Peach or Impeach Me

   It is now winter with the longest night and shortest day due to the tilt of the Earth putting the sun below the North Pole horizon.  I am on a 2 week break from school and will not have to go back the the Middle School next year after contacting HR about their IEP schedule that was not working well and the lack of a review after the 2 month pilot. Last week Jane and I went to Valpo to see Silas at his Hopewell Christmas show that had us go down Tuesday and come home Wednesday. We will all return this Tuesday for Christmas in Valpo. Phillip is with Stef in Ohio and will do his Christmas in Erie with her family. They have been living apart as Phil is in Louisiana and Stef just got a job that will start in February so she will put her house up for sale in Ohio as Phil just has in Texas and they will be reunited in their new home in Praireville LA.  We had Thanksgiving the Friday after in Valpo and had been there 2 weeks before also to visit. Lukas got a job at Delta Dental the first of December as an eligibility coordinator and has liked it so far. We have had 2 Arctic vortexes so far but the Great Lakes protected us from the extreme cold even though November has been colder than normal. In early November I broke my right front tooth and had Dr. Rashid fill it the next day and hopefully it will hold for a long time. On December 18th the House approved 2 articles of impeachment against trump for abusing his presidential power and obstructing  Congress which is a sad day for the USA.  Eat a Peach by the Allman Brothers would have been so much better for our country to hear but instead all of this is now heading for a Senate trial in January. All is not great in our republic and democracy is facing a serious challenge!

Phil & Stef's Wedding

    On Saturday October 5th in Erie PA at 2:00pm we gained another daughter-in-law. We traveled 6 hours to Erie on the 4th and checked into the Courtyard Marriot Bayfront. It was cold and cloudy and we headed to St. Jude's church for the rehearsal and then to the Erie Yacht Club for the dinner. Stef's dad was very friendly and welcoming and I paid for the evening meal. The next morning Jane got her hair done with the wedding party and we prepared for pictures outside the hotel and then off to the wedding. Silas was the ring bearer and the ceremony was  well done with bubbles greeting the couple after the church cleared out. The reception was in Riley NY about 30 miles away at Quincy Cellars Winery on a sunny warm day. We all had a great time and danced, enjoyed the cookie table and sparkler sendoff. The following morning we had a farewell send off breakfast at the Sheraton where we had to cross the sky walk to get there before we left for home at noon. Phil's job has now moved him to Louisiana and he and Stef are getting back from their over the weekend honeymoon in Cancun. Two weeks before the wedding I attended my 50 class reunion. On Friday night there was a get together at the Crown Plaza and then the Grand Ledge Country Club Saturday. I talked to people I really never knew in High School and reconnected with some good friends and had a good time reminiscing.  On the Thursday I met up with Gabor and we went out to Cheddars as he was staying at an Airbnb on Nugget  which was 3 houses from where our senior class float was built. The school year has been going on with the new required scheduled visits to Winans, Colt, and the Middle School for IEP's. I don't mind going over to Winans but am not in favor of this as it does not have a practical value for as many times as they want to do it and I hate going to the MS.  Heather Foster's husband Mark died the end of August and Jane and I went to his funeral at Riley Funeral Home and then Cadgewith Farms for a dinner afterward. Impeachment is in the air and seems more deserving each dumb thing the stable genius does and says!

Staying Busy

   Lukas turned 31 and had lunch at Sushi Moto and then dinner at DeLuca's. Starting the end of July we'll have Gramma stay with us Wednesday through Friday afternoon. It has worked well so far and Jane took her to visit her friend Eva today. Both cars had their oil changed this month and I had the serpentine belt and exhaust pipe from the engine replaced on the Malibu that now has 100,222 miles. Brandon and Taylor got married in Cedarville on August 3rd and we spent the night there and stopped in St. Ignace, Mackinaw City, Gaylord and Hartwick Pines on the way home. They had a nice wedding and reception despite Betty's rudeness and rewriting history about settling the estate and Frank's kids being excluded by them. The U P is truly God's creation and so peacefully different. I did my last week at the Y as we went to Grand Haven from the 10th until the 22nd for vacation. Phil and Steffi were there from the 11th to 18th and Jon Sharon and the grand kids the 16th and 17th. We had WIFI this year so I only went to the Library once but went swimming 5 times and Jane bought a suit and got in the water 3 times. A busy summer is over as school begins Monday after a record hottest July global temperature in the 140 years of being recorded. Wildfires rage in Alaska, the Amazon, the Canary Island and the Arctic all with some correlation to global warming. Smoky hazy sunsets may be pretty but are not good for our lungs or other living creatures on the Dirty Boulevard.

35th Alvarado Reunion

   July 13th was the 35th Alvarado reunion at Hawk Island Park on a warm breezy day. Gramma , Gloria, Petra, Mark and Andrew were there as well as Lukas and Simon. We were there from 12 to 4:30 and had a good time visiting with family. Jane has been having Gloria over or going to Petra's as she will be returning to Florida this Saturday. On Monday the 8th and the 9th we had the roof replaced by Streamline so we hope there will be no more leaking.  Clete's mother Martha died and we went to Charlotte for her funeral on the 2nd. We had 3 days of 90+  temperatures last weekend and it has thankfully cooled off now. Summer is half over and will get busier in August as trump battles The Squad and divides the country further in his greatness quest doomed to fail by his ego. This kind of blindness is sad and destructive.

Summer is Here

   We have been going to the Y everyday and I did 12,000 steps the first 2 weeks and 14,000 this week. We saw Natchez Trace and Root Doctor last week at the free concerts. On the 20th we went to Valpo and delivered the settee to Hannah at the Panera in Michigan City on the way down to Valpo. We had the boys for 22 hours Friday and Saturday as Jon and Sharon went to Shipshewana overnight. We took them to The Industrial Revolution for dinner and then Meijer's and horsey rides. We went downtown to the farmer's market and water park Saturday morning. We met with Brandon and Taylor for pizza at DeLuca's Monday  to give them their wedding shower present as we have Jane's family reunion the new day of the shower. The heat of summer arrived this week as we put the air conditioner in the 27th as the 80+ temperatures have set in. Jane and Mark picked up Gramma and Gloria in Flint tonight and she didn't get home until after midnight.

Long Run to Summer

   It has been a cool spring with only a few days above 80 degrees and plenty of rain. I ended up with a sinus infection from May 10th through the 16th which sent me in for antibiotics at Redi-Care. My allergies were also to blame as the pollen seemingly burst forth all at once causing congestion and a sore throat. On the 21st I took over Ms. Hamilton's 3rd grade for the rest of the school year. We spent Memorial Day weekend in Valpo and had a great time with Silas and Paul at the La Cabana and the water park downtown. June 7th was the last day of school and field day. It was sunny, warm and a half day with Ms. Hamilton there. It was back to the YMCA this week and we had dinner with Peg on Wednesday and Jim and Betty on Friday. Six days until the Summer Solstice and peace for those who deserve it as the unprecedented Unpresident is becoming greatly unhinged by his collusion  delusion conclusion!

April Come She Did

   I turned 68 this month as my license and plates were renewed. Jane and I went to Cracker Barrel for lunch and with the boys to DeLuca's for dinner. We went to the Y all spring break week and fish fries every Friday mostly at the K of C Hall. We were in Valpo for Easter and brought Spanish rice and blueberry-rhubarb crisp to share along with buckets for the boys of Easter goodies. We still have not warmed up too many days  with only a couple of days above 70.  Larry put in the new shower door in the bedroom bath as we fix things up in the bathrooms. I had a wart removed from my left bicep by Josh the 3rd and Lukas and I went to the MSU Science Fair on April 6th. April has come and soon to be gone like living in the USA. The primrose blooms have given the assurance of new life having risen as our hope and promise!

Cold Spring

   January ended with a complete week with no school due to snow and the Arctic vortex freeze, -17 and wind chills and then 2 weeks with 2 days off each due to snow and icy conditions. Larry was able to finish the bathrooms and so now the floors are complete. Jane and I went to Valpo February 15-17th and we all went March 15-17th to celebrate 3 birthdays early. Jane stayed until the 22nd to watch the boys and returned by train and bus on Friday. Jane got back from Houston Monday February 11th as her flight came in at 10:30pm and fortunately we avoided snow again. Life goes on and we stay busy as warm weather still has not made an appearance.Trump declared a National Emergency to steal funding for his wall after congress did not give him what he wanted. Congress rejected it but trump vetoed  and the courts wait to decide it's fate.

35 Days

   The government shutdown lasted 35 days thanks to trump and congress. That was 5 weeks of delayed paychecks for over a hundred thousand workers. Yet most congressmen took their checks without a thought of the struggles of lower paid workers. I was able to go to Silver Sneakers before school restarted along with a couple of snow days since then. On January 3rd we got a 3 year lease on a black demo Equinox from Pat Iding. Jane and I had pizza with Peg at Falsetta's and found out they are having problems with Rachel about Andy's house. We ordered the flooring for the kitchen and bathrooms and Larry has done the kitchen but because of the cold and snow wasn't able to get to the bathrooms yet. Jane left for Texas Saturday the 26th at 5:30am and the roads were in good shape as she is avoiding this polar vortex that along with the snow has closed school for 4 days now. It is -12 degrees now and colder tomorrow as I am alone with Simon at April's and Lukas at Joe's. I went with Mark, Scott and a librarian friend from the prison to the Robert Burns' 260th birthday Dinner at Eagle Eye last Saturday. It was entertaining with the Glen Erin Pipe Band and Highland dancing but not something I'd attend again. No wall but no more shutdown is needed so give him some wall where needed and plenty of money for real security safeguards.