And back to work

Good morning.
Another cold wet morning, thanks to Sandy. Winds have dies down a lot, but the clouds and rain are expected to continue for the next couple of days.
Sooo, another day stuck inside. We of course did our usual running around. Looked for a replacement belt for our lawn mower, but had no luck. Back home I searched online to discover our mower is 15 years old. The model number I punched in showed the mower was a 1997 model. Didn't realize we'd had it that long.  I was able to find a belt online. It took a little searching to find a decent price. You have to be careful, because a good list price will not reflect the actual cost when shipping is figured in. I found shipping costs anywhere from $8 to $19. I'm thinking they get you with a low list price, but you end up paying the same or more than other sites. The companies web site wanted $53 with shipping, I found it at Upstate Power Equipment for a final cost of $48.
Spent the rest of the day playing on the puter.
We did try a new chicken recipe for dinner. Herb Chicken with an apricot/mustard sauce with roasted butternut squash and onions.

We added steamed broccoli for a very tasty meal! Of course, if your interested, the recipe is here.
I'm heading into the Salon early today. Our calendars were delivered yesterday, and I need to count, divide, and write up invoices for each staff for their share of the order.
So time to get ready and get going.

the Sandy effect

Good morning.
Yes, I'm going to talk about Sandy also.  Former huricane Sandy that is.
Here in Michigan, we're really feeling the effects this super large storm as it's spreading through the entire Northeast, into the Midwest.

At 6am this morning, you can see the wind bands extending all the way back into Michigan. The wind started picking up yesterday morning, and right now we have wind speeds of 20 -25 with gusts to 40. It's forecast to be like this all day.

The purple area shows we are under a wind advisory

You can also see that clouds cover the entire great lakes down through the Ohio valley.
So for the last 2 days, it's been cold, cloudy, and windy, and this morning, rain/sleet. Yuk!
I should be happy we have power and no flooding.  :-)
So the last couple of days, I've got a lot of indoor cleaning done. I've finished puting all the mo-ho stuff I brought in, into plastic tubs for winter storage.
I took the mo-ho in for an oil change, generator service, and a 14 point inspection. They said plugs, hoses, etc. all looked good.
I also got Craig's homepage switched from igoogle to Netvibes.
I also picked up a new leaf blower/vac. My old one was getting to be a real hassle to keep running. The new one will be nice.  :-)
Though I won't be using it anytime soon, with another day of wind and rain forecast. Looks like I'll be indoors again today. Maybe next weekend.
That's all I've got for now.

It's time for my weekend

Good morning.
 I've just returned from cleaning the Salon, and it's a crisp 38 out this morning, going for a high of only 48.
I got out of work a little early yesterday. Early enough, to come home and get more leaves up.Yesterday was going to be the nicest day of the entire weekend, as daily temps are forecast to plummet the next few days. The trees are getting quite bare now and It should only be one more mowing in about a week, and they will all be done. That will be nearly a record for having all the leaves done so early. In past years, I'm mowing them right up into Thanksgiving weekend.
But before that, I'll need to replace the belt on the riding mower that broke.  :-(
I had to finish mowing up the leaves with the push mower.
With that done, I still had time to clean up the portable gas grill we take with us in the mo-ho.

Looks pretty good for a 7 year old grill.
Ans I've even got another late bloomer in the yard.

This is called a Toad Lily. Cute little flowers on a mass of plants. For some reason, they are blooming a little later than usual.

And Craig made pizza for dinner. Yum!

And the the guy came out about the water heater. Apparently, over the years, I have sealed up our house to the point the dryer has no surplus air to exhaust without pulling it down the water heater exhaust, so he's going to raise the vent 6 inches, and add an outside air return in the laundry room with a valve we can open when we do laundry, and close when we're not. That will supply the dryer with the extra air it needs without bringing air in to the entire house.
Okay, now it's time for a shower and get lazy bones up.   :-0

Really?

Good morning.
I'm pleased to announce, my back is back!   :-)
There was no aching yesterday morning.  I will continue to do the exercises, at least for a while and will  try to do them semi regularly to keep my back in shape.
In other news....
I've got a customer I've done for many years. She's divorced and lives alone. Her one daughter lives in Dallas. She comes in every 4 weeks for cut and color. Occasionally, she asks to post date a check for a week as she is sometimes low on cash. She has been helping support her daughter in Dallas while she was in law school. She's been helping her daughter for years. I think she's coddling her too much. Any time she calls, her mom sends her money.  I'm thinking, come on! she's 38! She should be supporting herself! Anyway, yesterday she comes in, say she too poor to get the haircut. And could she post date a check. She's been sending a lot of money to her daughter. I find out her daughter has just gotten a divorce after just 10 months of marriage where the husband never had a job. I also find out my customer sent her money for an abortion too. I'm thinking, this girl woman is a mess! So I say when do you want the check deposited. She say could you hold it until Nov 9th? I'm thinking 2 weeks? Really? I say "sure. That will be fine".
 I know, I'm such a nice guy.  :-)
It's been a busy week in the Salon, and today I'm  working later than usual which is fine as our short warm spell has ended and we may even get some of that icky white stuff before the weekend is over.
And here's a few pics from the yard I took last weekend...

Pretty late fall colors.

And surprisingly, as late as it is, grass coming in nicely in the second flower bed reduction area.
After work today, I've got another person coming out to take a look at the water heater issue. We decided to try the guy that put in the new water heater at the Salon. He seems very knowledgeable and very reasonable.  I'll let you know what we decide to do.
Have a great weekend!

back and weekend update

Good morning.
Well, it's been a nice warm last couple of days, but also very wet.

After mowing up all the leaves on Monday, it rained Monday night, and this is what I saw Tuesday morning.

Even more leaves than when we arrived home Monday.

Fortunately, although it threatened rain all day, it held off long enough to do another leaf cleaning. I blew all the leaves from the side of the garage into the back yard, where I took it real slow with the rider, mowing them up.

There, cleaned up again. For now.

These are the 2 maples that will continue to give me leaves for another week or so. They are right along the lot line, and the wind has not been good to us this year.
We did go out to lunch for our aniversary. Nothing fancy. Actually, I was in the mood for a good burger, so we went to a local bar and I had their really good olive burger, and Craig had a cheese burger. They hit the spot!
Back home, after the blowing and mowing, I finished removing the rest of the stuff from the mo-ho, including all the batteries from the various things. Clock, remotes, safe, flashlights, etc.
It's now ready to take in for an oil change and generator service before parking it for the long Michigan winter.
And as late in the season as it is, there's still a few things blooming.....

A climbing rose that hasn't bloomed all year. Weird.

Another late bloomer, Monkshood.
In other news.....
My back continues to heal, although very slowly. I'm done with physical therapy, for now, at least. After discussions with the therapist and my concern for the cost, she thought I was progressing enough that I could continue home therapy, and I should be okay. I still awake with some aching and stiffness, but that too is lessening, and I am sleeping very well now and able to sleep in any position.
And after going much of the summer with almost no water heater issues, it's been venting indoors now off and on for a couple of weeks. We've decided to go with the second recommendation and have the water heater vented straight up through the ceiling, and then over to the chimney.  We were doing laundry yesterday, and it vented inside 4 times. Craig is 'over' it.
I'll call them this morning and set up a time and day.
And with that, time to get ready for another work week.

our last trip of the season, and a little surprise...

Good morning.
As I said, we've just returned from our last RV trip of the season. This one took us a short approx. 70 mile drive to Ft Custer Recreation Area.

Here we are in our spacious camp site.
It rained off and on all day Friday and Saturday. We were fortunate it stopped for a brief time when we arrived, so we were able to set up without getting drenched.  :-)
The campground was packed! We discovered, again, that the campground was having a Halloween weekend. Really? Didn't this just happen to us on our last trip? Fortunately for the little and not so little trick or treaters, the rain stopped literally 15 minutes before trick or treating time. Actually, we started a fire and enjoyed the cute costumes while handing out candy. It wasn't a very active weekend due to the weather, but just nice to be able to enjoy the mo-ho one more time before parking it for 6 months. That's right, up here in Michigan, even with stretching the season, it's 6 months before we camp again.  :-(
We start out near the end of April, and here in  Michigan, there could still be snow.
Anyway, we wandered in to Kalamazoo Saturday for shopping and lunch at the historic Peninsula inn.
Got back in time for the little trick or treaters, the cooked pork steaks on the grill.
Sunday, we went over to Firekeepers Casino, where after a few hours, we left with half the money we took.
Back at the campground, maybe a dozen or so campers were left, so it was nice and quiet.  :-)

We had chicken on the grill for dinner, and afterwords, cleaned up the campsite for an early morning departure.
We left just after dawn, 8am, and arrive back in Lansing.
For the first time in a while, we finished the entire season with no major incidences or expense.  :-)
At home, I blew the accumulated leaves off the driveway and side of the garage into the back yard for Craig to mow up.

While he was mowing, I proceeded to winterize the mo-ho water system. I got the manual out, to follow. Even thought I do it every year, that means I've only done it 6 times.  :-)
First, turn the by-pass for the water heater and drain the water heater.
Open the fresh water tank drains to remove the rest of the fresh water, and open the low end drains to drain the water lines.

Then it's sucking in 4 gallons of antifreeze through the winterizing hose that you can see in the bay door. Unlike a lot of RV's ours came with this nice addition. Just close the line to the fresh water tank, open the one for the suck hose, stick the hose in the bottle, turn on the water pump, and go through the mo-ho opening each water line until it runs nice and pink, making sure enough gets into the drain traps.
I then run the macerator pump to get antifreeze through that and the dump line also. The entire job takes about an hour.

I also take out the battery that runs the macerator, and charge it up before storing it in the garage.
I spent the rest of the afternoon, removing nearly everything from the mo-ho for indoor winter storage. Such as all bathroom toiletries, cleaners, anything liquid that might freeze. Also linens, towels, pillows, toilet paper and such. I don't want to leave anything mice might take advantage of.  :-)
In other news......
for the few of you who have actually read this far, I want to share an anniversary of sorts with you.
Today is our 36th year together. That's right 36 years ago today, we met in a smokey dance club. Who knew back then, while we were boogying on a dance floor together, we were embarking on what would become, a life long commitment. Ahh, we were so young back then.
And I believe that calls for a little celebration! Maybe we'll do lunch today.  :-)
Now time to get Craig up and get going.

we're back again!

Good morning.
We've just returned from our last RV trip of the season.  :-(
I'll update later. Right now, I have a ton of things to do.  :-)

a happy back report

Good morning.
We've had one nice day this week, and that was Wednesday.  Of course, I didn't get to enjoy it as I worked 10 hours that day.  :-\
Thursday, it rained off and on all day. My rain gauge says just over an inch fell. It's raining again this morning, and is forecast to continue until tomorrow afternoon. The leaves are past peak now and the wind and rain are really bringing them down.
Now, to my back......
After 3 days of physical therapy, I'm happy to report, I'm about 70% better.  :-)
The last 2 nights I've slept like a baby.  I have just one small area of concern left. It's just a stressed out muscle from  that spasm a couple of weeks ago. It's been slow to recover, but is coming along. I'm thinking maybe 1 or 2 more sessions should do it, but it'll have to wait until next week, as they were booked today, and won't reopen until next Monday. I'll continue to do my exercises at home, and see how it goes this weekend. But I'm real happy with the progress so far. The chiro and the massage therapy helped, but didn't work because they weren't specific enough. The physical therapist centered in on the problem and set a specific course of action to target that area. As of the 3rd session, I was doing 8 different exercises, 3 types of stretches, 15 minutes of hands on manipulations and 10 minutes of ultra sonic deep heat treatments. These people know their stuff!
And know I've got to get ready for another busy day at the Salon, as my first customer is at 7:45 this morning.
Have a great weekend!

Physical therapy and back to work

Good morning.
As I said yesterday morning, I got Craig up early for a doctor's appointment. Good news. His sugar has come down some. Not where it needs to be, but the doctor is pleased with the direction. Also for the first time, somehow, his cholesterol is near normal. Way lower than it's ever been. So all in all, a good report.
Back home, we filled out our absentee ballots. It was nice not feeling we had to hurry so as to not keep other people waiting. And it was a long ballot with 6 propositions. Craig will mail them on his way to work.
And the leaves have started to come down. I blew off the drive and the area along the garage, and Craig mowed them all up. This will be repeated weekly through the end of November.
It turned out to be a fairly nice day, sunny and near 60. And other than the leaves, I didn't do any other yard work. On a little walking tour, I noticed the second bed I downsized has grass sproting! I was thinking I seeded it to late for that, but maybe not.  :-)
And I also decided to downsize another bed. This one is right along the back of the house. I'm going to take it down by about a third, but that will be in the spring. No digging or heavy lifting for me right now.  :-)
My back this morning, is about the same. The knot I had seems to be gone, and the aching is a little less, but my whole back is stiff and tight. The moist heat helped that.  I think some of that is due to all the strengthening exercises they have me doing. So that should ease up after a few more days.
And I have just finished my morning exercises and have another physical therapy session this morning before work, so I need to get going.  :-)

time for physical therapy

Good morning.
I've just finished the exercises my physical therapist gave me to do at home between sessions.
We've had nearly non stop rain for the last few days. Nearly 2 inches total. I think we're getting all the rain now we didn't get this summer.
Sunday ended up as expected. We went to Outback for lunch as I had a buy one get one free coupon, and back home I pretty much played on the puter all day. I was a complete slug.  :-)
I did get the calendars reordered. And Craig fixed chicken sausage and scalloped potatoes for dinner.
Monday, after we did our usual running to the P.O. bank and groceries, I went in for my first physical therapy appointment. I was evaluated and assigned a therapist who worked with me for about an hour. She examined my back, found the area giving me issues and went to work on it. She was able to get the spine realigned, and worked the stressed muscle. Had me do some back exercises and then did a session of deep heat therapy. All and all, I was impressed with the session. I am scheduled for Wed. and Thur. also. She thinks as stressed as the area is, it will take possibly 2-3 times a week and 2-4 weeks of therapy. As much as this is going to cost me, I'm hoping for 2 weeks or less.  :-)
But as long as this issue has been bothering me, I'll do what ever is needed to get it resolved.
And I get to get Craig up a little earlier today. He has a doctors appointment at 9am. Time to see if the last 2 months of increased physical activity and small dietary changes were enough to bring down his sugar levels.
I'll let you know!

another weekend, Yay!

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
It was a busy week in the Salon. Next week is looking about the same.
It's been raining nearly non stop since yesterday morning, and looks like it will last all day today. But that will keep me out of the yard so I don't stress my back any more than I need to. It actually seems a little better each day. Or maybe I'm just getting use to it.   :-)
I start physical therapy this week, so hopefully I'll finally get it back to normal. At least I'm able to sleep all night.
And I've got to go on-line today and order new calendars. The ones I ordered last week, they don't have in stock. First they tell me they only have green or red, so I ordered the red, the next day, they call and say they don't have the red, just the green. I say green will be fine. The next day, they say they are out of green also, and would I like to try the 'Harrington' for the same price instead. I say I don't know what the 'Harrington' looks like. Can you e-mail me a pic? She said sure. I get home, look at the e-mail, and don't like the 'Harrington' one bit. So I call them up and ask if they can give me the 'Avalon' with the free shipping. She says it's just an internet special. So I say just cancel the order. I'll go back online and do it myself. Why do they list them on-line, when they don't have them?  grrr.  They sure don't have the best customer service. But we order from them because they do have the best prices.
Of course, now I'll need to order more expensive one's since they conveniently don't have the cheaper ones.
How convenient for them.
So anyway, it's going to be a somewhat lazy day today. We're going out for my 'birthday' lunch, and that's about it.
Now time for my shower, and get Craig up.  :-)

Thanks

Good morning.
It's been cold this week, but that's okay. I had to work.  :-)
And the salon has been busy! I'm going in early today, and staying later than usual.
The people opening the new business next door have been working non stop. It's been quite the transformation. They are having an open house next Monday, and their grand opening on the 24th.
I've had a little set back with my back. On Wed. out of the blue, I started getting muscle spasms. I had this big ole knot in my back. (at least that what it felt like)
Thankfully, I had some muscle relaxer pills left. This morning, the knot is just about gone. I've called my doctor, and he's again, referring me to physical therapy. That should start next week, and maybe I'll finally get this back, back into decent shape.
I also want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes I received here, and on Facebook. I didn't do anything special on my birthday, (it was a long work day) but we'll go out this weekend for a belated birthday lunch.
And with that, time for me to get going.

my new homepage

Good morning.
Yesterday was another nice day. Sunny and mild in the low 60's. We went for a nice 45 min walk, then to the bank, P.O. and groceries. Back home, Craig mowed the yard, and I went in for a massage. I've kinda hit a plateau with my back. I'm sleeping pretty good, but still getting up with a tight, stiff back that requires moist heat. At least I'm fine all day long. But it doesn't seem the chiro and massage are quite doing it. I'm going to finally break down and go to physical therapy.
Back home, I started to cut down the perennials. I've downsized the 2 largest flower beds, and that's all I'm doing this fall. I'm pleased with the results and will wait until next year to see how they look, and whether I'll downsize more.
Now to my new homepage....
I've had igoogle  for my homepage for a long time. And now, they've said as of  Nov, 2013, they were going to end it. I was very upset. I loved how I could layout and rearrange the page with  what ever I wanted.

And although I have a year to find a new homepage, I wasted no time looking. There are actually  a lot of choices. And after trying out many of them, I went with Netvibes.

Like igoogle, you can customize it in many different ways.
I like how I can add a pic to it. I'll be able to change it to fit my mood, as I do my desktop.  :-)
And I decided 4 columns look better than 3

Now I've got news, sports, my email links, Dilbert, weather, and even recipes of the day.
I'm not going to miss igoogle one bit!   :-)
What's your homepage?
 And now, it's time for another work week. It's really looking busy this week.
Oh, and today's my birthday. So I expect a lot of cool presents.  ;-)
Or at the very least, some birthday wishes.  :-)

another busy weekend

Good morning.
Sunday went pretty much as expected. I got the calendars ordered, and the Salon order done. Craig did his usual laundry and bookwork, while I spent a good part of the day on the puter. I also turned the furnace on in the mo-ho, and when it warmed up a bit, gave it a good cleaning so it'll be ready for our last trip.
Since it was a cold out, (47) and drizzly, I didn't do any yard work. Craig made his tasty cabbage roll casserole for dinner.
Monday morning, while Craig got his beauty rest, I showered and headed out, half way across town to a Salon distributor.  I wanted to pick up Redken's new Smoothing Cream. I have a customer coming in this weekend for a straightening touch up. She has naturally curly hair, and I've been using a chemical relaxer on it to make it straight. This new Smoothing Cream does the same, except it leaves the hair in remarkable condition. I've never seen anything like it. I'm anxious to try it.
Getting back home, I woke Craig up, fixed us coffee, and we were off. First stop, the township hall, where we dropped of forms asking for absentee ballots. They will be mailed to us early next week. This will be the first time we won't actually vote on election day. It will be nice not to deal with the crowds. Not to mention, our voting precinct  is 15 miles from our house.
Then we stopped on the way back at the fire station. They have a new procedure for burning permits. You have to physically go there, read and sign forms, then you get a special phone number to call when you want to burn.
The we stopped by Menard's for Sta-bil for when we do the final fill of gas for the mo-ho. We also picked up a couple of laminate tile samples. I'm thinking of tearing out the carpet, and put down a laminate. The kitchen is a light wood laminate, and I know I'd never be able to match it, so a tile laminate should work. That won't be until spring, as I'll need to research online on how best to do it.
Then we stopped for groceries, and then back home.
It was a nicer day, sunny and a high of 52, so I went out and worked on another bed.

Here's the first on I did, and the grass has filled in nicely.

Here's the 2nd bed I did, and I decided to take out another part.

Dug the plants out, relocated the ones I wanted to save, and repositioned the edging stones and filled in with more compost.

I'll have to wait until spring to reseed, as the daytime temps are now below 70, and seed will not germinate well below that.

And as tired as most of the yard is looking, there's still a few bright spots.

These are Japanese Anemones.In full bloom right now.
And today's suppose to be even a little nicer than yesterday, so mowing and dead heading will be the task for me. And so I go.

at last, a weekend

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
It's a chilly one this morning with a temp of only 37. Tonight, it's forecast to be 29, so I turned the mo-ho furnace on low to keep the pipes from freezing, as we have one more trip to go before I winterize it.
Work ended on a very busy note. Didn't get out yesterday until nearly 5pm.  Next week is looking good also.
With a forecast high of only 49, I probably won't do much outside today. I'll wait until Tuesday, when the forecast is expected to be 62. I have to place a couple of online orders for work today.
One for supplies, and one for calendars that we give out every year.

These are the ones we picked out.
For people that don't have smart phones, they live by these. We've given them out every year since I've been cutting hair, and they're still popular. I've already had people asking for next years, so we need to get them ordered.   :-)
 Now time to hit the shower and get Craig up.

week in progress

Good morning.
The salon has been very busy this week, and I'm working late today and tomorrow.
The weather has been mild but wet, and it looks to be staying that way through the weekend.
My back appears to be stuck in the same place, despite going in for a massage every other day. I'm good during the day, sleep pretty good at night, but awake with a tight stiff, sore, back that requires moist heat to get flexible again. It appears I'll have to break down, spend the big bucks, and go to physical therapy.  I'll finish the week and decide on Monday.
Our new neighbors at work have been busy redecorating their space. They've painted, put in a wood laminate floor, and are currently adding counters and cabinets. The owner came over and said she will be having an open house on the 15th, with a grand opening on the 24th. Will be interesting to check it out.
And with that, off to work!
Have a great weekend!

end of my weekend report

Good morning.
The weather has been fairly decent for this time of year. 40's at night, and mid 60's to near 70 during the day.
I managed to get a few pics on our drive to and from the campground last weekend.
The leaves are starting to change quite fast now.

I've also Been working on downsizing another flower bed.

I didn't reduce it as much as the other one, but in the spring, every little bit will help.  :-)
And here's a few more pics of the first area I reduced with grass coming in nicely.

And you can see how worn and tattered the plants look. It's that time of year when they are focusing on storing up they're root systems for the long winter dormancy coming.  I'll soon be cutting back everything, as I clean up the beds for winter.
My back is doing okay. I'm still waking up with a sore tight back, but I am sleeping good through the night. I'll go to the massage place every other day, and continue my exercises. I'll give it another week, before I decide if other measures are needed. But at least, I'm good enough to get a good nights sleep.
Also, on our last trip, 2 light bulbs were burned out over the dining area, and I only had 1 replacement, so off to Walmart we went. They seemed to be the only place that had these type of bulbs. Anyway, when we went in, they had an area set up for flu shots, so we stopped and got ours. I'm always a bit nervous about getting it since our friend Mark had a bad reaction to one he got. But I'm fine this morning, and with the type of work I do, it's good protection.  :-)
And with that, it's time for another work week, and it's looking like a real busy one.

This was our next to last trip

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
Now, about our trip......
This trip took us to Proud Lake Recreation Area.  The reason for this campground, was that this one was the closest to the city of Detroit. More about that later.   :-)
We arrived Friday afternoon, set up camp, and headed into the near-by city of Milford, for an early dinner.
Milford is a beautiful small town. I didn't take my camera, and was disappointed I didn't. The town stretches for 6 blocks or so, and sat along a beautiful babbling brook. I found a place on the Internet before we left called Main Street Bar and Grill. From our parking spot, we walked the 3 blocks or so to the bar. The town was very full of people and a lot of kids. There were many kids and adults wearing Milford Mavs tops. That's they're sports team, the mavericks.  Craig commented that it was probably right when school had let out. But soon after, we saw people sitting in chairs along the road, and a light bulb went off in my head. All these people here, wearing school colors, they were getting ready for a homecoming parade!
We got to the bar, secured a table near the front window, ordered some tasty burgers and drinks, and soon we were watching a parade! It was hokey, and it was fun. Watching all the yuppie parents taking pics of their kids in the parade. I don't remember having a parade through town when I was in school.
Anyway, after it was done, we wandered through a few stores, and then back to the campground.
Our site #2, was right across from the campground host. And apparently, they had big plans for the weekend. The campground was packed!
Friday evening, they had bingo. And they packed the place!

We laid low, relaxing in our mo-ho and watching TV.
The next morning, we headed into downtown Detroit. The reason we camped here was so we could go to the Henry Ford Museum and see the Titanic Exhibit. We had tickets for the 9:30 am entry. We arrived just after 9, and got in and found our way to the line for the exhibit. We ended up waiting just about 15 min. to get in. Sorry, there were no pics allowed in the exhibit.   :-(
We decided on the audio tour for $5 extra. It was well worth the price!
The exhibit wasn't as good as I had expected, but the audio part made it fell I got my money's worth.
We then toured the Henry Ford Museum. This was quite and extensive museum. focusing on all kinds of transportation, machines, and furniture. I of course, didn't think of taking pics until Craig suggested a pic of the original wiener-mobile.....

After the museum, we headed across the highway to a huge mall, Fairlane Center, and Lunch at TGI Friday's. I joined their website for a free appetizer, and I got a $5 off from Craig's Coke Rewards.
Between the 2, I paid only $24 for food and 2 drinks!
Then it was off to the Eastern Market. This is a famous Detroit institution.
This place covers 5 blocks and consists of several 'sheds'.

These were 2 of them. The place was very busy. There were tons of produce, meats, cheeses, breads and plants. We found some nice cheap veggies for future meals.
And just out side the market, a reminder of how bad Detroit is doing during this recession.Blocks and blocks of empty lots, and empty buildings.

But back at the campground, they were having a trick or treating thingy.
What the Fu*(K!   Halloween in  September?
Fortunately, we saw that on the campground news, and stopped at a local store for treats.
Here's a few pics.....

The kids loved the self serve idea.

It was fun watching the kids in their costumes.
The rest of the evening, we fixed pork steaks on the grill with marinated zucchini, and Craig made a pasta salad full of fresh diced veggies from the market. And we watched as our Spartans got beat again!  :-(
Sunday morning, we hit a Mickey D's for breakfast, then to Downtown Detroit and the MGM Casino. This is Detroit's largest of the 3. We hadn't been to a casino in months, and needed a fix.  :-)
I actually did pretty good, but of course Craig didn't. I kept having to give him some of my winnings for him to keep going, but all in all, we left after a few hours with about half of what we brought. Not bad for the entertainment value.  :-)
Made our way back to the campground, stopping for the Sunday paper along the way. The campground was already nearly empty. Maybe a dozen campers left. Much more pleasant than with hundreds of kids all over the place.  :-)
We read the paper, went for a walk, and fixed chicken thighs on the grill with roasted veggies. Finished the evening with a movie marathon.
Sunday morning, packed up and headed home.
We got there safe, arrived home safe, and everything ran smoothly.
Yes, it was another good trip!  :-)
 My back is doing okay. I'm still waking up with a tight stiff back, but at least no aching. I also went to the massage place after we returned home. I'll do that every other day for the rest of the week to see if that gets me all the way better. I even worked in the yard yesterday and still awoke this morning about the same.
So 9 weekend trips down, and 1 to go. And with that, I'm our to clean the mo-ho for the last one.