58 Years in the Wayback Machine

 Guess what I was doing 58 years ago today.

The boy on the right carrying the cake is Ron Rickner. I think the boy on the left is Dave Mendoza. The girl? Marie- always there for the important moments of my life since we were 12!

Let me tell you a little bit about the wedding. The year was 1968. The world was changing big time. Young couples were beginning to have non-traditional weddings. We didn't go that far, but we didn't follow all of the constricting "rules."

I was always disappointing my mother, and the wedding was no exception. She was very unhappy with many of our decisions, but I was stubborn, and in many respects Om and I had things our way. The end result was that neither Mom or me was happy with the ceremony.

However, this looks pretty traditional. I mean... I had the white dress (maybe more on that potential fiasco another year), we had bridesmaids in blue dresses and groomsmen in fancy tuxedos. Om's sister Loretta sang "The Love of God." My dad "gave me away."

However, by that point in the afternoon, I'd managed to act "normal" and girlish for as long as I could possibly stand it. Please notice that I am cramming the cake all over Om's face. (I really couldn't help myself... everything was just too serious.)

In retrospect, the actual ceremony means almost nothing to me. I probably should have let Mom plan everything the way she wanted it, and it would have made her happy, and 58 years later, I would not have cared at all.

The crowning "disaster" for Mom's day was that some of the teenagers (yes, Om was already attracting hoardes of teens) set off firecrackers. That part still makes me smile. As I recall, we got back at the instigator by setting off some at his wedding a few years later.

And in keeping with our tradition, we are not celebrating today. We are not even together, not even in the same state, another thing that has almost become traditional. If we'd been able to project how our lifetimes would play out we would have known that finding time for an anniversary in the summer months was going to be nearly impossible. We nearly couldn't fit a wedding into the summer of 1968 as it was. But we did, and here we are.

Well, Om is on a trip south. He was with Loretta just a few days ago. They are only a year apart in age and we are both sorry she lives so far away. (Picture is LORETTA and Om)

We'll celebrate some time when we are both in the same space. Meanwhile... here's to us. Just too stubborn to give up on each other.

See 55 Years

Second Verse, Same as the First

We had a nice calm Thanksgiving.

How many people do you see in this picture? How many people do you think are involved in taking the picture? Total is two, right? Joshua did not show up again.

He called later from someone's house because he won't put minutes on his phone to say that he had fallen asleep. (as he did last year, also without a working phone).

Well, Om and I had a lovely meal. The turkey turned out great! I gave thanks for two things that made this meal possible. Mom's wonderful turkey recipe with sausage stuffing, and Dad's sharp knives and the gift of teaching me how to keep them sharp.

We kept the menu simple. Omer and I are both trying not to gain weight. We had mashed potatoes and roasted butternut squash.

And that dessert? Here's the plating. It was almost worth all the work, it's so good. Low carb and moderately low calories for what it is.

And the turkey? Since I don't do this every holiday any more, yes, it's worth it occasionally. Because of the bacon, to keep that moist, it has to be serviced evvery 15 minutes for the entire cooking time.

I did not do anything but cook and clean the kitchen after every mess until about 3 pm, and play my game a little in the short empty spaces. I think I'm going to chill for the rest of the day too.

But. frankly, this is why, if I'm going to cook, I'd rather it be for 10-plus people. Pretty much the same amount of mess and more people can enjoy it.

See Pre-Thanksgiving Madness

First Snow, Plus...

Today was first snow. Most everyone got the worst of it yesterday, but it was very patchy as to where it fell. We did have bell choir practice, and amounts at people's houses ranged from 0- 12 inches, all in the same county. We got about 5 inches here overnight. It's almost all gone already.

Just for comparison, remember I said I cleared almost a whole line of autumn olive this year and you can't even tell? This is the same shot from last year's first snow. The work I did was on the bushes (all autumn olive) on the right side of the picture. I ask you... can you even tell I did ANYTHING out there? Botheration.



Anyway, Om and I went out to eat at Applebees since they still serve free meals to veterans.

The other piece of big news-- (not sure if it's good or bad), a friend got me into my old game account that I mentioned yesterday. I was at level 74 when I quit before the big hike, and the "world" is very complex. If I'm going to play again, I'll need to spend time figuring out how to do stuff all over again. Wowzer. It will be fun (good). Maybe I shouldn't spend that much time on it (bad).

Here is one little piece of my game world. Just for your enjoyment. I like this game a lot. It's not too silly, and you make and produce all kinds of things- very interwoven like real life. It's sometimes billed as a farming game, but it's much more than that. It's Klondike, the Lost Expedition if you care. (I see I showed you a picture from this game once before when I was at a much lower level)

I also managed to do a fair amount of work. I spent over an hour on the phone with one client, and edited for another, on top of going out with Om and then bell practice.

See First Snow 2024

Color Tour 2025- Part 2

Here are the most stunning colors from yesterday. This was a farm on 112th Ave in Newaygo County.

Someone planted some wonderful maple trees 50-75 years ago. The house and barn were surrounded by flaming maples.

I just couldn't do an entire tour on paved roads. We took one dirt road. This is 200th Avenue in Oceana County.

I loved all the bright orange and red tones but thought we needed some yellow too. I think this was somewhere on 172nd Ave.

Of course, the big joke is that perhaps the most stunning tree we saw was on 6th Street after we got back in Scottville! The light was lower by then and that's when you can get some awesome pictures.

We got a bit of rain today, but mostly it was just gray and windy. Did all the usual projects, went to the store to look at various tools, had bell choir practice.

See Color Tour 2025- Part 2

Color Tour 2025- Part 1

Om and I did a color tour again this year, and we managed to make it happen on the one day in a string of about six when it isn't gray and rainy. I'll show you the second part tomorrow (with more actual color) because- gray and rain is expected.

I decided to follow the Newaygo County Tourist Bureau suggested color tour route. I'll give you my thoughts on that at the end. But you can find it at the link.

We did their loop clockwise, so early on we reached Hardy and Croton Dams. However, Hardy Dam is being repaved, so traffic is not being allowed on it. Huh. We pulled into the marina by the bridge to catch a couple of pictures. Nice colorful reflection.

Looking out toward the main part of the pond. Yes, the Dragon Trail goes through here (and then crosses the dam- one can hope they might be redoing the barely adequate pedestrian walkway, but probably not).

Well, I found an alternate way to get down to Croton Dam. Have to take yet another picture of the traditional view. This has been a landmark of the North Country Trail since forever. And we are standing on the trail while taking this picture.

The most colorful leaves there were... POISON IVY!

These dams are on the Muskegon River, and it was apparently a good day for fishing below the dam.

After that, the suggested route wandered a bit farther south, and then west. Tomorrow, I'll show you some of the great color we found there.

Here are my thoughts on the loop. I think this was designed for people who don't want to get out of their cars, or even to slow down very much. While only some of it was on state highways, it was all paved roads with significant traffic. It was a problem to be able to pull off and stop to take pictures.

I know they want to get people into the communities in the county, but I'd rather have a slightly shorter loop that includes a lot more dirt roads where it's not a big deal to stop and take pictures. I think they could still steer people into the towns.

If you do the entire loop, it's 92 miles, not counting miles you drove to get there. (We bailed out coming up the west side which was closer to home, so we didn't see the very top portion). This seems a bit long.

Nevertheless, it was a good suggested route. I don't know the Newaygo County back roads as well as Mason, Oceana, and Manistee, so I was happy to have someone else make choices this year.

The color at the southern end of this loop could use a few more days to develop, so if the rain doesn't ruin everything, this should still be pretty this coming weekend or so.

The drive took all of the afternoon. I managed to do a few things in the morning, but this was the big event.

See Color Tour 2024- Part 1

Birthday Boy!

Who is this little rascal?

That is my guy about 84 years ago. Today he hit the 85th anniversary of his birth. Thanks to a gift from Loretta, we went out to celebrate. Only needed to eat one meal today, that's for sure! We are both blessed with pretty good health. He has a couple of issues, but nothing too awful.

The rest of the day will sound familiar- computer work, garden, lawn, laundry. Medium energy. It got almost to 80 this afternoon, and that is pretty hot for me. I got more done in the early evening until the mosquitoes came out.

See M/B-Day

Another Almost

 I'm pretty sure I've never told you how Om and I got engaged. It's a story full of "almosts." It was 1968. It was almost Valentine's Day (Feb 13). The moon was almost full (the next night). He almost had a ring (we were having a composite made with stones from each of our mothers. Incidentally, I hardly ever wore it because it has two pearls and they are just too soft for the lifestyle my hands have always been involved in). He drove me to the local junkyard (yes, indeed), in his almost car (a British Ford of some kind that quite an adventure) where we parked and I officially said yes. At least that part wasn't an almost.

The next day I came down with the flu and spent most of a week in the college infirmary.

That was 57 years ago. We've always celebrated Feb 13 more than our actual anniversary which is in August. Mostly because for most of our life together our summers have been so busy it wasn't even funny.

I wanted to show you a picture of some special Valentine cookies I made for the occasion long ago. But, sigh... I can't find it. It's got to be just staring me in the face in the photo albums, but I'm not seeing it. So I did scan a picture you've never seen of us before. This is 1981, near our 13th Anniversary.

I keep recycling this one. But I don't think there is a picture of us taken together between February and August 1968.



And this is a couple of years ago, but pretty much the current condition.



Think we'll make three more?

See Almost Full

Food Coma

 We were ready for Christmas. This looks very impressive, but we actually cut back quite a bit on the gifts. However, we've always been masters at making something small look very festive.

We skipped a big breakfast today and just put out a veggie and cracker tray. The proof of pie is also in the picture.

The Om played Santa.

We had ham, mashed potatoes, mixed vegs, the cranberry relish. I thought I was eating a reasonable amount, but ohhh... too full. Obviously, Josh was here, and Steve called for a nice chat.

Oh, the pie? You want to know what kind? We cut that for dinner. Cherry!

You can count on there being pie in my breakfast future too!

I had to lie on the heating pad for a little while this afternoon, but I'm pretty much back to full activity.

See Silent Night

It Evens Out

 I made a Facebook post this morning that I don't discuss politics. However, I would like to note that if you average Om and me together, it's probably about right. He considers politics the greatest form of entertainment.

Note that he is sitting there with four screens all with different content. Happy as a pig in mud. Just sayin'...

And yes, I, we, voted.

The weather is currently totally nasty. I got soaked going from the store to the car. But I walked in the morning- to the polls, actually. 2.2 miles. Editing, bell choir, shopping.

Miles hiked in 2024: 522.5 miles

See More Plant Weirdness

Leaf Peeping 2024 - Part 1

 Today was the one day this week that wasn't busy. The colors perhaps aren't quite peak, but they are getting close. This one is on Custer Road. Didn't even have to go off pavement

Look who I convinced to go with me! He's even smiling. I didn't make him walk much, and he actually said he had a good time.

Got off the blacktop, but still weren't anywhere I'd consider off the well-travelled paths. This tree is on Stephens Road.

We made a stop at Hoag's Lake. It was looking nice. The only ones enjoying it were the geese.

After that we made a big loop on some much-less-travelled roads. In fact, I think we took one I'd never been on. It certainly was not the road I thought it was. More on that another day.

For now, I'll tell you that we ended the loop by coming south through the Manistee National Forest near Nordhouse Dunes. This view is on Green Road, always one of my favorites.

Om had had enough by then, but we had to stop for one spectacular October sky picture before we got home.

I have found a few more places that need exploring! A quality day on many levels.

I have ordered a replacement camera.

See Fall's Final Fling