Musings on Monday

I don't have too many thoughts going through my mind today. But something nifty happened earlier today ---

Jim called me while he was out and about on some service calls (or so I thought) this morning. He wondered if I could round up some cash and told me that he'd pick me up in a couple of minutes. I obeyed like an obedient wife (just kidding, just kidding!). I thought that he must have found something that he thought one of the kids needed for their house.

But nope, it was for me.

A little background story --
Jim has a slight addiction to bins. There's a factory a couple of miles from our place that puts out for sale pallets of bins all bundled up. Jim has nabbed some up on three other occasions. He's been on an organizing kick lately. The bins will be great for storing all of the many fittings and other littles that he has to keep organized in his shop. Last Friday, he noticed that they had another pallet of bins out. He was on his way to drill and couldn't stop so he called and asked me to go buy them and he would pick them up later. I wasn't feeling well so never made it over there. I felt bad that he would miss out. The bins seem to thrill him.

Two of his pallets of bins. You'll notice in the background that there's another pallet.
Apparently, he's already put one bundle of them to use. A winter project for sure - the organizing.

So this morning he was driving by the factory again and they had bins out by the road again so he stopped to buy them. That's when he noticed it and looked at it and decided to call me so that I could go look at it. He wasn't sure if I would like it, especially considering it's color.

Are you kidding? I loved it. Especially the color. The price was great and it became mine ... an early birthday present.

Isn't it beautiful? A baby blue Kalamazoo Cook Stove from 1935.
We never buy anything without knowing where it will go.
Till now.
We have no idea where we'll put it, but we will find a place!

That man ... he knows me.

Love,

My Monday Musings

Remember when Jim and I took a trip to Nashville to see the taping of Pa's Fiddle, a tribute to Charles (Pa) Ingalls and the music of the Little House books? I wrote about it over at Beyond Little House.

I wanted to make sure that I would be watching it on my PBS station so I contacted them. I was told (in an email) that I would be contacted when they found out when it was scheduled. I guess I was told a little white lie. It wasn't scheduled and I didn't find out until the June schedule was coming out. I couldn't find Pa's Fiddle listed anywhere. I don't think they ever did plan to schedule it. I was sure that a PBS station based out of a big city like Detroit, which covered such a large viewing area, would surely be airing this wonderful special.

And I let them know how disappointed I was. I told them that it wasn't just about the Little House, it was about music and history and America. I may have emailed a couple of times (and made a phone call too). When I got over the initial heartbreak over not being able to see it on my PBS station, I urged them to consider airing it at a later pledge drive. I don't think it will happen.

At some point in this process I received an email from another person at the PBS station. He wanted to assure me that they do appreciate my support and offered (as a way of making it up to me) the Pa's Fiddle dvd and cd. I was impressed by this offer and thought that they were indeed trying to make amends. I heartily thanked him via email. And waited.

In the mean time, I had already pledged to another PBS station that was airing the Pa's Fiddle special so that I could show my support to them and receive the complete Pa's Fiddle package that was offered (I had been saving my pennies!). A woman from this station called to thank me and ask what my favorite programming was. I explained that I'm not even able to watch their station (it's three hours across the state) and she was intrigued by my story. When I received the thank you package I was pretty thrilled to finally watch what Jim and I had been able to be involved in that night in January in Nashville. It was also shown at LauraPalooza this past summer. And by the time we left LauraPalooza, Jamie told me that she wanted my Pa's Fiddle dvd and cd when it came ... since I already had mine and she was, you know, catching the Laura-bug. :)

And I half expected the promised dvd and cd to be waiting for me when we came home from our trip this summer. It hadn't. I started to think that my PBS station had once again led me on (probably to get me off their back) and that I wouldn't ever see it. It wasn't a huge deal. I mean, they had told me that they would send it as a courtesy. I hadn't made a pledge after all. But then a little part of me kept thinking that they had made the offer and then just forgot about it. A little disappointing. But still, maybe it would be coming.

As the summer drew to a close, I knew that it would never show up in my mailbox and I was annoyed. And I decided to shoot a quick email off just letting this fella who made the promise that - "Hey, I don't want to sound selfish, but if you weren't going to send it then why make the offer?" I received a response within a couple of hours promising to check into it. The very next day I got an email from someone else who told me that the package had been mailed out in June and that they would reorder. I was pleased with the response, but still felt a little strange complaining about it in the first place.

A couple of days ago when I went to get the mail, I found a package from PBS. And when I opened it, I was floored to find this:

It's the whole Pa's Fiddle package. The same one I paid top dollar for through the other PBS station.
Wow!

I'm not sure what prompted them to send the top package, but I will be making my pledge to my own PBS station now! Even though I'm still disappointed that they never aired Pa's Fiddle and probably never will...

Just another Monday...

My Monday Musings

Monday already?

~We got an early start to our day yesterday when our phone rang at 4am. Our daughter had been having chest pains all night and they weren't getting any better. Jim and I threw some clothes on, picked her up, and took her to the ER. After more than 3 hours and several tests to rule out heart or lung problems, they decided it was something she ate. What a relief! But since being diagnosed with multiple food allergies earlier this year and having surgery for the hiatal hernia, she has to be ever cautious about what she eats. Not an easy task...

 ~It's annoying when you unload your groceries only to find out the mascara you bought is missing. Self checkout. My own fault.

~The weather has been lovely in my neck of the woods. We are enjoying and taking advantage because we know that this will not last!

This is at Bronner's. Just thought I'd share. :)

~I have a whole list of things to do this winter and want to get started. When Jamie moved out, she left some things that she wouldn't be needing. It was fine with me, but then I decided that I want to put things in order in my little house so I packed up what was left. I think it was more than what we thought and we haven't had time to haul it all to Jamie's house. We've decided to store it in the garage for now. First on my to-do list - having our furniture and carpets professionally cleaned. I have my own carpet cleaner, but like to have it done professionally every couple of years. What better time than after we've downgraded from three animals to one and want to make the now spare bedroom into a guest room?

~I've been in a funk lately. Maybe it's the changes lately, but I just feel as if I haven't accomplished enough in my simple little life. I spent my 20s, 30s, and a good deal of my 40s raising my kids and that was an accomplishment in itself. I wouldn't change what I did, but I pretty much gave up my hobbies and it's been so hard to try to pick them back up. I just need a good kick in the pants, I guess.

~And then there are some days that I get so much done and days like today that I just can't get started. Monday. Enjoy what's left of it.

My Monday Musings

I haven't had musings in a while. ☺

We don't have cable. Air conditioning either. The other night I even said to Jim that it seems silly to run the dishwasher with just the two of us. This almost makes us sound backward.
I don't care. I'm a simple gal.

Jim getting things ready to take down the old antenna and put up the new.
Wouldn't you be nervous if you were me??
I can't climb that tower, but I stayed outside every time he did.

 Speaking of no cable. Our antenna tv coverage has been horrible this summer. To the point where we watch the local morning news and, even though I sometimes leave the tv on during the day for noise (although silence is real nice sometimes!), most of the stations putter out in the afternoon and evening. We just weren't watching much tv in the evening. Mostly Netflix, if at all. No tv is not a bad thing, but there are some things we like to watch (I love PBS!). So, we bought a new antenna and cable, a booster and rotater. The works. Hey, we don't spend money on cable so figured we'd flip for the new stuff. Our antenna is mounted on top of a windmill tower (that's where it was when we bought the place) and that seemed a good place for it to stay put. Jim had a lot of prep work to do and YIKES that was stressful. For me! The worst was when he was finally ready to take the antenna up. He climbed 35 feet with the antenna (about 10 feet by 4 feet) on a 3 foot pole. Talk about panic (ME). I was so relieved when he got it up there and mounted. I kept saying, "Please let's call Jon (our son) and have him come help!" Jim would reply, "He can't really help me carry it up." He was right, but it was definitely not a one-man-climb-a-tower-toting-antenna kind of job. And it will not happen again! He even admitted that when he was done. But all's well that ends well. Our stations all come in (plus a couple extra) and so crisp and clear. I WAS ABLE TO WATCH PBS LAST NIGHT!

Our new antenna.
Jim toted that thing all the way up there and installed it BY HIMSELF!
I took no pictures of him doing the actual carrying up and installing because I was too busy having a panic attack.

I've started letting our chickens free range. Not every day and not when Sosha is coming (I think the two dogs together might not be good for the chickens). They love it. They wander all over the place. They're not very smart though. Sometimes they get on the other side of a fence and can't figure out how to get back. I usually know where to look for them if I haven't seen them in a while. When they see me, they run to greet me (I'd be more flattered, but I know they're looking for food) and sometimes they follow me around. I feel like such a mother hen! And they head back at bedtime to their cozy little henhouse.

The girls enjoying the freedom of the yard.

Jim and I have been over two weeks on our own and have survived it so far. House seems quieter, neater, emptier. Not so much from Jamie moving, as from Sosha and Ricky. Going from two dogs and a cat down to one dog makes a huge difference in the fur factor. And my allergies. Sosha had a little trouble at first, but seems to do okay when her mom's at work as long as she can't get upstairs to the bedrooms. We kinda miss them, but it's okay. Everyone is close by. On to a whole new chapter!

And we had a little scare with Duke. It all turned out okay, but I'll let him talk about it on Duker-day.

Monday Musings

It's a rainy chilly Monday morning here in our little corner of the world. A sharp contrast to the beautiful day that was yesterday. You have to take the bad days to better appreciate the good ones.

The view from my office window

I am truly blessed...

Monday Musings...Eggs

I still have my five chickens. And they're laying four or five eggs a day. They're great girls...most of the time.

That's a dandy egg, isn't it?
Wait! What the heck?!

I have a slacker out there! Someone laid a miniature egg yesterday!
Do you think there's a miniature yolk if we crack it open?

Have a marvelous week!

Monday Musings

Here's what's going on in my neck of the woods...

We were at our convention last week (Michigan Ground Water Association). A very busy time, but a good kind of busy, ya know? And I always love getting together with friends that I only get to see a few times a year. We've discovered that it's easier to stay an extra night (when we can afford to) because it's a busy couple of days and we're just plain tired! So, we headed home Wednesday and made a couple of stops. One was business related and the other was to an area that had several antique shops. We didn't buy much, did more browsing.

Jim's portion of the living room re-model is done. My portion (choosing what goes back in the living room) is not. It is a goal for this week.

The weather here has been just beautiful. It's still March though and anything can happen. I'm not putting away all of our winter gear quite yet!

It seems we go to more funerals lately. Today's was one of Jim's aunts. She was the last living sibling of his dad's. She was a quiet, gentle woman and lived a good full life.

I have to apologize if I haven't left a comment on your blog lately. It's been hectic. Sometimes I'm only able to do a quick read-through with no time to leave a thought. Hopefully, I'll have a bit more time now.

I'm working on updating my blog. Please excuse any glitches for the next couple of days.

Guess what! I've decided to do the April A to Z Challenge. I have a theme in mind and I need to get working on it. You'll see the button go up in my sidebar real soon.

My son and his girlfriend went on vacation last week. Doesn't matter how old your kids get to be, you still worry. I didn't want to tell him to check in with me (via texting) every so often, but I was hoping he would. I was happy to get the following picture with a short message telling me they'd just gotten to Santa Monica (at which point I said a prayer of thanksgiving) -

It sounds like they had a wonderful time.
No matter the fact that I will worry (that's a given),
I'm really happy when they have an opportunity and the
means to be able to do such things!

Monday Musings...And The Living Room

We're in the home stretch. I think. I'll share more pictures when it's all done. Right at this minute, we're waiting for the floor man to come.

Our living room floor really isn't in terrible shape, but we had to empty it to do all of the other work.

So, we figured now was a good time to have it done.
It was last re-finished almost 30 years ago, so it's worn well.

The only real visible signs of wear are in the hallway coming out of what used to be the kids' bedrooms (and one is now my office). When we first moved here, my mother-in-law had rugs in the hallway. They were always crooked and I hated covering up the beautiful floor so I removed them. We've decided to put two runners in the hall because we want it to last till we kick off or move out.

The front hallway and front door are rarely used.
We are totally cut off from our bedrooms and the main bathroom until the job is done.
Jamie has moved to her brother's house for a few days and Jim and I are camping out in the basement.

At least we have access to the kitchen.
Yep, that a fireplace mantle in our kitchen/dining room.
Jim made it removable in case, in years to come, someone decides to remodel and that old brick mantle is back in style.
I am pretty excited about this. The mantle is beautiful and Jim made it so that some of the brick shows just because we're a little sentimental about it.

Have I mentioned that Jim made: the paneling, trim, and mantle? He really is talented. I must showcase his other work once our house is put back together!

Monday Musings...And The Short Rant

As is often my way, I have written a long rant and have decided not to post it.

Why?

I just can't say what I want to say in the way that I want to say it. So I'll just say it in a simple way.

I have read here and there, but mostly on facebook, how Whitney Houston deserved to die because she was an addict. I find this disturbing on so many levels. I ask: Who (in their right mind) would, by choice,  become addicted to...anything? Look in my parentheses. In their right mind. Exactly. People who have addictions are not in their right mind. Something isn't connecting the way it should. There are those who face a lifelong battle with addiction. For some it's a losing battle. And that's so sad. Heartbreaking.

Compassion. It's a wonderful trait that many (including me) have a hard time practicing.

Monday's Musings...And The Story of Ginger

My son bought me this wreath for Christmas a couple of years ago...

There was a reason. Well, besides the fact that I do have a small collection of gingerbread people in my kitchen, it was that this familiar gingerbread boy and girl adorned this particular wreath that prompted Jon to buy it for me when he spotted it at our local mall. He was reminded of a very similar, but slightly more worn out, gingerbread friend from his childhood.

You see Ginger and Spice (the gingerbread boy and girl dolls on the wreath) were sold at Christmas time around about 1991 at Target. I thought they were so cute and bought them both to display at Christmastime. After Christmas that year, they were safely packed away with the other decorations. When I started decorating for the Christmas season in 1992, Jon was helping me (as only a three year old boy can) and spotted Ginger and Spice. He took Ginger who immediately became his best friend. It was funny to me because Jon just never became attached to any stuffed animal or toy in all of his 3 1/2 years. Why now? Maybe it would have only lasted for the holiday season had it been any other Christmas. It was not any other Christmas though.

Jon and Ginger getting geared up for some pressing work that needed doing.

A week before Christmas, my dad suffered a stroke. My parents were living in Florida and had actually been preparing to leave to come and spend the holidays with us in Michigan when it happened. My sister and I took the soonest flight we could get out on and flew down to be with him. We were hoping for...well what we were hoping for just wasn't to be.

I did know one thing within a very few days. We would not be home for Christmas and, added to everything that was happening, I just couln't bear the thought of being away from Jim, Jamie and Jon on Christmas day. I begged, cried and pleaded until Jim agreed to drive to Florida with the kids. He's a saint, really.

And my dad passed away the morning after they arrived, the 23rd of December 1992. And Christmas would never be the same for our family. We did have a very sad, but necessary Christmas that year. Our dad would not want us not to have Christmas, that I know for sure.

I think that is the main reason that Jon became more attached to Ginger. It was a lot for a little boy to handle at that time and maybe Ginger was his shoulder to cry on. I don't know. I only know that he and Ginger were pretty close friends until Jon started preschool. Even then, Ginger would wait patiently for Jon. He still does. I secretly packed Ginger in with Jon's things when he moved to California and again when he bought his own house. Ginger's still there. A little worse for wear, but still there.

Jon and Ginger played hard and sometimes just couldn't
quite make it into bed before they both fell asleep.

Monday's Musings...

...on Tuesday. Just because I didn't get around to it yesterday.

I posted this on facebook this morning:

Question: This is a very catchy upbeat sounding song...until you listen to the lyrics. Is there something I'm missing here? Is there a meaning to the lyrics that isn't as dark sounding as I take them to be? If you have young-ish kids, would you want them listening to this?
As a side note, these lyrics were pointed out to me by my daughter - the same one I used to argue with over the lyrics in the rap songs that she listened to as a teen (which I always thought were very degrading to women).
Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox and getting back to work.

 And what am I talking about? This song:

I got the following comment to this post from my nephew's girlfriend, Melissa, who apparently did a little digging:

one of the band members described this song in a magazine article "Pumped Up Kicks' is about a kid that basically is losing his mind and is plotting revenge. He's an outcast. I feel like the youth in our culture are becoming more and more isolated. It's kind of an epidemic. Instead of writing about victims and some tragedy, I wanted to get into the killer's mind, like Truman Capote did in In Cold Blood. I love to write about characters. That's my style. I really like to get inside the heads of other people and try to walk in their shoes."

Foster says he considered writing the song from the perspective of the victim, but felt that would be a cop out. He also points out that there is no actual violence in the song, as the threats are all the kid's internal monologue.

My response:

Thanks, Melissa, that's interesting. One of the things that is bothersome to me is that the song has real catchy upbeat music so that draws you in before you listen to the lyrics. We noticed that on some stations they are blanking out the words "bullets" and "gun". I guess what disturbs me the most is that there are kids who listen to these songs that are on the edge. Sometimes it doesn't take much to send that over that edge...and they're singing about that very kid. My opinion anyhow.

I've always been disturbed by certain lyrics in songs that are aimed at young people. Kids don't always have the ability to separate the entertainment factor from real life. I could go on and on and I know that there are many who don't agree and I realize that I may sound like a stick in the mud.

I would really love to hear what you all think...

Feeling protective today,

Monday's Musings

How are you all on this fine Monday? I'm really dragging today. It must be because I'm another year older.

Yep, I turned 51 on Friday. I enjoyed a wonderful dinner out with my family. What can be better than that?

That's also why I started my giveaway on that day! What better day to give away some of my favorite things?! I will have the picture on there by the time you read this so check it out! I will draw the winner this Friday, the 11th.

Monday Musings

So what has the past week brought us? For me...a quick trip to Traverse City this past weekend. Jim and I had a meeting up to the north (in the pinkie finger area - we live in the mitten, ya know!) We had decided to stay at the cabin since it was free, but as it is two hours from Traverse City and we would have to get up, get ready, and winterize the place (for only one night's stay) and get to Traverse City at 8:30am, I had second thoughts by the end of the week. It's the off-season and the area we were headed is a tourist area and boasts many (many) hotels. We decided to just head up, knowing we would be able to find a place. And we did. Meeting Saturday, lunch with friends, and a stop at one and only one antique store and we started the nearly five hour drive home.

I apologize to any of my facebook friends for excess facebook status updates Saturday evening. Jim did all the driving and I was stir crazy! ;-)

I did get a few things at the antique store, mostly photos which I will share in future Simple Sundays. :-)

Saturday night, on our way home, we really didn't need to stop and have dinner because we'd had lunch with some friends before we left to come home. Jim just couldn't seem to pass Tony's without stopping. I don't have a problem passing on by. The novelty of the huge portions is fun, but what a waste. I got pancakes, couldn't finish a third of them, took them home and gave them to the dogs. I think it'd be fun to go for a banana split...with a group of people. Check the link above to see what I mean.

These are not regular plates, but are large platters. Jim says the portion sizes have gotten smaller. He used to get six sausage patties with his breakfast. Mine is the pancakes. I hardly made a dent. I think the box I brought them home in weighed five pounds!

Not a lot going on otherwise. I have a free dinner coupon at Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn that has to be used in November. Staying over night is probably not an option, but I'm hoping Jamie and I can make a day trip up there and maybe do a little Christmas shopping.

On Friday, I will start my 100 follower celebration giveaway. I promise. I've got an idea of what I want to give away and Friday seems a good day to start. :-)

Happy Halloween! We used to get around 30 trick or treaters here when we first moved in about 20 years ago. Now? For the past couple of years we've gotten one. Yep. One. And he's my nephew's little guy. I think they keep coming because they feel sorry for us. There's a little hope for this year though. Our neighbors' daughter moved in with her two kids so maybe, just maybe, they'll stop by too. We have plenty of candy. Just in case.

Hope everyone has a spooktacular night!

Monday Musings

Here we go again, moving from the old week into the new. We've had some busy weeks here lately. Mind you, I know that there are many of you that experience much busier weeks. I was one of you when my kids were younger and still in school and, of course, in the years when I was helping my mom. Since then life has settled into a comfortable routine (or the attempt at a routine) of working, housework, reading, writing and trying to do some needlework. Gone are the days of being parent workroom volunteer, band booster, scout leader, football/track spectator. In my past are the rainy nights spent cheering the football team on and watching for my son to take the field and then cringing and praying that the inevitable injury wouldn't happen, the cold Saturday afternoons watching marching band after marching band take the field and then picking my daughter out of the line. Tucked away are proud memories as I followed my children as each of them followed their scouting trail. Yes, life isn't as hectic as it once was and I often feel empty needing to be doing something more. Something more meaningful and helpful to others. At this time, though, I've decided that I need to give more time to our business and to be available to Jim when he needs an extra hand. He works by himself and it amazes me what he accomplishes on his own, but he knows I'm there when he needs me. And then there's my Laura Ingalls Wilder work. I will always continue that in one form or another. I also have other projects in the works for my down time.

For now though, life treks on. And here's are my thoughts on this week now in my past...

I had an eye doctor appointment and my eyes have gotten worse. Big surprise. Not. He also sees the future possibility of: cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. All good news, huh? Of course, everyone who reaches old age can have these problems and he's not implying that these are things that I need to worry about now, just to be aware of them. He does want to keep track of the progression of possible glaucoma. I have to go back in for further testing for that, as I had to do the last time I was there. He stresses that I need to wear sunglasses whenever I'm outside. I often forget (or am I just too lazy?) something as simple as popping the magnetic sunglass lenses onto the front of my regular glasses. I decided to get transition lenses on my new glasses which will take care of the "need to wear sunglasses whenever I'm outside" dilemma, except that they don't really get dark enough for driving. For that, I am keeping my old glasses with the sunglass lenses in my car.
I was determined to get completely different frames this time instead of the wire, half-frames that I've gotten the last two times. I've seen such cute frames on other people. I spent forever looking at frames, pulling off my glasses and trying on each frame that I thought might work for me. After what seemed like forever, I narrowed it down to two of my favorites and sought out another opinion. I wear bifocals and not all frames will work for those so we tracked down the father eye doctor (it's now a father/son office) for his opinion. And he is good at what he does. If he likes a certain style of frame then I know that's the frame for me.
Guess what I got (apparently I don't do well with change). At least they're a different shape even if they're a similar style. Still, I like them and can't wait till they're ready.
What I've really noticed is that I've had more and more trouble reading and I hope the new glasses solve that problem. Those words just seem to get smaller and smaller over time. ;-)

After the loss of one of the chickens on Friday, we extended the fencing up to about 8 feet tall with netting. It was getting dark when we were working on it so Jim left the gate area for the next day because he needed more light to finish it up. I said, "It'll be okay. The chickens will only fly over the gate if I lock them out of their house when I'm cleaning it." They only hang around the gate when someone is out there by them.
I was wrong. But luckily (since I check on them a million times during the day) we saw the wayward chicken before "anyone" else did. Jim finished the gate. I can't imagine that a fat chicken can fly over an 8 foot fence. We can't put netting over the top as there's a tree growing in the middle of their yard. They like the tree so we want to leave it there. Hopefully there will be no more loss of chicken. I'm kind of attached to them!

Jim and I spent a delightful anniversary day together. It was pouring down rain most of the day so Jim took the afternoon off. And we were on a mission. We don't buy each other gifts anymore for our anniversary, but decide on something that we want or that the house could use and that is what we get as our anniversary gift. Does that sound boring or not very romantic? Well, it works for us. We still buy each other gifts for birthdays and Christmas (and sometimes for no reason at all) and, to be honest, we found that we were just be buying "things" for each other. We like the idea of deciding together whether we need maybe a new camera or a new appliance. We had decided to replace our coffee maker this year. Ours bit the dust and we've been using one that Jamie had on hand for us when we visited her in Georgia. However, we're used to one with an automatic shut-off with a carafe that does not spill every time you pour a cup of coffee.
But...our vacuum has been pooping for the last several months and I was holding out to get that for my birthday.
Yes, we do lead an exciting life here. And why is that?
Because the vacuum cleaner wasn't going to last till my birthday for replacement and I told Jim that we should probably nix the new coffee maker and get a new vacuum...but guess what!
We got both! Yep. We went out for our anniversary and came home with a new vacuum cleaner AND a new coffee maker. Plus. Plus! We also got chicken feed and dog food. And then we bought the netting for the chicken yard. And get this...we bought a loaf of bread too!
Anyhow, it may not sound exciting to some of you, but we did get to spend the day together and we did have a wonderful day. We ended the day with dinner at Texas Roadhouse and Jim really (really) enjoys the rolls there. He had six. Before dinner. I love that man! :-)

Jamie and I went to a Laura Ingalls Wilder musical on Saturday. I always keep a look out for anything having to do with her that is happening local. It doesn't happen often enough. We did enjoy it, but I'll write more about it another time.
Afterwards we met Jon (on his way home from work) for lunch at a good little Mexican restaurant. Lunch with my kids. Love it. :-) Jamie and I then headed to a teacher store while we were in the area and she bought some things that she needed for her classroom. Lots of things. Lots and lots of things. That's why the girl has no money. She spends it all on her classroom. I hope those parents realize how much she loves their kids...

Giveaway - I haven't forgotten. It'll happen. I promise. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing that.

Happy Monday to you all!

Monday Musings

Monday is easier to face when you've experienced such a great weekend, as I did!

Let's see what's been going on?
First of all, I've gotten a few compliments on my header picture of the mums and I must give photo credit to my daughter, Jamie. Technically it is my picture as she took it with my camera ☺, but she did take the picture...last fall actually. I love it.

The past week didn't end up going well for our Detroit Tigers, but they had a great season and there's always next year. Plus, yesterday was the first loss of the season for our Detroit Lions, but still they are doing so well. I understand the Red Wings are undefeated so far - correct me if I'm wrong. It's been good to be a Detroit sports fan. I'm actually not a huge sports fan, but I do follow what's going on and support our teams through good seasons and not-so-good seasons.

Let's see...what else has gone on in the last week? Oh, Jamie and I went to see the local production of "To Kill A Mockingbird" (her favorite book). She treated me to dinner and the theater. A lovely evening. On Saturday, she's going to enjoy going to a Laura Ingalls Wilder musical with me. And I'm buying lunch afterwards!

My chickens are averaging four eggs a day. That means we have two slackers. Just kidding. I love my chickens. We are going to have to net the top of their yard as we have had an occasional flyer. Last week, Jim was working just outside his shop when he saw Duke trying to pick up a chicken who had flown the coop. He ran over yelling for Duke to drop her and, when he did, the chicken ran right over to Jim! I'm convinced that Duke was just going to bring her up to the house to show me she had escaped! But I am taking it seriously. I don't even want to think of what could have happened. Duke is a dog, after all, and that's what dogs do...

Yesterday, my nephew received the rank of Eagle. If you're wondering...that's just the highest rank that a Boy Scout can earn! I know that Duke touched on this event Saturday. The weather was beautiful (although we were all worried there for a few days), the ceremony was perfect, and we are all so very proud of Caleb. He is a really great kid!

Here's our newest Eagle Scout and his very proud grandmother.

I'll share more pictures soon.

And one more thing...have you been waiting for me to post about my giveaway? My apologies. Busy time right now. I promise that it will happen!

Monday's Musings #5

Monday...Monday...

I had a lot on my mind when Jim and I left to go north a week ago Friday. There were some decisions that I felt that I needed to make about things that I am doing and what better time to do the thinking than when your mind can be empty of  "work stuff"?

Beautiful morning visitors on the lake.

At the cabin, there is no computer access and I have an old-fashioned cell phone. So, I went old school and wrote. Yep, I had a notebook and a pen and I wrote. What did I write? Well, I wrote about the cabin, of course! I loved the writing part of it! All these years it's what I always wanted to be doing, but was always thinking I wasn't good enough or I was waiting for the right time. I want to keep up the notebook and pen writing.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.  ~E.B. White

I love to write! It doesn't matter if I'm no good. It matters that I enjoy it.

The decisions that I wanted to make had to do with some things in my life that I thought I should cut back on or give up entirely.
I cannot give them up.
They are things that I love too much to see leaving my life forever. What I need to do is set my priorities straight. That, my dear friends, is my next goal! :-) I will always be a work in progress.

The chickens' first gift to me!

Guess what! My chickens started laying eggs!!! I have collected five beautiful, lovely brown eggs since Sunday! Jim set up a chicken cam too! Isn't that the greatest? I can turn on tv and watch my chickens in their little house while they're settling down for the night. I haven't been watching much tv lately, but this is definitely must see tv! :-) I would share it with you all...if only I knew how. :-(
Oh, and I have to tell the story of how I discovered the eggs:
Jim and Jamie had been doing a fine job of taking care of the girls for me while I was not feeling well. For some reason, on Sunday, Jim was rather insistent that it was time for me to go take care of my chickens. He was really bugging me about it. So out I went, telling Jim that I was still sporting a fever of almost 101 on the way. I talked to the girls who came to see if I had any good treats with me greet me and opened the door to the coop to start cleaning it.
And I discovered two eggs. Jim knew they were there and wanted me to be the one to find them (and he didn't expect me to clean the coop). What a guy. This beats a dozen roses anytime!

Okay, so I've not been feeling well and every time I'm not feeling well I have very strange dreams. I've not been sleeping well either for over a week. Except for Saturday, I've just slept in bits and pieces, but apparently sometimes long enough to dream -
I've never been on a cruise...till last night. I had a dream that I was on a cruise ship all alone. Well, not quite all alone. There were also three pirates and I had to fight them off. I did too. I found that I could render them helpless by a good blow to the shins with a large branch that I had found.
Where would one find a large branch on a cruise ship? Why was I alone? And what kind of pirate is rendered helpless by a blow to the shins?

This is a group picture of the girls from a couple of months ago. They were still just babes then.

I realize that I'm rambling. I guess I have to find a better way to go about writing about random things in my simple happy life...

I am truly blessed. Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening (whichever you are celebrating ☺)!