January Ends

January ends with a burst of warmth. On Monday evening we walked up town for dinner. We figure when the cold wave hits we won't want to be out and about. This morning in was in the low- to mid-50s. We took Sugar for a nice long walk. Things are thawing out and there are puddles. The wind was blowing hard but it was still warm. No wind chill this morning. But it is foggy.

Ducks are becoming regular visitors on Washington.

Spotted these in a shop window. What's old is new. I had a coat and dresses like these in my youth. Note Sugar's reflection in the window.

Central Park.

Our driveway is a mess. Hopefully the cold snap holds off long enough so all the water drains. But we're suppose to get more rain today and tomorrow so I'm not very hopeful.

Lost

On Friday, Jack was heading to a doc appointment at the hospital. Sugar and I tagged along for the walk. Sugar and I peeled off at Duncan Woods. It was pretty this time of year. I like the open look without the leaves. I'll have to go back when the sun is shining to see how that looks.

Jack reported that I got lost in the woods. That would be real hard to do because Duncan Woods is very nice but not that big. What happened is when I came out the other end, as always seems to happen when I do this, I wasn't sure exactly what combination of turns to make to get home. It is a part of town I don't normally walk around. I always had a general idea of the way to go so not lost in the real sense, maybe more wandering about in an inefficient manner. But that was OK. Even though it was raining lightly, it was one of our last warm days. Sugar is always thrilled to sniff out new locations so she wasn't complaining.  Of course before the next time I'm heading to Duncan Woods, I could look at a map and figure out the straightest route home, but what would be the fun in that?

Jack and I discuss how nice it is to not know where everyplace is. Someone will reference a town here in MI and we are clueless. We know the Muskegon to Holland to Grand Rapids area pretty well, but get out of that triangle and it is still mostly a mystery to us. We truly can get lost in MI - an impossibility  back in IL. Having lived there our whole lives, any town mentioned we could place it geographically - south side, north side, western sprawl, mid-state, downstate, etc. With our road trips, we are learning MI. So more and more places are becoming familiar. However, I doubt we will ever have the complete grasp of MI that we had of IL. I like it that way. It is like traveling. You go to see new things. When we travel, I love truly getting lost in big cities. No plan, just start walking and see what happens. You might miss the "must see" museum, but instead you find wonderful little local gems and quirks of the city.

Go out and get lost - I highly recommend it.

January in Grand Haven

I've been very busy indexing a variety of books. The books are all interesting so a bonus. On New Year's Day we participated in the VFW Post's pot luck dinner. We had a great time chatting with our new Grand Haven friends.  There were an amazing variety of dishes and very tasty.

It has been warm and dry. Right now it is mid-40s and we'll be up in the 50s this weekend. While this is nice for going out and about, it isn't nice for the tourist businesses that require ice and snow. And it is really not good for the lake levels. Our neighbor predicted a January 19 freeze date for ice fishing but right now that doesn't look like it is going to happen, But it is supposed to get cold starting next week so maybe he'll be right.

As you can see by Central Park no snow at all.

One of the stores has a bag of "real plastic snow" in the window.

Can't go skiing on that!

While we were out walking last Sunday we found this guy taking a stroll down Washington.

 Meanwhile back at home the Christmas tree and decorations are packed away till next year. The chessmen are back lined up ready to do battle.

 My window herb garden wasn't producing as hoped. Mostly this was due to my neglect. So the herb garden has been dismantled and sent to the basement until I decide if I'll try it again. In its place are some souvenirs.

We took a trip to my favorite consignment store in Muskegon and I found a nice little Wedgwood ashtray that is pretty and nice for holding my jewelry overnight.

That's all that's new around here. Now back to work...