Turner Tales

Happiness is

2007-08-14T16:21:00.000-04:00

Happiness is having my number 1 daughter home for a visit.
Happiness is finding out number 2 is on her way.
Happiness is professional photographer surprise in our own back yard.
Happiness is having sunshine for the photo shoot. (Not a sure thing in Michigan)
Happiness is spending two days in a row with my girls.
Happiness will be getting a great family picture from the many pictures taken.
Happiness is having great weather on Mackinac Island for our special friends wedding.(Very chancie in MI)
Happiness is enjoying family and friends anytime and in any weather!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Life is GOOD

Fun time in the Mitten

2007-07-11T13:42:00.000-04:00

I love the great weather we have in the summer/fall here in the mitten! The summer/fall weather allows for some great outdoor times.

We won't discuss the hellish hot/humid weather we've had this past week because usually it is much cooler.

The trip to the Ford Museum was fun.....it's air conditioned.....then we walked around Greenfield village....late afternoon so much cooler. We rode in a Model T, they sure are loud cars but surprisingly comfortable.

Took an afternoon ride on the Genesee Belle, a local paddle boat, it was lovely with the cool breeze off the water, looking at the wildlife, even the Blue Heron was enjoyable in that setting.

Our local pond tour is this weekend, which we will be working at. The tour is great fun. We meet lots of fun people and get to see some really beautiful ponds that people have put a lot of work into.

Then it's dinner with friends and great conversation.

Life is good and will soon be great when our girls, at different times, will be home for a quick visit!

From Blue Herons to Moles. God Bless them everyone

2007-07-09T11:25:00.000-04:00

The saga with the Great Blue Heron has temporarily subsided. I think I have outlasted him! It has been two weeks now and he hasn't shown his face. We have made it too much of a challenge for him to get to the pond and now, hopefully, he has moved on to an easier buffet somewhere else.
The new challenge is now MOLES. I just can't win. They have been herded to our yard from the construction on the street behind us. Currently they are making their way toward our beautiful pond. Is there no rest from critters at all anymore?
I went on line and found poison fake worms that we are suppose to place in their runs, they then eat said worms and die. I can only hope!

Ode to Spring

2007-05-08T09:08:00.000-04:00

Spring brings a very happy and much appreciated change in weather but OH MY the work involved is never ending!

Mowing, Pond Care, Mowing, Weeding, Mowing, Trimming, Mowing, Planting, Mowing, Replanting, Mowing, Clean up, and did I mention Mowing?

We are mowing every 3-4 days now. Who ever it was that thought Weed and Feed was a good idea should be duct taped to a lawn mower and made to mow non stop for the entire spring season!

The lawn does look beautiful ,but, it is so thick the mower gets clogged and it's growing so fast we are always mowing.

The pond brings us much joy. We love to sit and gaze upon the pond, watch the fishes and listen to the waterfall. That's all we can do right now because our backs hurt so much from all the yard work, not to mention cleaning the winter muck out of the pond!

We are looking forward to summer because ALL the spring clean up will be over!

It'$ Tax $ea$on! Oh Boy

2007-02-17T10:49:00.000-05:00

$$$$This is the holiday season for accountants$$$$$$$$
The hunt for that elusive tax break ,that no one ever really qualifies for, is the prize of the tax season.
* Your accountant sends you a list of what information is needed.
* You dig through all your papers and fill in all the little boxes.
* You take it all to the accountant.
* A week later the accountant calls for you to come in and sign forms.
* You write out a check to the accountant.
* You take your very neatly filled out forms ,add your check that you owe the government, and mail them.
That's right you pay someone to tell you how much MORE additional money you owe the government.
You must get your payment to the government on or before the due date, however, should the rare occasion happen where the government owes you....HA. Don't hold your breathe. You may or may not see your money within the 3 to 6 month range.
Can you demand that your money be in your hands by a certain date?
I think not.
Can you demand a penalty if you have to wait for you money?
DON'T BE SILLY!
Are you allowed to charge interest for the amount of time past the date you should have your money?
Dream On!

Even though I have an undergraduate degree, and two masters degrees I have a very common terror of tax forms. I know I could probably fill them out and do ok, but what about that little known fact I am sure only the government and accountants know, that if I don't have it on my forms will bring on an audit. What if I don't put a deduction in the right place and have to pay a penality. What if I forget to put in an interest payment? I do not want the IRS to remember my taxes in any way or form.
Oh and don't forget the EASY instructions that come with your tax forms! But lets not go there, that's a whole blog in it's self.

What a world, what a world! I hate Tax Time! However as long as there are people like me with a healthy fear of the IRS there will always be happy accountants during Tax $ea$on.

WINTER IS HERE

2007-02-03T13:14:00.000-05:00

Michigan is Michigan again!
Woke up to 4 degrees actual temp. with a windchill of -20 degrees. The pond is frozen, and my face hurts from just going out to get the mail.
We wanted snow and cold for Christmas. Did we get it ....NO! Finally in January we get our first snow, oh how pretty. Then it just started getting colder and colder.
The Ground Hog did not see his shadow yesterday so we are going to get an early spring. Yea right! The stupid Ground Hog was too cold to open his eyes to see a shadow.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love to think that we were only going to have winter for a total of two months this year. Well, let's be realistic, it is Michigan after all. We will probably have a White Easter. Imagine it, Easter on Ice with the Easter Bunny himself on ice skates, or better yet just borrow Santa's sleigh to deliver Easter Eggs with Bing singing "I'm dreaming of a white Easter" in the background.
I just want to have NORMAL seasons again.

Another Holiday Season comes to an end

2006-12-30T13:05:00.000-05:00

Another great holiday season is winding down:( All the excitement of preparing for the holiday, enjoying my girls, and just relaxing with all the beautiful decorations is now over. Now comes the task of packing away all the decorations, and paying bills just like anyother month of the year.
We have several friends hanging up their marriages of 25 and 36 years. We have a friend who has found true love for the first time at age 55. The extremes are surprising.
I guess that life really is a chain of surprising events and you can never really predict what will come, only try to be prepared when it hits.
2006 has been a year of status quo for us and termoil for friends. I really hope that 2007 brings positive changes and happy surprises for everyone we know.

Happy New Year! May the coming year bring us all peace of mind, success in our endeavors and laughter in our lives.

The Holiday Season has arrived! Whew I'm already tired.

2006-12-01T20:41:00.000-05:00

I'm off and running! The fun has begun.
The house decorating is done and the empty boxes are back in the attic.

Next comes the baking. It all has to be timed so that the goodies are fresh and delicious for my two beautiful girls when they arrive home , and for the baskets of goodies I share with neighbors.

Shopping is another matter. I have started but I just can't decide what I really want to get everyone. I have some great ideas and it is tough to limit my choices. Oh well ,I have time to get this part into perspective.

We have some charity dinners that will be fun. I get to go shopping for a toy, to donate to a charity as the price of admission price to the dinner. It's been a long time since I was happily shopping in a toy store!

Then there is the candle walk in Flushing. That is always fun! We walk around with friends, take a horse drawn wagon ride to see the lights and stop for a sip of wasseling along the way. All in all a happy time spent enjoying the Holiday Season with friends.

I love the holiday season. It is so full of fun, sharing, giving and just good old happy times spent with friends and family.

I do dread that time in January when all my beautiful decorations become memories boxed in the attic for another year.

BB KING is awesome at any age

2006-11-05T16:21:00.000-05:00

We went to see a performance by BB KING, he has always been fantastic but at 81 years old he is now outstanding! He gave us a two hour show with only a short break, where he told some stories instead of playing Lucille, and drank some apple juice to keep his Diabetes at bay.

He did his performance seated in a chair, but that was the only indication that he was no longer a young man. He is still vibrant and full of musical energy. He really knows how to play to an audience. It was obvious to everyone how much he really loved performing. He was over joyed to share his love of music, as well as, some very colorful tales from his life.

Should we ever get a chance to attend another performance by BB King we would not hesitate to do so.

Now we have to return to the tasks of preparing for the upcoming winter. Raking leaves, cutting back the lilies, winterizing the pond, getting gas for the snowblower. Oh the joys of living in Michigan from October through May. Alas we all have some seasons that are more favorites than others.

At least Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming to ensure the many joys of having our family together for a little while.

Trying to Keep Up is not as easy as it use to be

2006-10-30T08:58:00.000-05:00

In honor of Halloween I think I will write in orange today. Imagine that ,I can write in any color I choose with the click of a button! My how things have changed, and not just in the world as a whole but in my very own little world.

I would have never imagined being able to use computers the way so many use them now. Not to mention how small and affordable they have become now.

Well I have made the leap to high speed internet and have finally arrived at the point where I can actually work about 10% of the features. These new steps in technology should come equiped with at 12 year old to help you work it.

I know my daughters will be happy on their next visit home, at least I shouldn't hear, "Your computer is so slow!" With a moan added for effect.

If I live long enough I figure I will indeed be able to master this new technology. My students laugh at me when I tell them to simplify any fancy stuff they are going to send me over the internet. Make sure that it is simple enough that even I can open it or print it. I also tell them if they do email a paper or an assignment to me that I will grade it and hand it back in class the next week. I have no knowledge of scanning or such things at this time.

This new adventure will be alright as long as I take it slow and find a really patient 12 year old to teach me.

The attack of the Blue Heron

2006-09-12T09:23:00.000-04:00

The sagga of the pond continues...... We have been visited by the Great Blue Heron on more than one occasion to the dismay of the fishes.
The first attack came without warning and we were unprepared, hence the loss of one life, our poor tri- colored long fin gold fish....A moment of silence.....
In chasing the large bird away I must admit to a small amount of awe creeping in. This bird stands 5 ft. tall and when taking off resembles a prehistoric giant with its 6 ft wing span. Still the reality remains.....THE WAR IS ON.
That very evening we bought and errected a netted cover, that is really made to keep out leaves, to see if the winged warrior was up to the challenge. He returned the next day and to our happy observations he looked at the pond, pecked a few times at the net and flew away.
We decided to leave the net up for fall and it's a good thing we did. A smaller, younger Heron arrived the next day but he also left with an empty stomach. The Turner pond buffet is now closed too all hungry Herons who may stop by in the future. The last one did leave a large white deposit, the size of a pancake on one of our big rocks. I guess we know what he thinks of our line of defense.

On Turner Pond

2006-08-29T14:07:00.000-04:00

We recently have had a mystery regarding our beautiful pond. The pond has an upper pond that runs down into a lower bigger pond via a small waterfall. Lately we have notice fish in the upper pond....IMPOSSIBLE. There is no way for these fish to get up there, yet we have rescued six fish to date from the upper pond. Now with the first two we just figured that fish eggs traveled through the filter system and were placed up there and hatched. Then when two more arrived we figured we just missed them the first time. We then drained the upper pond, caught those two and put them in the lower pond. At this point we were confident we had the problem fixed...WRONG....
We have once again discovered two more fish up there. It is impossible for these fish to swim up there, they are too big to fit through the filter and we are sure the fish fairy is not depositing orphaned fish in our upper pond. I suppose we will never figure this mystery out and that we just need to enjoy the pond and accept the magic fish that appear.
So each night ,as we use to sit and enjoy the wonders of the night sky and our happy fish swimming in the lower pond, we now sit and enjoy the wonders of the magical upper pond and look to the night sky in confusion.
There are mysteries that will never be solved and I fear this is one of them.

Scouting for Furniture

2006-08-21T12:11:00.000-04:00

The family room furniture has developed enough frays, small holes, and finally a completely broken reclining joint, to warrant new replacement pieces. The volume of choices out there is overwhelming. My better half will commit to only an hour of this torture, so it falls to me to narrow down the choices. That is no small task! Couches for example come in a multitude of shapes, styles, sizes, not to mention textures, heights, thicknesses, materials, colors, usage issues. Do you want a hide a bed, a recliner, three cushion, two cushion blah blah blah. It's a couch for goodness sakes. What happened to three choices and delivery tomorrow? Then there are matching chairs, or accent chairs, arms or no arms, wood or no wood, rocker, recliner, swivel or stationary. Blah Blah Blah

Needless to say I was overwhelmed and confused at times. Then I saw the light. I simply walked in the furniture store, told them what I wanted and asked them to show me three examples. Picked one...Went home, got my better half, took him in and had him sit on all three and picked one. Chose the colors right then....Out in 50 minutes with delivery on Thursday.
Mission accomplished and all is well. Our family room will soon be functional again! Hopefully this will event will not have to take place again for at least another 10 years.

Global Warming? What makes you think that!

2006-08-02T15:13:00.000-04:00

I wouldn't want anyone to take the idea of global warming seriously. Just ignore the fact that we are so hot nationally that you can't tell what state you are in when you step outside your door. Florida, Arizona, Maryland, Michigan,Alabama, they are all the same give maybe one or two degrees and possibly a few percentages of humidity! Give me a break! We must get rid of our demands for fossil fuels and start looking at a cleaner, environmentally safer form of energy! We need to heal our environment and we can start that by burning up "The Shrub"! I don't see his air conditioning going out or his car, plane, or helicopter running out of fuel. He isn't worried about the rate that energy is costing us more and more, and by costing I don't mean only in money. When will Americans start thinking again? I am tired of the stupidity and the waste. There I have said my piece, now I will turn off my TV, my computer and throw away my newspaper so that I can pretend that stupidity isn't really running America and we are doing something to make things better. Please don't burst my bubble and let me sit in my fantasty world for at least an hour or two.

The War Continues....

2006-07-19T08:28:00.000-04:00

Am I determined? YES Will I succeed? Probably Not! Yet the battle still wages with me against them. Them being, Japenese Beetles, Rabbits, Apples, Weeds and the piece de resistance......A Wood Chuck. I really don't ask for much , a chance to enjoy my beautiful flowers, my newly landscaped back yard and my pond. But no......it's become a constant battle with the bad side of nature. I guess I will have to find the bad side of me to fight back , if I ever have any hopes of winning this battle. It's not even the point that I expect to win, just making any progress at all would bring some satisfaction that all my work is doing something no matter how small. So it's back to nature again today. Will I have made any progress? Probably not. Will I ever get to a point where I say, "They're finally gone!"? I would wager a guess...yup THIS WINTER! Who said Gardening was relaxing? I have a few words for them.

If it's not one thing it's another!

2006-07-10T13:45:00.000-04:00

We bought a new mailbox and had services for old faithful only to discover lousey Japanese Beetles have moved into our yard and are eating everything in sight. There was no mourning period for the loss of old faithful, we are at WAR. I have placed 4 bag a bug traps around the yard and they are doing well. I am changing the bags everyother day because they are full of these plentiful bugs. Now I find out that the season for these distructive little *#@!!! bugs lasts through August and it's only the beginning of July! I will need more bags or bigger bags that's for sure. Maybe next year we will have fewer flowers that are on the menu for the next generation of Japanese Beetles. It's worth a shot.

2006-07-06T08:07:00.000-04:00

Kaboom! That's what happened last night and it's not even the fourth of July any more. Last night around 1:00 A M some very intelligent person/persons blew up my poor mailbox. It didn't do anything to anyone. It just sat there everyday, day after day accepting mail, keeping it dry in the rain, proudly holding the mail until the mail carrier picked up and delivered. It's parts were left scattered where they landed. We will of course have to replace the loyal mailbox with a newer one, but we will always wonder who would do such a stupid thing as to blow up a mailbox on July 6th. Clearly someone who doesn't know the correct day for fireworks. A REAL SMART ONE THERE!