Smokey Fragrances, Michigan Trip...

Monday, November 17th, was a GREAT day!! Claude and I each have daily tasks we want to accomplish before leaving on a trip on Friday. When we return, we will have one day to get ready for Thanksgiving company and they will arrive that evening. This means we need to be ready before we leave on this short trip. So each day we go over what each of us wants to have done that done. Claude wanted to smoke the brisket for Thanksgiving eve's meal and change the filter on the fridge. I wanted to finish up my Blog and sweep the floors. There were also other little things done but these were are manageable bites to prepare for our trip and getting through the end of December. 

I got the Blog all done and got up to walk around a bit. Sitting at laptop for hours is not good posture. I happened to see my hubby sitting on the patio. He had the smoker going. He had all the twigs and branches we had piled in the flower bed in the fire pit. He had blown all the leaves from the back yard and was enjoying sitting there being sure the burn went okay. Our home smelled wonderful. Claude knows my favorite version of him is with his beard a bit scruffy, a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans, and the smell of sitting around the campfire hanging over him. He was sure I would love him this day!!

I asked if I could join him on the patio. He was very happy I left my Blogging to join him. I had to wear a big sweater but other than than, the day was perfect. As we sat there, I kept hearing the crow making weird noises. It was just the cawing that you get from a crow. It sounded like an animal growling. I finally turned to find the bird. He was in Catherine's big tree next door. He seemed to be clearly upset that Claude and I were in his territory. I stood to take a picture and that was his signal to fly away. He was cawing very loudly as he flew over our back yard and across Stephanie's back yard and away. 

It was quiet for a while, then I heard him cawing and flying closer. This did a dive bomb over Claude and my heads, which I thought was pretty nervy of him. Then he landed back in Catherine's tree and began in noises again. It wasn't long before we could hear a second bird taunting him. Eventually that bird flew closer and they seemed to do battle in the air for territory. 

Eventually there were four birds all making lots of noise and chasing each other in the air or trying to get the other to back off their branch. It was very entertaining to watch them.

I returned inside when the fire burned down and finished my Blog work and then swept the house. We have laminate floors, so sweeping must be done every now and then.

Claude and I decided enough outside work has been done by him that burgers were in order. We drove through Burger King and came home for a quiet evening watching some more of the Mentalist series. We are almost done with that. 

I had a fun interaction with our Bailey. She sent a text message to her dad, mom and me. It read, "First concert date for wind ensemble is February 20th and for the only time you'll ever hear me say this ya'll MUST HAVE TO be there. Attendance is mandatory." I sent her a message that I put the date on our calendar. She replied to her mother that it was at 1:30pm. Then Bailey added, "I won't even tell ya'll that ya'll have to be at my junior or senior recital. We are playing the coolest song I'll ever play and I need ya'll to see it live." I assured her she had piqued my curiosity with that comment. Bailey replied, "You all will see but I will be peaking as a musician playing this piece. I cannot wait to see ya'll shock at it." I told her it sounded like we were in for an epic experience! She replied, "Yes!!" Now I only have to wait until February 2026.

Tuesday, November 18th, I enjoyed a good day at home getting little things done. These entries always seem so mundane but they are the stuff of real life. Vacuuming, watching Northern Disclosure, doing my Monday Blog entry, reading my Pearl Buck book while Claude had a meeting in his study and going to the church to practice the organ. We had really good rain and some thunderstorms throughout the day.

Wednesday, November 19th, Claude had oral surgery in the morning. He is have an implant where one of his lower back teeth was located. The jaw had healed so the surgeon felt comfortable putting the post in for the implant. The surgeon was in Lexington. Claude stopped by the grocery store on the way home and picked up a prescription for pain and some ice cream. When he got home, took the heavy dose pain meds, stuffed the spot with gauze, got an ice pack and curled up in his recliner. I got the John Deer blanket and covered him up. He slept until later in the afternoon. 

While Claude was in Lexington, I did the final laundry in preparation for packing on Thursday. I also cleaned all the bathrooms. In that process, I managed to break the handle on the extra bathroom toilet. No one ever uses this bathroom so it is not a concern. We will fix it some time in the future. 

I spent my later afternoon in the living room with Claude watching television and refilling his ice water. He was a good patient. Felt well enough after the heavy-duty pain killer started to wear off so he made us grill cheese sandwiches and macaroni and tomato soup for dinner. I collected the trash and got it to the curb. 

Thursday, November 20th, was our final day of preparation before leaving for Michigan. From Friday through the end of the year would be hectic. To make that as smooth and easy as possible, we had everything ready for Christmas except for decorating the house. Presents are all purchased and wrapped. Christmas letter is written and printed and Christmas cards are ready to go. The final cleaning of the house before Thanksgiving company arrives was complete. It felt good to have all this done and ready. Inevitably things will need to change or be added or whatever. With all this in place, we are ready to flow with whatever happens. 

Claude had another dental visit this morning. He had a chip in a tooth that Dr. Hollin wanted to fix. 

My concern was my mechanical clock. Way back in February, we took it to Atlanta to leave for repairs. I called the men the week previous and they said they could mail the repaired clock back to us. We sent them a payment and they sent me an eMail stating UPS would bring the package and they gave me a tracking number. I kept checking the tracking number but UPS said they had not received the package yet. I really didn't want it to arrive and sit by the front door while we were in Michigan. I called Champ's Clock and asked if they had a time the package might arrive. They actually still had the package. Their UPS driver was out sick or on vacation. They said it would go in the mail within the next two days. Yike!!

I went across the street with Claude and my phone numbers in hand and asked my neighbors if they would please get the package if it arrived while we were in Michigan. Brian and Cindy Richardson said they would get the package. I got their phone numbers and would contact Cindy when I got the eMail confirming its delivery. Whew. 

In order to leave no leftovers in the fridge, we drove through Penera and ordered us each a salad for dinner. Then we enjoyed a quiet evening at home before the trip to Michigan.

Friday, November 21st, I had a hard time sleeping. I got out of bed and grabbed my Dragon Seed book by Pearl Buck. I read an interesting chapter that spoke to me. The father of the family was reflecting on his land and his family. He nor his wife had ever traveled beyond their little village and into the city near it. There was was coming as the story is set when the Japanese overtake their land during a war. This father knew from his experience that wars came and went. But he kept his land and worked his land and could provide for his family. He reflected on having learned the earth was round and people lived on the opposite side of the earth. He could not understand how they could live upside-down like that. Eventually he reflected that since the land was his all the way into the earth and into the skies above his land, he should request rent payment from the people on the other side of the earth. He laughed at that thought and his sons, working in the rice fields with him, saw him laughed and they laughed at their fathers laughter. He horror that would affect this family from the Japanese overtaking them was far beyond any war the father ever remembered. He couldn't picture it, even as word came about it, because his world view was very limited. No one could read or write in his family. I thought about Claude and I and our travels. How much more connected we feel to the entire planet because we have been blessed to visit a few of these countries and learn of their history, culture and people. It was pleasant to think about these opportunities to learn and have a view that is greater than just my own yard, city and state. Nice experience. Then I was ready to sleep a little.

We were on the road by 9am. The weather forecast was for rain possibilities from Kentucky to Michigan all day. Ugh. Fortunately, there were some periods with only a mist or no rain, although it did remain cloudy and wet all day.

We arrived in Muskegon and went to see Nissa at work. Todd had the week off for hunting season. We got our hugs and planned to pick up Lee's chicken for our dinner with them that night. This has become a tradition. A good tradition. 

We headed to Holton. Todd had come home early from his hunt to be there when we arrived. That, and his back was starting to hurt. We would have a very pleasant evening with Nissa and Todd. I love how comfortable it is in their home when we visit. 

Saturday, November 22nd, Todd was supposed to be out hunting all day. Claude and I slept in till 9am. Then we had a quiet morning at home. Todd stayed home that day. His back was not in good shape. But he did manage to install a ceiling fan in their bedroom. 

Baby modeled her coat that she loves. It has pockets and everything.

We had set up to have all the family meet at Pizza Ranch in Muskegon for a family meal. I had reserved a room for us to be in. Everyone was there except Todd who did go hunting in the afternoon. It was great fun to share a meal together. Pizza Ranch has a nice buffet with a section with fried chicken and side, another section that is a salad bar and another section that had lots of kinds of pizza. This allows everyone to eat what they want and as much as they want. There is also a dessert bar and a soft serve ice cream dispenser. Yum. 

After we all ate, I had everyone group up for some family pictures. 

Our great grandmonsters: Raelyn holding Kennedi, Emelia, with Nelson kneeling and Joel on the right.

Nissa and her kids. Happy faces. Funny faces. Age does not always bring maturity. Love the smiles. Katelyn, Nissa, Paul (Jesse) and Aubrey (Bre).

The Ropers. Drew holding Joel, Katelyn holding Kennedi and Ramon, their exchange student from Madrid, Spain. In front are Emelia and Raelyn.

Aubrey Anne (Bre) with Nelson. 

Paul (Jesse)

Nissa, Claude and Me. 

Our Michigan grandmonsters: Katelyn, Claude, Sandi, Paul with Aubrey seated in front.

And this is what Kennedi thinks of the entire process!!

We purchased their meal with tickets to play in the Fun Zone. After the obligatory family pictures, we were off to the other end of Pizza Ranch for the kids to play. 

This was such a sweet interaction. I have a good video clip of the two of them. Nelson would give Emelia the basketballs as they came out, then Emelia would give Nelson the basketballs as they came out, and back and forth. Loved watching them play so happily together and sharing so well. 

You gain tickets for the games you play and win. Those tickets are cashed in for a prize at the end of your visit. I truly think that was the hardest part for the kids. Picking out what they could get with whatever tickets they earned. A little help from Mom and Dad was appreciated.

Raelyn has always wanted to be a policeman. Is it any wonder she chose handcuffs!!

Raelyn got Emelia let her put the handcuffs on her. Then Emelia realized she was tiny enough that her hands slid out of the handcuff, so she did her happy dance.

Ramon has little siblings at home. He was really good with the kids. He even let Raelyn put the handcuffs on him. 

After everyone played all their games and got their prize, I asked them for one more picture for me. They all paused is front of Pizza Ranch and waved goodbye to Claude and me. I shall cherish this picture of our Michigan family. (Paul, Aubrey, Nelson, Katelyn with Raelyn, Joel & Emelia, Drew holding Kennedi and Ramon)

Christmas presents were delivered and requested they not open them till Christmas. Then Claude and I headed back to Holton for a quiet evening with our eldest and her hubby. 

Sunday, November 23rd, we attended the Muskegon Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was their Primary program and the Ropers would be participating. Katelyn's friend, Daniele took these pictures. I also include their program. (1st picture is Raelyn. 2nd picture is Emelia. Last picture has the entire family with blue dots on each member-Drew holding Kennedi, Raelyn, Emelia and Katelyn.) They did really well. The tenderest moment for me was seeing the entire family (with the exception of Joel) standing singing the closing song. Loved that so much.

After church, our tradition with the Roper children, is lunch at McDonald's. We followed Drew to McDonald's. Emelia and Raelyn wanted to ride in our car. Katelyn said they could do that without car seats. I was carrying a blanket for Claude and a blanket for me in case we got stranded somewhere. Each of the girls buckled up in the back seat, we put a blanket over them, then I turned on the seat warmers for their seats. They were so very happy. Emelia kept saying, "This is so fancy!" Loved having that moment with the girls. However, this was the coldest McDonald's or even restaurant we have ever eaten in. Claude was the first to complain. I called to the counter and asked if they might turn on the heater. We were all happy to get outside where it was cold but warmer than inside that McDonald's. 

We headed back to Holton. Nissa would make beef and noodles for dinner. I would cut Nissa's hair. And it was a quiet evening. I headed to be about 10pm. We had a drive to Chelsea the next day. Claude came to bed a little later.