Fall activities

Today is a blog day for me I guess.  I already posted on FB and thought I would update here with other pictures. 

YES, fall finally came to N. Michigan.  The month of September was the warmest one in a long time so we enjoyed the beautiful weather and the leaves are just now turning colors.

 

 Because he had a fall break, David came home last weekend.  Sorry this isn't a very good picture but I was in kind of a hurry.  Anyway, we went over to the cottage and had dinner and caught up on their activities.  Danielle came up for the weekend too so it was great to see her. 

 Bud bought a new chainsaw and went to work on the tree that fell in our yard with the last storm.  It is a much more powerful saw but it was still a lot of work clearing this tree.  We now have LOTS of firewood and we still need to take down a couple more trees.  We will have the professionals do that for us. 

Sunday he wanted to go for his last motorcycle ride of the season.  However, he went about 5 miles south and decided it was too cold and came home.  Monday he did get one more ride out to the shop to drop off the motorcycle for the winter.  I picked him up on my way back from volunteering in Kingsley and managed to get in a stop at a quilt shop near the motorcycle shop. It was a "twofer"  and we both won. 
This past Saturday weekend we went to a wedding (maybe you saw my dilemma on what to wear on FB??) and it was a very nice evening.  The bride is one of the most beautiful ladies in Grand Traverse County AND she has an equally beautiful sister.  They are beautiful women both inside and out.  The wedding was in Leland at a nice little venue.  I usually go to that place to see the Fiber Arts Show but that is this coming weekend and we will be out of town.
We hit the road this afternoon and will be gone for a few days.  I will keep you posted but probably on FB.

Catching up

I have been agonizing over whether to continue this blogging thing or just go to FB with my posts.  I like the format of my blog better for explaining pictures and giving 'more of the story'.  I know it is OK to continue both of them but am still unsure if very many people want the LONG explanation of the blog entry.  But anyway here goes the long one. 

Over Labor Day weekend we celebrated Sue's birthday.

 Jack was home from his new job/life in Wisconsin.  He is doing VERY well as an engineer in Madison.

 Of course, Charlotte was still home, waiting to go back to college in Appleton. 

 AND Brittany came over from Wisconsin for the weekend too, in fact she, Jack and John took the ferry over.  It seems to be quicker than driving all the way around.  It was a great weekend and I am NOT going to say how old Sue was on her birthday.

 The next week, as Charlotte was getting ready to head over to Appleton and her second year at Lawrence University, we decided to go out sailing one more evening.  WELL, I guess it was really Charlotte that decided we should go out sailing.  Bud and I were thinking of taking her out to dinner before she left and she said she would rather go sailing one more time.  Of course we thought it was  a terrific idea.  As you can see it was a nearly perfect night on the water. 

 Bud talked Charlotte into driving a while.  He gave her a few reminders on how to sail.  She did take sailing classes when she was little.

 And then he sat down and let her take over. 

 She sure is a beautiful lady.

 It was a little chilly as the sun began to set but we came prepared for cool weather. 

 I just continued to snap pictures of the sunset and this beautiful area.

 We are thankful to Charlotte for getting us out on the water one more time this year.  She is nicely settled at college for another year. 

 Bud and I continue to work on our redecorating.  Last weekend he worked on 'finishing touches' in the bedroom/bathroom area.  We have completed all the painting in that area and are now only waiting for the carpet man to come and lay down the carpet.  Then Bud will order his new desk and move desks out of our living room. 
I went to work on the wallpaper in the dining room.  We put the paper up on this wall not long after we moved in this house.  I covered this wall with family pictures for many years.  It was time for a change so I took all the pictures down and am going to put some seasonal quilts up on the wall.  I have the fall one already and have plans for other seasons in the works. 

 Thanks to Google, I was able to find out how to remove wallpaper. I took off the outer layer quite easily and then following the Google directions of a mixture of  fabric softener in a spray bottle, I was able to take off all of the paper that was remaining. It was a pretty effective solution. 

I was able to get the wall pretty clean.  There is still some paste left on the wall and I probably need to tackle that with some stronger chemicals but it looks pretty good. 

SO.....  That is the longer version of my last few weeks.  I still don't know which format is better but I will try to continue on both.  If you have a vote, let me know. 

Who says you can"t do it all????

Eva came to visit this weekend.  It was a fun filled weekend and the first time she has been up since we bought new furniture.  That is WAY too long so I need to do a better job of getting her up here. 

 She is a GREAT decorator so right after she arrived we started talking about our new furniture and the way it is arranged.  I am NOT good at the 'finishing touches' and since we still haven't settled on the paint colors I have been avoiding that part too.  We just get used to the way the house looks, kind of half way done, and the summer 'got in the way' of decorating or at least that is what I tell myself.
Last winter when we were in Grand Rapids I bought these flowers for an arrangement and haven't managed to arrange them in a vase.  That is the first thing she did and it looks GREAT.  She also did a little furniture moving and moved a table behind the sofa so we have a sofa table to put things on now.  When we get our bathroom/bedroom suite done the room will open up more and that table is great for that space. 

 Friday night we went downtown to check out the activities at Friday Night Live, an August activity night here in TC where they close the downtown streets and people can walk around and check out the shops and watch the street performers.  After that we ate at a cute little place called Little Fleet that has several 'food trucks' all parked together with tables so you can get your meal from any one of the food trucks and eat while watching the crowd.  It is a fun little place to eat. 

 Saturday was a day of shopping.  Bud went out sailing with the Noble family and Eva and I checked out the various shopping areas in TC.  Downtown has changed even for me so it is interesting to see what is new.  After lunch we went over to the 'Old State Hospital' area where they have put cute little shops in the lower level of one of the big buildings.  It is a cute little place to walk around.  Then I drove around the grounds a little and we found the 'Historic Barns' area of the grounds.  There was a Visitors Center and we went in to hear the story.  A lady gave us a very nice tour of the gardens on her golf cart.  It was interesting to hear about the renovations they are doing there. It is a little 'hidden treasure' of our area.  Nice to think that some place that has such a 'dark' history of being a mental institution to something as beautiful as it is becoming. 
After that we visited the 'Warehouse District' which is another little area in town for shopping.  This area is kind of new so I hadn't been there yet.  There are lots of places in TC that I just don't go to so it is nice to have a visitor to show around. 
WE HAD A GREAT TIME SHOPPING AND WERE PRETTY TIRED WHEN WE RETURNED.

However we rested, Bud came home from sailing and we rallied for dinner and a movie.  We drove out the peninsula to the Jolly Pumpkin for dinner which is always a nice drive along the water.  We did see quite a bit of storm damage but it looks like people are recovering and cleaning up. 
After dinner we were back in town for a movie.  We had two choices: The new movie in which Meryl Streep stars about an aging rocker trying to reconnect with her family and the Mr. Holms movie.  We chose the Mr. Holms movie and I am pretty sure we made the right choice.  It was a VERY good movie. The acting was terrific, especially the little boy in the movie. It was SO good on so many levels and I STRONGLY recommend it to everyone of all ages. 

SO, that was Saturday.  Weren't we busy???

 Sunday was another beautiful and warm day,  (I forgot to mention that the temps were in the 90s all weekend)  We started out with a nice breakfast that Bud made for us, scrambled eggs toast and bacon were on the menu.
Then the 'decorator' in Eva came back to life and we spent a LONG time talking about paint colors.  I listened for a while but it is still too overwhelming for the woman that likes off white walls so Eva and Bud talked and talked and talked and then we went to Ace hardware and bought 3 more little cans of paint samples to try.  I think I like the colors they chose and they seem to be the best colors I have seen yet but of course they aren't on the walls yet.  I am feeling the most confident about these choices even though Eva said she wasn't trying to 'over sell' the choices but I do like them and the guy in the paint store said he used one of the colors in his house and really liked it. 
After going to the paint store we went sailing.  That is TWO days in a row that our boat has been out so that is terrific.  You can see above that we even got Eva to drive a bit while we were getting ready to put the sails up. 

 It was a windy day so we only put up a 'reefed' main but it was a beautiful day to be out on the water. 

 The race on the bay was just finishing as we went out so it was a beautiful view.  You can also see how windy it was.  The racers put out ALL the sail they could and they don't mind being 'heeled over' on their sides while racing.  It just makes them go faster.  We put out less sail because we wanted to stay upright and enjoy a relaxing sail. 

 And yes, I included a picture of myself. 

 Eva took this 'selfie' of the two of us.  We were having a good time.

We topped of this day by stopping over to see Sue and Walt at the cottage and enjoyed the late afternoon relaxing on their deck, talking and snacking.  The view was beautiful and the conversation was great. 

So there you have it, our very busy weekend with Eva. It was great fun and we packed in a lot of activities.  GREAT summertime fun with my sister.  I am thankful for such a wonderful sister. 

Off the Grid but REALLY BUSY

Well, it has been a LONG week here in N. Michigan.  This past weekend we were hit by quite a storm.  Here is our story.

 It was already a busy weekend for Bud as he was moving his office from the downtown location to a place on Garfield Ave.  The owner of his downtown office building was expanding and needed more space for his employees.  Bud was on a month-to-month lease because they were very relaxed about signing leases and they came to him and asked him to find another office.  They gave him ample time to look around so he wasn't 'kicked out'.  However, he did get right to work and checked out the available office space.  He realized that he really didn't need to be downtown and if he looked out a little ways from downtown the rent was a little less.  He found this office space just south of her and probably a little closer to home with definitely less traffic to deal with on his way to work. 
It turns out that this office building was the same building that he was in about a year after he started his career in public accounting. 

 So this is the back door of his office building, right where he used to enter when this was an office for his old firm.  It is a nice building and even though it was a LOT of work to arrange the move, he is in his office and has 'purged' his files.  Moving always  helps you do a little cleaning out of your space. 
Bud was in his old office last Sunday when the STORM hit this area.  I was home alone, not really paying too much attention to the weather until it started to get dark here.  I have always loved to watch storms so I placed myself in front of the windows for  a great view.  I did call Bud to tell him not to try to come home in the storm and  he did tell me to get away from the windows.  I complied a bit but was still watching closely as the waves of wind and rain swept up the hill and rushed against our house.

 And then one of the tall trees decided to break off a section of the tree.  We have very tall trees in our area and while the wind was blowing the hardest the tops of the trees move back and forth, swaying more than you could possibly think.  This one tree gave away and a large section broke off.  It did miss the main part of our house but caught the corner of our deck, taking off part of the railing. 

 Here you can see the tree that broke off.  As soon as the storm was over the whole neighborhood came out of their houses to check out the damage.  That big 'gash' in the tree is where the section of the tree broke off.  The tree that remains will be weakened so it will also have to come down when we have a professional come and clean up some of our trees. 

 You can see from this view that we were lucky that it wasn't worse.  We cleaned up the next day and all that is left in our yard now is the large main section of the tree, waiting for the chainsaw to cut it up in smaller pieces to be split for firewood.

 We were actually pretty lucky when it comes to damage in our subdivision and definitely in our area.  This is a picture of a tree that was uprooted in Sue and Walt's back yard.  It is resting on their garage.  Many other homes have uprooted trees in their yard and the streets were littered with downed branches. 
Of course, our power was out.  We were without electricity from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday morning.  We were thankful for our friends Larry and Kathy because they still had power on the west side of town and they gave us their guest room for three nights.  What wonderful friends. 

 I came back home during the daytime, even without power.  I did manage to find things to keep me busy like cleaning up, having lunch with friends and going to my quilt group to help with making some weighted blankets for our area special education classrooms.  This is a picture of some of the wonderful ladies in our group, busy at working on those blankets. 

 Tuesday was my birthday so we headed to Applebee's in Big Rapids to celebrate with the Michigan family.  Eva bought me a wonderful sweater set. 

 Jessica and Doug were so nice to bring their lovely little one for me to see.  I hadn't seen her since our houseboat trip.  She is such a sweetie. 

 And she is growing and growing.  I am amazed at how wonderful she is.  She has great parents too. 

 And here you have the whole 'clan'.  This is a great tradition, meeting for birthdays.   I am thankful for such a wonderful family.

 Then on Thursday we set out on the boat to enjoy a late afternoon sail.  It was a little chilly and the wind was brisk so we had to 'reef' the main and wrap up to keep warm.  It still was a great evening to sail. 

Charlotte was our 'inspiration' for going out sailing and she brought along a friend.  I am also very thankful for this wonderful family. 

Well, our power came on Wednesday so we were back home but the internet provider was MUCH slower getting service to us.  Charter Communications had a LONG and SAD story about why they couldn't get our servicer up and going.  I think it is just because they aren't as prepared and probably don't care as much, but that is just my opinion.  Anyway we didn't our cable back until late Sunday afternoon.  YES, we realized we probably depend on that service too much and probably watch too much TV but we are now thankful to be back 'online'.  Being without cable and internet for a few days is a 'pain in the butt' but we are thankful for minimum damage here at our house. 

Exercise

I am having a 'lackluster' summer so I have even resorted to getting back to my exercise routine.  It is best if I try to get out in the morning with the Diane Rheme show from NPR on my headphones but even then I do NOT enjoy this activity.  This past week I decided that maybe it was a good idea to try and get some exercise in every day.  It is always my goal to do it as quickly as possible so I have perfected the skill of doing my neighborhood walk, once around for 1mile, as quickly as possible.  Yesterday I timed myself and I made it in 12 minutes.  I wish I was one of those people who loved to exercise but I just am NOT that person. 
I heard on the radio today that young people in China who exercised when they were young had less incidents of cancer and if they continue to exercise when they are older, they continued to have less cancer. Maybe I should move to China. 
That is my "rant' about exercise. 

An evening sail on Grand Traverse Bay

Friday was a great evening for a sail on Grand Traverse Bay.  We took sandwiches from Mary's Kitchen Port, snacks and good wind out with us for the evening. 

 Bud relaxed as 'First Mate' and enjoyed the evening. 

 Walt was 'Captain' for the evening.  As you can see, it was a nice relaxing sail although we did have some good wind at times and Walt wanted to see if he could put the rail in the water.  I prefer to keep the rail out of the water and the boat a little more upright so we 'reefed' the main and didn't put the whole 'jenny' out.  If you know what I am talking about, you too are a sailor.  If you don't know what I am talking about, it just means that we didn't have all our sails out because it was a bit too windy to have a relaxing sail and the boat would have been tipped over a bit too much for comfort. 

 David and Danielle were up for the weekend.  (They were the ones that prompted us to take the boat out on a Friday night.)  David goes back to UVA to medical school next week and the dental school at U of M gave Danielle some time off.

 Charlotte, being in town, also came along.  It is good to have young and beautiful women on the boat.  I think it helps us older folks feel young while in their company.

 Ringo was not to be left behind and of course he will go anywhere Sue goes.  He is a good dog on the boat and he also enjoyed the snacks and sandwiches. 

 So, I guess someone felt a need to have me in a picture so here I am.  You can see it was windy.
                                       
Our final stop was Bardon's Wonder Freeze.  I am not sure this family is a good influence on Bud and me.  This is the second time in the last few weeks that they have talked us into stopping for ice cream.  However, it was a tasty to end a great evening.  Nothing like an evening of sailing topped off with ice cream.

Uncle Tom comes to visit

It was  a busy weekend here in TC.  Bud's Uncle Tom came to town with his friend Margaret.  

 

 Saturday we took them out sailing.  This was only the second time our boat had been away from the dock this year.  It was kind of a questionable weather day but we took a chance and went out.  Sue and Charlotte looked beautiful on the bow of the boat.

 Uncle Tom and Margaret enjoyed the time on the water.

 Walt was along too.

 

Did I mention questionable weather??? Well it did rain on us a bit but the air was nice and warm so it really wasn't a problem.  



 That same evening Bud's family met together for an evening picnic just down the road at Ted and Jean's house. It was a great time for the TC family to see each other and catch up.  Even though we all live right here in town, it seems they don't see each other very often.

 Sunday we did the 'tourist' thing and took them around N. Michigan to visit the sights.  The Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore is one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. (at least according to Good Morning America) so that is where we took them.

 It was a windy day but very beautiful. 

We ended up the weekend over at Sue and Walt's cottage, enjoying yet another view, having pizza for dinner and then heading out to Bardon's Wonder Freeze to celebrate "National Ice Cream Day" 

It was a great weekend.