Thursday, November 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving

I  wanta to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Here are just a few things and people I am thankful for.  
 Last Friday I went with my dear friend Mary Anne to a little intimate concert at our local bookstore. We had dinner first and then topped the evening off with what they call Songwriters  in the Round.  The performers are all song writers so they go around in a circle and perform their one songs.  It was a nice evening.  
 SO, I am thankful for friends the one pictured above and many others.  Friends enrich my life and make me a better person.
 I am thankful for my wonderful husband AND that there wasn't any 'butt crack' showing in this picture.  He is installing a new storm door on our front door.  This project has been going on for over a week because he had to do some adjustments to make including painting some trim and such.  (other things that he explained and I really tried to listen attentively but don't understand)
 Not a very good picture of Bud but it is hard to take a picture in to the light.  He is almost done and said that today it will be finished.  So far I have only managed to walk in to the glass ONE time but I am sure that it won't be the last time.  He suggested that we put some stick on decoration right in the center at eye level.  He said that we could get different ones for each season.  I said NO and am going to try to not walk into it again.
I wasn't too excited about putting on a storm door because most of them that I have seen are white and pretty unattractive.  This one is almost all glass and a brown color.  I like it and it will keep that cold air from coming in under the door.  In the spring we are getting a new door.
 I on the other hand, have been making soup to take to Grand Rapids tomorrow.  We are having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow with Matt's family and Jessica's family.  I thought a little traditional Grandma Lewis vegetable soup would be good to have on another time.  I  Make it just like her with all the vegetables very tiny except I do put in a few more spices.
I am thankful for my two brothers too.  Leo drove out to N. Dakota this past week.  he had a pretty good trip with most of his snow in Michigan.  I am thankful that he is with Glen and Penny and their family for Thanksgiving. They are all so good together.
 I am thankful for this new little treasure of a precious child that came in to my life this past spring. She is such a happy and loving little baby.  I am looking forward to seeing her soon.
I am thankful for these wonderful nieces and my sister.  They are enjoying the day together and we will see them all tomorrow.

That is just a few of the things I am thankful for on this day.  I hope all of you have a wonderful day. We are going over to Bud's sister's house this afternoon to share dinner with them.  I am thankful that they are so close in my heart and in geographic distance.  Three of the kids will be home (Brit has to work I think)  so we will catch up on what all those college kids have been doing.  I am sure there will be lots of food and laughter which is another reason to be thankful.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

A WONDERFUL weekend in Cape Cod

YES, I know there are a LOT of pictures in this post but we just had so much fun that I had to post a lot of pictures.  This weekend all started about a month ago when Bud told me he was attending a conference in New Orleans the weekend of Nov. 8th.  I realized that I could possibly plan something.  I went on line and found some tickets to Boston for under $200 and started thinking about a trip to see Sara, Leo and the babies.  Then I got to thinking Jessica hadn't seen Sara since the baby was born so I decided to ask Eva and Jessica to join me.  WELL, that weekend wasn't convenient for most people including most important Sara and Leo so I decided to see if the same bargain the next weekend and they did.  Then, since he wasn't going to be out of town, Bud decided he wanted to go too.  And the adventure was created out of a single momenta of checking the airfares.  I love having the flexibility to 'seize the moment' and travel.   
Doug had to work (he was invited) so he dropped Jess and the baby off at the airport VERY early on Thursday morning.

We were the celebs of the trip.  Our little one was really a hit with everyone but why not?? She is so cute.  Since it was her first flight, she also received her wings.  

We arrived late Thursday afternoon and quickly introduced our baby to Sara's babies.
They were excited to meet their cousin.
She was happy to be passed around and everyone shared her.
This little guy was happy to show us his 'silly face' right after dinner.
He even let me hold him quite early in our stay.
Gram was thrilled to have 3 of her grandchildren with her.
Friday we explored, did a little grocery shopping and went to lunch.  Once again, our little baby made ots of new friends over lunch.
That evening Lara, Erik's friend came over and she couldn't resist our little baby too.
Uncle E is great with the twins.
Gram loved her time playing on the floor.
The Mommies and cousins were very happy to spend time together.
Erik's house on the beach.  Life is good for him and Lara at the Cape.  This is a great place to spend the winter.
The twins were warming up to Uncle Bud.
Gram loved going for walks.
Uncle Bud was finally a friend.
Which one of these guys is the coolest??
We took a couple of nice walks.
Sometimes it is nice to have someone carry you and sometimes it is nice to carry someone.
We celebrated early birthdays.
We read stories
We bought matching Cape Cod sweatshirts.
Walked on the beach.
Put our toes in the Atlantic Ocean

I gave them their birthday books too.

And read this truck book over and over.
Everyone loved Lara
And Erik too of course.
Such a sweet baby.  She traveled very well.  We had a great time.
 I am very thankful for the time together.  We will see them again for Christmas so we just had to say, "see you soon" when it was time to go.
Our flights home went well but when we arrived it was snowing in Michigan.  We dropped everyone off and headed home in a typical Michigan snowstorm.  Bud was a very safe driver through several 'white outs'.  We have quite a bit of snow on the ground here so winter has arrived to N. Michigan.

Family is so special and we are blessed with the ability to travel and visit them.  I hope you enjoyed my picture view of this wonderful weekend.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Home alone

Bud left for a conference in New Orleans this past Saturday and left me 'Home Alone'.  I filled my Saturday with a little craft show shopping, making squash soup, and reading a good book in front of the fire.  Oddly enough the book I am reading is called " The Girl You Left Behind".  It is  a pretty good book and the fire was very nice.  
Sunday I spent the day in a relaxed way but I decided I needed to go out and check out the mall.  This is the first time I have walked the whole length of the mall in a long time.  I didn't have any big agenda except to pick up a couple of gifts so I just wandered in an out of a few shops juts 'sport shopping' as I used to call it.  I did manage to get some early Christmas gifts and do my errands.  It was interesting.  I did skip all the 'tween' shops that really don't interest me at all.  I realized that we don't have many clothes shops up north that really meet my needs but of course I really don't have any needs so maybe that is MY problem. Sunday evening was filled with a LONG talk with Leo (an hour and a half).  He was very talkative so I just relaxed and talked with him.  
Today I woke up to the snow falling.  It was snowy a little yesterday but it melted by noon so that wasn't too bad.  I think this snow is suppose to melt today too.  I am on my way to school in a little while.  I still volunteer on Mondays and Fridays.  It is still fun and they sure do need me with the large class sizes they have now. Molly has 27 kids in that tiny classroom.  The largest class I had was 32 and I STILL remember that difficult year.
That is my quiet weekend.  Hope you did something exciting and didn't have snow.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

I am married to a 60 year old man

How did it happen???  Bud's turning 60 story is: " I have been reading the comics for many years and when reading Beetle Bailey through the years I have always related to the character Beetle Bailey but now I am more the age of General Halftrack and relate more to him."
Getting older is not something we can stop and the alternative is not so pleasant so I guess we are all heading down that road, it just seems like the speed is exceeding my limit to take it all in.  Maybe that is why people retire, so they can enjoy the scenery as those years rush by.  I will try to remember that little bit of wisdom that just came to me as I was doing this post.  I will try to spend more time enjoying the moments of each day.
Bud is trying to slow down his work load and he is spending less time at work, coming home early to do chores or just relax.  That is a good thing for him and he seems happy.  The next 20 years need to be spent in enjoying all those years of hard work.  I think we are ready for the enjoyment part and the slower pace when we are around home.

 We did celebrate his birthday several times this past week. Saturday evening we went out to dinner with some friends that have birthdays near him.  All 4 of the guys out with us have birthdays near his  ( guess one of the guys didn't make it in this picture)  It has been a fun tradition that we have celebrated over the years.
 Sunday evening was dedicated to family as we had dinner with Sonja, Sue and Walt.  Monday night we were set to go out with another friend that also turned 60 but he wasn't feeling too god so just the 2 of us went out for dinner.
Tuesday night we went to the Yacht Club for a speaker series about ice boating  This is the ice boat group.

SO, as you can see, I have NOT been cooking much this past weekend.  I think that I am cooking tonight. Eating out isn't too good for the waistline.

The birthday weekend was nice and I am very thankful for  the many years we have had together.  NOW if the Republicans just don't screw it up too much, we will try to enjoy the next year.  ( I just couldn't let this post go by without mentioning the election yesterday.)