What a surprise I got when I went to the Library the other day. Right in front, in the Handicap parking area, was an exact replica of my first car. Boy ...That sure brought back some memories. Who can forget the Lighter poping out of the dash at the Lawndale Cemetary or the time it broke down in the middle of the Bay and Weiss intersection or the fact that the fan belt blew off when you hit 45 MPH.
Well, the leasing company didn't get my permanent license plates for my company car in time, So......I am now driving a Chrysler Sebring convertable.At least temporarily until my plates arrive later in the week. This is my first MOPAR, and I must say it has great pick up. I wish it were summer time so I could put the top down. But thats life. I told MJ she could take to her Halloween Party in Bay City but she was too nervous....
Many people have asked me, Knowing I am an Artist (at Least somewhat)........If I had attended ArtPrize. I wasn't going to, but MJ talked me into it. The whole experience was unbelievable and I really enjoyed the day. We both picked the pencil drawing Calvary as the eventual Art Prize winner...Which it was. You truly had to see it to believe it. And as a "Pencil Artist" myself. I could really appreciate the time and energy that went into the piece.Overall the day was great the weather fine and lunch at the Hopcat was wonderful. I will definitely do it again.
Well after 84000 miles I turned in my old company car and picked up my new wheels last week. I am now driving a 2011 Equinox LT. It rides great and I love the way it works with my Ipod which s hooked to the radio through a USB cable located in the center console all controls are on the steering wheel with a readout on the dash. I may be buying this one if or when I retire.
My fellow scientist's and myself headed up to Reed City to conduct experiments at the Yoplait Factory.........Here is a photo of my team....Please burn after viewing.... TOP SECRET
We finally made it to Saugatuck for the first time this year. I gassed up the old corvette and we met our friends at the Coral Gables for dinner. I can't believe what rocking town this is in the summer. There seemed to be less boats overall but more of the larger boats then in the past. Maybe the economy is taking its toll on the middle class boaters. Anyway, it don't concern me I'm a car guy..........
Those of you who follow the Roller, will notice that I posted a new Banner Photo. It's a 1968 Firebird 400, I had the same car from March 1970 till around November 1972. I blew the engine coming back late at night from Michigan State. I actually kept the car in my carport at my apartment on Palmetto till the spring, when I sold it to Steve Perry (No not the lead singer in Journey). I always wonder what happened to her.
We made our annual golf pilgrimage up north on the 19th. This year we played at the Thorobred Golf course at Double J Resort in Rothbury. To say this course was challenging was putting it mildly. I finished the day with 96..... 48 on the front 48 on the back. I guess I can't complain. The food was great as well, I need to get that Burrito recipe..........And we may be heading up there again on the 16th of August this time at Colonial
Well, The rain finally stopped but the heat didn't so I was able to order three yards of topsoil to divert the rainwater away from the house and out to the yard. The seed has been planted so now I'll just sit back and relax for awhile, before I order the remaining stone. Oh, by the way, That Heat I mentioned earlier. For the two days that I moved the dirt from the driveway to the back yard I lost a total of eight pounds. This turned out to be a great way to jump start my new diet. Give it a try or wait for my new book.
As I wait for the next Thunderstorm to pass, I thought I would post these pictures of the new landscaping using stone instead of mulch. With the drain pipes buried in the front a lot of the run off no longer heads to the backyard. But I did notice that the yard in back seems to have settled. So I've decided to bring in some dirt and build it back up around the house. I have buried drains in the back for additional runoff. The problem is I haven't been able to order the dirt because it rains every other day. At this point all I can order is a load of mud. Well eventually I'll get r done.
MJ recently began working at the FireRock Grille. This is the new clubhouse restaurant at the former Crystal Springs Country Club. The private course was sold and is now named Stonewater Country Club. The course is still private but the new FireRock Grille is Semi Private. The great thing about this is it's only a mile from our house and with her employment there, She gets weekly golf privleges as well as 50% off her meals. We already have played once with Rob & Travis and it was absolutly FREE. This is a better deal than when we were actually members there. Also its tied in with Watermark & Sunnybrook Country Clubs ......So if we get bored we can go golf and eat there as well. Anybody wanna go golfin.........
After long and careful thought, I decided to add drainage from the gutters at the front of the house. Then I needed to Cover the drainage. So, as I was going to order mulch again, the idea came into my head to cover the the area with stone. As you know, mulch lasts about two years at the most. With stone you only need to do it once. In checking prices at the local garden center I found out Mulch was going for 27.00 a yard and Stone was only 33.00. At that point it seemed like a no-brainer. I ordered five yards for the Thursday before Memorial Day. Then I headed of to get landscape fabric to lay out under the stone. Then I realized what I had got into, First, Placing landscape fabric in a fully mature landscape was no easy task, Second, Stone is much heavier than mulch, Third the weather for the past four days has been in the high 80's meaning most of my work had to be done in the mornings only. So my weekend project is far from complete and could last several weekends if not all summer. I have a new appreciation for my friend's in the lanscaping business. I posted picture's of the start of my project and hope to add more as the weeks progress...........
I'm packing tonight and heading to Toledo on Tuesday for a sales meeting. I will be back Wednesday night. Tuesday night after the meeting we all will be heading over to the Mud Hens game. We have a private box and will be eating at the Roost in the Stadium. If you thought Comerica Park was awesome, please check out the MudHens Stadium, As you can see from the picture this stadium puts Comerica to shame. I think it's called Fifth Third Park...Seems like I heard that name before..... I will take a few pict's for you sports fan's while I have a Beer and a Braut...........
This is a shot taken from the bar at Cap's On The Water in St Augustine, it's an open air bar that sits on the intercoastal , known for its oysters. The record is held by someone who ate 19 dozen in one hour, Actually he ate all that in 22 minutes then went down to the beach and had some drinks and appetizer's. Care to go for the record .........No Thanks, Just a beer please.
People constantly have asked me what my Top 25 Favorite Albums are. They ask me this since I have one of the most extensive IPod music collections at this time. In the old days, I used to have one of the most extensive record album collections. I sold records for many years which helped me obtain a sizeable collection of music. In all I have been collecting music for over five decades. So anyway, I thought this would be an easy task....... But, Not So, My initial list of my favorite albums numbered over 80 albums. I guess I have a lot of work to get this down to 25. I may have to rank them by decade or some other catagory ....Well keep posted, I'm workin on it ...It just may take a little time.............That seems to be the one thing I have a lot of.
I was just looking thru my old photos and ran across this one. Its a shot at our old Kawkawlin House.It was taken on Memorial Day in 1981. But for some reason it looks like the Last Supper to me. You know I've never been a religious person.... Maybe I better slow down on these beers...yeah thats it.
Just lookin back at a music survey from this week in 1967. I can't ever remember having a pair of White Levi's, It must have been a cool thing .... based on this survey from WTAC in Flint. Maybe, it was just cool in Flint.
Just counting the days till
The days are counting down to my trip to Jacksonville, but due to family obligation's Mr. Robert's won't be joining us. I figure, I will probably save 50 to 100 dollars a day on booze alone. Now I'm not sure whether to bring the clubs along as well. I know I can't take four full days of watching golf, so I guess that would be something else to do.......Rob & I may take a trip down to St Augustine....There's a cool bar there he wants me to see..My Bowling ball is already down there...I guess "Life is for Living".
Two Rules you must follow when vacationing. ONE...Beware of traveling to Florida during spring break and TWO... if you do go, don't miss your flight. MJ learned this lesson last week after missing her flight on Friday ...She learn the next available flight out of Florida would be Tuesday at the earliest. Airlines are known to overbook during spring break. Scanning the internet for any one way flight home from Florida, made us aware that such a flight if available could cost between 500 to 2000 dollars.Fortunately, MJ found a flight to Cleveland for $550.00. So on Saturday, I hopped in my car and headed to Cleveland,,,,It was a nice day afterall. Five hours of driving got me to the airport, from there we headed to Flint to pick up her luggage then to Bay City to pick up her car... Stopping at the K of C for a beer. All in all, I spent fourteen hours on the road and travelled well over 700 miles. Oh by the way, on the ride home she told me she's planning to go to Phoenix next year ,........OMG
Yeah ......We just got word Kay & Dave are coming to visit again on the Fourth Of July... Actually there coming over for Timmy Presslers Wedding (an Old Buddy Of Rob's) But our old neighbors plan to stay a day or two with us. It should be fun....If I can keep them from getting out the Dominos Game
I talked to Rob yesterday and it looks like he told Mike R. he wants to move back to Michigan or Chicago Hopefully every thing works out I guess Florida was not his thing..... I hope it all works out...Because he has a lot of bills to pay off. I hope Mike can find him a position up here. It's Funny cause I would like to get out of here and move to Florida
Rob headed back to Jacksonville and MJ is spending the next week in Sarasota.....So I decided to take the rest of this week off the enjoy the great weather as well. It looks like it may be time to get the vette out also. Man does not live by yard work alone...........
Well...I guess it's safe to say.... It looks like I'll be heading to Jacksonville, Fl. in May to attend the Players Championship at The TPC at Sawgrass. My old buddy Mike R. came up with week long clubhouse passes for both Rob and me. I will be staying at Rob's place in Jacksonville..........So that will be free as well. Now I just have to decide how to get there ..Fly or Drive. Why do I always have such tough decisions......Life is so hard !!!!!!FORE
Yes... I have much news to report, but because MJ has given my blog address to so many people. I'm afraid to post the news as it may concern those who are reading this blog and could cause problem's when the actual event or event's take place. Sounds mysterious doesn't it.I kinda wonder what good this blog thing is anyway. Oh well, I'll try to post something later thats not so secretive. As far as the picture I couldn't find anything to match the title of the post.....Just pretend I'm sitting at a desk reporting the news.........And thats the end of the story.
I haven't been very good at posting new events on the Blog lately....Just not motivated I guess. Or maybe it's the Mini Keg in the basement fridge that's been taking up all my time Hmmmmm. Oh well, not really into the Olympic's so I haven't been watching a lot of TV, I decided to rent Entourage from the library and have just finished up season one as we speak...I'm not sure how many seasons there are, but I have seasons 2,3 & 4 on hold as well. You may have noticed I changed the music to lucky by Jason Mraz .....It's not a new song but it sounded .........Springy
Here is a picture I took on October 31, 2009, of my old friend BP. Halloween pictures have been posted in the Roller photos
Well, I finished all my pastels of houses and neighborhoods. I felt like going back to pencil and working on some faces.........But who to draw. While looking through a magazine the other day I saw this picture of two actresses, I had to ask Kellie who they were...She told me, and I forgot already. One is from the TV show the Soprano's and other was on Sex in the City... Anyway, I thought it would be an interesting drawing. I have the faces just about complete and most of the work thats left revolve's around their hair and anyone who knows me knows I HATE HAIR......Boring. Oh well I guess I'll just goof around with it til One O'Clock ....Thats when the Pro Bowling Show comes on. Hang in there, March is just little over a month away........
The owner of the GR Brewery dropped off some Spatz Bread And a bag of Garlic Toast. It seems his wife is from Saginaw, her maiden name was Braun....I believe. Maybe some of you have heard of that family in Saginaw. Anyway... knowing that MJ was from Bay City and that I actually only lived blocks from Spatz. He knew we would enjoy this treat. I can remember my dad giving me a quarter and four pennies and sending me down to get a loaf just as it came out of the oven. I can't imagine the amount of garlic bread I ate out of the bunwarmer at the Royal Palm in 1966/1967. Anyway, Tonight Kellie and I are going to have a Kraft Tangy Spaghetti Dinner with Spatz Bread for dinner. This was the traditional family meal on Friday nights before heading out to State Lanes during the seventies.
