When Tom and I bought our house, the asphalt driveway was in rough shape.  Tom thought it should be sealed, so we called a couple of companies.  They took one look at it and refused to seal it, saying it needed to be replaced, not sealed.  Last summer we were gone for three months and …

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Two weeks ago today, on August 10, my parents celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.  Anniversaries are generally private in our family, with couples doing something by themselves.  When Mom and Dad had their 50th wedding anniversary, the entire extended family spent a long weekend at Lakeside, Ohio to celebrate.  Mom and Dad aren’t up to …

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Tom and I spent the last week dogsitting at John and Jackie’s house.  One of the fun things about having a leisurely summer has been getting to say yes to things that we normally can’t do.  When we are volunteering in the National Parks, we are gone so much.  Being around more means more time …

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Last week Tom and I spent the day at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus.  Both of us have attended the Ohio State Fair off and on during our whole lives.  Tom went every year when he was a kid living in Columbus.  I went when I was in grade school because I was in …

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One of the reasons Tom and I took the summer off was so we would have time for fixing and improving the house.  If we volunteer in the winter and the summer, we are gone for eight months.  I told Tom to think of our house as a mission project this year.  We would spend …

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Tom and I have been very mindful of wellness in retirement.  We have to be.  Our health insurance requires it.  We have to be whether we want to or not. East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church has health insurance administered by Wespath, which is administered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois.  …

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Last Saturday the family got together for a day at the Cleveland Guardians.  Although we are lifetime Cleveland baseball fans, this was our first Guardians game.  I am trying to get used to the new name.  After a lot of practice, I get the name right about 90% of the time.  Spelling it, however, is …

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I like to eat cereal for breakfast.  It is easy, quick, and gets my engine started for the day.  Unfortunately, I have lately had a hard time finding a cereal that matches my dietary needs. I started with Weight Watchers over 20 years ago.  Weight Watchers helped me lose 40 pounds with a low-fat diet.  …

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Tom thinks the best thing about our quick trip to Indiana and Chicago was our stop at the RV Hall of Fame and Museum in Elkhart, Indiana.  Elkhart, Indiana is known as the “RV Capital of the World.”  Three RV manufacturers started their businesses in Elkhart in the 1930’s, and today there are more than …

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Despite my best efforts to avoid poison ivy, I suffered through another round of it at the beginning of June.  I think I touched some poison ivy when we were spreading mulch at John and Jackie’s.  I noticed the rash starting on my arms a couple of days later.  As soon as the blisters started, …

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