Oh to be undignified

Brenda and I stayed at the Windsor Inn formerly EconoLodge South, Petoskey MI.  We often choose EconoLodge, finding prices pretty good as well as accommodations.  We had stayed there a few years ago too.  There is a section about two feet wide between the parking lot and the hotel filled with 1-2" stones.  Of course, being in Petoskey, Brenda assumes most of them are "Petoskey Stones".  On our last visit Brenda spent all of her spare time crawling in the stones with her water spray bottle looking for her treasures.  This trip was no different.  As we were unloading we met our hotel neighbors and Brenda shared her story of the treasures right in front of us.  Later, I left to go fill up the Harley so Brenda decided to resume her crawling in the rocks in front of the hotel.  I passed our newly made friends as they returned from dinner.  I knew they would drive up and find my not so dignified wife crawling in the rocks looking for a precious overlooked 'Petoskey Stone'.  Oh well, I went and filled the bike and purchased a few snacks for our hotel room.  Heading back I would have expected to find Brenda still crawling in the rocks with her spray bottle and the new neighbors sitting in their lawn chairs with a smirk.  What I found when I rode up was both them crawling in the rocks.  "Brenda showed us what to look for and we have already found one!"  Brenda was in our room tidying up the place.  Yep, Brenda's great personality shines through again!.

Riding my Harley motorcycle 08/22/16

Today we went for a ride. On the way we passed a field of fresh cut alfalfa. The smell was so sweet, I hoped that I was not breathing in too many calories. The field looked like a freshly mowed lawn. I noticed the shadow on the road to my left, trying ever so to keep up with me. I stole a glance as often as I could, since the shadow included my precious passenger’s hair flowing in the artificial breeze. We came to a pasture, with horses scattered about. It seemed that the main difference between a finely manicured corporate lawn and the horse pasture was a few thistle plants strewn about in place of the Juniper plants in the corporate lawn. Both contain expertly trimmed grass. We passed through trees on our way. They seemed to be carved out as a tunnel especially for my enjoyment. The oxygen saturation level must have been in excess because it felt refreshing to my lungs, nose...and throughout my being. Then, passing some volunteer clover next to the road produced a sweet smell such that I wanted to stop and steal a container full of the air for later, when life became so busy that I would not have time to enjoy this gift. Brenda pointed to the sculpture of the fluorescent white clouds in contrast to the deep blue sky.


I sat at Target on Alpine ave, waiting for Brenda. Seemed a bit long until God gave me a rainbow, for my viewing pleasure. Brenda wasn’t too long after all.

Getting bloodwork

Since I'm getting older, I have been required to get blood tests once or twice a year.  I went in to Spectrum Health in Sparta a couple of days ago, and the nice young lady asked if I had a preference for which arm she would attack.  I said "Of course I have a preference","I'm 66 years old."  "Which arm?" she asked.  "Well, I have a preference, but I can't remember what it is."

Making sense of food safety 2

How to have a successful marriage

How to have a successful marriage

Most folks would agree that every good marriage includes something that both husband and wife are passionate about, preferably something that they both love so much.  I have come to the conclusion that in our marriage, we continue to be happy because we both love ME so much.

Skunk in the road

So Brenda and I are drivin' along when we get that unmistakable odor of a dead skunk. Being of a 10 year old mindset, I immediately said "I one it". Brenda didn't even look up, or smile or anything but just said in a monotone... "I'm not eatin' it".

Brenda is so lucky I am "handy".

I am writing this to be an encouragement to the wives who think their husbands  are too slow to "fix stuff".  Brenda was just sharing with a lady at our house that I had repaired an old lamp she had.  She picked it up from the "dump".  If you're old enough you will know about "dump picking".  Anyway, I fixed it a few months ago.  She "dump picked" it with Grandma Combs right after we were married in 1971.  So it only me took a bit over 40 years to get it done.  Brenda is so lucky I am "handy".