Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Houseboat pictures

Lake Cumberland Kentucky, our weekend home. It was a beautiful weekend.  The skies were blue, the breeze refreshed our skin, the food filled our bellies, the games made us laugh.  It was a wonderful weekend.


 We are off and on the water very quickly now. We know how to unload our cars and get out on the water as quickly as possible because we know the fun is about to begin.  Everyone was excited.
 We decided to pick up Doug with Matt's canoe.  One of our toys for the weekend.
 More toys to blow up. 
 Playing is the water is one of the main activities. 
 Of course there is cooking too.
 Friday night we celebrated birthdays. 
 Brookelynn's birthday was just this past week but we saved some birthday gifts for Annika and Hailey so that we could celebrate them together.
 Leo and Jessica watch the birthday celebrations.
 Jessica made these T-shirts for the girls.  Isn't that amazing???
 Brookelynn received this great water gun.  It was used many times but here is 'Daddy' teaching her how to use it. 
 Gram is happy with all her grandchildren around. 
 Daddy is put in charge of the new 'baby doll' that I made for Brookelynn.  She was named Rosie even though I tried to get her named Star. 
 Gram and Hailey just chatting.
 Annika and Gram full of smiles.
 Annika, Jessica and Doug in their bright colors.
 We found this tube along the shore so the new challenge was to jump off the back and try to land in the tube without it tipping over.  Jessica managed to do it after a few tries.  Leo was a "pro" at landing in it and just couldn't seem to make it tip.  Doug had a hard time landing in the tube. 
 Then we graduated to trying to land in the tube when it was positioned below the twisty slide. 
 Someone to hold the tube in place.
 Again, Jessica was pretty good at making it into the tube and not tipping it over.
 Sorry, double shot. 
 Doug had a little more trouble but he didn't give up.
 He finally made it.
 Eva just liked to float around in the water.
 Brookelynn has come a long way since the first time she went on this trip.  The first year she didn't even want to get into the water.  Now she can't wait until we tie up and she gets to go in the water. 
 Jessica and Doug fixed a wonderful Indian meal.  I would tell you what they fixed but I can't remember the name OR how to spell it. I only remember it was terrific. 
 We played games. 
 We took family pictures.
 We played in the water.
 Brookelynn fixed hair. 
 Brookelynn is now so comfortable with the water that she took a kayak out by herself.  Daddy followed along behind. 
 Daddy also took a nap with the new 'swimming Abby' This is a new baby doll too since the discovered that Bertha was still at home and they were about an hour away from home.  Aunt Emily had to go over and get Bertha and take her to her house for the weekend.  Mommy and Daddy found Abby in the store and she loves to go in the water.
 We played Mexican Train in the evening.  It was a fun and lively game as game night always is. 
 The weekend seemed to go by quickly and we were back at the dock, unloading. 
 We did a little shopping at the store before heading out.
Our final stop was at our new favorite Mexican Restaurant in Glasgow, KY. 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  I always have difficulty picking out a few so you got a LOT of them.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Looking Pretty

Yes, I know that I am 60.  I blogged once before about how women of a certain age begin to be 'invisable'.  We no longer 'turn heads' when we walk into a room or bar.  However the topic that is on my mind lately is the concept of 'looking pretty'.  When do we stop feeling like we look pretty.  I am not talking about this in a narcissistic way because I was raised as a child that you shouldn't think about how 'pretty' you look.  However, we all really, down deep, like to think that we look good or we strive to look good.  I think that anyone that denies that isn't being true to themselves. People since the beginning of recorded time have written about beauty and what that means to individuals.  AND I am talking about outer beauty.  We all do many things every day to make ourselves presentable when we go out in public.  Let's face it, we like to look good.  I am not disputing that fact. 

When then do we start to feel like we really don't look that great or when do we start being so critical of ourselves.  If you watch young girls when they are trying on a new dress they often 'twirl' and show off.  At some time we stop doing that. 

Like I stated at the beginning, I know that I am 60 and my outer image isn't as great as it was when I was 25.  I'm not that fond of seeing myself naked and can't imagine anyone finding that look very attractive.  I have put on a few extra 'post-menapause' pounds that just don't want to come off without fasting for 2 months. I do try to look 'pretty' when I leave the house but sometimes that is a mental challenge for me. 

I hope you are feeling pretty today.  I hope you tell someone that they look pretty.  I hope that I learn how to judge my looks with 'dark glasses' on and maybe in the light of candlelight. 

Pretty deep today :):):)]

OH, by the way, I finally after a couple of years of blogging , have realized that it is difficult for people to put comments on my blog.  Eva told me a few weeks ago and I have the same problem with my friend Kathy's blog.  I went into the settings today and fooled around with the comments area and maybe you won't have to put in that silly little word anymore.  Let me know by email or on facebook if this works better.  I crave comments and WANT to make it easier I just don't know exactly how to do it correctly.  Operator error is a common problem in this world of technology being smarter than the operator.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Weekend activities

We had a weekend visitor.  Leo came up on Saturday and we immediately put him to work around the house.  Bud bought a new car top carrier for our upcoming houseboat trip.  The new Subaru doesn't hold as much as the old Cadillac did and we often fill up the car with stuff to take down.  Any excuse to buy a new toy.  He needed a  guy to help with this project and Leo was just the man to help. 

 They put it together first.  It is a nice carrier. 
 It looks great on the top of the car but the car doesn't fit in the garage with it on the top so they also cleared out the carport area so he could park in it until after the houseboat trip.  We had leftover wood stacked there and it was kind of messy so it looks better now.  I am trying to encourage him to use the leftover siding to make some kind of storage container to put in there along the wall.  I heard the guys talking about how it could be put on wheels so that we could move it out easily when we wanted to use it for a car.  It sounds like a plan. 
 Then I grabbed Leo and his truck to help me with my potting dilemma.  We went to Meijer and just 'jumped into' the garden area.  It is easier to make decisions when you have someone along to talk with.  It didn't take us too long to find enough pretty plants.  We came home and went right to work.  We planted the 3 pots out by the road.  They look pretty good but Leo reminded me that the next few days will be the test of our planting skills.  I bought Miracle Grow potting soil like Eva suggested so I am hoping that all the 'wresteling' we did with the plants will be offset by the wonderful fertilizer in the soil but only time will tell.  It looks good right now. 
I had this other pot too.  I think Eva and David gave it to us several years ago when they stayed here or maybe they just filled it for us one time.   Anyway, I decided it would look good between the garage doors.  The little pop of color is nice in that spot.  We now have a lot more sunlight in  that part of the yard so the flowers should grow there. 

Our reward for working was dinner and a movie.  We went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 3D.  It was fun and entertaining.  LOTS of fight scenes that were sometimes a little long but just a typical Pirates of the Caribbean movie. 

Leo stayed for a breakfast out on Sunday and then drove home to do some mowing at his place.  Bud did mowing here too so our lawn looks as good as it gets.  It was nice to have Leo visit and help with our chores.  He has this whole week off but the boat trip is at the end of the week.  He has been working a lot of hours and hasn't had a day off for a long time because he has been working 7 days a week. 

Not much else going on here.  I hope you had a great weekend, not filled with too many chores or maybe you had someone visit and help you too. 

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Planting flowers??What was I thinking

Sunday Bud and I went out and bought some large pots for the little area beside our driveway.  We took out some trees there this past fall and took out a LARGE oak tree so now we have sunlight for that area.  Before I really jump into gardening, I thought that some large, nice, and colorful pots would look good and we could move them in the fall.  I liked the colors of these pots.  Like I said, they are pretty big.  The biggest one is like 2 feet across and the smallest one is about a foot across.  I would like to fill them with plants. SO today I went to the plant store and left 'empty handed'.  I don't even know where to start.  Where is Eva when I need her.  She always has such beautiful potted plants on her deck.  It looks so easy when she does it.  I couldn't even pick out one plant.  How do I start???  Do I put something tall in the middle and if so, what???  I would like to have some things kind of drape over the sides but again, what???  I get afternoon sun so what can I use.  Then there is the problem that a lot of the flowers are kind of picked over.  This place didn't have a lot to choose from.  Maybe I should go back to Lowes because they seemed to have a lot of plants on Sunday.  I am looking for advice.  Please send me ideas,  HELP HELP HELP. 

Eva once told me that it is kind of hard to leave a comment on the blog so if that is stopping you from giving me good advice, please send me an email with LOTS of advice.  (Hint, hint, Eva, Jessica, Sara or Diana.  You are my only garden followers that I know by names. )

Monday, June 13, 2011

Newest quilt

This is my latest quilt project that I just finished today.  I picked it up from my quilter last week and did the binding over the weekend. 

 I have made this pattern before and do like the pattern a lot.  I am unsure that the fabric matches the pattern though.  The fabrics all go together 'side by side' but I'm not sure that they go together with this diagonal type pattern. 

I also have added some borders to this pattern to make it a little bigger. This might be where the next problem came in to play.  I was thinking of giving this to one of the retirees at school. She is the school social worker and she has always admired my quilts when I have taken them in to school.  She is a very nice lady but I wouldn't exactly call her a 'friend' in the close way.  I'm not sure that I will keep in touch with her after she leaves the school.  I was thinking of just making a little 'throw size' for her but as I continued working and adding the borders it became a bit bigger.  It is probably a large twin size or a small double bed size.  I have been collecting this fabric for a while and put this grouping together based on a couple of pieces I bought a few years ago.  Like I said I don't LOVE it but I put a lot of time into it and of course there is always the money part.  It is quite expensive to have it quilted, when I picked it up last week I was a little surprised and began to have more second thoughts about just giving it away.  What do you think????

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Post Paris blahs

I just haven't been able to get back into the swing of my life after my trip.  I talked to Jessica the other night and she said she is kind of experiencing the same.  NOW, it isn't like I am staying in the house with the blinds drawn and not doing anything.  I had a great lunch with Brittany this past week.  She left for Uganda yesterday to spend a month there with a medical team from U of M.  I wanted to have a little 'girl time' before she left.  I finished a couple of quilts and have made another little baby doll carrier gift, this time for Cora.  I went to school on Thursday to a  retirement lunch.  I have been reading a good book.  So I am keeping busy but only busy enough to say I am not too lazy. 

We had a brief summer experience the beginning of this past week with temps in the 90s.  It has quickly dropped to the usual cool June weather of N. Michigan though.  I turned the heat back on yesterday since it was too cold here in the house, that was after running the AC earlier in the week.  Such is June weather here. 

Bud has been busy as usual with work and Thursday night he took a ride with the local HOG group. (Harley Davidson riders)  They take a ride about once or twice a month in the evening to some place for dinner and then back.  He is working today again.  I am guessing he is just trying to catch up on the little things piling up on his desk.  He has done a little work on the garage but it still isn't all wired.  Kevin is suppose to come back this coming week and talk with us about the terracing that Bud wants done around the garage and some kind of flat surface around the whole house.  He wants to get that done before he gets it painted. 

We only have 2 weeks until the Houseboat trip.  That will give me something to look forward to.  I do have a couple of bowls that I need to make for friends so that will be my next sewing project.  I managed to get out my summer clothes this past week when it was hot so I am ready for the next heat wave.  We haven't been out on the boat yet.  Bud was hoping to get out on his new small boat last weekend but we didn't have any wind. 

Such is the boring life of us 'old folks'.  I need some of Eva's energy some days.  She is always on the go.

By the way, I have NO idea why that section is white background or how to fix it but it is not any reflection of my mood.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Another Graduation

 Sunday Jack graduated from high school.  It was a beautiful day and a great achievement.  Jack is on his way to the University of Michigan this fall, joining his brother and sister to study in Ann Arbor.  However, he isn't planning to join them in studying medicine.  He is planning a career in engineering.  I am sure that he will do well. 
 All the siblings were in attendance and very proud of Jack. 
What a beautiful family.  Only one more to go.  That is hard to believe.  In a blink of an eye, they seem to grow up.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Back in TC and relaxing this week.

I had a quiet week after getting home.  It was a bit hard to get back into 'ordinary' life.  I took a couple of days to unwind.  Jet lag always gets me harder when I arrive home.  I think it is the "after vacation let down" syndrome.  I finally managed to find my place back in the world.  I read, and finished a quilt this week.  I visited the 3rd graders at the park for their last school picnic. 

June arrived and with it my thoughts of lists.  I remember my pattern of 35 years of teaching.  You finish the school year, catch your breath and then start a list of things you want to accomplish over the summer.  Old patterns die hard.  I have been thinking of a list of projects.  They include things I didn't finish this past winter and new projects I have been rolling around in my mind.  The life of a retired person is quite relaxed but lists can be helpful so that things actually get done instead of just rolling around in your mind. 

Retirement didn't bring me additional ambition.  Maybe a list will help.