NOTE: This is a long post that includes six (6) photos with captions. Unless otherwise indicated, photos taken by me (Bruce) with a Google Pixel 6 Pro. (Photos by Linda taken with a Google Pixel 6.)
SATURDAY 01 thru SUNDAY 09 June 2024 — the first nine days of June
School was done for the year for our two younger grand-daughters, but their mom and dad still had to work. The girls would be headed off to various camps over the summer, some local and some a few hours away. Our son and daughter-in-law would also have some time off and engage in some adult-only travel. All of which added up to Linda and Meghan (our daughter) being “on tap” for child-care services. (The girls are too old to call in babysitting anymore.)
Saturday 01 …
Sadie takes a break with her dad while Apa (me) looks on. (Photo by Linda)
Sadie had her last soccer game of the season at 9 AM and we were glad to finally be spectators. Her dad (our son) brought her to the game and stayed to watch, but afterwards we took her to Anna’s House for breakfast. It was a special treat as she usually has to share the attention of the adults in her life with her older sister. But not this morning, as Mads had to be elsewhere.
Sadie with her after-game gift/treats bag.
Ama (Linda) and Sadie working on something with crayons while we wait for our breakfast an Anna’s House in Ann Arbor.
Sunday 02 …
We went for a walk at Kensington Metropark today. It was very nice and I’ve included a couple of wildlife photos. Linda walks almost every week, usually with Diane, but I am not so much into that. I prefer working around the property, but I need to walk more regularly in preparation for a 14-day Rick Steve’s tour of England (with one stop in Wales) in May 2025. We will be transported by motorcoach, but we will do a LOT of walking on this tour. We will also be touting our luggage to and from the motorcoach and, in some cases, up and down stairs to our hotel rooms. Rick Steve’s Tours tend to book smaller (boutique?) hotels in city centers. This provides ready access to the city for tour participants, but these hotels sometimes lack elevators, and might include communal restrooms.
While walking a trail at Kensington Metropark, we spotted this Red-Bellied Woodpecker. The wildlife at this park is somewhat acclimated to the presence of humans, sometimes lots of them, all moving around and doing things, like hiking and bicycling and having picnics. As such, people can sometimes get close enough to them to take a decent photo without needing specialized/expensive camera equipment.
The same bird as above just a moment later, having moved from a tree trunk to the ground. It has something in its beak, but I’m not sure what it was.
Monday 03 …
The last time I used our gasoline powered string trimmer, it leaked fuel. BTW: I have suddenly discovered on Youtube that folks in Europe refer to these as a “strimmer.” Okay, I get where that comes from, but I have no idea when/where that originated, and I don’t understand being so lazy that you feel the need to reduce two words to one. Anyway, rather than fuss with it, I decided to buy a battery powered one. I chose a Milwaukee model at Rural King that came with an extra M18 6.0 W-Hr battery for free. Those batteries are not cheap, so it was a decent deal.
Tuesday 04 …
Our BdW guest, Wade S. left today for their next destination. Yesterday or today (I/m not sure which one) we decided to book a cruise for early December (this year). We found a Virgin Voyages “Pre-Holiday Caribbean Refresh” cruise departing San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 6 and returning there on December 14. We booked an XL Sea Terrace (balcony) cabin on Deck 12 Forward. Paul and Nancy subsequently decided to book the same cruise. It will be nice to be out cruising with them again. The main attraction of this cruise, for us at least, was that it spends most of its time in the south Caribbean visiting some of the Windward Islands, specifically; Tortola, St. Maarten, Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts & Nevis. We have cruised the eastern and western Caribbean several times now, but never the southern islands; the only ones in that list we have previously visited are Puerto Rico and Tortola.
Wednesday 05 and Thursday 06 …
Our calendar is blank for these dates. We probably worked in the yard, weather permitting, or at our respective desks, or a bit of both. One thing that probably happened during this time was that I called Glenn Williams of Tenor Clock to set up an appointment to fix our grand-father clock. It was still keeping time, but had stopped chiming recently after I rewound the drive weights. I jammed the gears once before while doing this, but was fairly certain I had not done so this time. I was, however, unable to diagnose the problem and repair it myself.
Friday 07 …
Glenn Williams (Tenor Clock) showed up at 9 AM, as scheduled. After spending time with the clock mechanism still in the cabinet, he concluded that the mechanism was dirty to a degree that he could not clean it “in situ.” The problem was my own fault; in an attempt to get it run/wind better, I had tried to oil it, thus gumming up the works. The only solution was for him to remove the entire mechanism, including the weights, pack them carefully, and taken them back to his shop where he has a fully-equipped bench and a stand (or stands) for mounting such mechanisms to work on them. This clock was a gift to myself upon the completion of my Ph.D. program in the fall of 2003, so it was important to me to get it repaired and running correctly again, however long that takes. Glenn always has a backlog of such work, so “late summer” was his best guess at this time.
Sometime during the afternoon (I think) BdW guest “Virg and Clio” arrived for a 1-night stay. We’ve had a steady, but not continuous or over-whelming, parade of guests since mid-April, and several others who had confirmed stay requests but had to cancel. It happens; travel plans change for all kinds of reasons, and we certainly never take it personally.
Saturday 08 …
The grand-father clock cabinet, sans the clock mechanism. The chimes are still there but, alas, nothing to strike them.
Glenn Williams (Tenor Clock) was here yesterday, but I only got around to taking this photo today. BTW: the reason for the name of Glenn’s business is that he is the tenor in a 4-man singing group named “Three Men and Tenor.” You might think that’s a bit of a take-off on “Two Men and a Truck” (and it might be, for all I know) but Glenn is not a big guy, while the other three singers are, so the name pokes fun at that contrast. Plus, tenors sing in a higher range, so there’s that. 😊
BdW guest “Virg and Clio” left sometime this morning.
Sunday 09 …
Linda might have gone to Ann Arbor to supervise (and play with) one or both grand-daughters, but it’s tentative on our calendar, so maybe not. I am writing this some time after the fact, and neither of us any longer recall the facts.
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