Mary's Show

Pat and I went to Lapeer to Gallery 194 to see my cousin's art show - it was fabulous - the quilts, the glass - the way it was so thoughtfully displayed - I could have sworn that David Hilty blew the glass to go with Mary's quilts or she started sewing after looking at his glass - it belongs together! It was an amazing show.

YEAH! 1st 12 let in!

I forgot that I wanted to be at the Forester Estate sale this morning by 8:30 am - at 8:26 I yelled to Pat that we had to get moving - I said this in my nightie at the computer!!!!

Yesterday we went through a beautiful condo and I found several pieces that I would want to sell - and I almost bought a few items but decided I had to wait until they were half off. I look all year for an item to donate to the Children's Museum of Saginaw's auction every February and there was a beautiful cake stand that I wanted - but I was determined to get it half off.

We made it by 8:45 - hair combed, teeth brushed, lipstick on (substitute contacts in for Patrick on that last one)------ and there was a lot of people standing around waiting before us. I went up to sign in and found out we were number 12 - YIKES.

They decided to let in the first 12 - YEAH - so even though we were the last to enter we were the first to go to the glass dishes and I got every piece I wanted to buy. We were the first to check out and leave while several people were still waiting to go in - I love it when a day starts out like this!!!

Shows Coming Up and Changes, too

Well - I have to pull out the beads - the fall season begins in just a couple of weeks in September - Frankenmuth the weekend of the 18th and SVSU the weekend of the 25th. I told Pat we have to go through our purchases from the summer and see what I have for Christmas! Can you believe it? And yes, I already saw an advertisement for Christmas in a magazine so I'm not the first to say the dreaded words that "It's time to start Christmas Shopping!!!!!"

I will no longer have my First Serving available at Finders Keepers in Tawas - I was so sad to hear that Julie has decided to retire and will no longer have her booth there - so - I'm picking up the rest of my inventory and will sell it at the shows this season. I so loved taking things to Julie to sell - she loved the pieces and I had fun showing them to her. I hope she enjoys her retirement and stays in good health for a long, long time.

Camping in Atlanta

Pat and I went to Atlanta, Michigan to Clear Lake State Park for the weekend - we had such a good time. The weather was great - a big storm on Friday night blew through and that is always fun getting a storm in the trailer. Saturday was a beautiful day and Sunday was too. We didn't see much wildlife and actually we were commenting that we didn't see any ground squirrels and didn't hear any Kirtland Warblers - which is very surprising. We did hear and see lots of Loons and saw a few deer. No Elk - No Bears - but still a nice weekend camping in the old Holiday Rambler.

40th Class Reunion SMC

We had such a great time last night - even though there was a small turn out for our reunion it was so nice to have time to talk to everyone. Tom and Steve were our hosts at FANDANGLES in Flushing, Michigan and it was the most beautiful setting we could have imagined.

Clarence was invited to bring his artwork and Tom set it up so it was a perfect backdrop to the evening. The table settings were all done in red and white - our school colors - and the food was fabulous.

Some things never change - Jon and John had different stories about how they remembered the same events. Clarence explained why he didn't begin to dabble in art until way after 7th grade. We heard about taking tests in high school - we took a test that Mary Beth put together which was fun to remember teachers that changed our lives and activities that we enjoyed participating in all through our grade school and high school years. Mary Beth reminded us that we all will have a 60th birthday soon! Where did the years go?

We were happy to have so many people come from so far away to be with us for such an enjoyable evening. I was the official picture taker and my classmates are going to kill me - the camera settings were screwed up - but even with that I did get some good pictures - I'll post a few here and on the smcreunion.blogspot.com

Fandangles

Even though I have been to Tom and Steve's restaurant before it just shimmered and glimmered last night. I must say the ambiance and the food and the classy decorating from chandeliers to the ever-changing beautiful art on the walls. They have been long-standing supporters of the arts by always having new artists featured in their restaurant. The pictures do not even come close to the brilliance cast from so many sources of light.

Surprise Soldier Homecomings

GET READY TO CRY - my classmate, Rosemary shared this on my facebook and it is just too beautiful not to share here - I cannot believe the difference this makes in our lives - the love - the sacrifice - the peace upon them when they are hugging - thank you to all of them for the service to our country.

Mary Lynn Does it Again

Mary Lynn has a new show with David Hilty at Gallery194 in Lapeer. Her Chihuly-inspired quilts are paired with beautiful glass pieces in an extraordinary exhibit in Lapeer. This display is my favorite from the pictures I blatantly stole from her friend Robbie's blog.

Breakfast, Balloons and a trip Up North

By 6 am we were on our way to Kochville Township to see the balloons - we had pancakes and sausage that they were selling for a fundraiser and then we watched as they put together the gondolas and attached the balloons and blew them up. It was very fun - saw friends from Hoyt Street and St. Mary's and had a nice morning.

On our way up to Tawas we saw a balloon that was not a part of the Kochville celebration come down in a sugar beet field - they lost their power and it was sort of scary watching them come close to wires. The balloon chaser came to help almost immediately and he pulled the balloon away from the wires with a long cord.

Then we went to Tuttle Marsh and saw more wildlife than we have in ages on our visits there. A snake, deer, ospreys, egrets, kingfishers, and tons of small birds. It was fun. Then off to Pier 23 for lunch where we watched about 30 sailboats out on Lake Huron. We had a very enjoyable day.

AAAAHHHHHH

Finally, the weather has turned and it actually cooled off last night. We sat outside with our neighbor talking and laughing. We watched the boys next door run around, ride bikes, and just having fun. It made me remember how much I loved going bike riding with Sue, my neighbor on Hoyt Street.

Many times we would ride with me on the handlebars but then we got a tandem and we were off all through the City. We would ride our bike past "boyfriends" houses, to sneak a cigarette (yes I smoked when I was young and stupid!), or just to get away from home and feel like we were free.

Our lives expanded when we went off on the bike. We actually rode across the bridge and started to explore the west side of Saginaw. This was a brand new horizon - one we thought of as the rich side of town. The houses were newer, the yards were bigger, but I noticed that our houses had more character and there were lots more kids playing outside in our neighborhood.

It wasn't very much later that our family moved about 6 blocks away into a neighborhood with no kids at all. So many times I would ride over to the old neighborhood and pick up Sue and we would be off again on our bikes - but moving changed things - it seemed we didn't go as often as before. It took a few years until I got my license that we again began to go off riding past "boyfriends" houses again, sneaking cigarettes and again just to feel like we were free. Isn't amazing how things don't change very much as you are growing up?

I enjoyed growing up in Saginaw - we had a great time!

Nursery School Moms

Our children are now older than we were when we took them to co-op preschools! We had a dedicated group of women working to promote cooperative preschools in Michigan. We became good friends in the process with other women throughout the State of Michigan. Some of us still get together as often as we can - sometimes once a year - sometimes we have to miss a year. Jan is the one who organizes us - she sends out an email that she is coming to visit and as many of us that can get together do.

We catch up on our children, their children - and of course now, my great grandchildren. We see who is working, who is retiring, who has moved and just what is going on in our lives.

Friends from long ago - they are so much fun to be with because we know so much about our families and it is fun to watch the families change throughout the years. We missed Jackie and Robbin - maybe next year!

More Chihuly

The bowls are so spectacular (I am running out of adjectives!) These were in the tropical exhibit and they did seem to belong there.

Flowers at the Gardens

The flowers were so beautiful - the colors vibrant - the landscaping fabulous - there were orchids and hibiscus and flowers that looked like a Chihuly!

Back from Grand Rapids

I know I've said this before - but - I LOVE CHIHULY! We went to Grand Rapids to see the show at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. The pictures above are my FAVORITE - of course it brought tears to my eyes just looking at it. The setting was perfect for the sculpture and the colors were brilliant - it so reminded me of Pentecost.





The pictures above were the favorite of all the people going to the exhibit. I just loved the outside exhibits - but the inside ones were really fabulous, too. I will post some of those the next time I'm in here!

We really had a wonderful time - the weather channel told us it was going to rain ALL DAY with thunderstorms - HAH - it didn't even rain but a few raindrops. The day was perfect for walking through the gardens. We even decided to stay an extra night because we were both exhausted from all the shopping and the walking around the gardens.