flying back to St. Louis, Missouri and Katie to the research triangle area of North Carolina.  We proceeded to the Ride Share area of the cruise terminal and called the number for the van shuttle service that transported us from our hotels to the cruise terminal at the beginning of the cruise.

A view of the living room area of our Disney DREAM stateroom.

With regards to the preceding photo; The sofa was very comfortable and, as Disney does in its land-based resorts, the back folded down to make a single bed.  It was NOT a typical pull-out (articulated) sleeper sofa (which tend to be extremely uncomfortable) or a slide-out (trundle) bed.  The desk (left) was also a good size, and the desk chair was reasonably comfortable.  The table was small, but big enough for coffee cups, etc.  It would have been a bit small to dine comfortably, but we never ordered room service or brought food back to our cabin.  We also had two chairs and a table on the balcony.  Linda provides a sense of the scale of the room and the space available to us to move around, which was very adequate.  If our stateroom on the MSC Magnifica had been as nice/comfortable as our DCL DREAM stateroom, we would probably not have cancelled the World Cruise we had booked starting in early January 2025.  Alas, that was not the case.

Our flight back to Michigan was scheduled for early-to-mid afternoon, giving us plenty of time to get to the airport and take care of things there.  It meant we would wait a while for our flight, but better that than rushing to make the gate in time.

A better view of the desk and associated storage in our Disney DREAM stateroom.

At the airport, we self-checked our larger bags and proceeded to the TSA security checkpoint.  This was our second time using TSA Pre-check.  As before, DELTA had also tagged our boarding passes with “Digital ID.”  And, as before, the process was smooth and easy.  We waited for the rest of our party to clear through security and then proceeded to our gate and settled in to wait for our flight.  The timing was such that we got a light lunch well ahead of departure.

We had to vacate our staterooms early so the cabin stewards could start the process of turning them around, but had to wait a while for our scheduled debarkation time.  All of the other guests were in the same situation, and people found places to rest while they waited.  Sadie was a perfect fit for these porthole windows on the promenade deck.  (Photo by Linda)

The flight home was uneventful, the best kind, and we arrived back at Detroit Metropolitan International Airport (DTW) a little ahead of schedule.  (This is usually the case, as I think Delta publishes longer flight times than are required for their flights, giving them some wiggle room to arrive on time even if there are departure delays or weather routing delays.  I suspect that all airlines do this, as they get “dinged” for late arrivals.)

A wider view shows one of the lifeboats hanging above the promenade deck.  (Sadie’s eyes are open.)   Chris is in the chair at the left edge of the frame and some of our suitcases are just visible at the bottom of the frame.  (Photo by Linda)

We arrived at the gate at the DTW McNamara Terminal around 4 PM, patiently took our turn getting off of the plane, and made our way to the baggage claim area, where we retrieved our larger suitcases and then headed to the US Park shuttle area in the attached garage.  The rest of our party were not parked where we were, and made their own arrangements to get home.  Back at the US Park fenced/secure lot, we were dropped off at our truck, paid our bill at the exit gate, and headed for home.  We got home around 6 PM, and it didn’t take long for Cabela (the cat) to appear and come in the house.

Silly Sadie has re-awakened.  I think Chris was ready to go home.  He really enjoyed the cruise, but he has a very demanding job managing a restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan and had to check-in regularly to make sure everything was running smoothly in his absence; clearly more difficult and stressful than when he is there in person.  (Photo by Linda)

Linda had stocked microwaveable frozen meals before we left for the cruise to make sure we had something to eat upon our return that was quick and easy to fix.  We unpacked the essentials (technology, medications, toiletries) after diner, but not our clothes.  I like to launder all of our clothing after a trip, but that would happen over the next day or so.

A view of the area where our family hung out waiting to disembark the Disney DREAM.  Considering the number of passengers waiting to get off the ship, we had no problem finding a comfortable, quiet place for all of us to sit and wait.  Brendan grabs a power nap while Madeline uses Shawna’s phone.  Yup, that’s about right.  (Photo by Linda)

Was this family cruise/vacation all that we hoped it would be?  Yes, it was.  Would we do it again?  Absolutely, although we might not pay for (as much of) it as we did this time.  🙂  Cheers!

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NOTE:  This post mainly consists of 33 photos with captions.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a SONY alpha 6400 or Google Pixel 6 Pro, unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

TUESDAY 27 February (T7-C5) — Castaway Cay; Last Night on the Ship

 

Today was our second, and last, port-of-call.  Like many cruise lines that sail the Bahamas, Disney Cruise Line (DCL) has a private island here.  It’s named Castaway Cay, and we spent most of the day there.  The day started in earnest, however, with the Meet the Princesses event onboard the ship.  Sadie got to meet the four princesses shown in the following eight photos.

 

At age 5, Sadie understood that these were not real princesses, just actresses in costumes.  Or did she?  Here she is in her princess outfit, very much in the moment.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Sadie meets Aurora, who has the same color outfit.  They are obviously having an important conversation.  Like her older sister, Sadie is very comfortable talking to adults.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Sadie possess with Aurora.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Next up was Belle from Beauty and the Beast.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Another photo with Belle.

 

Sadie with Mulan and Commodore Donald Duck (statue, in the background).

 

Another photo with Mulan.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Sadie poses with Rapunzel.  (Photo by Linda)

 

While we were docked at Castaway Cay, some of the crew took the opportunity to deploy and operate some of the life boats.  One is already in the water and another is in the process of being lowered.

 

A closer view of the mechanism for lowering and retrieving the lifeboat.

 

Madeline (L) and her mom (R) on the outside aft section of the Cabanas Buffet.

 

Madeline (L) and Sadie (R) on the outside aft section of the Cabanas Buffet.  Sadie was still eating her breakfast, and didn’t fully appreciate Madeline’s proximity.    (Photo by Linda)

 

Part of Castaway Cay, Bahamas (Disney’s private island) as seen from our stateroom balcony.  (Photo by Linda)

 

The port-side bow of the Disney DREAM with multiple shore lines securing the ship to the dock.  Part of an anchor is visible at the lower right on the frame.

 

A view from the dock looking aft along the port side of the Disney DREAM.

 

The stern of the Disney DREAM as seen from the dock.  Note the large 3-D characters hanging off of the stern on either side of the DREAM emblem.  This is a hallmark of all DCL ships.

 

As shown in this information sign, all of the guest areas on Castaway Cay are to the left of the dock, with most of them located along the shore.  Much of the island is actually not accessible, at least to guests.  The long horizontal yellow line is the centerline of a runway/airstrip which is still used if/when needed.  All guests arrive on cruise ships, however, and there are no overnight guest accommodations on the island.

 

One of the activities on Castaway Cay is a 5K walking/jogging circuit.  Shown here is the sign designating the official starting (and ending ?) point.  We did at least part of the circuit and, ABIR, Meghan and Chris did the entire circuit.

 

I think this is an actual Beechcraft Model 18 twin-engine airplane, or what is left of one.  It’s long decommissioned, of course, but is one of the classic/iconic aircraft in the history of flight, along with planes like the DC-3.  It is, appropriately, displayed adjacent to the airstrip and speaks to the historical commercial use of the island for a long period of time before it was purchased by the Disney Corporation.

 

A display of a DCL anchor and mooring balls somewhere along the 5K walking/jogging circuit.

 

A panorama formed by stitching together (compositing) nine (9) separate images from my SONY a6400 using the Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) software.  The photo is 1920 x 345 pixels, and can be displayed full-size on a suitable display.  This image was taken from the top deck of the observation tower along the 5K walking/jogging circuit.  Most of Castaway Cay looks like this, and is not accessible by guests.

 

Me (Bruce) with some additional decorative/thematic elements along the 5K walking/jogging circuit.  I presume the wood barrel represents the storage and transportation of rum.  (Photo by Linda)

 

One of the shuttlebus-trains on the runway.  As shown in a previous photo of the island map, there is an “adults only” beach area at the far end of the road system, and the farthest point from the dock.  “Adults only” in this case simply means no guests under a certain age.  This is Disney, after all, so nothing risqué going on there.

 

Whether on a cruise ship, or at a Disney resort, being there with younger children, and first-time visitors of any age, lets you experience it through the wonder of their eyes.  While Disney certainly caters to families with younger children, they are also very much aware of their adult guests (who pay for everything) and provide plenty for them to do on their ships and at their ports-of-call.  The one thing that is missing onboard their ships, however, is a casino.  That was just fine with us, but it is something Meghan and Chris would have enjoyed.  Would we do another Disney cruise without out grand-daughters?  Probably.  The ships are nice and provide a nice experience.

 

This photo provides a sense of the size of the runway/airstrip; it’s wide and long and can handle larger aircraft.  The sign at the left says “BEWARE of Low Flying Aircraft.”  It’s decorative in its appearance, but it is an actual warning sign.  Not that aircraft are likely to land here while guests are on the island, but we could imagine that they might, for instance to affect an emergency medical supply or evacuation.  Linda is visible at the right edge of the frame (white hat and towel draped over her shoulder).

 

Another Beechcraft Model 18, underscoring the iconic nature of this aircraft and its importance in the history of commercial aviation and its use in the Caribbean.

 

All of the architecture and décor is suitably Caribbean, as you would expect from Disney.  This building is a gift shop.

 

Another view of the main beach area on Castaway Cay as we walk back to the dock.

 

A marker buoy on display labeled “Castaway Cay.”  I think this is positioned so that it’s one of the first things we passed as we headed down the dock onto the island.  We did not photographer going onto the island, so snapped a shot on the way back to the ship.  I do not know if the Latitude and Longitude are correct for the buoy’s current location.

 

This is a panorama of the main beach area of Castaway Cay.  Notice the absence of people.  It was taken moments before 4 PM, which was probably the “all aboard” time.  One of the things you do not mess around with on a cruise is the all-aboard time.  The image is a composite of three photos from my (Bruce) Google Pixel 6 Pro.  The resolution is 1920 x 548 pixels.

 

A photo of the TV in our stateroom showing 5:00 PM in the upper right of the screen.  The map display shows the location of Castaway Cay, essentially due east of Miami Florida.  The light blue color is the continental shelf, where the water is relatively shallow.  The dark blue is where the continental shelf ends and the ocean depth plummets.  The left side of the screen shows that the ship is located at 26 deg 04 min North latitude, 077 deg 32 min West longitude.

 

Sadie and her mom posing with tonight’s dessert choice, featuring “Mickey ears.”  This is our final dinner meal aboard the Disney DREAM, and our only meal in the Enchanted Garden dining room.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Enough with the photos, lets dig in.

 

I think our final towel art animal was a dog, but you can decide for yourself.  I also think these are my reading glasses, which I must have left out in the room.  Very clever on the part of our cabin steward to make use of them.  (Photo by Linda)

 

One of the things that happens on cruise ships is that you can put your luggage outside your stateroom door the night before you debark, and the stewards will move it to an area of the ship where it is off-loaded to the terminal and set out in a large baggage claim area.  Alternatively, you can keep your bags in your stateroom, and take them with you in the morning.  We have always set out our larger suitcases as it makes debarkation the next morning much easier for us.  The staterooms have to be vacated fairly early, and this way we do not have to take them with us to the buffet for breakfast.  It is important, however, to NOT pack anything in those cases that you turn out to need the next morning, like medications, ID cards (cruise, passport, driver’s license, etc.), wallets/cash, or even the clothes you plan to wear.  We typically each have a smaller, carry-on, suitcase which we do NOT put out or check when flying.  This suitcase has an essential change of clothing, all of our technological gadgets, medications, and any other small items that we cannot afford to lose.

Since we would be flying tomorrow we were allowed to check-in online within 24 hours of our scheduled departure time.  We always do this with our phones, if we can, so we end up with the QR code boarding passes on our phones.  We also take a screen shot of the boarding pass so we don’t have to actually be online to use the airline app to display it.  I do not recall how we managed to get connected, but I suspect we did this while the ship was still at Castaway Cay.

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NOTE:  There are six (6) photos in this post, all taken by Linda using a Google Pixel 6.

(Edited on 13 June 2024 to correct information related to “Dress like a Pirate night.”)

 

MONDAY 26 February (T6-C4) — At-Sea; Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boutique; & Pirate Day At Sea

The Disney DREAM left Cozumel, Mexico yesterday around dinner time, eastbound for Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island in the Bahamas, with arrival scheduled for early tomorrow morning.  That meant we would again be at sea for almost 36 hours, including all 24 hours of today.  It was also a second full day at sea.  (Note:  We were wearing our pirate t-shirts at dinner last night which, according to our trip planner (Linda) was indeed “Dress Like a Pirate Night”, although we do not have many pirate-related photos.)

Based on the photos I have available, the big event today was Sadie’s visit to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  She had her hair done (including extensions), a manicure, nail polish, and makeup (that included glitter).  She also got a princess outfit and matching accessories.  Tomorrow would be “meet a princess” day, and she had a reserved time for her turn.  The Boutique was a big deal for Sadie, as shown in the following few photos.

 

Sadie already has her princess dress on, with a flower crown and a cape protecting the upper portion, while her stylist applies nail polish.

 

Sadie discusses the finer points of princess styling with her Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo stylist.

 

Thanks to the opposing full-length mirror, Linda’s photo shows the front and back of Sadie’s princess dress and the matching multi-colored hair extensions.

 

Sadie, fully princessed with a matching carry bag and wand.

 

Sadie (left edge of frame) overlooks the main/center lobby of the Disney DREAM.  The costumes being worn by the Disney characters on the balcony appear to all be nautically themed.

 

Nothing to do with Pirate Day, or princesses, but one of the things that often happens on cruise ships is that the cabin stewards, when preparing the room for sleeping, make animal characters out of some of the towels.  We don’t always photograph these, but Linda thought this elephant deserved to be shared with the world, or at least remembered by us.

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NOTE:  This post contains 30 photos with captions.  Photos taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless indicated otherwise.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SUNDAY 25 February (T5-C3) — Cozumel, Mexico; Shore Excursions

 

Meghan and Chris take in an early morning view of  Cozumel, Mexico from their stateroom balcony; the first time either of them has seen the island (or perhaps any part of Mexico).  Cruise ships do provide good views of ports-of-call.  It’s 7:30 AM, and Meghan already has her morning coffee.

 

The first stop on our shore excursion was San Gervasio, an important Mayan archeological site managed by CozumelParks.  This racoon-like mammal is a Coati (Nasua narica, AKA coatimundi).  It is native to Mexico and Central America and belongs to the Procyonidae family, which also includes raccoons.  (Photo by Linda)

When we arrived this morning, around sunrise, at the downtown cruise port/dock for the island of Cozumel, Mexico, we had been at sea for over 36 hours since leaving the Disney cruise terminal in Port Hollywood late in the afternoon of Friday, February 25th.  We had a great time on the ship while at sea, but Cozumel was the first of only two ports-of-call for this cruise, and we were all looking forward to going ashore.  Linda had signed all of us up for a shore excursion that lasted about six (6) hours and included three different venues/experiences.  We had to be off the ship and at the meeting point by a certain time, so we all got an early start to our day and had breakfast in the Cabana buffet.  Based on our apparel at dinner, it was also (apparently) “dress like a pirate” day.  Additional details about the day are in the captions for each photo.

 

Madeline, Sadie, and Shawna (mom) at the entrance station to the San Gervasio archeological site.  (Note the boot on Madeline’s left foot.  She injured it not long before the cruise, but it did not slow her down.)  This site has the remnants of a large village that was one of the centers of pre-European Mayan culture.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another photo of the Coatimundi.  It did not seem to be fazed in the least by the large group of people passing by and stopping to take its picture.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as we reached the first ruin in San Gervasio, we encountered Iguanas and other lizards.  Things like Coatimundi and Iguanas underscored that we were someplace very different from where we live.    (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The remains of a fairly large structure.  The roof is a modern construction to help preserve the underlying stone work, but something like this might have covered the original building when in use.  Wood and palm fronds, however, do not survive the ravages of time.    (Photo by Linda)

 

This photo of an elevated platform provides a sense of the number and size of stones that had to be quarried and moved for its construction.

 

The base of another ruin and its modern protective roof.

 

For most of our time at the San Gervasio Mayan Village, we were on a guided/narrated tour.  The tour guide explained what archeologist think each of the buildings were used for, but I had no way to capture that information for later recall.

 

I do remember that this was one of the entrance gates to the Village.  Note the road/path leading up to the gate from the forest in the center-right of the frame.

 

I don’t know if the Iguana pictured here understands or appreciates the historical significance of the stones on which it is sunning itself, but it certainly picked a good spot, and seems unconcerned about the many human guests to the site.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over many years, this tree took root and grew around a crumbled part of what remains of this building.  The modern roof was constructed around the tree.

 

Remnants of yet another building at San Gervasio.

 

 

One of the stone walkways that connect the various buildings at the San Gervasio archeological site.  Note the drainage ditches along each edge.  When the Mayan Village was inhabited, archeologists claim the space between the stones was filled with something like a limestone grout, resulting in a smooth surface that would have been easy to walk on, and permitted the use of wheeled carts.

 

Another Iguana photo because … well, just because we find them fascinating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A map of the San Gervasio archeological site with all of the buildings identified.

 

 

This map highlights the Mayan Areas of Cozumel, Mexico in a darker green color.  The next photo indicates that San Gervasio is the highlighted area near Acalán.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a photo of a map that shows the full extent of the island of Cozumel, Mexico, its location relative to the rest of Mexico (just off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula), and the location of the San Gervasio archeological park.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second venue on our Cozumel shore excursion was The Mayan Cacao Company, located at the Playa Mia Grand Beach Park.  Shown here is the entrance sign.  Note the Macaw on the perch, upper right, which is protected by a thatched roof.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A closer view of the entrance sign and greeter macaw at The Mayan Cacao Company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like San Gervasio, this was also an educational experience.  This display is about cacao beans as a form of currency, and how it compared to other things that served the same purpose.  (From my Money and Banking course at the University of Missouri – Columbia, “Money is anything that acts as a store of value and a medium of exchange.”)

 

Part of the Mayan Cacao experience was a demonstration of the processing cacao beans to make “hot chocolate.”  This was followed by a tasting.  (It was not sweet, but it was very tasty.)  (Photo by Linda)

 

For the third and final venue/experience of our Cozumel shore excursion, we got to hang out at the Playa Mia Grand Beach Park.  I believe this park is open to the public but has an admission charge.   Besides an extensive beachfront with lounge chairs, umbrellas, and cabanas, the park included some play structures in the water as well as food and beverage stations.  Brendan and Sadie are in the foreground with their backs to the shore/camera.  Katie brought her snorkeling gear, and was already out in the water somewhere.  (I think Brendan and Sadie might be looking in that direction, but they might just be eyeing the large play structure in the water.)    (Photo by Linda)

 

The seating/sunning area at Playa Mia Beach Resort in front of where I happened to be sitting.  (I am not a “sun bunny,” and require shade in places like this.)

 

 

L-2-R; Katie, Linda, and Marilyn with what I think is the Disney WISH in the background, tied up at the dock for the Punta Langosta Cruise Terminal.  There is another cruise terminal down the coast toward Playa Mia Grand Beach Park that is used by Carnival and other cruise lines.

 

The sign welcoming us to the Punta Langosta port area.  It is the closest cruise terminal to the main/downtown area of Cozumel City.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirate Sadie with buccaneer Ama (Linda) at dinner in the Animators Palate, the second of our three dining rooms.  (Friday and Saturday we were in the Royal Palace dining room, Deck 3 midship; Sunday and Monday we were in the Animator’s Palate dining room on Deck 3 aft, and Tuesday we were in the Enchanted Garden dining room, Deck 2 midship.)  This restaurant had amazing visual technology.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L-2-R; Madeline, Meghan, and Marilyn at our dinner table in the Animators Palate dining room.  We had a table for 10 every evening for dinner, and it was always table number 81; our waiter and assistant waiter moved with us when we changed dining venues.  Our dining time was always 6 PM (first seating).  Linda selected this time because Sadie was only 5 years old, and it allowed members of our group to seek out various entertainment venues after dinner and still get to bed at reasonable times.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pirate Brendan and his buccaneer dad (me, Bruce, Apa, grandpa, etc.) in the Animators Palate dining room on the Disney DREAM.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shawna and Brendan share a moment while we wait to order dinner.  Our children both have wonderful spouses and our three grand-daughters are a delight.  We are very fond, and proud, of all of them; they are all a great source of joy in our lives.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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NOTE:  There are seven (7) photos in this post.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)

 

SATURDAY 24 February (T4-C2) — A Marvel(ous) Day At Sea

 

Today, I was up earlier than I intended to be.  I thought my phone said 6 something, but it was actually 5 something.  I was tired of lying down anyway, so I got up and finished working a Multi-Sudoku puzzle.  It was still dark, and Linda was still asleep, so I worked on drafts of the blog posts for this trip/cruise.  At some point I heard voices outside.  Brendan, Shawna, and Sadie were on the balcony along with Meghan.  Meghan gets up very early and had already been out to get coffee.  Madeline joined the group shortly thereafter.  This is the first cruise we’ve been on with family/friends in adjacent cabins.  Yesterday, we had our cabin steward open the dividers between the four balconies so we could visit easily.  It was a nice arrangement.  We had a brief discussion about breakfast but failed to coordinate a plan.  Other than meeting for dinner every evening, our group took a “freestyle” approach to the cruise, which was great for everyone.

Sadie sits in a large, blue, throne-like chair by one of the two impressive mosaics with themes related to fairytales (prince/princess) that ended up in animated Disney features.  The mosaics were located in one of the elevator/stairwell lobbies on one of the decks, but I don’t recall which one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadie in the other (red) throne-like chair by the other mosaic.

It was Marvel Day at Sea, so we got dressed with our Guardians of the Galaxy t-shirts and went to Cabana’s (the buffet) for breakfast.  We thought our son’s family was also headed there, but we somehow missed them while walking around looking at food.  Our son saw us go by, however, and found us to let us know where they were sitting.

 

 

Breakfast at the Cabana’s buffet offered a lot of choices, and we all found something that we liked.  The things I chose were well-prepared and tasty.  While both of us appreciate the finer dining in the restaurants, neither of us object to the buffet food, and appreciate the convenience of many hours of availability with the attendant flexibility to eat when you want, and choose from a broad selection of food offerings.

Chris and his daughter, Katie, at one of the shuffleboard courts on the exterior promenade deck.  (Photo by Linda)

 

Meghan and Chris at the same shuffleboard court.  Chris is sporting his “Star Lord” t-shirt for Marvel Day At Sea.  (Photo by Linda)

Today was Marvel Day At Sea, and there were many special activities taking place around the ship.  These included photo opportunities with official costumed “crew” members.  Perhaps surprisingly, we did not get photos of any of these events.  While that might seem strange in retrospect, the members of our party who were most excited about the day where our daughter, her husband, and his daughter.  I don’t recall specifically what Linda and I did all day, nor do I recall what Marilyn or our son and his family did today, nor would I even know if they off doing things on their own.  What I do know, is that Madeline had already become very comfortable with the “Edge Club,” a dedicated/staffed space for guests ages 11 – 13.  At age 11, she places a high value on any independence she can negotiate.

 

Sadie with her great-aunt, Marilyn.  Sadie is seriously focused on whatever Marilyn is showing her on the phone.  Based on Sadie’s attire, it appears that she went swimming today.  Not surprising; if there’s water available, Sadie is usually in it.  (Photo by Linda)

The Disney Cruise Line (DCL) app includes a messaging feature that allows guests to message one another without purchasing a “Internet” package.  The feature requires guests to establish connections, so Linda took care of linking her phone with at least one phone from each of the other cabins in our group.

Fairly quickly, Madeline took possession of her mom’s phone and accomplished her number one goal for the cruise; to be allowed to roam around the ship on her own as well as come and go from the Edge Club at will.  This actually worked out very well, and she made several friends her age.  ABIR, Sadie continued the who-dun-it game with her mom and/or dad.

 

Yes, Sadie is using crayons on the white linen tablecloth at dinner.  But it was okay.  Our assistant waiter, Trevor, was the first to do this at dinner last night as he set a puzzle for Sadie (and the rest of us) to solve.  After that, it was “game on” for the remainder of the cruise!  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to well-prepared and tasty dishes, dinner was always nicely presented.  This photo is typical of how desserts were plated.

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NOTE:  There are 13 photos in this post.  Photos by me (Bruce) taken with a Google Pixel 6 Pro unless otherwise indicated.  (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)  Photos are chronological and captioned, but are interspersed with some narrative.

 

FRIDAY 23 February (T3-C1) — Disney Cruise Line (DCL) DREAM, Embarkation and Sail Away

 

It’s around 1 PM; we are all on the ship and busy doing things.  Meghan helps Sadie figure out how to play the who-dun-it/discovery game while Marilyn looks on.  Clues were hidden in electronic pictures.  Displaying a game badge would “open” (change) the picture and reveal a clue.  (Photo by Linda)

I was up early and met up with our daughter (Meghan) in the elevator on our way to get coffee.  I rarely get to chat with her alone, and enjoyed a relaxed conversation over coffee.  Linda joined us a bit later.  Meghan eventually took coffee and muffins back to her room for Chris.  Linda and I got breakfast and chatted until she went back to our room to take a shower.  I returned to our room after finishing my meal, got my shower, and got dressed for the day.  We then repacked our suitcases before Linda went back to the lobby to join Meghan, and others, who were having breakfast.

 

 

 

 

Brendan helps Sadie with the who-dun-it game in the lobby of the ship with the Golden Mickey statue in the background.  Having been to Walt Disney World several times, the look and feel of the interior of the ship was familiar and pleasing.  (Photo by Linda)

Everything up to this point had been fairly routine travel—planes, taxis (ride shares), and hotels, with some walking thrown in, either to find food or just because—but with a certain added anticipation of things to come.  Today started in the usual way, but was soon new and different for most of our party.  Indeed, even for us, as we had never sailed on a Disney cruise ship and so had not experienced a ship with soooo many children.  Not that we have never been with large numbers of children; we presumed that it would be similar to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and there is a certain positive energy associated with so many children having such a good time.  Indeed, it even seems to bring out the child in many of adults.

 

 

 

It didn’t take long to discover the self-serve soft-serve ice cream station on one of the upper/open-air decks.  This turned out to popular with everyone in our party and, apparently, most of the other guests on the ship.  L-2-R:  Meghan, Sadie, and Brendan.  (Photo by Linda)

When we arrived at the Hyatt Place hotel on Wednesday, we signed up for a shuttle to take the six of us staying here to the port at noon today.  We did not get a shuttle at exactly that time, but they were scheduled to arrive at the hotel approximately every 10 minutes.  It was at most a 10-minute ride to the port, and only that long because of traffic, so we were still there ahead of the 1 PM check-in time for us (the rest of the group had 1:15 check-in times).  It turned out that these assigned times didn’t mean much.  We dropped our checked luggage with the porters at the curb and then walked some distance into the cruise terminal building.  But the line moved along at a reasonable pace, and various adults took turns keeping Sadie occupied, which is the key to a happy life.

 

Linda on the main top deck. (There are additional small decks at the front and rear of the ship.)  Camera is pointed aft.  The enclosed water-slide is prominent, with the main swimming pool to the right and down one deck.

Looking forward, the large screen on the forward exhaust stack tower, indicates that the ship is “Sailing Away.”  “Sail Away” is a big, festive deal on cruise ships.  Many guests gather on the upper/open decks, while others go out on their stateroom balconies, to watch the ship pull away from the dock and head out to sea.  In some ports, there are crowds on-shore waving to the ship.  The time-stamp on this photo is 4:29 PM, but I don’t think the ship has left the dock yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two other cruise ships are visible from the port side of the ship.  ABIR, the larger one is a Royale Caribbean ship (emblem on the lower rear hull).  The smaller one was from one of the luxury or ultra-luxury cruise lines, but I don’t recall which one.  Note that our ship is in its berth bow first, with the dock on the other/starboard side.  Our ship had to back out of its berth and make a 180-degree turn (pirouette) before heading out to sea.  The maneuver was precisely and smoothly executed.  The maneuver was very smoothly and precisely executed.

 

Soon enough we were all checked in and were headed onto the ship a bit before 1 PM.  There were a couple of things about the check-in that were different from our previous experience.  For one, they did NOT issue us our cruise cards and said they would be waiting for us by our cabin doors.  For another, they checked every page of our passports, at least for the adults.  I asked why and was told “because there are children on board” but the boarding agent could/would not tell me anymore.  Our presumption is that there must be something in passports for individuals who are not allowed to be around children.  Further research, however, did not provide any additional information.

 

A view looking NNE of the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) and a bridge to a barrier island, as seen from the starboard rear upper deck of the Disney DREAM.

Some of the adult members of our travel party, L-2-R: Chris, Marilyn, Meghan, Linda, and me (Bruce).  Not shown are Brendan, Shawna, Katie and the munchkins (Madeline and Sadie).  I do not know who took the photo with Linda’s phone.  The previous photo was taken around 4:33 PM and this one was taken around 5:22 PM.  This and the next photo indicate that the ship is backing out of its berth.  Thus, logic tells me that we must have departed at 5 PM (cruise ships tend to keep a tight schedule) or we departed at 6 PM and all of my photos are off by one hour (but I don’t think so), or we departed at 4 PM and I have no idea what’s going on.

Our staterooms (on Deck 9) would not be available until 1:30, so some of the adults went with Sadie on an exploration to solve a “crime” while I stayed with Madeline, who needed to sit and get off her injured foot.  (She strained or stressed a growth plate in her left foot a week ago while ice skating, and got fitted with a boot yesterday morning before flying to Fort Lauderdale.)  DCL uses a system to control room access that we had not seen before.  When Madeline and I tried to use an elevator to go from Deck 5 to Deck 9 around 1:20 PM, it would not open the doors at Deck 9.  Clever Disney.

 

The Disney DREAM is definitely underway as it has backed out of its berth into the Intra-Coastal Waterway (ICW) where it backed around to port (behind the camera) into a “turning pool” and swung around to point into the channel leading to the sea, as shown here.  Cruise ships have both bow and stern thrusters, smaller propellers in tunnels that go through the ship sideways.  Besides moving the front or rear of the ship to the left or right, their coordinated use can move the ship sideways, such as towards/away from a dock, or turn it around its mid-point, such as it will do here.  Many cruise ships, especially newer ones, also have “Azipods,” a steerable propeller  mechanism, for propulsion rather than aft-facing propellers and one or more rudders.

 

Our first dinner together in the Royale Palace dining room aboard the DCL DREAM.  We had a table for 10 every evening for dinner.  Our table number was 81, and remained so for all of our dinner meals, regardless of which dining room we were in.  Shown here is our son’s family, L-2-R:  Shawna, Brendan, Sadie, and Madeline.  I think Sadie was just tired, not unhappy, as she really enjoyed the cruise.  (Photo by Linda)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L-2-R:  Cousins Madeline and Katie at the dinner table.  (Photo by Linda)

Once in our room, we scoped out the available storage and started unpacking.  Our balcony stateroom had plenty of storage; hanging closets, drawers, and shelves.  It also had the usual safe, and our wallets and passports went in there right away.  We used to turn our cell phones off and put them in the safe as well, but these days we put them in airplane mode (to turn off the cellular radio) and turn on the wi-fi radio to connect to the ship’s wi-fi system.  On the DREAM, this allowed us to use the Disney Cruise Line Navigator app, which was our access to any/all information about the ship’s activities, including menus for the restaurants, reservations (if needed), and our account.  (Most cruise ships now operate this way, so you really cannot go on a cruise these days without a smartphone.)

Linda poses with a statue of “Captain Duck” in the main lobby of the Disney DREAM.  Or perhaps it was “Commodore Duck”?  (I presume this is Donald Duck.  I have no idea what the name of the statue is, if it even has one.  Nor do I know the context of this particular outfit.)

 

 

 

We watched the safety information on the TV in our stateroom.  At 4 PM we went to our assigned assembly station (DCL does not call them muster stations) for the mandatory safety check-in and presentation.  Unlike our other recent cruises, where our muster station was on an outside deck near the lifeboats, we were seated in the large Walt Disney Theater.

 

 

 

 

 

Marvel Day at Sea was still to come, but this display was already up, and Chris is a big fan of the Marvel series.  Disney has a way of bringing out the kid in all of us.

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THURSDAY 22 February (T2) — The family arrives for the cruise

Katie (our 20-something grand-daughter) arrived from North Carolina ahead of the rest of the family, made her way to the Hyatt Place (via Uber?), and checked-in to the room she was sharing with Marilyn.  We were all hungry so we took her to Carrabba’s for dinner.

Marilyn arrived later from St. Louis, Missouri and waited for our son (Brendan) and daughter (Meghan) and their families to arrive from Michigan.  Once everyone was at the Ft. Lauderdale International Airport, they got a cab to take them to their respective hotels.

Katie, Marilyn, and Meghan/Chris all stayed at the same hotel we were in.  Brendan and his family stayed at the nearby Embassy Suites as they got a room that would sleep all four of them.

Marilyn, Meghan, and Chris had not had dinner, so we walked to the nearby Publix supermarket where they pickup up ready-to-eat sandwiches and chips and brought them back to the hotel.  We sat in the breakfast room, which had a high table for six, and chatted while they ate.  Brendan’s clan made their own arrangements for dinner.  ABIR (or learned the next day) they had pizza.

Everyone arrived safely, and with all of their luggage, which were the main things.  (When traveling by air, we always try to arrive enough ahead of whatever we will be doing to allow time to go shopping in the event that we need to replace the contents of a lost piece of checked luggage.)  Air travel is always a bit exhausting, but there was a palpable sense of excitement in the air as everyone was genuinely looking forward to the cruise.

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