Fran came into town yesterday - I offered to make lunch, but when I left a message on her phone that said, "Do you like broccoli in your quiche?" She called back and said, "No, I do not like broccoli and I do not like quiche, we can go to Tony's!"

Ah - the usual response from anyone that grew up in Saginaw and moved away - they want a steak sandwich from Tony's!

It was delicious!!!

Then we went to the cemetery to find her Dad's parents grave.  She couldn't find it and the cemetery office gave her a sheet with a listing of everyone close by so if she found one of those names she would know she was getting close.  Guess who was on the bottom of the page?  Florence and James Shea!

So we found them - I was upset to see Grandma's gravestone very uneven from all the rain I would guess.  I will have to check with the office to see if they can fix it.

Then we went to the Veteran's Memorial at Hoyt Park.  We were not happy to see that most of the bricks that Fran and her family have purchased are no longer readable.  The black has washed away.  She is going to contact them!

Then we drove past Hoyt Street - the people living in her house are painting it YELLOW!  No more green.  But as consolation the yellow is as bright as the green!

Then past Tony's empty lot, Martha Street Market and through Ojibway on our way back home.

Good trip - ME

Coincidence?

Walked into church, saw Jean, Sue and Gary - talked with them about the picnic for Worship Committee today - Coincidence?  I think not.

Sat in our regular seats - Barb asked if we had fun in New Jersey - Coincidence?  I think not.

Grace came to get a hug - said everything is going great - asked to sit with us at the dinner on Friday - Coincidence?  I think not.

JoAnn stopped to ask if I would help with VBS crafts - Coincidence?  I think not

After church Amy asked if Ayva and Javier wanted to go to VBS - Coincidence?  I think not

It began as a sad day at church knowing Bill and Amy are looking for a new church - they told us on Thursday they weren't coming back.  To have all these people stop and talk and ask for us to be more involved is simply NOT a coincidence.  Thank you God for guiding people to us when we needed it!

Back in the USA!

I know you are going to laugh, but I love coming home! I hate being in Canada. When we crossed the Blue Water Bridge I was so happy!

We drove all through Canada and stopped at Don Pablo in Flint for dinner. We could barely walk into the restaurant our legs were so cramped!

The waiter made a mistake on Pat's order and he got stuffed pepper - it was HOT! He loved it and I had fun watching him turn red, his eyes water and blowing his nose!

We'll be home in a little bit. It was a good trip, but always happy to get home.

Dinner at Otsego Lake

Not your Mama's Otsego Lake in Michigan! We are in the Catskills. We are having dinner at the Blue Mingo Grill in Cooperstown! We even had a short summer storm with thunder - we both love the sound of rain on the roof!

Yup that would mean the Baseball Hall of Fame this afternoon. We had a good time. I even got teary eyed at the Hank Aaron display!

Karina's Does it in Style

It looked dark all morning then cleared a bit. We all went to the stadium and it started to sprinkle. It began to lightening and we were told to go back to our cars.  It poured while we waited. The sun came out. We went back in the stadium. It rained a bit more. The sun came out. A few speeches and then Karina's graduated!

What a way to go! On our way home there was a beautiful rainbow.

I just want to say how much we enjoyed being with the Hinz family. What a joy to be with them!

Kelly is the it again!

Sparkling Shamrock

Oh Yum

Equal parts of

Orange juice
Blue pucker

1/2 equal part of vodka

Fill rest with 7up

Chocolate World!

We stopped at Chocolate World in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We went to the chocolate tasting - interesting even if meant for 8 year olds! Then we went to the history of chocolate ride. Interesting even if meant for 4 year olds! Then we went to make our own chocolate bars. I enjoyed that! Little kids were bored in this one.

We designed the covers for our boxes. One says Bertie's the other Heaven Scent. We had to wear aprons and hair caps. We chose the kind of chocolate and added ingredients on a computer screen. Then we watched our own bar go down a conveyer.  When we got to the area where the candy bars are boxed the machine malfunctioned. They had to send several empty ones through to get it to work. I asked if I could have a couple of the empty boxes! So we saved the aprons and caps and when we get home Javier and Ayva will be able to make their own candy bars!

On to Karina's shindig!

Liz and Joe

We went to Grand Rapids yesterday to see Liz and Joe. They just moved into the cutest apartment. An older apartment building with lots of wood trim, large rooms and a beautiful porch.

We walked for a few blocks going from sale to sale. It was fun to see them talking to all their neighbors. Joe had to stop at one and show us the owner's cat that would come to you when you whistle "Strangers in the Night!"

Then we went to the Winchester to eat lunch. We sat on the patio and talked. It was such a nice couple of hours.

Home again!

We had such a great time camping with the Wards and the Galms! Even though a bit chilly we had sunshine each day. A little rain yesterday but the tree on our lot kept us dry.

We took turns cooking - we eat very well!

Happy to be home. The trailer is emptied, Pat is in the shower and I get one next!

Ready, set, almost go!

Grocery shopping done

Chili made and frozen in crockpot plastic cooking bag right in the crockpot

Cookies made

Bacon cooked

Kitchen stuff in container to go out

List of freezer and refrigerate last minute stuff to put in

Pat finished fixing Jim and Jan's lights and putting the new hitch on

Took Jan out to drive her van pulling the trailer for her first time - he said she did great

He is on top of our trailer putting one more coat of paint on the patch

Can't wait!

250th Inside the Actors Studio

James Lipton is my favorite interviewer. I just watched the special 250th episode of Inside the Actors Studio. It was filled with great clips of great interviews. If you see a listing of a rerun make sure you see it!

First Draft of New Series Done!

I have been working for days on the first book of the Season Series.  It is called "Summer."  It is a fun book about two families.  The Maxum's move in next door to the Castor's.  They are large families in today's world.  The Maxum's have five children and the Castor's have six.  When I was growing up in a five child family ours was considered medium sized.  Today, a four child family is considered large.

The very first draft is done.  Now it will take months of work to polish it into a book.  Before I do that I will write the drafts of the other three books.  I love working on four at a time.  I will think of an idea in the fourth book and then go back into the other three to add substance to lead to that fourth book storyline.

I am still waiting for the cover pictures of the second series.  I think I will send an email today to see where she is in the process!  I can't wait to get that series on Amazon.