another year gone.

Good morning.
A really short post today.  :-)
Managed to get all the Christmas decorations in the Salon down last Saturday during a couple of breaks in the day.
It was a very busy hectic day in the Salon yesterday, and I'm booked and working late today.
Looking forward to 2016.
Happy New Year!

Godzilla and a slot machine

Good morning.
Christmas is over, and New Year's is upon us.
A very busy week is ahead for me. Working 7:30 am Wed. till 6:30 pm. If I'd known ahead of time it was to be so busy, I would have worked today also. Oh well. Just happy to see it busy right now. I'm even working later than usual on new Year's Eve. But that's okay, I don't do anything on new year's anyway.  :-)
We had a freezing rain mess yesterday afternoon. But was inside nice and warm. And, I don't have to deal with clearing the driveway or sidewalks.  :-)
They were doing that this morning around 7am.  been doing some research on our upcoming Jan trip to Vegas. Craig wants to do the Slotzilla Zip Line.

It's this 12 story tower they built at the one end of Fremont St. Looks like a giant slot machine. Thus, Slotzilla.

 You can zip, or zoom from the tower down the length of the canopy covered street above the crowds.

Craig wants to do the higher zoom line. You 'fly' down the street superman style. It runs above the zip line and is a little longer in length.
Doesn't that look like fun?
Anyway, not much else going on, so I'm off to enjoy my last day off.

Merry Christmas!

Good morning and Merry Christmas!
It was a busy day in the Salon yesterday, and today is another full busy day.
Tuesday, Craig went through envelopes and folders in the main safe. He keeps receipts for everything we buy and for our taxes, he wanted to do a profit/loss statement on our home we sold. It's nor real important since we won't remotely get near the $250,000.00 ceiling, but he wanted to do it nonetheless. While going through all that stuff, he ran across papers from our first house way back in '81'.  Don't need any of that! He also found papers from our apartment here in Plumtree before we bought our house 30 years ago. Don't need any of that either! He obviously hasn't gone through the safe in a while.   :-)
He also found a stack of pictures from that apartment. Unfortunately, we're not in any of them. They're just pics of all the furniture and stuff he saved for insurance claims if needed. But it was fun to see how we decorated that apartment  some 30  years ago.
And like I said, another busy day today, then a nice day off tomorrow, and back to work for a full day Saturday.
Now time to go.

our new routine

Good morning.
Well, it was a fairly busy week in the Salon.
Friday, Craig had to call Blue Cross. They billed him for the wrong Medi-gap policy. Fortunately, he got through pretty quick, and even got it straightened out.
We did our laundry Saturday at the Salon in between customers.
Sunday, I cleaned the Salon, and then the apt while Craig did his usual book work.
Saturday, for dinner, Craig made Mexican Pizza. 
Sunday, he made Turkey Rice Casserole with some of our leftover Turkey.
 We've settled in to our new apartment routine and are enjoying the free time we now have.  :-)
I'm not sure I'm going to like hauling laundry back and forth to the Salon this winter, but so far, we've had pretty mild weather. Hope it keeps up.  :-)
And now time for our Monday routine of banking, post office and grocery shopping.

nothing to say

Good morning.
A quick post as I've got nothing much to say.  :-)
Went to Moms' on Sunday. Had a nice visit. Cut her hair, took her to lunch and the VFW and got her a few groceries.
Back at the apt. we had a nice non eventful weekend. Went walking at the Mall on the other side of town for a change. Other than that, a relaxing weekend.
And that's all I got!

slow but not as tired

Good morning.
It's been another slow week in the Salon. This seems to be the new normal.
But being the holiday season, at least the next 3 weeks are looking pretty good.
I guess one good thing about fewer customers.... I'm not exhausted at the end of the week.   :-)
They've added more lights to the apt complexes community center/leasing office....

I took this pic on the way to work yesterday morning.
And this weekend I head to Muskegon to see my Mom.
And with that, time to get to work.

back to work.

Good morning.
Just a quickie this morning. Didn't do much this weekend, Re-watched the Big Ten Championship game and just relaxed and played on our puters.   :-)
We also did a test drive to East Lansing. Our next trip to Vegas is out of Detroit. Couldn't get a decent fare out of Lansing for that date. And we decided to take the Michigan Flyer. It's a luxury coach that goes from Lansing to the Detroit airport. It leaves from the Marriott Hotel in East Lansing. That way we won't have to worry about driving there in Michigan winter.weather. So we wanted to see about how long it takes from our apt to the bus stop.
Craig also  made some tasty meals this weekend including this.....

Ham stir-fry over angel hair pasta. Very good!
Weather has been nice and mild.  :-)
But now, time for work.

I got a little bug

Good morning.
Here's a few pics of our Salon all decked out for Christmas....

And here's our office/clubhouse across the street from our apartment....

Very Festive!
I cleaned the Salon yesterday and while Craig did his paperwork, I cleaned the apt. The rest of the afternoon, we took it easy and played on our puters.
And speaking of puters, I'm doing this post on my laptop, as my puter has a little bug. I tried to open my blog, but an ad kept popping up. So, I'm running several scanning apps to get rid of the little bugger.   ;-)
That will take a couple of hours so it's nice I still have my old laptop.
Craig also has to call Watertown Township as we received a sewer bill for our old house. He had already called them when we sold, but obviously, it didn't get changed.
 I also downloaded the Big Ten Championship game between Michigan State and Iowa, so we can watch it. Craig won't watch the Spartans live as he's convinced  they will lose. As proof, several weeks ago, I got out of work early and met a friend over at Reno's for a late lunch. The game against Purdue was on and the Spartans were wining. Craig came over when he got done, and they promptly started losing. He decided to leave before the end, and they came back and won. Last Saturday, he decided to watch the game and ended up going to bed with them down 13 - 9. They ended up winning again. So, he's decided to play it safe and not watch any more games.   :-)
And today is our usual running around. so time to get going.

Mid week update

Good morning.
It's been a slow week in the Salon, but it's let me get some other things done. I'm ordering supplies and stocking up on things for the Salon before next week. Craig likes any charges I make in December to be near the beginning of the month, so he'll be able to prepay them before the end of the year. Something to do with his bookkeeping. So I need to try and estimate how much of everything we might use this month. I also don't want a lot of excess at the end of the year, or we get double taxed on it. So a fine balancing act for me.   :-)
 And in other news.....
I filled up my car on Tuesday for.....wait for it.......$1.55!
For some strange unknown reason, we had the lowest prices of the country.

Usually we're about the same as the northeast. Not that I'm complaining. And as of yesterday, we're back up to $1.86, so our 1 minute of fame was fleeting.
And a rare occurrence has happened in our Vegas community. A home was broken in to. I get alerts from our neighborhood watch and last Saturday, while a couple was out shopping. Someone broke into their car and stole their garage door opener and registration. Well, with the address on the registration, they then went over to the house, opened the garage, and entered the house through the unlocked garage door, and stole their laptop and her jewelry. They even left a phony garage door opener in the car and the owners didn't even know what happened until they arrived back home.
Crooks are always thinking huh?
Well, time to get to work.

another weekend over

Good morning.
We had a nice weekend, but now, back to work.
Craig went to the Secretary of State office to renew his driver's license. He couldn't do it online this year. Well, I went online to find the hours and they have a new procedure in place at one of the offices called......

MI Time line and it works great! You can go online or call. Craig went online and was able to reserve a time. The day of his 'appointment' he periodically received text messages of his status. He got to the office about 5 minutes before his 'appointment.'  The place was packed with probably 100 people. But he was called right on time and was out in less than 10 minutes. Why wouldn't everyone do that? Of course, you need to have a smart phone, but doesn't almost everyone have one by now?
So he was a happy camper getting in and out so quickly.   :-)
Now there's only one office in the area that has this. It wasn't the closest one to our apt. but not too far. Hopefully they'll get the rest like this too.
 And speaking of smart phones, there really is no reason not to have one. I've said this numerous times before, but the cheapest smart phone plan out there has to be Tracfone.

You buy the phone. As little as $20. Then you add minutes. I always add a one year amount. Costs $108 and gives me 1200 minutes each of  talk, data and text And that's the only expense for the entire year. There's no monthly fee. If you don't use a phone a lot, this is the way to go.
 Anyway, we didn't do much else this weekend. A little walking, a little driving.
Now time to get ready for work.

a little bit of Christmas

Good morning.
Our work week ended slow as expected and even though we got out earlier than normal, managed to get all our laundry done. We do our laundry on Saturday at the Salon since no one else works that day. That way we don't have to use the laundry room in the apt building. Saves us money too!   :-)
I cleaned the Salon Sunday morning as usual.
Craig wanted a Christmas tree for our apartment. We sold pretty much all the Christmas stuff when we sold our house. I did save one box of things I wanted to keep. But not a tree. So we bought this.....

It's about 3 ft tall. Craig thinks it will look good in Vegas on the kitchen counter behind the corner sink when we move out there.

I'm not so sure, but the tree lights and ornaments cost us a whole $16. So if it doesn't work out, not a big loss.
And that's the extent of our Christmas decorating this year. The box of stuff I saved from the house sale for Vegas is buried in the storage room. There's about a dozen boxes in there all in big Garbage bags, just in case there's a water leak and I don't feel like digging through them. I also don't feel like decorating the apt. The apt is comfortable and nice, but it doesn't feel like a 'home' if you know what I mean. And we have the Salon all decorated so that's enough.
Anyway, today is our usual running, and later this morning, Craig gets to go to the Secretary of State to renew his driver's license. He was able to go online and reserve a time. We'll see how good that works.  :-)
Now time to go.

a good Thanksgiving

Good morning.
We had a nice Thanksgiving. Dinner turned out great! The Lions won! Our Spartan basketball team won!  And, weather was mild enough we were able to go for an after dinner walk.   :-)
The turkey dinner turned out just fine despite our little teeny tiny kitchen.  I managed to get all the leftovers in the fridge for another dinner tonight.
I went into the Salon early in the morning and got it mostly decorated for Christmas. I'll finish up this morning before I start work.
And here's a fun little quote I pulled off Facebook.....

And I'm working today and tomorrow. Not real busy, which is normal for after Thanksgiving.
Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving, and have a nice Black Friday!

another nice weekend

Good afternoon.
It's been a nice albeit cold weekend. Didn't do much.   :-)
I did get Craig signed up for a medigap policy.  With his Medicare, Prescription drug plan and the medigap policy, his total premiums will be about $215.00 a month. That's giving him real good coverage and only a $2000.00 deductible compared to his current $6000.00 deductible and current price of $275.00 a month.   :-)
The 8 inches of snow we got on Saturday is slowly melting and should be gone by the end of the week. It's way to early for this much snow. We actually hit a record for the amount of snow for that date. Yaa!  :-(
Tomorrow, it's back to work. Kind of a short week with Thanksgiving in the middle. But we are open Friday and Saturday also.
Have a nice Thanksgiving!

the good, the great and the ugly

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
Friday and Saturday ended very busy. it was a good week.   :-)
 And even better, our Michigan State Spartans, a 13 point underdog, and without our star quarterback, beat Ohio State!

What a game!
And this is what transpired throughout the day yesterday....

Our ugly first taste of winter.   :-(
At least I don't have to shovel.  :-)
Craig picked up our thanksgiving turkey on Friday. Couldn't get it soon due to not enough room in our little apartment freezer. So no extra turkeys this year either.   :-(
And now....time to enjoy my weekend.

Et tu, brute?

Good morning,
I went to work on Wed. and upon checking my messages, received one from a customer I've done for over 25 years, Since my eventual moving is coming up, she's decide to try another salon. Wishes me good luck with my future move and thanked me for the many years of service....blah, blah, blah. And of course, she left the message on Tuesday knowing I don't work then so she wouldn't have to speak directly to me. Even though I've been telling customers we'll be here probably 2 more years, I'm losing more and more. I was hoping they'd stick with me to the end, but I should have known better. I should have never said anything to them. I've been doing this for 38 years. I knew customers were fickle. They'll turn on you on a dime.  I knew that. I should have kept my big mouth shut! But the damage has been done, and I'll just have to live with it. At least now, when I do move, I won't feel bad for leaving customers I've done for years. They will adjust, if they don't all dump me first!
Anyway, after an okay Wed. and Thur. I'm completely booked today and tomorrow. The holiday season bookings are looking pretty good so far. So hopefully a good end of year.
And it's looking like we will be getting our first taste of winter this weekend as 2-5 inches of snow are forecast, and lows in the 20's.
Have a good weekend!

a nice weekend

Good morning.
It was a nice weekend.   :-)
Saw my Mom on Sunday,  and went for nice walks on Monday and Tuesday.
Monday we also went for a nice little drive around town. Lot's of building going on. We haven't seen much of the area in recent years as the house and especially the yard, kept me too busy. It's nice having more 'free' time.   :-)
Tuesday I cleaned the apt and took everything off the balcony for winter. We may still have a day or two we could sit out, but with our balcony facing north, there's no sun, so not nice enough.
For dinner, Craig fried up some turkey sausage, and mushrooms and I cut up, bagged and marinated veggies to roast in the oven.

The summer squash, peppers, onions, and brussel sprouts had olive oil and balsamic, and the tators and carrots, olive oil,  garlic and Mrs Dash onion and herb seasoning.

Had too much for the big oven so the brussel sprouts went in the toaster oven. Yes, there's a lot, but I wanted leftovers to go with left over pork cutlets we grilled from Monday. We eat that on Thursday.
Also, Craig received his Medicare card and his Humana prescription card. So he's all set for January 1st.
Now, it's back to work.

road trip

Good afternoon.
It ended up being a decent week in the Salon.
I cleaned the Salon this morning, then headed over to Muskegon to see my Mom.
Craig decided to stay home, as he had a lot of paperwork he wanted to catch up on.
Took Mom out to Red Lobster where she treated me to lunch.  :-)    
She had won at pull tabs a couple of weeks ago. We started out with lobster and crab stuffed mushrooms and I had shrimp taco's and she had the wood fired Tilapia.  Then we headed over to the VFW for a couple of drinks and pull tabs. No luck with the pull tabs. I think she does better on them when I'm not around.   :-)
On the way back to her apartment, we stopped at the store to buy her cookies, nail polish, and bananas.
Got her back to her apartment, and then headed back to Lansing.
I then boxed up the clothes I'm sending out to a friend in Vegas.

She decided on 2 sweatshirts and 10 t-shirts. I will mail them out tomorrow. I also have an 8:30 appointment with the audiologist for what I believe will be my last 'adjustment'. 
I'm liking the hearing aid, and think it's working good.
And that's it for now....

No, I'm not in any way a Michigan fan.

Good morning.
We had a very nice weekend, taking long walks every day. Unfortunately, we both had a break in our work schedule yesterday,  so we wee able to take another walk.
One of our friends in Vegas, Ingrid, has a daughter out there that's a huge University of Michigan fan. Ingrid wondered if I could get her some Michigan gear. So, I went to our local Meijer store, and took pics of everything they had, and e-mailed it to her. Normally I wouldn't touch the stuff, me being a Michigan State fan, but Ingrid has been very nice to pick us up at the bus stop and take us back when we go out to Vegas.
I ended up sending 26 pics of the different t-shirts, sweat shirts and hoodies. She picked out 3. She wanted a Michigan sweat shirt,

 A Michigan t-shirt,

And the t-shirt with a wolverine on it.

I almost didn't want to tell her the pic wasn't a Wolverine. I wonder how many other Michigan fans have thought Chewbacca from Star Wars was actually a Wolverine.  :-)
Anyway, made me smile. I e-mailed her the correction, and she wanted it anyway. 
So, back to work. The rest of the week is looking pretty good.

busy Sunday.

Good morning.
It was a very busy 2 days, and I'm glad it's my weekend.
Yesterday, I cleaned the apartment while Craig got caught up on his paper work. I also went online and got Craig signed up for a prescription plan to go with his Medicare. He got the letter in the mail on Saturday approving his Medicare and now has a Medicare number. They say they will send him a card soon.
I also ordered more appointment cards for the Salon, and placed a supply order with Marlo Beauty. Marlo is a mail order only company in the Detroit area. Has no physical store front. But they do have the best prices for hair color, perms and such.
We also went for a very long walk. The weather was cool, only around 50, but sunny and low wind.
I also went to Kohl's with a couple of coupons to buy some much needed slacks for work.
So it was a fairly busy day.
And Craig topped it off with a tasty Tortilla Casserole.
Today will be our usual running and shopping and hopefully another walk.
And that's it for now.

Vegas trip details

Good morning.
This trip to Vegas was a busy one.
First off, we replaced a cold air return vent.

The one that was up there had a broken latch. So one corner hung down. I ordered a new one online a couple of weeks before we went out, so it would be there when we arrived. It eneded up being easier than expected.
Also, we finished up with the painting. Did the other closet, the pantry, and the rest of the garage.

Here's a pic of the painted pantry. I then put shelf liner down to protect the shelves.
We then had an electrician come out. The second bath had a light switch and an exhaust switch that back in July decided not to work anymore. I checked the breakers, and they were all fine. Even the wall plug next to them worked. I had no idea what was the problem. The electrician knew right away. It was a bad GFI outlet in the garage.   Way   out   in   the   garage.   :-/
I asked why an outlet in the garage would be tied into the switches in the bathroom. He said these homes were wired odd. And all the GFI outlets were a piece of crap. The builder used cheap ones made in China. So he replaced that outlet, and everything was good. We then went out and bought 3 more GFI outlets, and I'll replace the 2 in the kitchen and the one in the bath on our next trip.
I also repaired 3 more bubblers in the front yard that had failed and were spraying instead of bubbling. Then I trimmed up the tree in the front yard. It's an African Sumac. Has a very nice shape and small long leaves. But these trees grow quite fast and the branches tend to hang.
So it was a busy productive trip.
Now back here in Lansing.....
I  went online to the Healthcare.gov site and picked a new healthcare plan for next year. Got a policy very similar to the one I have now, but it'll be nearly $30 less. I know a lot of people hate 'Obamacare" but for me, it's been a really good deal. I have pretty much the same coverage I had before, but it's costing me nearly half as much, thanks to the subsidies. And we haven't heard about Craig's Medicare yet. The site says it has been processed and he'll get a letter in the mail as to the result. Don't know why they can't tell him on the site.   :-/
Now time for me to get to work. I have an 11 hour day scheduled.  :-(

another Vegas trip

Good morning.
We just returned from Las Vegas.  Got home late last evening.  :-(
Our flight from Minneapolis to Lansing was delayed twice.  But, we got home safe and sound, so that's the important part. We had a good trip. Weather was sunny and warm. Temps in the low 80's. Hooked up with some neighbors who were gone for the summer.
Finally went to The Farm. Our neighbor Obbie has been trying to get us there for a visit. She volunteers their a lot. That weekend was their Fall Festival so we decided to check it out.

Here's a pic with Obbie at the table she was volunteering at.

And here's a pic of the entire table I 'took' from their facebook page. A 90 some year old lady buys fabric, makes everything by hand, and donates them to The Farm for their fundraisers.
Anyway, The Farm is an animal rescue place. They also sell fresh eggs, veggies, honey, and jams to help defray the costs. They have children's parties there complete with a train ride around the animal pens. And even an area where they do weddings. It's quite a place, and they do good work.
I'll post more about our trip when time allows, but right now, we have a lot of running to do.

a new walk and medicare

Good afternoon.
Monday was another beautiful cool fall day.
We went for a walk in Lansing's newest park. Crego park. In southwest Lansing.

This park was many years ago a gravel pit, but has been reclaimed for public use. Not to many facilities here yet, but it is connected to the extensive Lansing River Trail, and was a very pleasant walk.
We did get Craig signed up for medicare, but discovered we can't get a prescription plan until he gets his medicare number.  :-/
This morning, I went back to the Audiologist for a pre-scheduled check-up some tweaking.
We decided to increase the volume a bit, and put a small tip on the part that goes into the ear.
So far, one week in to this, I'm extremely happy with this hearing aid. And I think Craig is even happier.  :-)
That said, we're heading out for a little walk.

a beautiful fall....

 It's a beautiful fall.
Especially if you don't have to rake.   :-)
Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
It was a fairly slow week in the Salon, and we got out early on Sat. and headed over to Reno's for lunch and a little anniversary celebration.
 And here's a few fall pics I took on our walk yesterday afternoon....

View from our apt. balcony.

Down the road from our building. It's behind those maple trees.

All the building in this complex are clustered in groups of 4 with a large 'courtyard' in the middle. here's a couple of pics showing the spacious courtyards.

And they did some very nice plantings in front of the clubhouse/leasing office and at the complex entrances.

They are looking a little worn this late in the season but were very nice.
Today, after our walk and shopping, Craig does his book work while I clean the apt. Later Craig's making turkey pie for dinner. You can find the recipe here.
And that's it for now.

Good weekend

Good morning.
As you've noticed, I haven't been posting much.
Not much to say as not much going on. That's apt living.   :-)
But, it was a fairly busy weekend. We walked each day and on Monday, Craig went to the doctor. His ear had been plugged for a week, and nothing he seemed to do would alleviate it. The doctor flushed out what he said was a ton of earwax. I'm pretty sure a ton of the stuff wouldn't fit there, so I'm assuming he just meant a lot!  ;-)
Tuesday I went and got my hearing aid. While at the office, she did some fine tuning of it and I go back in a week for more possible adjustments. It's completely programmable with her puter program. I'm so far very happy with it. It's so small and nearly visible. And more comfortable than I thought it would be. I almost forgot to take it out before bed. it's that comfortable, I forgot I had it.    :-)
We also got the snow tires on Craig's Hyundai, so we're all set for the upcoming snow season. We did them earlier this year than usual. Despite a small loss in mpg, it's worth it to do them early instead of waiting until late Nov. when it can be finger numbing cold.
Oh, and today is our Vegas house's anniversary. We signed the papers one year ago today. Hard to believe we've owned that house for a year already.
And Craig's a little peeved about the big increase he'll have to pay when signing up for Medicare. Instead of $104.00 a month it looks to be around $159.00. Thanks to his signing up for medicare, but not Social Security. And no Cola this year. It's a little too complicated to explain here, but it is what it is. We'll deal with it.
So now, it's time for another work week.

A Michigan State Miracle

Good afternoon.
It turned out to be a not to bad week at work.
And.... Our Michigan State Spartans miraculously won the game against arch rival Michigan!   :-)
And to commemorate the occasion.... here's a couple of pics I pulled off Facebook.....

 And for those of you not in the know.....That other school is officially called the University of Michigan.
Hence, the U of M joke.

And in the classic Peanuts comic we have our Michigan State coach mark Dantonio pulling out the ball from Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
And finally.....

No first year coach of Michigan has beat Michigan State in  56 years.   :-)
In other news.....
I did clean the Salon this morning as usual. We went for our walk despite the chilly weather, and I did more research on medicare. I also cleaned the apartment while Craig did his usual book work. This place is staying cleaner than our house ever was. Probably because I have a lot of extra time!   :-)
That said, Craig is currently fixing a delicious dinner.  Cabbage Roll Casserole. Can't wait!
And that said, that's all I got.    :-)

boring weekend

Good morning.
It was a very uneventful weekend.   :-)
That's what living in an apartment will do.
We did manage to get in a walk on Sunday and Monday, but Tues. was cold, windy, and drizzly.
Got snow tires on the Kia on Sunday, hope to do Craig's car next weekend.
Just about got this medicare thing nailed down. Looks like Craig will go with traditional medicare and get a medigap policy and a prescription drug plan. He'll have 3 payments instead of one, but the coverage is explained better. And Craig will still get his Zetia from Canada. Because it's a tier 3 drug, he'd have to pay a $360 deductible and then only $40 every 3 months. So that adds up to$480 a year. He can get the generic in Canada for about $13 a month. His 2 other meds are tier 1 and 2, so the deductible doesn't apply.
I told you this medicare stuff is a little complicated.
Soooo, The cheapest plan is $18.40 a month. That will get him his 2 meds for free. Right now he's paying $24 every 3 months. So it'll still be more expensive having a drug plan then not, but if you don't get a drug plan when you sign up for medicare,  when you do eventually get a plan a year or more later, they penalize you every month for the rest of your life!
Anyway, time to get ready for work.

Yep, it's my birthday again

Good afternoon.
It was actually a fairly busy week in the Salon.  For a change.   :-)
 After work, we went over to Reno's for a little birthday pizza and drinks. Ya, at my age, birthdays aren't as big a deal as when I was younger.

Back home. I received a birthday card from my Mom.....

It made my smile because.......

It was the same card I had sent to her back in August! She crossed my name out and added hers. I sent it as a tongue in cheek card, but she took it to heart and "re-gifted' it!
Anyway, made my day.   :-)
Our new routine is working quite well. I take most of the clothes into work Saturday morning and start a load, and Craig brings the rest when he comes in. We seem to get everything done by time we are done .
We're really liking apartment living.  :-)
And with that, Craig is fixing a cheesy dip for a snack, so time to get.   :-)

a fairly busy weekend

Good morning.
It was a  cool, cloudy, foggy, damp weekend. But a productive one.
Monday, we shopped for a couple of new floor lamps. Craig didn't have enough light in the office area of the bedroom for his paperwork, and the light we had in the living room was to far from my desk for me. So, not wanting to spend a lot of money we hit Walmart. Found one on clearance for $5.  :-)
Was left over from their back to school specials. But only one. So, we headed over to Big Lot's, but struck out, then over to Menard's, no luck, and then to Target where we got one for $8.
Then for dinner, it was chicken thighs on the grill and roasted veggies.

That's another nice thing about this apt. complex. They allow small grills with those small camping propane tanks.  Most complexes don't allow them. We were lucky we kept the portable grill from the motor home.  Tuesday, we walked, got our flu shots, and then changed the tires on the Kia. And that's another nice thing about this complex. The large storage area each apt has in the laundry room. We have 2 sets of tires, and at least a dozen boxes stored there.
Then, after talking to the Salon staff, we ordered this years calendars that we give out for Christmas.

The company we buy these from every year had these nice ones in there clearance center. Got them for nearly 1/3 the regular price. That even beats the buy one get one free they sometimes have.   :-)
And we're still looking over all the Medicare info. I think Craig's going to make an appointment with the Tri-County Office on Aging. They have volunteers especially trained to help you sort through all the different choices. He mainly can't decide on whether to get a medicare advantage plan, or regular medicare and a prescription and medigap policy.
Fortunately, he has plenty of time to decide.
Now time to get ready for work.

Good afternoon from a cold dreary Lansing.
I cleaned the Salon as usual this morning. We are officially settled in our apartment, as Craig is making a meatloaf for dinner. Despite out teeny tiny kitchen, he's making it work.   :-)
It was a fairly busy week in the Salon for a change and after work on Saturday, we met a customer at Reno's for drinks, snacks, and the Michigan State Football game. The place was very busy! But we don't normally go there on football Saturdays.  :-)
And luckily, our Spartans won!
Friday afternoon, a maintenance  guy from the apartment complex came by to check out our toilet. Apparently the apartment below us was getting some mold on their ceiling and the ceiling was feeling 'soft'.
The toilet looked okay, so he decide to 'pull' it to check and see if the seal was intact and good. It wasn't. So they replaced the seal, reset the toilet and re-caulked. He cleaned up after himself and when he was gone, it looked like he was never there.
Today  I cleaned the apartment while Craig did his usual book work. It's nice having the place so clean. Back at the house, I hate to admit, the bathroom got to looking pretty disgusting before I'd clean it. But without the big yard to maintain, I'm cleaning every weekend.   :-)
And last Wed. our little malls biggest tenant moved out. They had  over 18000 sq ft of space. In comparison, we have just over 1000 ft. That leaves only 5 of us small tenants left out of about 24 spaces. We're concerned for the viability of the mall. I can't imagine we generate enough income for his overhead. We'll see.
Anyway, with that, I've got to go and wash up the dishes he dirtied getting dinner ready. Remember, I'm the dishwasher now.   :-)

Mid priced hearing aid

Good morning.
Had my appointment with the Audiologist yesterday, and ordered my hearing aid.  There were numerous types to chose from. I'm fortunate that I didn't need those big clunky looking ones since my loss isn't that great.  This is the style we settled on....

It's called an open fit. The main part rests behind the ear, while a small tube comes around and into the ear canal. It's more slim than the older behind the ear types. And you can even chose different colors.
The price? .........    $2400.00.   I knew going in the price could run from about $1600 to $3000 depending on style and hearing loss needs.
It's a good thing I only need one!
The cheaper styles only magnify sound, where as the more expensive ones are actually programmed for your specific hearing loss.
Think of it this way.....
Say the normal ear can hear 60 different distinct tones. And say my hearing loss is affecting 14  tones. A cheaper aid that just magnifies your hearing will increase those 14 but also increase the rest too so your still not hearing 'good'.  But if you just magnify the 14 tones I need, you get better more normal hearing.
So, I go back on the 20th to pick it up. And then there are follow-up visits in case there's any adjustments needed. All that's included in the price.
So that's all I got for today. It's currently raining out, so not sure what we'll do today.

a rude awakening.

Good morning.
We were awakened last night by a loud popping noise, followed by our carbon monoxide detector going off.
Craig removed the carbon monoxide detector from the wall out side the bedroom to shut it off. We checked out the apartment, and couldn't find any reason for it going off. We're not using the furnace yet, and nothing else runs on natural gas. Then we heard occasional beeps from the smoke detector in the bedroom.
Took that apart to find this......

I've never seen a 9-volt battery explode  before. Even the other end is cracked. The explosion must have released some gas that set off the carbon monoxide detector. So we removed the battery, set it in the kitchen sink, and went back to bed.
Never heard of a Camelion battery before. Will replace it with an Energizer. Energizer and Duracell are the best rated and longest lasting batteries. I don't know why anyone would buy cheaper ones. And I think I'll ask the apartment management if they should replace that detector in case it was the detector that caused the battery to explode.
Anyway, The turkey on the grill yesterday  turned out great, along with the acorn squash and fingerling potatoes.
We walked another section of the river trail they completed last year. I need to remember to take my camera when we go out. Now that i don't have a yard, I'll need to find other things to take pics of.  :-)
And this morning is my appointment with the audioligist.
So time to get.

a nice Saturday

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
It was a fairly steady week. Reached my average.   :-)
Saturday after work, we drove downtown and walked the river trail. Afterwards, we stopped at the Waterfront Bar and Grill at the Lansing City Market. Had a couple of drinks and took in the Michigan State game.
On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at Horrocks and picked up a turkey breast to cook on the grill today.
On checking the mail when we got home, I received a check from our health insurance company. It was from the 2014 billing year. It was for $3.34.  :-/
Apparently, according to the Affordable Care Act, (Obama care) if the insurance companies don't spend a certain percentage of their premiums on actual heath care, the rest has to be refunded to the subscribers. Blue Cross said their health care expenditures were less than expected, so a refund was in order. Do you think that will keep my next year rates from going up? I don't think so.  But, it's better than nothing!
Today, after our coffee, paper, and walk, Craig will do his book work and I'll give the apartment a quick cleaning.
Tomorrow, I go in to be fitted for a hearing aid.
Not much else to say.   :-)

I have Otosclerosis

Good morning.
I went to the ear specialist at Michigan Ear Institute yesterday, and they determined I have a condition called Otosclerosis.
It's not as bad as it sounds.   :-)
They redid the tests I received in Lansing plus a few more. Apparently the doctors there don't have a very high regard for 'Audiologists' in general.
The resident Dr who first saw me was surprised the Audiologist didn't just recommend hearing aids.
So they were impressed I was referred, and also when they redid the tests with very similar results.
But the Doctors were better able to explain exactly whats going on.
Look at the picture below where it shows the 'oval window'.  That tiny bone right next to it is called the 'stirrup'. That bone is connected to two other bones that then connect to the eardrum.

Well, that tiny bone has lost some of it's flexibility, which means it's not transmitting properly to the cochlea.
It can be corrected with surgery. They make an incision around the eardrum, push the eardrum over to reach the little bone.  Then with a laser, cut out the section of bone that has lost it's flexibility and replace it with a prostheses.
But, the Dr isn't recommending surgery at this time. My hearing loss isn't that great. The surgery has possible risks and unless there's  a chance for considerable improvement they don't want to do it. He is recommending a hearing aid at this point, and retesting of the ear every year or so. We can do surgery if and when it gets bad enough. And It's possible the condition could stay the same. So, I'll be making another appointment with the Audiologist.
And now, I'm off to work.

not normal hearing loss

Good morning.
Well, I went to the Audiologist yesterday for my hearing exam. Here's the results....

 Your hearing should fall in the -10 to the 25 range. My right ear (the circles) pretty much does that, but my left ear (the X's) is all below that.  And of course, I had already new my left ear was bad, that's why I went. But surprisingly, it's not normal hearing loss. The loss is not in my inner ear, but in the middle ear. There's 3 bones behind the eardrum.

Apparently there's something wrong in there. So, I've been referred to a specialist that I'm seeing today. He's in Novi which is about an hour east of Lansing. He will decide if surgery is a viable option. If not, I can get a hearing aid to correct the issue. It would be nice if I didn't have to wear a hearing aid, but I'm not keen on having surgery either. I'll know more later this afternoon.
After the hearing test, we did our usual running. Bank, post office and store. Now that we're living in an apartment, with absolutely no outside work to do, we've been doing a lot more walking.
Sunday, we even went over to East Lansing to walk and stop at the East Lansing Farmer's Market.
And we're enjoying sitting on our balcony and watching the goings on around the complex. With the office/clubhouse across the street, there's always people coming and going.
So liking apartment living so far.
And with that, time to get.