Missives of a Misfit

November Gathering!

2009-11-15T02:40:02Z

One of the weekends we plan all year to attend. Amazingly enough, Andy ended up getting a couple people to work his weekend, so we were free, Friday through Sunday night, so that was good. We signed up and were ready to go. At the last minute, we almost backed out, because we didn't even think we had enough gas money to get back and forth! But, because the weather was predicted to be great and because we both had the weekend free, we decided to worry about it later....just go!

Man, we were so happy we did that!! It was awesome. I would have hated to miss that special weekend of the year, especially with the nice weather we had. Friday morning, we put together some Enchillada Casserole to take for that night's dinner and to share, and packed everything up including our pre-cooked and frozen Jack's Polish sausage. We were one of the first ones at the Schoolhouse (Steeve had beaten us there), and put up our tent.

Friday night was great. After everyone arrived and set up their tents and had dinner, we pretty much hung out by the campfire the rest of the night. This year, we had music!! Rob on banjo and Chuck on guitar. Chuck's family was an additional delight. I especially enjoyed his daughter, who really enjoyed being with fellow outdoorspeople.

Saturday morning, we are getting ready for our hike. We are spotting cars, and dividing up into two groups: The short hike of 7.5 miles, and the longer hike of 12 miles.

We short hikers pose

Here we have Dave and his expressed hate for mountain bikers:

Lunch time.

NCT trail improvements!

Lookin' tired....

Ahhh, getting ready for potluck Saturday night!

The rescue team and all of us shows tribute to Ken Knight, for finding himself~

Nice bright orange!

Sunday morning hike! Gorgeous day.

Regroup time:

And back on the trail....

Group lunch on Sunday...

Sign in, guys!

And, finally, the last of us to go home...

I will never miss one of these Gatherings. This is just great! :)

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October Sleepy Hollow Camp Trip

2009-11-10T00:08:36Z

Finally, here are some photos of our annual mid-October Sleepy Hollow State Park camp trip with Missy, Bob and Spam. We love this camp in the fall because the colors are so beautiful and because there are so many miles of hiking trails, a beautiful Lake Ovid, and even a bridge to a little island. For a state park, the campsites are fairly private, more so than most, and best of all, it is located halfway between Missy's place and ours making it a perfect fall get-together.

We left on Friday, just before noon, and met Missy in Owosso for lunch at the Taco House, an amazing establishment. The proprietor has owned the Taco House for over 30 years, and sells the most delictable authentic Mexican food that we stop by as often as we can. Missy was duly impressed as well.

After we set up camp, Andy, still feeling a little poorly after his cold, took a little nap, while we hiked with the dogs for a short 3 mile loop.

To Dan's delight, there is now even a disc golf course at this park:

Relaxing with a game of Skip Bo after our hike. Bob was not scheduled to arrive until the next day at some point.

As you can see, it was a little on the chilly side, but pleasant with no rain!

The next morning, after a small breakfast, we left on our hike, as Bob was not yet ready to catch up with us.
Here is a pretty trail.

Once Bob arrived, we had a terrific steak dinner, then Missy and Bob left to join friends in Lansing to take in a play. I believe it was Fahrenheit 911, which they very much enjoyed. Andy and I chilled by the firepit, and played a couple games until they got back.

The next day, a new hike. Checking the GPS or camera I believe:

Bright fall colors!

Taking a little rest break:

The Bridge to the island:

Pretty colors here in the Fall:

After our hike we had a great hamburger meal before a game of Euchre and packing it up!

And the dogs played.....What a nice weekend it was!

School stuff

2009-10-08T03:05:59Z

I have been wanting to post, but it seems like by the time I'm done with everything I have to do, and catch up on FB and LJ, I'm too tired. Now I know how school keeps your brain hostage!

I'm into the second phase of my training now, which is two weeks (well, a total of 5 sessions) of computer training. I'm finding it really taxing. It's not that I don't know the computer system, it just that the training is really fast paced, and if I don't get there really early I'm sitting in back feeling like I can't see what's going on. I feel a little slow compared to how well I did in the classroom, and this surprises me because I thought I would rock in this section. I did get 100% on my surprise (more like "shock") test on the first day. They threw a bunch of stuff at us, went over it a little, and then told us we were getting a test that we had to pass with 85% or we couldn't work the floor. Or else we had to retake the test. I kind of freaked a little, but I aced it.

Now the other thing that is goofy is that they keep changing the times/places where we are to meet for this training. One day it is at the old Osteopathic hospital, the next day it is at the Anderson Center behind Harrison. They also are very ambiguous about what time we are supposed to end the class. For someone like me that is getting dropped off and picked up by Dan, this is very nerve-wracking for both of us. I call Dan and tell him I'm supposed to get out at 9, then I end up getting out at 8:30, and call him to rush and pick me up. Sometimes when I leave the facility, the doors lock and I can't get back in and I'm stuck alone in the dark! I would appreciate a little more organization to this.

So though, all I have left for computer training is tomorrow at Anderson Center, and then next Tues and Wed at Osteopath. Friday is my morning tour of the hospitals. After that I have 5 weeks of Tues/Wed/Thurs 7 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. on the floor clinicals. I'm actually really looking forward to that part. Right now there are 5 jobs posted for HUCS who pass. One is a doctor office and 4 are Covenant. But there are 9 of us in the Covenant clinicals. So I need to be as good as I can. I compete against very young, sharp brains for these jobs.

Writer's Block: Shopping spree confessions

2009-09-18T01:07:36Z

If you could choose a $1,000 gift certificate for one online store, which would it be and what would you get? Would you share the love with your friends?

View 351 Answers

REI for sure! Camping necessities here I come!!!! Yeah, I would share my wealth with my husband and son who go backpacking with me. :)

School and stuff

2009-09-12T02:18:08Z

Well, it sure has been a week. My first week at Delta earning my HUC (Health Unit Coordinator) certificate. The whole process of getting ready for this was really kind of scary for me, but being there on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday was very exciting and made me feel like new doors were opening everywhere for me. I loved it, honestly.

We decided that Dan would take me to school each day, getting me there well before 8 a.m., so I could get an up front seat, and picking me up at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, and 2 p.m., the other two days. He needs the car to take Jen to work at her new job as a Kitchen Supervisor at an elderly home. I kind of like being dropped off and picked up; it takes one stress away for me. Dan probably doesn't like much to get up so early, but he is good about it. He definitely contributes - does all the dishes every day, some of the cooking, etc. For that I am grateful.

My instructor is an actual HUC from Bay Med. The class was once taught by an RN. Sharon (my instructor) complained that the HUCs being turned out at Delta were more oriented in the RN point of view and really didn't know how to do the job when they got to Bay Med. So she was asked to teach the class, and accepted. She has been a HUC for more than 20 years. She is a Type A personality and a force to be reckoned with. I liked her immediately.   Some people do not so much.

I think the first day was overwhelming for a lot of people. I was fascinated just listening to Sharon and taking notes, and did not let my mind wander. I caught it trying to twice, but slapped it right away. I liked just being on campus, having lunch outside by the courtyard - the kids don't go outside much - they stay inside with their WIFI and cafeteria. I bring a homemade wrap and an apple and coke and go outside in the sun and walk around. I have two friends who are sisters, Pat and Carol. They are down to earth, about my age.

There is this little bitch too. Isn't that funny? She is like early 20s, sat next to me yesterday. I said something like "Whew, that was a lot of homework! Took me 5 hours two days in a row to do those 5 Chapters and answer all those questions on paper!" She was like "No, that was NOTHING. I spent only 3 hours total on it. Yeah, really? She then said, "Well, I read really fast and comprehend everything I read".    Oooooh, aren't YOU special? Later, she actually snickered at a question I asked of the instructor.   Her self-esteem is just running amok.   I hope she forgets to study for the next test.

Anyway, I'm now getting into the swing of things. Doing 5 chapters a week is not so bad when you know about it the Thursday before it is due, as opposed to knowing about it the Tuesday before that Thursday! I can pace myself. I'm doing okay on the med. terminology, just the As and Bs so far, but crap, there are a couple that are driving me nuts.

Went to the eye doctor today and he says my eye is completely healed. YAY! Ordered new contacts since the only insurance I have is vision insurance. Hey, it's always nice to see.   Just as I was getting ready to leave for Great Lakes Eye, I did what I usually do upon leaving the house, I reached for my book (which, btw, is Landscape with Fragmented Figures by Jeff Vande Zande) then I set it back down on the table, and reached instead for my flashcards.   This was difficult for me. I think I have read about two paragraphs since I started Delta. Sigh. Crazy that the book I was reading as I started my class is written by a Delta instructor. I guess fun reading is taking a back seat right now.

I'm proud of my family. Dan has been doing some cooking. Andy had the day off from work AND school today, and took me to the eye doctor, vacuumed the whole house, vacuumed the pool, cooked dinner and helped me fold clothes, while I worked with Mark all day. Things are okay; things are good. I may not be backpacking next weekend - too much schoolwork, but I'm prepared for the next steps in my life.

Oh, AND Andy and I watched the Glee episode on Hulu.com tonight! Treat time! Okay, back to the flash cards.

Dan's Camp Trip

2009-08-31T23:32:13Z

REVISED. Now with more than one picture! I now have 10GB of space, PLUS I have photoshop on my laptop, so I will resize photos to take up less room.

We call this Dan's Camp Trip because there happens to be a weekend in August in which there is no Nascar race, and that is the weekend that Dan is available to camp. Doesn't matter what the weather is predicted to be - that is the weekend Dan is available. Because Andy had to work the whole weekend (he tried hard to switch with someone, but it just didn't work out) and because of our lack of money for gasoline, we chose Sleepy Hollow State Recreation Area in Ovid, Michigan. Where is Ovid? Uh, near Laingsburg. Ha, ha. It is somewhere just west of Owosso on M-21, actually a very great location because it is a mere 1 hour, 6 minutes from Shields, and just 45 minutes from Ionia, so we can usually count on special guests! It also has a gorgeous lake to kayak, at least 15 hiking miles, and a nice day use area to picnic in.

Andy, Gypsy and I took the camper up when he got out of work at 4 p.m., and Dan, Joe and Jen followed when Jen got out of work at 6. Dan had some awesome Hungry Howie pizza coupons by email so they picked up dinner in Owosso on the way there. Friday evening, Missy, Bob and Spam came for a visit, and we had a good time by the fire.

Bob and Andy by the fire.

The next morning, on our walk to the beach. A little cool and cloudy that day.

A few of the state parks have begun putting in disc golf courses, with a tournament being held at various parks until October. To Dan's thrill, Sleepy Hollow was one of them. Now although they just began construction, the path was already laid out even though the baskets and tees were not yet up. On Saturday, we walked through the course just to see what it would be like. It is an 18-hole in a beautiful area of the park.

There were some wide open spaces as you see here, but also some tricky tees with water on both sides of the shoot, and others with trees and brush in the way.

They have these hilarious signs posted from time to time:

Back at camp it was Scrabble Time!

About 7 p.m. or so, Andy arrived from work. For supper we had grilled steaks and potato packets with bacon and cheese. We had a fire going in the evening but finally the rain took the fun away.

The next morning things were pretty wet due to the rain overnight, but wow, the sky was a beautiful blue, and we were ready for that! Here the boys are getting ready to go disc golfing while Jen, Missy and I planned to hang by the beach with the dogs .

The boys got through about 10 tees, and spent so much time looking for their discs that they gave it up and came back to the beach for lunch:

Dan and Gypsy

Got a little Skip Bo in while waiting for Andy to get out of work and pick us up.

Maybe not the best weather, but I think we all had fun anyway. Now it's time to pack it up.

Bye Spammy!

San Francisco Trip!

2009-08-21T01:46:24Z

As you may know, last week I went to San Francisco as Sarah's guest to be her model for her State Board Exam for her Esthetician License, and to have some great fun! You've been waiting for these photos! :)

It was fun to see the kitties again! Zap liked to hang by my computer:

We played some games that night:

In he morning, we set out for the Wharf area. All transportation via Sarah's cute little car, the Mini Cooper:

This is Alioto's where we had lunch on Monday. This place has been around since the 1920's, and has a fantastic view with excellent food. I think we had a crab and avacado salad with fried wonton chips. Yum.

One of many views from the restarant:

We spotted a fishing boat and seal or sea lion (?) through the window during our lunch

Shortly after lunch, we were packed and headed to Fairfield, California for our overnight adventure with the California State Board! We stayed at the Extended Stay Hotel:

It was over 100 degrees when we got into town! I think it was about an hour's drive from SF, over the Bay Bridge, and somewhere to the northeast. Cooling off in the air conditioned room:

We drank some really excellent wine out of those silly plastic glasses on the night stand. :) We did a little reviewing for he exam, and then headed out for dinner at the Blue Frog Grog. I kid you not. We had great pizza and a beer sampler that was freakin' awesome:

So then the big day arrived. Here is where the exam took place:

There was a lot of waiting around involved before the exam took place. I managed to find a trail to walk behind the building, and befriended a grey squirrel and saw some robins. The exam itself was quiet and intense. Oops. I forgot to say that the written part of the exam was in the early morning. I stayed back at the hotel and ate leftover pizza, while Sarah slaved over paper. Now the hands on part is difficult for me to report on. I basically laid back in the chair while Sarah performed her magic. I'm happy to say I didn't even react to the eyebrow waxing the way I did once before in my life. I could tell she was doing a great job and that the proctor thought so as well. Finally.....drum roll......

Doesn't she look happy? We lost no time getting the hell out of Dodge. Back at the ranch, Phil had a couple bottles of bubbly chillin' in the fridge, and we had a yummy snack night. This is by far my favorite dinnertime menu!

I think this was the night we taught ourselves how to play 3-handed Euchre, using the basics from the internet, then changing it up a little to make it make sense to us. We ended up playing a lot of that, and it was fun. The kitties!

Wednesday morning. We did a lot of driving around the city, sightseeing. I had never really spent any time in Nob Hill, so we headed there. Quite the slopes involved in some of the driving. I'm not sure exactly where this was, but woooo!

At some point in time, we passed Sarah's school, where we would later have facials!

Shopping in Chinatown.

The walking around in Nob Hill can be grueling if you are not used to the hilly streets of San Francisco. We had lunch at the Top of the Mark at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. Some beautiful views follow. Here is the fog on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Another view:

Here is our yummy food. Sarah had a seared tuna salad and I had a chicken avocado salad.

We visited several districts of SF, including the Mission, Castro, the Haight and Tenderloin. I needed to see the city. We had some pizza for supper and spent time just relaxing that night. The next morning, Thursday, we took off to Golden Gate Park. We walked around the park a little and found ourselves in the Japanese Gardens and then the DeYoung Museum, pictured here:

Golden Gate Park:

The Japanese Gardens were beautiful. I can't post all the photos I took, but the place is awesome.

Me. I think this is the only picture of me the whole trip. Remind me next time to give the camera up a little. :)

Sarah on the circular bridge. This was crazy odd to get across..

Next it was on to the art museum. This was pretty cool and we visited several areas. There was a special exhibit going on with King Tut's treasures, but there was an extra cost and a waiting list for that. Here is the view from the tower looking down to the park:

After that, there was a little shopping on Union Street (Igot some awesome chocolates!) and then we took off to the Pacific Ocean Beach!

Windmill! Don't see these too often!

Aww, kitties again.

On Friday, after messing up my eye in the morn, we started doing a little shopping downtown in the morning, then had a nice lunch at Lark Creek in the Mall. The tomato gaspacho was worth trying to recreate, and I will attempt that soon. Then Sarah took us for facials at her alma mater, and Jie C did a wonderful job on me! Heading toward the Ferry Building area, my sandal broke (previously hot glued by Andy), we we walked (or in my case flopped) over to Old Navy to get me some new $3.50 white flip flops. Hey, they did the trick. Here we are having a margarita near the bay.

There was some kind of war protest going on there.

Saturday. We were headed to wineries around Livermore. First stop: Putty golf time at Boomer's. This was really fun!

This place was pretty awesome. Castles, bumper boats, you name it!

On to the wineries.. GRAPES!

At La Rochelle

At the above place we had nice cheese and cracker, etc. plates. I should have waited on the picture! This place was great!
Next we are at Crooked Vine.

I think here we were at Murietta's Well, but by now I'm just not sure.

We visited one more winery after that, Wente, I think, but no pictures. I took a lot of pictures on the way back over the Bay Bridge, but they are mediocre at best and not worth posting. That night we had a great deep dish Chicago Style Pizza from Patxi's. I ran out of photos at this point. In the morning I was off to the airport. Wow, thanks guys.....that was a blast! Hope you enjoy the photo-journal.
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