That's It

Well, those 85 days passed quickly.  But it is done.  So be it.  This was a much tougher project than I originally envisioned.  Since much of life ends up being a bit on the mundane side, this was reflected in these 85 days.  Time commitment, especially with multimedia additions, was a bit of a problem.  Finally, as with all writing projects, purpose and audience leading to a specific focus was probably what prevented Ros and Will from adding to the project more.  I didn't define the audience well enough for them, so it was hard to know who they would be writing for.  Also, I forget how hard writing is overall.  

Now...time to come up with my next new project. 

Day 85: Saturday, August 7, 2010 - Mike

Even though I still have light back spasms, ran the back route anyway.  After getting cleaned up, went down to the downtown parade.  Home for lunch, laundry and vacuuming.  Ros and I went down to the Celebration in the afternoon, caught up with William and Alex eventually, and watched a bit of Lou Graham's performance (of Foreigner fame).  Came home to call it a night.

Day 84: Friday, August 6, 2010 - Mike

One of the last of the meaningless weekends.  Wonderful weather.  Rode the bike ten miles, then went up to work for awhile.  Came home for lunch and just stayed.  Early in the evening went down to the Decatur Celebration, to work for the Mac Booster Club for a couple of hours.  Had a beer afterward, then Ros and I ate at Mi Pueblito.  Came home to watch a Psych episode.

Day 83: Thursday, August 5, 2010 - Mike

A little cooler this morning than the last few days.  Ran the back route.  Went up to work to get some, uh, work done.  Had some back spasms and don't know where they came from.  Home for lunch.  Ros went to her movie class in the evening, so Will and I stayed home and watched an adult, sort of, Superman cartoon, called Doomsday, about the death of the big guy.

Day 82: Wednesday, August 4, 2010 - Mike

Biked ten miles this morning.  Very hot.  I was late because I was figuring out that my laptop had some malware which was very nasty.  Took it to IT and did some work in the office before coming home for lunch.  Napped some and played around on the computer.  Had chicken sandwiches for supper, then our last EOW of the season.  Lyle, Jim and Becky, Michael H., and Eric showed up.  Called it a night around 11.

Day 81: Tuesday, August 3, 2010 - Mike

Got a run in, around 7 AM.  Already quite warm by then.  Cleaned up and went up to the office to work on fall advising and other delightful details.  Came home for lunch, then went back to the office until 3:30.  Will had a teen-fest appointment at the Mall, so Ros and I went out for supper at Pho Golden Bowl, a new Vietnamese restaurant in town.  I had the Shrimp Pho and some spring rolls.  Then we came home and watched last year's Crazy Heart, a quite good movie.

Day 80: Monday, August 2, 2010 - Mike

 A slovenly day.  Or at least, I was slovenly by not exercising today.  Spent the morning manipulating and adding photos to this very blog. Ros went off to work at Millikin. By mid-morning I ran to the post office (a couple of times) and did some grocery shopping.  Ate lunch at home, then did a little vacuuming with the robot.  Ran up to the office in the late afternoon.  I cooked a supper of eggs, sausages and biscuits.  Afterward, watched a old STNG episode.

Day 79: Sunday, August 1, 2010 - Mike

A relaxing Sunday, with quite beautiful weather.  After coffee, did some laundry and played a little WoW.  We all ate lunch at Panera's then I took a little nap.  Mowed the lawn in mid-afternoon, then made a pizza for supper and watched the second part of Tin Man.

Day 78: Saturday, July 31, 2010 - Mike

Travel day.

Up later than the sun this time. Packed our bags, said our goodbyes and spent the day on the road heading home.  We took the Nashville route this time, and other than occasional refreshment stops just kept going until we made it to Decatur.  Unpacked, then back to the old routine.  Watched an episode of Psych and called it a day.  

Day 77: Friday, July 30, 2010 - Mike

Our last full day in North Carolina.  And a fine one it turned out to be. Drank coffee all morning, and Tom and I took a walk down the hill and back,  then headed for Asheville for lunch, where we ate at The Bier Garden (one of my favorites on the trip).  From there it was on to USA Adventures in Marshall and an afternoon of whitewater rafting.  We donned helmets, grabbed our oars to took the bus for a 15 minute ride to the put in point.  We had a good crew in our raft and an experienced guide.  From their morning run on the French Broad River, the water level had dropped a foot or so, making many of the chutes more challenging.  Tom took a spill into the water half way through the trip, but emerged with just bruises.  Made it through about five or six level III rapids.  Quite fun, overall.

Afterward, we cruised back to Black Mountain for some pies at My Father's Pizza.  Took our desserts home with us a re-cooperated from a long day's paddling.

Day 76: Thursday, July 29, 2010 - Mike

Up very early and was again able to see the sun come up from behind the mountain.  A beautiful sight.

Stuck around the property so that we could take delivery of the new couch that arrived in the afternoon.  Went on a driving tour of other "Association" homes and lots and dropped by the local water fall, with its variety of flora and fauna.

Also spent the morning philosophizing on furniture arrangements, which made it easy at the actual arrival (once we got the thing up the hill, that is).

It was baseball in the evening, as we went to historic McCormick Field in Asheville to watch the hometown Tourists take on the Rome Braves.  We were on the front row just to the right of the visitor's dugout.  It was a good game, though a losing effort by the local boys, ending at 6-7.  But since it was Thirsty Thursday's night, we managed to get through the evening anyway.   Highlights included some great defensive plays throughout, a home run by the good guys, and a great coach argument with an umpire.

Day 75: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - Mike

Woke a little later this morning, around 7 AM local time, and sat on the deck watching the mountains move.

Ros and Bonnie took off for a Biltmore tour, while the men stayed behind and hung out.  We toured around some of the Association houses and drove over to Black Mountain for lunch at Ole's Guacamoles.  Came back to nap a bit and enjoy a quiet afternoon at the homestead.   Had a delightful supper and a relaxing evening.

Day 74: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - Mike

Up early (at least by Central time standards) at 7:00 and watch the sun rise over the mountain.  Sat out on the deck until others awoke for the day.

A busy day, exploring the neighborhood.  Hiked a few miles up to see water falls at Catawba Falls, which were splendid.  Then, ate lunch at a place called Countryside BBQ.  Very tasty.  Had the pulled pork plate.

Next, we had a little ice cream at the Jack Frost Dairy Bar. Then, after an afternoon thunderstorm, drove up to the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, Mount Mitchell. Very enjoyable drive and views all around (once the clouds cleared out a bit.)  Here's Tom pointing out the spectacular views behind him:

Drove back to Tom and Bonnie's house and relaxed a bit before supper, some ravioli and salad. Chatted and listen to music throughout the rest of the evening.

Day 73: Monday, July 26, 2010 - Mike

Got up and had a snack before heading for Asheville.  Drove through the mountains on Interstate 40, which was pretty amazing.  A number of tunnels.  Lots of work on landslide prevention going on in the westbound lanes.

Met Tom and Bonnie in downtown Asheville at the Early Girl Eatery cafe.  Excellent food all around.  Then drove to the mountaintop on Crimson and relaxed the rest of day.  Here was our welcome to "the deck," also known as the observatory to the north.

Had chicken and rice for supper.  Sat on the deck through the evening, watching a few thunderstorms in the distance pass by.

Day 72: Sunday, July 25, 2010 - Mike

Up early, then hit the road for the lands to the East.  Drove through Indy, and stopped at a Micky D's for a little McLunch.  Drove on to Louisville, then kept going to Knoxville, through the lovely mountain landscape.  Had great weather except for having to drive through a thunderstorm just south of Lexington. 

In Knoxville, had supper at a Puelo's Grill, a combination of Italian and Southern cooking.  My crabcakes and lasagna were horrific, but Ros' Shrimp and Grits were eatable.  Checked in to the Country Inn and Suites and promptly got an internet fix.

Day 71: Saturday, July 24, 2010 - Mike

Up at 5 AM, so made it out on the bike trail much earlier.  Saw four deer, three of them spotted fawns. Spent most of the day either on the internet or packing clothes for the vacation tomorrow.  In the evening, watched the first third of Tin Man, a Sci-Fi mini-series.  Interesting take on Oz. 

Day 70: Friday, July 23, 2010 - Mike

Ran a short route on one of the warmest mornings of the summer so far.  In the afternoon, Beth and Elon S. came by the house to visit.  We had lunch with them at Diamonds Restaurant then came back to the house to chat a bit more. Nice to see them after so long.   Their two children are 3 and 1.  Ros resurrected some old toys we haven't seen in 9 or 10 years, and I could help but be reminded of Toy Story 3.

Watched some recorded shows in the evening.  Got to bed late.

Day 69: Thursday, July 22, 2010 - Mike

Biked to Rock Springs in the morning, while it was still pretty cloudy.  Read much of the day and finished off The Hunger Games.  In the evening, Ros went to her movie class and I ferried Will around to mini-golf and Dairy Queen with his peers.

Day 68: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - Mike

Did a shorter jog today, then ran up to the office for a bit after getting a Starbuck's with Ros.  Spent the majority of the day reading The Hunger Games.

Had an EOW, which ended up being family night.  Michael H. and his family came over, and Stephen and his family came over too.  Eric came over for a while also.  

Day 67: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - Mike

Tuesday. A rainy, storming day.  Not that it made it any less hot.  Managed to get in a longer bike ride, about 11 miles or so.  Worked on an Adviser/Advisee report at work all day.  In between, went with the family to Panera's for lunch.

Ros had book club in the evening, so Will and I played some Halo while she was out.

Day 66: Monday, July 19, 2010 - Mike

A beautiful Monday morning.

In the evening, ended up watch Watchmen, which was quite true to the graphic novel.  I thought it was a good movie.

Day 65: Sunday, July 18, 2010 - Mike

Only 20 more days of this project left.  You cannot believe how hard it is to keep up with a simple daily blog.  Multimedia features have fallen off rather substantially, but I can go back and edit some of those in.

Ros and her mom headed to Columbia, to meet brother Richard to take her back home.  She made it back around 4:30.  I did some laundry and vacuuming in the afternoon, and grabbed some groceries in the evening.

Evening family viewing included a new episode of Psych.

Day 64: Saturday, July 17, 2010 - Mike

Ran the back route, since it was already 75 degrees at 7 AM.  Even a shortened version of that.  Went to Cracker Barrel for lunch, for some down home cooking (ahem).  Read a bit and played some Civ3 in the afternoon.  Watched a Tony Bennett documentary that Clint Eastwood produced in the evening.  Called Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends.  Interesting, but not a true performance film, as each song was interrupted multiple times with commentary and interviews.

 Fly me to the moon.

Day 62: Thursday, July 15, 2010 - Mike

Thursday means running.  Ran the Fairview route and did my two obligatory pull-ups.  Took Barb to the Bourbon Barrel for walleye, but we were a day too early and disappointed.

Located and converted a couple more texts for Am Lit.  Tried to watch the 1986 Highlander with William but he wasn't impressed with it after 20 minutes and we turned it off.  He thought it seemed a little dated.  We didn't even make it to Sean Connery.

Ros got me started on a new book, The Hunger Games.

Day 63: Friday, July 16, 2010 - Mike

Friday.  Biked 10, but saw little extraordinary nature.  Ran up to the office in the morning, still looking for a full staff for fall.  Lunched at Bourbon Barrel, for some walleye.

At 4:00, Ros and I drove down to St. Louis to take in a Cards game versus LA.  A good game, though we took off a bit early to make it home at a decent hour (12:30).  Took the Springfield route to navigate around a thunderstorm passing through the area.  Thank goodness for cell phones with radar maps.

Day 61: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 - Mike

Wednesday.  Hot.  A biking day.  Went at 6:30 and saw four deer.  I really need to ride earlier.  In the evening, William had another concert in the park, which was part of a neighborhood ice cream social.  Watched his concert, then he and Ros stayed in the park so Will could visit with some friends.

Day 60: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - Mike

All Star Break.  So wrote a midseason report for my Yahoo league.  Worked up at the office all morning.  Quite hot, as the air in Shilling was out.  Trying to find more adjuncts for fall semester. A quite afternoon.

In the evening, we all watched an interesting little movie, Sunshine Cleaning.  It tried hard to be Little Miss Sunshine in some ways, but had some redeeming features.  And I thought Emily Blunt's performance was a strong one.  

Day 59: Monday, July 12, 2010 - Mike

A gloomy, overcast day, with some sprinkles from time to time.  Dropped Will off at band practice and had a Starbuck's, then home for lunch.  An afternoon of reading and WoW, then supper at home.  Pork steaks tonight. Ros and I watched Capitalism, A Love Story for the evening, while Will played one of his birthday games.  MM is getting a bit repetitive in his flicks these days. 

Day 58: Sunday, July 11, 2010 - Mike

Rode the bike in the morning. Then took Will to Panera's for his birthday lunch. Drop him and Alex and Alex's girlfriend off at the movies in the afternoon, then had pizza for supper and opened some gifts.  In the evening, we watched the 2009 movie, Zombieland.  Nicely entertaining.  The perfect birthday movie.

Day 57: Saturday, July 10, 2010 - Mike

Read out on the veranda in the morning, then had a nice breakfast.  Rode briefly on the KATY, then picked Ros' mom up at Midway.   Drove back and picked up some Micky D's for supper.

Day 56: Friday, July 9, 2010 - Mike

A bike day, out to Rock Springs.  A large turkey ran in front of me.

After lunch, Will went to Alex's house and Ros and I drove to Rocheport, Missouri.  Checked into the Amber House B&B, then went up to Les Bourgeois Winery and had a bottle, looking out over the flooded river.  Next, had supper at Abigail's.  Outstanding meal.  Took a walk on the trail afterward, then turned in for the evening.

Day 55: Thursday, July 8, 2010 - Mike

A running day, but still not pull-ups.  Actually, saw a deer while running, and passed within 6 six of it. It frozen and I just zoomed by.

House-cleaning day.  My new robot replacement arrived.

Ros had movie class, so Will and I watched the first Austin Powers movie.  Yeah, baby!

Day 54: Wednesday, July 7, 2010 - Mike

Another pleasant valley Wednesday.

Had another EOW in the evening, and had a larger crowd drop by.  Interesting conversation, all 'round.  Let's see, visitors included Pat and Bill, Jim, Susan K., Deb and Ralph.

Day 53: Tuesday, July 6, 2010 - Mike

A morning shower nixed my biking plans, but certainly helped to cook up a little humidity for the day (something we've been sorely lacking and miss terribly).

Worked on a couple more etexts in the morning, for my Hardy project.  Then, of course, anytime I find and convert a text and put it on my Kindle, then I have to read a chunk of it.

Played a little Civ3 in the afternoon.  Otherwise, had an interesting chariso/eggs supper, then watched a movie called The Man From Earth, written by Jerome Bixby, a Star Trek/Twilight Zone god.  It was intellectually interesting, but took place entirely in a living room as a discussion between college professors.  (You have been warned.).  I guess it would be best to describe it as a film of ideas.

Finished the night continuing a Halo 3 campaign with Will.

Day 52: Monday, July 5, 2010 - Mike

Having a vacation day during summer vacation seems to be a cheat, somehow.  But it's a good cheat.

Ran the back route today, for a change.  Did not do pull-ups/sit-ups etc., as I think I slightly pulled a muscle in my shoulder a few days ago.

Otherwise, located, gathered, and reformatted more Am Lit texts, read more in my fantasy short story book, and played a bit of WoW.  Took a drive in the Miata in the afternoon, to get out of the house a bit.

Watched a movie called Moon, in the evening.  Interesting version of what we will do in order to obtain energy in the modern world.  An OK flick.

Day 51: Sunday, July 4, 2010 - Mike

Ros and I went for a short bike ride in the morning, before it got too hot.

In the afternoon, went over to Ralph and Deb's house south of town and had an enjoyable time visiting with folks who stayed in Decatur for the holidays.

Watched our final Danger UXB episode.  Ash survives after all and finds happiness in the post-bomb world of south England.  I can't say that watching the series was a blast but it wasn't a total dud either.  Certainly better than 90% of what plays on TV now.

Day 50: Saturday, July 3, 2010 - Mike

Another beautiful summer day.  Cool low 70s in the morning.  And glory be to Saint Sprocket, patron saint of bicyclers, the Rock Springs path was open again, so I got my 10 mile ride in without having to fight traffic.

Chopped on bushes during the midmorning, then did a Panera's run for lunch.   Visited the Decatur Lake Festival  in the late afternoon, but it is such a shadow of its former self.  Had a corn dog.

Walked the pups with Will then watched a second-to-last Danger UXB.  Two explosions, both officers.  Boom.  boom.

Day 49: Friday, July 2, 2010 - Mike

After running the Fairview Route, the family made another stab at "geocaching," an exercise where one uses a GPS device to locate a hidden object, mostly as an excuse to get to a particular location and gawk around.  

Just as with our Lincoln Homestead expedition over a year ago, our two stabs at locating either "cache" this time were unsuccessful.  We did get out for a nice hike over at Mt. Zion at Spitler Woods, and also ate at the Cow Palace on the way back home.  Great food there. 

Spent the afternoon reading, playing, relaxing.  Watched a Danger UXB after supper.  Those dastardly German inventors came up with a new type of fuse which could only be doused by cold.  Some tense moments, but somehow our hero Ash survived this episode.   

Day 48: Thursday, July 1, 2010 - Mike

Early day.  Went to Money's at 6:30 and he and Mike H and myself went to Clinton Lake.  Stayed on the water until 2:00-ish, had a burger there and drove back to Decatur.  Caught 24 fish.  The boat took in 100 even.  Catch and release, of course.

Ros had movie class and Will and I played some team Halo3 together.

Day 47: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - Mike

A run day.  Actually made it to two pull-ups.  Progress.  Ros worked on the stairwell all day and we went to Sakura for supper.  Sushi and cherry pie all in one location.

Watched a Danger UXB and two folks got blown up tonight to make up for previous episodes.  Started reading a new anthology of horror/fantasy stories edited by Gaiman.

Day 46: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - Mike

A morning cool and dewy as a cucumber.  Outstanding late June temperatures.  Biked around 9 miles around the neighborhood, but not having the Rock Springs route available is still a bummer.  Dropped Will at his volunteer job.   Ros and I ate at the new fusion Mexican restaurant downtown, though I was not impressed with either dish we had.

My new deck umbrella finally arrived from Target, to go with my mosquito netting that goes with such an umbrella of this type.  We'll see how it does against those vampires.

Read all afternoon on old American lit histories and critics and played a bit of Civ3.  Had a neighbor with a very long ladder come clean out the forest in our northside gutter.

Had a traditional supper of turkey spaghetti.   Walked the dogs with Will and finished off the day with another fascinating episode of Danger UXB.  Nothing exploded this time except Brian Ash's affair, which tragically fizzled.

Day 45: Monday, June 28, 2010- Mike

Monday.  Usually a day a gloom, shuffling back to the every day drudgery of the job.  But for the semi-retirement of the summer vacation, it is just another day in paradise.

Ran the Fairview route, then went up to Millikin around 10:30 to work on scheduling issues.  The family had lunch at Panera's, then did a bit of shopping up north.

No explosions in Danger UXB tonight, just fireworks between Capt. Francis and Ash.

William - Breadsticks

While eating at Olive Garden one day, I had a breadstick. I then realized that it was the pinnacle of human creation. It is able to be eaten without getting food on your mouth, and you can just pick it up with your fingers. That's without event mentioning the great taste. So delicious. If mankind had never made the breadstick, we would have to eat... dry biscuits.

Day 44: Sunday, June 27, 2010 - Mike

Slept in, then biked through a muddy lower bike trail and then over to the spillway.  Lots of flying flung mud in the air.  Ate at Olive Garden for lunch, napped in the afternoon, and picked up a new Xbox controller at Best Buy.

The two weeks of network troubleshooting are over (I think).  It all boiled down to a three-way cable splitter I put in the basement, to watch some TV down in "manland." It cut the signal quality so much, it caused the network failures we've had all along.  I wonder why I couldn't figure that out earlier.  Process of elimination, I suppose.

Leftovers for supper, then a Danger UXB episode, where they almost blew up a trapped woman in a factory, but instead blew up a regular character's wife.

Experimented more with e-text programs for the Kindle.  Located a delightful program called Calibre, which converts e-texts to various formats, like EPub to Kindle-friendly files. That allows the million plus texts on Google books to work on my reader.

Day 43: Saturday, June 27, 2010 - Mike

Saturday.  A delightful day, though heat warnings issued for the afternoon.  Ran the Fairview Park route, though the Race for the Cure crowd was gathering there, so I did not linger to do pull-ups and sit-ups, etc.

Mowed the yard, yet again, between all these rain storms we've been having.  I delightful crop of vegetable matter in the backyard, though not much actual grass.

Ros'good friend Joyce and her son came over for a visit, arriving this afternoon.  I took the opportunity to go up to Bloomington to see Paul.  He was able to get out, so we hit a couple of bars for the evening and went by to take a look at the new ballpark by his campus.  Drove home under the gaze of a full moon.

Day 42: Friday, June 26, 2010 - Mike

Friday, everyone's favorite day of the week.  Another hot one.  Had to bike to the Decatur Lake spillway again and put together a random 10 miles of exercise, out on West Main.

Went up to do some work in the office during the morning, then Money and I went out for some sushi.  Trying to switch to more vegetable-oriented sushi rolls, with tuna endangered in the Gulf.

An afternoon of tearing my hair out over the continued network failures at home again. This gave me a chance to finish my Gaiman novel, Neverwhere, which was an excellent read.  It was almost my first book completed on the Kindle reader, which was an all-around positive experience.  Also, in the late afternoon, we all went to see Toy Story 3, another well-done Pixar film, though a tear-jerker at the end.

In the evening, played a bit of Civilization, another time-consuming computer-based game.  Could not get to sleep, so stayed up very late out in the sun room.

Day 41: Thursday, June 25, 2010 - Mike

A wonderfully cool morning, after a cool front came through the area.  Sunny, too.  Ran the Fairview route, then went up to the office to work a bit.  Ate lunch at home, and mostly read Neverwhere during the afternoon.

Ros was away at her movie class in the evening.

Day 40: Wednesday, June 24, 2010 - Mike

Woke at 6:00.  Biked out to Wykles, where they are working on the bridge, as all the usual bike paths are flooded out.  Bought a new shop vac at Farm and Fleet.

Messed with another Comcast network outage in the afternoon.  Had an EOW gathering in the evening.  Dave, Mary and Susan dropped by.

Day 39: Tuesday, June 23, 2010 - Mike

A very wet, stormy summer day.  Ran the Fairview route between torrential downpours.  Had two waves of storms come through during the morning and early afternoon.  Otherwise, a laundry, reading, relaxing day. No WoW, as servers were being upgraded (a typical Tuesday thing).

Watched Danger UXB in the evening, but no one was blown up.  Ros had book club.

Day 38: Monday, June 22, 2010 - Mike

Woke around 7:00, after the usual evening thunderstorms, and had a quick breakfast, loaded up the car, and headed home.

Drove the "northern" route, on 36.  Stopped at Hannibal for lunch, then finished off the trip.

Day 37: Sunday, June 21, 2010 - Mike

First official day of summer, though it feels like it's been summer for quite some time in the Midwest.  Had breakfast compliments of Holiday Inn, then visited Ros' mom again.  Drove up to North Topeka for lunch at a little "mom and pop" place that had wonderful pies.   Cruised around Ros' old haunts when she was a little girl, living next to her grandmother.

Came back to the hotel to chill for the afternoon (95 degrees outside), read and play some WoW.  Pick Ros up and had supper at an excellent Chinese restaurant.  Watched a couple of movies today.  Evan Almighty and the new version of Star Trek.

Turned in a bit late, at around ten-ish.

Day 36: Saturday, June 20, 2010 - Mike

After a nice breakfast of lemon verbina blueberry muffins, drove up to Topeka for the Harmon family union.  Had a nice and interesting storm pass overhead, swirling clouds included.  Otherwise, a nice family outing.  Visited Barb's new apartment, then settled in at the Holiday Inn for the night.

William - The Farm

The last few days have been interesting. I got to work a buzz saw, create a squash greenhouse, and drive a tractor. I have a sunburned neck to show for it. In the afternoon, though, I got to sit in the air conditioning and play video games. I also got my first blister! Got it right on my thumb. This is, mind you, from doing the farm work, and not from playing video games all day. I can see how one might think otherwise, though.

Day 35: Friday, June 19, 2010 - Mike

Slept late (relatively) and had a couple of quick cups of joe before heading back out to the pond to do more boat rescue and recovering and painting the pond blue.  Ran a bit down the gravel road again, then worked a bit more on flower beds.  Aureta rode one of her donkeys, Will did some garden projects with Vondie, and we ate lunch at the cabin.

Did a little serious napping in the early afternoon,

Day 34: Thursday, June 18, 2010 - Mike

Up early, to have some coffee and sit on the cabin's front porch, watching the world rise.  Did a few farm chores, raising the Titanic from the pond to live another day, and creating a couple of flower beds out back.  Went into nearby Ottawa, for Mexican food for lunch at Mezcal.  Relaxed all afternoon, then went into the city to shop a bit at Bass Pro. We bought a new set of birding binoculars.  Finally, went on to a baseball game at Royal's Kaufman Stadium. Royals played the Astros. Royals won.  Great stadium, great game, wonderful night.  Some images:

Here we are at the ballgame, right up front:

Day 33: Wednesday, June 17, 2010 - Mike

A early morning.  Had some coffee, spread some mulch, put up a wind vane, and ran down the gravel road for a little exercise.  After showering, read some and played some WoW.  For lunch went to Smokey's in Wellsville for a little barbecue sandwich action.  Took a nap in the afternoon, then enjoyed a really wonderful dinner, when Pat and Sharon came over to join us at the farm.  The day ended with a rainbow.   Daily pics:

Day 32: Tuesday, June 16, 2010 - Mike

Woke early, packed up the car, and headed for Kansas.  Drove to Columbia before stopping for lunch at Olive Garden.  Then on to Gamma Savannah Farm by 3 PM.  Relaxed for a bit, then greeted the donkeys, and picked some blueberries from the garden.  Sat by the barn and watched the evening fall.  Very relaxing.  Images from the day:

Day 31: Monday, June 14, 2010 - Mike

A bike day, but started out having to move a massive tree limb out of the road and I think I pulled a muscle in my back for being a nice guy.  Also, the bike trail was flooded, so road to the spillway at Lake Decatur instead and then back up by the campus.

Humid, humid, humid.  In the afternoon, in a gap between thunderstorms, mowed the yard for the third time this summer. Reminded of an old song from the Sixties:


Almost cut my [lawn]
It happened just the other day
It's gettin kinda long
I coulda said it wasn't in my way
But I didn't and I wonder why . . .


Watched Danger UXB again tonight.  Another guy got blown up.  

Day 30, Sunday, June 13, 2010 - Mike

Lovely Sunday, even with all our rain. It was a running morning, then a very relaxing day.  At 4:00 Rick and I went up and paid a visit to Paul in Bloomington.  Chatted politics and watch baseball.

Day 29: Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Mike

Bike day, but deer count was zero.  I guess I'm still going too late in the morning.

Big brother called. Apparently he's gone and broken his foot just before out visit next week.  So who's going to be doing all the farm chores while we are there?

Spent some of the day reading Gaiman and playing WoW.

More UXB in the evening.  Hmmm, this bomb blew somebody up.

Day 28: Friday, June 11, 2010 - Mike

Run day.  Hot and humid, even early.  Was happy with getting six more English majors enrolled for Fall.  Total count is 16 now.

I had to do the week's laundry to get out of helping Ros with the carpet removal.  It was worth it.  After it was all said and done, the stairway seems very strange now without the carpeting that's been on there these 14 years.  They are going to need some touch up, for sure.

Ate supper at Bob Evans, as usual on Fridays.

Watched more Danger UXB.  Gee, they defused another bomb.

Day 28--Friday: Roslyn

I added bicyling to my daily exercise (I was already walking) and really enjoy it! It makes a good start to the day.

This week I've been working on my "summer list". Basically a list I generate during the school year of things I want to get done during the summer. So, today I thought I would tackle the job off removing the carpeting (which is probably 20 years old) from our upper landing and stairwell (14 stairs). I knew my reward would be to see the original (1928) oak hardwood floors that are underneath. Well, what I thought would take about 2 hours actually took 7 ....but it was worth the aching muscles to get rid of the carpet and the 20 years of accumulated nastiness that was underneath!

Now I'm looking forward to our vacation to Kansas next week to see family.

Day 27: Thursday, June 10, 2010 - Mike

A nice morning, so a fine 10 mile bike ride to the Nature Center and back. Only one extra English major today, but other possible good news at work as the fall schedule is coming together a bit better.

In the afternoon told Ros that what should define summer is that the hardest decision one should make is deciding the best location to take an afternoon nap.  Late afternoon led me downtown to get a haircut.  Tried out a new place called "Just for Men."  I basically hate getting haircuts, an attitude I've had since I was a teenager.  Bit of the Sampson in me, I suppose.

Pork steaks for supper and watched an old British drama series with the family, Danger UXB.  Short for un-exploded bomb, during W W II in London.  In the first episode someone was blown up and the main dude defused a bomb.   I wonder where the rest of the series is going?

Day 26: Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - Mike

A rainy sort of morning.  Ran the Fairview "exercise" route.  Continued to have a few wireless internet connection problems, but kept blindly messing with settings on the router and seemed to do something right.

Three more English students registered at O and R.

My "early" Father's Day present arrived, an Amazon Kindle.  I've actually been reading texts online for a long, long time, but this makes the activity a bit more mobile.

Had another "EOW" gathering in the evening.  Lyle, the Rauffs, the Shaws, Rick, Rosemarie and Robert, all showed up.  Nice evening. The bats were out in full force once the sun went down.

Day 25: Tuesday, June 8, 2010 - Mike

Second day of O and R up at Millikin. Three more new English majors.  A rainy, wet morning.  Took Ros and Will to lunch to La Gondola.  Cinnamon Bread.  Yum.  Picked up a new DVR receiver from Comcast and spent some of the afternoon hooking it up.  In the evening we watched the 50s thriller, The Night of the Hunter (1955).

Day 24: Monday, June 7, 2010 - Mike

Electricians came to the house today to put in an electric outlet in the basement for me.  Potential basement frig (for beer) or winter exercise equipment (to work beer off).  It was the first day of Orientation and Registration for the incoming freshmen class at Millikin.  Three students advised for English courses. Had lunch out with Money, a little sushi for lunch.

Rest of the day was a mess because the internet was still down at home.  Comcast.

Day 23: Sunday, June 6, 2010 - Mike

Sunday was a relaxing day.  Too relaxing.  The internet shut down at home.  Comcast recorded messages said they had their engineers working on it.

Road 10 miles in the morning, watched some baseball in the afternoon.  Went on a dog walk with Will in the evening.

Day 22: Saturday, June 5, 2010 - Mike

A run/exercise day, in the rain.  Otherwise, a two movie day.  Took Ros out to a bona fide chick flick at the Avon Theater, Letters to Juliet (2010) in the afternoon.  Then after supper, we watched a Netflix movie, Heaven Can Wait, from 1978.  I'm all movied out tonight.  

Day 22: Saturday June 5--Ros

I agree with everything Mike posted for the past week! :)

Day 21: Friday, June 4, 2010 - Mike

Horrific allergy day, for some reason.  But beautiful weather, nonetheless. Biked 10 miles, then had to go up to the office for the morning and early afternoon.  It was so nice to be away, for so many days.  Came home to take some pills for the allergies and napped a bit.  Ros was out with the "girls" all evening, so I stayed home and watched RKO 281 (1999), which was quite interesting after teaching Citizen Kane all semester. HBO did a nice job of paying homage to the film and its background.

If you want to study a bit more in depth what is considered "the greatest film ever made," over a couple of days time, watch these shows and films in this order; first, The Battle Over Citizen Kane, then the film itself, then RKO 281.

Day 20: Thursday, June 3, 2010 - Mike

Ran the Fairview route this morning, after four days away from exercise.  Then worked on Comcast boxes to all our TVs in the house, since they are going totally digital on the cable.  Did a little laundry and shaved a little bit.  Played some WoW.  In the evening, we watched Jewison's Jesus Christ Superstar (1973).  What an interesting period piece this movie is.

Day 19: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - Mike

Slept in, then packed up around 10 AM and hit the road.  We decided to be Missouri tourist today.  But first, it was a quick trip over to Dexter for a Dexter Queen BBQ.  Thought I'd share my sandwich with you, so enjoy. Next, we drove up to just north of Cape, and visited the Trail of Tears State Park.  It was a nice area, right on the river, commemorating an important time in this country's history.

We drove north to drop by St. Genevieve for a short while, just to look around the town.  Strolled through some historic neighborhoods and promised ourselves to come back in the fall.

Finally, it was on to St. Louis, for a Cardinals game versus Cincy.  It was a winner.  Left for home around 10 and made it back to Decatur just after midnight.  Here is Will's new cap.

Day 18: Tuesday, June 1, 2010 - Mike

A little more fishing.  Caught about four or five bluegill down at the creek.  Cleaned Mom's gutters out.  Not too bad this time around.  We took Mom to Poplar Bluff for some Chinese food for lunch.





In the late afternoon, we drove over to Dexter to look around the town, then ate at Hickory Log, meeting Candace there.  Came back to the Lake for a Speedy Cone.

Day 17: Monday, May 31, 2010 - Mike

Up to fish a little down at Possum Creek.  Went to the Boardwalk at Mingo, then Marg and family came over for lunch - cooked on the grill, brats and dogs, in traditional Memorial Day fashion. Visited the Spillway later in the afternoon, and brought back some BBQ sandwiches.   In the evening, we rented a movie, Where the Wild Things Are (2009).

Day 16: Sunday, May 30, 2010 - Mike

We all got up early, so we loaded up and heading for southeast Missouri.  Drove to Advance and had lunch at Sam's Diner.  Then we went on to Mom's house at the lake.  I went an bought a three day out of state fishing license and some equipment and worms, then tried my hand down the hill at Possum Creek.  Beautiful weather. We had some ham steaks for supper.

Day 15: Saturday, May 29, 2010 - Mike

Woke early but spent hours downloading a firmware upgrade to the new network router and getting it all reset again.  But the results are excellent.  Ran the Fairview route far, far too late in the morning. Heat and humidity.   Showered just in time to catch a ride with Rick up to see Paul in Bloomington, recovering from hip surgery.  We took him some lunch and visited all afternoon.  Got home in time for fish, and watching Burton's Beetle Juice (1988) on streaming from Netflix (hooked the Xbox up to the new wireless network to stream, works great).

Day 15--1st Official Day of Summer--Ros

Yesterday was my last day at work until August so let the fun begin!!!

Day 14, Friday May 28, 2010 - Mike

After a typical early morning, I was trying to brew my second pot of coffee when the power went out.  It stayed out for nearly three hours, reasons unknown as of this writing. The world without electricity is such a strange place.   Read and finished my sci-fi book during the morning, went on a long walk with Will, then went out for some ice and other sundry items.  Played some WoW,  worked with an electrician who came to give us an estimate, then set up our new wireless home network, upgrading to the N category, whatever that means.  G was like so yesterday, man.  Then it was time for our "Get Rid of the Old Beer in the Basement" party.  About eight or nine folks showed up and we had a great time throughout the evening.  Everyone stayed until about 8:30.  Only got a few mosquito bites.

Day 13: Thursday, May 27, 2010 - Mike

Gorgeous weather.  Did the Fairview workout this morning.  Worked on my textbook all morning, and read and played WoW in the afternoon, after a short lunch walk.  Drove over to get some groceries, then had to weed, chop and cut some trees and vines.  Also, although "green" homes are the in thing now, I don't think growing a forest in the rain gutters counts.  Had to chop 'em all down.

Finished off the evening with our second zombie movie in a row, Currie's Fido (2006).  Another campy takeoff on the cliche dead flick.  Worthy but would not have paid full price. 

Day 12: My Day--Ros

Exciting day at work...found two dead preserved sharks and a bucket of something (cow placenta?)....never a dull moment in a science dept!

Mike and Will were busy today so I came home to laundry done, yard mowed and dinner. I could get used to this! Thanks guys!

Nice family walk around the neigborhood after dinner and "Shaun of the Dead" for the evening's entertainment...nothing like a good British zombie movie to "sink your teeth into".

Day 12: William's perspective.

Today was okay, but it got even hotter outside. We had mexican for lunch, but I wasn't really in the mood for it so it didn't taste good. I also looked over my report card for the semester. You'd think it's running from a monster, as all it says is: "AAAAAAAA."

Day 12: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - Mike

Road 10 miles this morning but an hour later than usual.  Big mistake.  No interesting wildlife and 10 degrees warmer.  Took Will for a Doctor's appointment, and otherwise stayed home and relaxed (not counting emptying the dishwasher, doing four loads of laundry, mowing the front lawn with a push mower, and cooking supper). A delish supper too, hamburger helper without the cow.  Substituted that great American bird, the turkey, instead.

Finished the day with Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead (2004), a satire on U.S. zombie films.  The film was adequate, though not exceptional.  From my perspective, all the things being consumed during the movie weren't that different than the usual British fare available over there.

Day 11: My Day- Ros

Work went well again today. One more day closer to break! Here is what Mike is doing while I am at work. ;)

Day 11: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 - Mike

Up early to run, a new route this time.  Instead of going south to the river/bike trail, went north to Fairview Park.  They have a new little "exercise" area there, for sit-ups, pull-ups, jumping, stretching, etc.  Let me just say that once upon a time I could do multiple pull-ups.  The way I see it now, I'm starting from scratch; so today's lesson was just hanging there, underneath the bar, like a wet noodle.  Sit-ups, not as bad.  Just pathetic.  Other activities...well, I've got the summer to improve.  By the end of the summer, I'll be a mere reflection of my former self.

Took Will up to MacArthur to get his semester grades.  All A's.  We celebrated with a quick trip to Panera's for a strawberry smoothy.   Also, started serious work on my professorship project, the creation of an open-source, American lit textbook, for a typical survey course.  It will take the full two years to get this one done.

Day 10: Monday, May 24, 2010 - Mike

Rode 10 miles today on the bike, before it got too hot.  Otherwise, picked Will up from his last day of school, read my book (I read sci-fi in the summer, while I can.), played WoW, and went out for ice cream with the fam after supper.  We tried to hit a spot by the lake and go for a lakeside walk, but were disappointed in the little restaurant there.  It did not have frozen custard.  Had to retreat to Krekel's Kustard.

Day 10: My day-Ros

Today was a pretty good day at work. I got quite a bit done. Only 4 days to go until summer for me!!

Day 9: Sunday, May 23, 2010 - Mike

Got up at my usual 5 AM and took a walk down to the river.  It's in flood stage. Saw some deer and lots of birds.  Cicadas are just hatching out in numbers today and yesterday too.

Also, a little later in the morning, finally aired up the bikes and got them out on the trail for the first time this year.

It got too hot to do much in the afternoon other than watch baseball, nap, and play World of Warcraft.  Will had to go play trumpet for his high school's graduation ceremony tonight.

Day 8: 77 days to go - Ros

So, Mike really wants me to post to this blog....hmm...does this count?

Day 8: William's perspective.

I finally got to writing something on here. Today was okay, though Mom made me walk twice today. Once in the morning, once in the afternoon. It was okay in the shade, but the sun made it seem like it was 100 degrees. I also decided to try "Facebook" because everyone seems to use it. I also found that cats like the smell of chinese liquor. Who knew.

Day 8: Saturday, May 22, 2010 - Mike

Up bright and early for a fishing trip with the philosophy boys.  Hit Decatur Lake by 8:30 and fished until 12:30. I pulled in 14 bluegill, and the others had similar, if not better, luck.  They dropped me off at the shore, and continued on into the afternoon.  I came home and helped do laundry.

Day 7: Friday, May 21, 2010 - Mike

A bit of a rainy morning.  Took Will to school, then Ros and I had a coffee at Starbucks.  Tried to wrap up some work up in the office for awhile.  Took a little lunch at LSB with Bibber, Ros, Sue, and Dave B. Watched the final episode of the seventh season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Basically, the family has been watched this series, via Netflix, for the last seven months.  A good series.  A worthy series.

Day 6: Thursday, May 20, 2010 - Mike

This might be categorized as the first real day of summer for me.  I managed to get my grades turned in for Spring semester, thereby completing  the end of fourteen years of service at Millikin University.

This was also the twenty-first anniversary of Ros and my wedding.  We did not do much celebrating but enjoyed the comfort of companionship that comes with time and experience.  Basically, we ate out at Bob Evans Restaurant.

Day 5: Wednesday, May 19, 2010 - Mike

A busy day up at school with interview activities.  Then, came home in the afternoon to mow the lawn for the second time this year.  It was getting kinda jungley.  We had our first informal gathering of West End neighbors, that we somewhat inaccurately call "Every Other Wednesday."  These casual get togethers on the back deck  allow for some relaxed conversation and help us set the tone for the summer months.  They are very enjoyable.

Day 4: Tuesday, May 18, 2010- Mike

OK, it's obvious, at the start of this project, that not all 85 days of summer well get the attention that they deserve.  So it goes.  Did not feel spectacular today and worked hard to try to get all my grading wrapped up, along with preparing for our next English Education candidate visit.

Day 3: Monday, May 17, 2010 - Mike

Another full morning of grading up at the office.  Was very, very close to getting all my grading completed, too. Took a break at noon and Bibb and I went to Paul's, a local downtown and somewhat historic cafe known for their chili and pies.

At 4:00, it was time to join friends for a ride down to St. Louis to see another ball game.  It was the Washington Nationals versus the St. Louis Cardinals, 7:05 start.  We ran a bit late due to some highway construction on I-55, but managed to get parked and had time for a (cheap) beer at PattyO's just outside the ballpark.  Met Folger's and Bibb's friend Zimmer there.  A bit of rain fell in the fifth inning but we were high and dry in our seats which are under an overhang.  Cards ended up winning a good, entertaining game.  We headed home around 10:30 and got back to Decatur at 12:30.

Day 2: Sunday, May 16, 2010 - Mike

Graduation Day.  This is the day dedicating to celebrating the graduation of our many seniors at Millikin University.  It was a bit unsettled in the morning and looked like it threatened rain.  But though the clouds stayed, and a few sprinkles fell, forcing us indoors to line up and applaud for our graduates, before we were all seated, it was still a nice ceremony.

After commencement, went to a couple of grad parties, one for the faculty and one at the Zelhart's home up near Maroa.  Cindie, our administrative assistant in the office, and her daughter Marie, graduated on the same day.  The local paper, the Herald and Review, ran a photo of them.

Day One, Saturday, May 15, 2010 - Mike

Mike

The nice thing about this May in central Illinois, is that we have been getting April.  Plenty of rain and cool, spring-like temperatures.  It's certainly nice to have a real spring this year, instead of going straight from winter to humid nineties.

The other nice thing about summer, is the opportunity to see more movies.  The fam and I went to Ironman 2 this afternoon.  Great special effects, so-so plot line and writing, the inevitable cameo by Stan Lee, and two "leading ladies" in one sitting.  Not bad, would be my quick take.

Day Zero: The Challenge

Mike
Always trying to keep things interesting around here, I've challenged my family to a three-way blog for 85 upcoming days of summer. The mission: for each of us to post "something" every day (that we can) for 85 days straight starting in late May.

Ideally, daily posting will include links, images, and video clips on occasion to accompany our textual adventures of what hopefully will be a summer well spent.

We may even try to entertain certain "themes" for three-day and seven-day stretches, as we proceed. This will be the fun part, in my humble opinion. But it is probably not my call. Once I turn the other two loose, what they do for each daily posting will be totally up to them.

By the end of the 85 days, I will formally invite family and friends to "vote" for who made the best overall contribution to this lovely little project. As such, I hope you will peek in from time to time to catch up with our individual "takes" of the summer of 2010.