The Rogers News

Author: Chris

  • The DDD Day 1: Welcome to the Double Dogleg Daily

    Introduction

    Good Evening and welcome to the Double Dogleg Daily. Writing daily is a goal for 2012, and this daily email newsletter is one way to accomplish that. While the Daily may evolve between now and December 31st, I expect to include an interesting hyperlink and a look at the most recent 24-hour’s news from our hillside. Also, I promise to keep it short, but cannot promise that it will always (or ever) be pithy. I’m just not that interesting.

    The History of the Double Dogleg

    We have nicknamed our new house the “Double Dogleg.” If you are not an avid golfer, a double dogleg is golf hole that has two bends. For example, it would curve to the right from the teeing ground to the landing area and then curve to the left from there to the green. These are rare and can be challenging. Like a double dogleg golf hole, our driveway turns left and then right as you ascend to the house. We’ll see if the name sticks!

    Lately, I’ve wanted to erect a ranch sign over the driveway. However, it does not look like this is permissible per the Peninsula Township Zoning Ordinance. Instead, we can install what is termed a “name plate” sign. The maximum height is four feet and max square footage for the sign is three square feet. So, come summer, when you’re driving E Shore Rd, you can look for the “Double Dogleg” sign and both know it is us and know what it means.

    Happy New Year 2012!

  • Good Grief

    Our tree is similar to this, except much taller. I removed the sombrero that I had placed atop the tree and will soon put our sparkly gold star on. Merry Christmas!

  • Our Year in Cities 2011

    During 2011, Lindsey and I spent at least one night in each of the cities listed below. We hope to travel more in the future, but had the wedding and house purchase to contend with this year – worthwhile events for which to stay put, if you ask me. This was the most amazing year of my life, and will be tough to top going forward. Instead, my focus will be on loving every day I get to spend with Lindsey, enjoying time with both of our families (our united family), and anticipating the big events in others’ lives – marriages, babies, retirements, birthdays, etc. I am happy and can’t help but smile while I write this. I will speak for both of us when I wish everyone the Merriest of Christmases and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

    • Traverse City, MI – (Hometown)
    • Ishpeming, MI – (Grandma Rogers’)
    • Marbella, Spain – (Honeymoon – destination)
    • London, England – (Honeymoon – return trip*)
    • Chicago, IL – (NFDA Conference)
    • Troy, MI – (Christmas shopping and Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

    *The night in London was spent sleeping – or trying to sleep – in the baggage claim area of Heathrow Airport. Lindsey slept a little and I did not sleep at all. I paid for it.

  • New House: Day Six

    Since buying the house, I’ve started carrying around a black journal in which I semi-compulsively write all of the various chores, projects, purchases, etc. that need to be accomplished. “Stress Inducing Log of Expensive Projects” might be a better term for the journal. Regardless, I wrote the following passage in it this morning:

    I woke up early this morning to do some work before going to work. However, I’ve spent the first ten minutes of my extra hour looking for the coffee filters, which Lindsey had moved while unpacking the hundreds of kitchen things we (apparently) own. I spent another ten minutes waiting for my toast to toast in the toaster oven that had been shifted and, unbeknownst to me, unplugged. Now, I’m sitting in sweat pants and a hooded “Michigan” sweatshirt with hiking boots on as a precaution for having to chase after Yogi if he decides to bolt into the woods.

    I wrote the last sentence about hiking boots before I put them on, and just before Yogi actually did chase after a deer. So, instead of running after the dog in boots, I was in yellow Dutch-shoe slippers. I ran around our little house, through the pricker bush thatch, up the large hill, and down half of the other side of the large hill, all the while yelling, “Yogi! Yogi! Yogi!” It was dark, I was cold, my slippers were ruined and the moral of this story is that we need to fence the other half of the yard.

  • New House

    We bought a two-point-six acre wooded lot with a house and detached garage on it. It’s got everything we want – good school district, room to run, and shared waterfront. We are very thankful that this worked out, and will be working very hard to spruce up the new digs.

    Today, I spent six hours raking the lawn areas and removed some overgrown ivy-like plants from the front corner of the house. The grounds are already looking far better. Just in time for snowfall.

    I was less successful in selecting the correct garage door remote. I chose grey. Should have picked purple. No biggie.

    Yogi Bear the dog has no idea what is going on. He’s like a lawyer on vacation. He stays by my side and can’t seem to relax for fear of being left behind. Once he settles in, he should have a much improved life, as he’s not meant for a condo.

    Our stuff is still in boxes and spread all over, but the house – the feel of being home – is taking shape. It won’t be long and we’ll be in order and have a house warming party for ourselves.

  • We Bought A House!

    We bought a house today, and can now spend Thanksgiving break beginning to move in. I’m very excited to start this new adventure with Lindsey.

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  • Tips For Editing Anything

    From Clusterflock:

    Understand the history of the medium you are working in.

    Understand the best work that has been produced in that medium.

    Balance your work against that understanding.

    Balance your work against the best of your work.

    Continually revise that understanding.