Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: Uncategorized


by 8 Comments

Great weekend

Saturday husband and I took his Aunt V out to eat for her 96th birthday.  She hasn’t been out of her apartment other than for doctor appointments since she came home from the hospital in early summer.   She was all dressed up and ready to go when we went up to collect her from her apartment.  She’s not walking very well and we had to rest a few times on the way down to the lobby and the waiting car.  But she made it and was very glad to get out into the fresh air.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm.  The roses out in front of her building were in full bloom – just for her.

We took her to a small town about 30 minutes away, so she could enjoy the drive.  Some of the trees are beginning to turn, the sky was blue and filled with big white puffy clouds.  The promised rain never materialized.

After dinner husband told her it was too nice a day to head back home, so we went for a drive.  After more than an hour of driving through the country she asked where we were.   We were nearing water and he told her we were in Mackinac City.  “Really?” she asked!  He laughed and said no…then she started recognizing some things, like the Black River where she and her husband once moored their boat, an old hotel where they used to stay.  We were in Port Huron, on the eastern shore of Michigan.

More than sixty years ago, as a young wife, she and her husband used to boat from Saginaw down to Port Huron on weekends.  She hadn’t been back in many years.  Amazingly she recognized quite a bit of the town.  We sat at the waterfront and watched boats go by, including a very large ore boat which nimbly slid under the bridge and past us surprisingly fast.

I fell in love with the Great Lakes all over again.

We all had a great time.  I’m pretty sure she slept well last night.

Then this morning I met a friend of mine who is in town for a family wedding.  She and I used to run together before she moved far away back in 1996.  We haven’t seen each other in 13 years, but it was as if we’d never been apart, even though we haven’t been in touch much beyond the annual Christmas card all these years.

We went back to the neighborhood where I used to live and where we used to run a couple times a week after work.  As we walked the old route, noticing changes in the houses and gardens, we talked and talked, just like we used to do when we ran.  We talked about the way things used to be, the things that have happened in our lives, the way things are today.  We both got a bit teary-eyed over losses in each of our lives, we voiced regrets and triumphs and hopes.  We passed the house I used to own and commented that it was still a great neighborhood.

After our walk we went out to breakfast and talked and talked.  Catching up on so much takes some time!  We weren’t finished talking when we were finished eating, so we went for another walk through an old neighborhood behind the restaurant.  Another couple of miles under our belt and I don’t think we were finished talking yet, but we both had other things we needed to do.

Sadly we said goodbye and promised that it would not be 13 years before we saw each other again.  In fact we just might run the big race together again next August.   The first time either of us ran the 10 mile race was together.  It’s probably been 20 years but we think, just maybe, that we can do it again.

I hope so.  It will give us some time to talk.  Because we didn’t discuss nearly everything we have to say!  Thanks P.  I know you’re reading this.  It was so good to see you again.  I miss you already.

Safe trip home.


by 10 Comments

Foggy Saturday

This morning my drive into town for my weekly Weight Watchers meeting looked like this:

But the sun was trying to burn off the fog, and I had high hopes for the rest of the day.

By the time I got out of my meeting the sun was shining triumphantly.  It is a beautiful day!  I went over to the farmers market, a beautiful place to visit even if you aren’t going to buy anything.

But who can resist buying something! Maybe some of these purple eggplants?

Or peaches?

Maybe the peppers or tomatoes?

I, of course bought corn and tomatoes and peaches.  It’s going to be a good weekend.  Tomorrow is Aunt V’s 96th birthday.  I’m taking her a dahlia from our garden, a tomato and a peach.  They don’t even need wrapping!

 


by 14 Comments

Riley's mailbox search

A long time ago, way back in August, while Reilly went for a walk around his neighborhood  he  noticed the fancy mailboxes there.  He and his Mom suggested we all look around and see what kind of pretty or interesting or unique mailboxes we just might have near us.

Well, lots of time has passed, but I’ve been keeping this challenge in the back of my mind.  Mostly around here we have pretty simple mailboxes out on posts by the side of the road, nothing fancy, nothing pretty, nothing remotely interesting.  Or so I thought.

Today while driving to see if I could find a competitive photo for Scott’s photo challenge  I decided to keep my eyes open for mailboxes too.  Look what I found!

Down one of the dirt roads that I used to run is this mailbox, advertising the kind of person that lives there.  I think this person just might be pretty handy to know.

And on another road I drive everyday is someone longing to be near the sea.

Most of our mailboxes are just, well, regular mailboxes.  Though lined up like this I think they look pretty interesting.

But my favorite is this one, made out of patio pavers with a top that lights up at night.   It’s something they built this summer and I’ve been admiring it for weeks.

I’m pretty happy with the mailboxes I found in a single morning.   And even though there are some fun mailboxes out there, I think I’ll keep our simple brown one.  It works just fine.

Katie’s waiting for some mail.

 


by 11 Comments

Frost warning

Summer seems to have ended abruptly though I hope we’ll still get that Indian Summer we so enjoy here.

This week the evening news warned of a frost ‘in the outlying areas” and we’re certainly outlying, so I went out to the garden and cut a few of the dahlia’s to take to my aunt.

And because I couldn’t bear the thought of all the beautiful flowers brown with frost so soon.

We didn’t get the frost, but I’m still glad I brought some of the blooms inside.

They’re so beautiful.

 

 

 

PS:  Scott has another photographic assignment due 9/28.  The challenge is to photograph something competitive.  I’ll be thinking about this one.  You can too!  There’s still lots of time!


by 7 Comments

Fall begins the music

A sure sign that we have moved beyond summer has nothing to do with leaves changing, or cooler evenings or even threats of frost.  The most emphatic sign for me is when the community band starts rehearsing again.

This week I went to my first rehearsal.  I haven’t played all summer.   That’s a bad thing.  I could use the excuse that I had my instrument in the shop getting a tune up.  And I did.  But I didn’t take it in until sometime in late July.  So I have no excuse for not playing in June and July.

Tuesday night as we ran through what seemed like endless sheets of music I knew I was out of shape.  I was hot and tired and more than that was often dizzy from blowing inefficiently into the mouthpiece of my instrument.  Not a good combination.  I won’t even comment on the missed accidentals, fingering mistakes, the times I was lost.  The multitude of times I looked up at the clock, hoping for an end to my misery.

The good news is that I was not alone in that misery.  The bad news is that I was not alone.  We sounded pretty terrible.  But we have a few weeks before the Halloween concert, and my stand-mate and I have made a pact to practice at least four times this week.

Wait.  It’s already Thursday night and I haven’t practiced.  How many nights are there between now and Tuesday?  I need to stay focused and make sure I get that practice in.

Because I don’t want to spend another Tuesday night sweating and trying not to fall over.  No one else wants that either.


by 8 Comments

Michigan Renaissance Festival plus a Katie-girl

Sunday Katie and I got word that a friend of ours was playing her fiddle at the Michigan Renaissance Festival which coincidentally is right up the road from our house.  And since we weren’t doing anything in particular we decided to head on over there and see what was happening.

It was just Katie and I and a few thousand of our closest friends.

Many of which were dressed in some pretty strange attire.

There was lots of music,

…and puppet and magic acts.

People watching was the name of the game.

You never knew what you’d see next.

Katie got admired by sheltie lovers and children.  She mostly let everyone pet her.  Often I’d see a longing in a pair of eyes and smile encouragement.  Katie seemed to know when someone really needed a Sheltie fix.

She was interested in everything.   The weirder the better.

Mostly though she had her nose to the ground, looking for scraps of the turkey legs they sold, or potato chips, hamburgers and such.  She was quite annoyed when I’d drag her away from the best stuff.

She didn’t much like the kids rides, too much noise, too much movement.

And she wasn’t too interested in meeting other dogs, though on our way out she did meet a friendly basset hound.

It was a long way back to the car and when we finally got there she was glad to rest a bit before our short drive home.  Is that our car Mom?  Finally?

Tonight she’s dreaming of turkey legs, men in tights and women with pushup bras.  I swear.

Katie says: “When I said I needed an adventure I sort of thought we’d just go to the park Mom, not some weird place with noise and strange people and crazy smells…but I’m a brave girl and handled it all!  Didn’t I!”

Yes baby girl, you did.