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

Cheers to Lucky Sevens

Ha! It's Diet Coke... I don't drink anything stronger. But here's a toast to two lucky sevens in my upcoming year, and another for the first 70-degree day of the year (although that is a little warm for me). Actually, I didn't do anything particularly special for my birthday, but there is a lot of satisfaction in the little pleasures.

For example, I'm going to share the evolution of the rock garden reclamation. This is a picture taken today that is straight-on from the back yard. Sorry, it's not filled with color yet, even green, because things seem to be coming to life slowly this year. That said... I'm working on it earlier than I have in the past two years. Some spaces can be carefully weeded since I have a pretty good idea of what is in them.

And on April 27, 2024. Last year, the flowers were about 2 weeks ahead of this year, and this is a tighter shot. But I guess I wasn't regularly taking a picture from that angle last year. For example, the moss phlox is blooming in this picture. This year, it's barely greening up yet.

October 24, 2023

In the spring of 2023 it was a grass covered mess. I began trying to reclaim it in June of that year.



Trying to make something of this mess brings me so much joy!

And here's a horrible job that, even so, brings me joy to see progress. I got one (of at least 25) complete autumn olive cut out and treated with Targon. All the stumps that I treated with it last year have not resprouted.

Mostly, for gifts, I asked for and received money to go toward working on the rock garden.

No hike today, but I think there will be one in a couple of days.

See Birthday 2024

M/B - Day

 Omer was born on Mother's Day. That was in 1940. He hit M-Day again in 1946, 1957, 1963, 1968, 1974, 1985, 1991, 1996, 2002, 2013, 2019, and this year, 2024.

His mom, Be (Bernice) with #1 kiddo, Om, in 1940. Hard to believe that little butterball is Om.

He probably wanted a bottle that year. Today he asked for steak. Grimace. I haven't cooked a steak in over 35 years. But I succeeded.

We used to each eat one of those. Ha! This time one steak is making 3 servings. We had all we wanted, and there is a little bit left. Added some asparagus, and that was all we needed. He also asked for a Coke.

Please note that the dining room has not exploded into a project space yet. That's a full week. I'm getting antsy.

And, I found the picture I wanted to show you on Mother's Day last year, but couldn't locate. This is Granny, Mom, and me probably in late 1949.

I got my 100 miles of campsites done, worked in the garden, and spent time on a project for someone else.

See Birthday Boy

Birthday Fun

 My usual birthday treat to myself is a hike. But this year I deferred that to another day. Maybe tomorrow, we'll see. I'm kind of on a roll with the book and want to work while I'm highly motivated.

But I was eating my lunch and someone called and asked me if I wanted to go out. Um... I was full. But there's always room for dessert, right? Especially pie.

Do you know who it was? It was Sue! With a friend of hers, Jan.

They had Jan's car, so I wasn't sure if I'd get to see my little buddies. But they had come too. Sophie and Annabelle are always good for smiles and licks.

And Omer got me some treat foods I'd been wanting. Some chips and pop.

And I've been inhaling broccoli. Just in the mood. Here it is with cottage cheese for breakfast. But last night for dinner I just ate a huge bowl of broccoli with butter. Yummers

Sue brought me another fun item. But I'm not going to share that until I decide where to put it. I thought I knew the answer to that when she gave it to me, but I need to rethink it. Stay tuned.

I did my editing, and then my 100 new miles of campsites, and some more formatting fixes. I may try to get more done this evening so that I'll feel good about going out to play tomorrow.

Oh yeah. What year is it? Most of you know. Finishing trip 76 around the blazing ball of gasses.

See Surprises and Blessings

Surprises and Blessings - Day 416

My SIL, Loretta, wished me surprises and blessings for today. She got it right on both counts.

The first surprise was... snow again.

Who is that hiking with me? Dan, the trail work manager for the Jordan Valley 45 Chapter. He spotted me and hiked with me. He's an expert level sawyer with hand tools (think axes and big crosscut saws). He is part of the crew that cleared the tornado damage in the Boundary Waters. So, he has been a blessing to many of us!

Next up was a big surprise. We were doing the final road mile of the day and a car stopped. A man yelled out the window, "Joan Young!" He introduced himself. He'd just been out doing trail work in the Harbor Springs Chapter area, literally cleaning trail we had just hiked. He saw our names in a register book and hoped to catch us. He introduced himself as Tim Calloway.

The surprise part is that he has been helping NCT people since 1978. "1978, you say? It wasn't even a trail until 1980."

Right, but what big event occurred in 1978? Carolyn Hoffman and LouAnn Fellows followed the proposed route of the trail. He lived in Marquette at that time, and he hosted them. But wait... there's more. Remember that iconic picture of LouAnn (left) and Carolyn (right)? That picture was part of what inspired me to want to hike the NCT in the first place. Well... Tim took that picture!

Moving on to more blessings. My morning snack... picked at random from my snack tub in the car as I loaded my pack... looks like a festive birthday cake. It was yummy, too.

I had decided a couple of days ago that I was going to treat myself to hot dogs at a deli/meat market in Petoskey. I like an occasional hot dog, and I like this place mostly because of the funny hot dog statue they have that is decorating himself with ketchup and mustard.

Did I need TWO hot dogs? Did I get two anyway? I think the answers are self-evident. (Yes, ketchup, pickle relish, onions for those of you who want to take issue with my condiments of choice.)

For years, I've made it a goal to go for a hike on my birthday. Last year, I was flat on my back in the trailer with the flu. That was ironic. In the middle of a big hike, on my birthday, I was not hiking. Link below for that. So, the universe was put back in the right order this year.

I was going to title this post "A Bad Joke Gone Wrong." That sounded pretty negative, but I'll tell you the bad joke anyway. When things started to get difficult in the UP in December, I joked that I had better be done with this hike before I got to be 75. Well, guess what? Now I'm 75, and I'm still not done. I know, I know... shut up and keep hiking.

Miles today: 12.1. Total miles so far: 4613.2.

Hill Rd to Stutsmanville Rd near Petoskey, MI

See Still Down

Happy Birthday to Me!

  We started right out on a hike on my favorite trail with two friends, Marie and Cathy! We did 6 miles, going across the Big Sable River on the Vince Smith Bridge and back.

The hole in the ground from yesterday? We recovered my old fire pit, which was new for my 50th birthday. Built a fire and cooked up a batch of hamburgers to enjoy now and later.

Instead of cake, I made a cherry pie! Yum, yum.

Then Marie and I played a new card game she just learned this year.

The trees in back of my house are in full spring coler. I love them at this stage!

A very, very nice birthday. Thanks to everyone who sent me wishes on Facebook or in email.

Miles on the North Country Trail in 2021 is at 220.

North Country Trail, Lake County, MI, 5 Mile Rd south 3 miles and back

See Cherry Pie II

One Half Cake, One Whole Birthday

 
Omer turned 80 today. Yeah, it's pretty difficult to imagine. He asked for one thing. This used to be the every-birthday tradition, but I'll bet we haven't had this since 1989. He wanted German chocolate cake. This cake used more sugar than I've used in total in the past six months. Wowser! I frosted half and froze the other half. It HAS to be three layers, so here you go, half a cake.



Did it turn out? Yup. This will last us several days. We've cut down on the sugar so much that I almost didn't like it. Almost.



The best part of the whole day was that the Impossibles (remember them- see link below for a reminder) had set it up with me to surprise Om with a Zoom party. Attendance was 100%. Om and me.



Ron



Jim



Chris



Ellen



I did a really good job of getting screen captures when people were looking down. I'm sure they just look like a bunch of older people to you, but I still see us all like this.



These four people have come to mean a lot to me over the years.

In other news: Well, this took nearly all day, but I did finish the data book for the hike, and got the lawnmower going, and got my Christmas gift air compressor fired up and the tires on the lawnmower filled. Tomorrow I should be able to mow!

	See 50 Years of Impossibiities
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Hanne's Birthday Party

 
Today was non-stop. All good, but way too full to suit me. Nevertheless, the best part was friend Hanne's birthday party. She invited a bunch of friends to Humani-Tea in Ludington. Lots of chatting and wonderful treats. She had the tea of the month... some special thing that starts out blue, and then when you add lemon juice it changes to purple.


We joked that it was magical and would change her back to age 14. But then we all agreed that NO ONE wants to go back to being 14.



In other news: Oil change, errands (they never end), bell choir and writers' group. Now I need to try to wind down so I can hopefully sleep tonight.

Oh yeah, and I wrote chapter 1 of The Lonely Donkey this morning. Here we go with the next book!

See Hanne's connection to me

Spring for a Birthday

 
Today was a beautiful day, and although I did not go for a hike, I did do exactly what I wanted for my birthday.

The one pasqueflower that keeps on surviving bloomed for me,



as did the first of the daffodils.



I worked on my next chapter in the morning, and spent most of the afternoon doing the last things to get the trailer ready for a (not finished but useable) road trip.



That included

1. re-connecting the wires for all the lights. I had numbered each end, so that was just a matter of hooking them back together and then checking to be sure they all worked. They did.

2. getting the tires up to pressure. I have a tiny compressor that works, but it's slow.

3. the thing I actually did first, and was most important, bracing the interior. This trailer had most of the internal structure removed before I bought it. I took out almost all the rest, certainly everything in the front half where the door is. These trailers are really flexible. I already knew that I could have problems with the door popping open while towing it because it has done it before. I'd jury-rigged the door latch, but now I knew there could be a problem. Besides, you don't want it flexing like crazy while it's being towed.

The big issue here is that this is going to be a fussy and tricky job to build in what is going to be my primary structural support. I just didn't think there was going to be time before next Wednesday, and I need to buy another tool to do it. I came up with an easy temporary solution.

There are still a few 2x2s fiberglassed to the walls. I used a rope between a couple of nails to pull the sides inward (2 inches just with reasonable hand pressure), and temporarily bolted a board across the space. Obviously this will be in the way while we are using the inside, but it's easy to pull out and then reinstall for the drive home.



4. Take it for a test drive. I just went around a big country block and stopped to visit with a friend I haven't had time with for quite a while on the way. That was a lot of fun. She's an April birthday too, so we have often "celebrated" over a kitchen table together.

5. When I got home I wanted to finish one more job today because it was warm. I got an extra narrow strip of butyl caulking all the way around every window. I got better at it, to the point where some of it actually looks decent.

Now I have to turn my primary attention to completing some other things that have to be done before we take the trailer to the North Country Trail Celebration next week. If anything else happens on the trailer in the next few days it will be to do a bit more fiberglassing to continue some of the repairs to the shell, and a couple of temporary interior tweaks to make it more convenient as a camper. Like a place to clamp my clamp-on light, for example.

Well, it was one year ago that I quit my job and said I was going to focus on writing. I think I've done fairly well at that, for me, Ms. Lack-of-Focus. I'm behind on the date I hoped to have North Country Quest done, but that was way too ambitious a goal. I'm writing almost every day. I'm selling fewer books that I would like, but not too shabby. I have a semi-clean spot in my office (although the dining room is trashed as a sorting space). I'm back on track with working on the trailer.

My health is still really great, and I'm not anticipating any major problems in the near future, but none of us is getting any younger, and I'd like to get the trailer on the road while I'm in good enough shape to enjoy it.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! And I had cake last night at writers' group (and brought some home for today), and Omer bought me some potato chips (a real treat). So I ate too much, and completed something I really wanted to accomplish before the end of the month, and saw a friend. Life is good.

	See Not A Day Over Seventy See Original Interior
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