We saw an excellant performance of An Ideal Husband, Oscar Wilde's skewering of genteel Londoners. Great acting, great seats, great company, great weather, great food.
We left with Jim and Sandy early Saturday morning, picked up Bill and Dorothy in Marine City, and crossed the Blue Water Bridge after a short delay. We arrived to bright sun and cool temperatures in the 60s and strolled some of the downtown Stratford, Ontario streets before our lunch at Bentley's Restaurant in the heart of Stratford. Their gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches are not to be missed. Off to the Festival Theatre (there are four theatres in Stratford) to walk their gardens before the performance. We found a beautiful fall-blooming crocus that we intend to put in some of the flower beds next season.
On our return to US customs and immigration, after a much longer wait, the officer took our passports, asked about our travel, and then wanted to talk to Sandy. He is a former student of hers who spoke fondly of the books they read and the trips they took, especially to Meadow Brook Theatre to see A Christmas Carol. Such a small world.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Ten days in the northwest
After the Lions' victory over the Vikings we spent the night near the airport, rose at 3 am, shuttled to the airport at 4:30, and boarded our flight on Frontier Airlines to Denver. Changed planes for Seattle where Amy and Garrett picked us up.
The days were busy. We walked Spencer to school in the morning and home in the afternoon with Garrett accompanying us on his tricycle--up hill both ways!. Some days we stopped for morning coffee and a muffin or cinnamon roll on the way back. After school we all went to Spencer's soccer matches and Tae-kwon-do classes, then geared down with baths and showers, video games, and reading children's books together.
We took Garrett to Pacific Science Center in Seattle to see their dinosaur exhibit and an IMAX 3D about dinosaurs where Garrett sat with his feet straight out, munching his popcorn and sipping his drink, watching the tail of a dinosaur tail appear to swipe near our noses. Another day Garrett took us to Snoqualmie for a train ride and four train-related activities hosted by volunteers for the Northwest Railway Museum.
Our hike to Snoqualmie Falls was exciting--trees two hundred years old lying beside our trail, views of the valley through breaks in the trees, several varieties of slugs and beetles, benches to sit on and have our snack and hydration break with a view of the falls, and a return trip culminating in a challenging (for me) four hundred foot climb from the rail-trail up to their neighborhood playground.
We did find time to follow the Tigers' attempt to recover from their post-All Star game slide, Michigan's defeat of Penn State, MSU can of whoop-a__ they opened on ND, and the Lion debacle in the City of Brotherly Love (none shown for the Lions)
Landscape changes will be noticed--moved some things, trimmed others, and set many new plants (Kathy, mainly). Spencer and Garrett both love to play outdoors so we took them to parks and their backyard to swing and climb structures.
Learned about how to use a computer to help manage geogaching waypoint and cache information, and then used the info to grab a few caches (missed a few, too). And used a Skyscout to locate given stars and constellations, and, conversely, to identify them.
When we were ready to return, it was clear and sunny at the Reagan house but Amy returned from an errand to tell us she heard of flight delays out of Seatac airport. We checked and our flight was moved to an hour later. As we drove we could see the fog over Seattle that caused it. Mostly we had seen clouds in the mountains and clear below, but this was reversed. We did not mind because our layover in Denver was originally over three hours. (We purposely did that to accomodate everyone's schedule.) Smooth sailing home--not much traffic from Metro Airport to Romeo at 2:30 in the morning.
Great trip, had a ball. It's always good to be home.
The days were busy. We walked Spencer to school in the morning and home in the afternoon with Garrett accompanying us on his tricycle--up hill both ways!. Some days we stopped for morning coffee and a muffin or cinnamon roll on the way back. After school we all went to Spencer's soccer matches and Tae-kwon-do classes, then geared down with baths and showers, video games, and reading children's books together.
We took Garrett to Pacific Science Center in Seattle to see their dinosaur exhibit and an IMAX 3D about dinosaurs where Garrett sat with his feet straight out, munching his popcorn and sipping his drink, watching the tail of a dinosaur tail appear to swipe near our noses. Another day Garrett took us to Snoqualmie for a train ride and four train-related activities hosted by volunteers for the Northwest Railway Museum.
Our hike to Snoqualmie Falls was exciting--trees two hundred years old lying beside our trail, views of the valley through breaks in the trees, several varieties of slugs and beetles, benches to sit on and have our snack and hydration break with a view of the falls, and a return trip culminating in a challenging (for me) four hundred foot climb from the rail-trail up to their neighborhood playground.
We did find time to follow the Tigers' attempt to recover from their post-All Star game slide, Michigan's defeat of Penn State, MSU can of whoop-a__ they opened on ND, and the Lion debacle in the City of Brotherly Love (none shown for the Lions)
Landscape changes will be noticed--moved some things, trimmed others, and set many new plants (Kathy, mainly). Spencer and Garrett both love to play outdoors so we took them to parks and their backyard to swing and climb structures.
Learned about how to use a computer to help manage geogaching waypoint and cache information, and then used the info to grab a few caches (missed a few, too). And used a Skyscout to locate given stars and constellations, and, conversely, to identify them.
When we were ready to return, it was clear and sunny at the Reagan house but Amy returned from an errand to tell us she heard of flight delays out of Seatac airport. We checked and our flight was moved to an hour later. As we drove we could see the fog over Seattle that caused it. Mostly we had seen clouds in the mountains and clear below, but this was reversed. We did not mind because our layover in Denver was originally over three hours. (We purposely did that to accomodate everyone's schedule.) Smooth sailing home--not much traffic from Metro Airport to Romeo at 2:30 in the morning.
Great trip, had a ball. It's always good to be home.
Monday, September 17, 2007
How 'Bout Dem Lionz
It's been a long time since Lions were 2-0. Lions game against the Vikings at Ford Field Sunday was fun. It's been a long time since we've had a full house all the way to the finish. The game was not the prettiest (5 turnovers by each team) but it was fun.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Quick trip
Took quick two-day trip to Emerald Lake. Had some stuff to take up that has been sitting around Romeo for a while--mainly dishes from Aunt Ruth and an old (and I mean old--we had it in Oak Park in the kids' nursery!) white cabinet and hutch. (We got an even older, but much nicer, cabinet and hutch from Aunt Ruth so something had to go.)
Stopped on the way up Thursday in Clare for jewelry repairs and our first visit to Jay's, a large outdoor store similar to Gander Mountain (I like Jay's much better). We each finished the novels we were reading.
On Friday Kathy cut the grass and then got her hair cut. We stopped in Frankenmuth on the way home for chicken dinner and a short walk--had a birthday coupon for a free dinner. Weather has turned cooler so we did not walk very long.
Stopped on the way up Thursday in Clare for jewelry repairs and our first visit to Jay's, a large outdoor store similar to Gander Mountain (I like Jay's much better). We each finished the novels we were reading.
On Friday Kathy cut the grass and then got her hair cut. We stopped in Frankenmuth on the way home for chicken dinner and a short walk--had a birthday coupon for a free dinner. Weather has turned cooler so we did not walk very long.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
What a day!
Almost too much excitement for my medicaid birthday.
Brenda called to wish me a happy birthday! That was special.
James called to wish me a happy birthday! That was special.
Kathy decorated a clipboard for me with pictures of me and Spencer and Garrett. That was special. She covered the oldest clipboard of mine she could find with paper, matted the pictures and mounted them on the board, and decorated with miniature tools and tool stickers. It now hangs on the pegboard in the workshop.
Kathy and I transplanted some day lilies. I'm not too old to help around the yard yet.
We then went to Tiger ballgame with Bill and Patti, had dinner at Tiger Club, saw Tigers win on two home runs and a fine pitching performance by Justin Verlander. Great tickets arranged by Brenda.
One great day. Thank you.
Brenda called to wish me a happy birthday! That was special.
James called to wish me a happy birthday! That was special.
Kathy decorated a clipboard for me with pictures of me and Spencer and Garrett. That was special. She covered the oldest clipboard of mine she could find with paper, matted the pictures and mounted them on the board, and decorated with miniature tools and tool stickers. It now hangs on the pegboard in the workshop.
Kathy and I transplanted some day lilies. I'm not too old to help around the yard yet.
We then went to Tiger ballgame with Bill and Patti, had dinner at Tiger Club, saw Tigers win on two home runs and a fine pitching performance by Justin Verlander. Great tickets arranged by Brenda.
One great day. Thank you.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
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