Wine Country

After scouring thrift shops, retail stores and estate sales, we found lots of dishes for the next couple of shows - so the trip was a success. Then before we left Pat suggested we stop at the Peninsula Grill out on the East Peninsula. (I've blogged before about how much we like the spot!)
It was a beautiful trip out there with lots of blue sky - big puffy clouds - pretty colors. We at the window with the sun streaming in and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. I had a glass of the local Chardonnay - it was really different - it was from Chateau Chantal a winery just a short ways down the road so we decided to go over there. WELL - if we thought the wineries were busy a couple of weeks ago this time the parking was unbelievable and we decided to skip it. But.... we got some great pictures.





There were so many people taking pictures of the beautiful trees and the landscape that it was fun watching them take the pictures. My favorite one was when we stopped at a house on a side road to take a picture and a young woman jumped out of her car and started taking pictures - it was so much fun watching her that I had to take her picture. I wish I would have asked her for her email so I could send this one to her.




We really enjoyed our short trip - I have said this a million times - but again - we love Michigan.

Trip to Traverse City

Well - we are in Traverse City for the weekend - we stopped at the Sleep Inn in Acme and Lewis the person at the desk suggested we go to TraVino Traverse Wine and Grill - in Williamsburg - just down the road - it was FABULOUS.



The most surreal moment happened - we started out in the bar because there was a half hour wait and the people next to us, Ray and Nancy were from Saginaw and she recognized me from this blog! She knew when I was retiring and all about me! It was so much fun.

I have to say the trip from Bellaire to Torch Lake to Rapid City to Acme was the most beautiful trip ever - the sun was setting behind golden trees with the lakes in the background - it was really and truly the best trip ever - I'll post pictures tomorrow.



We had the BEST salmon dishes ever at the restaraunt - Pat had the salmon off the menu and I had the special. Mine was the Pumpkin seed crusted salmon with curried squash, Risotto hot apple cider reduction and sauteed spinach. I would have had pictures but we both wouldn't leave our food to go to the car for the camera!

I asked the waitress to give me the Chef's name - The head chef is Kevin Paveglio - it has to be an art to get the crust so crispy and the salmon perfectly cooked! I will NEVER eat anywhere else when we get to the Traverse City area. We would have had a half hour wait but we ended up staying in the bar - the bartenders were the nicest and the best anywhere.

Can I say how happy we are!!!!!!!!?????!!!!!!

New Delhi!

This is what I love about the Internet – I wanted to see how to use a wildcard with an if statement in Excel. I typed in the Google search:

wildcard if statement excel

The very first listing gave me the answer from someone in New Delhi. I love finding the answers so easily – right at my fingertips. This is what I will miss when I retire – finding solutions to spreadsheets!

1. Wildcard in an If statement - MrExcel Message Board
Wildcard in an If statement Excel Questions. ... work around using the left function - but still think the if statement should have worked. ...

http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26915


Search and Find in an if statement

Results
Find Search
Big ___________________ OK OK
RED ___________________ No OK
red ___________________ No OK
Next___________________ OK OK
next___________________ No OK
big ___________________ No OK

=IF(OR(ISNUMBER(SEARCH({"Nex","Big","Red"},B132))),"OK","No")
=IF(OR(ISNUMBER(FIND({"Nex","Big","Red"},C133))),"OK","No")

so if I want to find something exactly as it is typed I'll use find - if I want to find something that is not case sensitive I'll use search. AMAZING!

UP or bust

Well it was a bust - we didn't buy anything - I was sure that we would find some Christmas plates in St. Ignace but they weren't out yet! But we sure had a good time. We stayed at the Quality Inn in St. Ignace and had such a beautiful sunrise this morning. I love our remote control for the camera - we had to put a chair on the table inside the room to get the picture but it is fun trying to get one!

Then we drove to the Cut River and took the old detour that we had to take when the road was closed. It was so beautiful. This was the ONLY red tree we saw on our whole trip. Pat thought that the old detour would be the best viewing and he was right.



As we left the Cut River detour I saw this old truck - I asked Pat to back up and I loved the history - it screamed art to me!

Vince

Our good friend has gone to Heaven and I just want to mention how much we love him. He was a devoted husband and a wonderful father to eight great grown children. He died peacefully at home surrounded by a loving family.

A couple of weeks ago when they put out the "no more visitors" I just had to run in for one more kiss. I only stayed 2 minutes but I am so glad I went. I got to tell him again how much we love him and how much he and Olympia's love meant to all of his friends - to be friends with such a loving couple made such a huge impact on all of our lives.

I sent him an email after the visit telling him how much it meant to me to be friends with a man who would have been peers with my father. I wanted him to know how important strong, loving fathers were in my life. Along with him and Leo Novak, Mr. Slaggert, Mr. Quinnan, Mr. Witchger and Leo Lynch - they all meant so much to me as I grew up without a father - and then to be so blessed to have Olympia and him as our friends for so many years. I like to think that I would have been friends with my Dad if he had lived into my adult life and being friends with Vince affirmed that to me.

I just stopped over to their house for a minute - there is so much love all around that house - in and out - we all know this was the way we all want to go to Heaven - quietly with courage and determination with family and friends and all the love in the world pushing us right to Heaven.

Until we meet again our dear friend, Vince thank you for being such a good friend.

Weekend Travels

Well – St. Anthony came through – you all must have been saying prayers! We had such a great time on our shopping spree. We went to Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey, Mackinaw City and all the little places on our way. We found lots of Christmas dishes so I’m set for the next show. Now I have two weeks to find enough for the December shows!

The colors are so beautiful in Northern Michigan. Lots of gold colors and a few bright reds spattered in between. Driving through the hills the sky looked so big – it was bright sky blue with tons of fluffy clouds – it looked crisp and clean. I love Michigan – but especially in the fall. I remember whenever we used to take my Mom out for a color ride every few miles she would say, “OOOOHHH look at that tree it is the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen!” Now I do it – the apple didn’t fall very far from that tree, did it?

We stopped at a few of the wineries but there were so many people we only tasted at one stop. There was about a 45 minute wait to taste at Chateau Grand Traverse so we decided just to buy a couple bottles of wine and leave – we were so happy when we looked and found out that just that morning they had just put out their first bottles of the "Barrel Fermented" Chardonnay for the year. We didn’t even care that we hadn’t tasted it – we were positive we wanted some – and of course when we got to the register he mentioned we would get a discount if we bought a few more and I didn’t even wait for him to finish saying it before I went over and got them off the shelf. This is the only Chardonnay that I drink that is served at room temperature. It is YUMMMMM.

And we stopped at Turtle Creek Casino, too. I found two Wizard of Oz penny machines and I gotta say – I had fun losing my money! Since we got our hotel room for free with our Choice Privileges (we always try to stay at Choice Privileges hotels to get enough points to stay for free for a night) I didn’t feel so bad losing my money and having fun, too!

Going Shopping

Okay - say your prayers to St. Anthony - I'm going out on a shopping spree to buy Christmas plates - I just have to find them. I need LOTS - I have a list of estate sales and garage sales and several stores to visit. It's raining right now so it would be nice if the weather cleared a bit!

We had a very nice time with Bill and Amy last night - lots of renewed friendship and great food - the cards sucked - even Bill admitted that Amy and I got crappy cards!

I made my first apple crisp of the year - I bought a bag of cortland apples - our favorite. YUM. I put a batch in the freezer because I promised to bring a treat to my training day at City Hall. I also got bamboozled into bringing ice cream - sometimes you just got to bribe those people into learning!

Colds, yuk

We did so well at the show last Saturday - but we both had colds and our back hall is still filled with containers that need to be reassembled and put away for another month until the next show.

We don't often get sick but this cold has wiped us both out. Everyone at work has it so I didn't use up any of my PTO time at work - I figured they gave it to me I wasn't going to waste my days off being sick!!!

The weather here is perfect Michigan weather. In the 60's with blue sky and lots of clouds - it is so pretty. We are going to have our Maple tree cut down - I am so sad - it was the prettiest tree on the block. They said it might have been stressed by so much cement around it but just recently the two trees across the street are starting to look like ours did a few years back so maybe it was just sick. I know I have always killed my plants in the house but never a tree!

I've been trying to get so much done at work - I know they will never hire someone in time for me to train that person so I'm making a tickler file that has worksheets about anything I am doing. I would ideally like to spend two pay periods with the person but who knows what will happen.

SVSU

Well - I wrapped and matched knives to plates all week long - I'm ready for the show at Saginaw Valley State Univeristy at the Ryder Center tomorrow morning. I expect this to be a good show - can't wait to see so many of you.

I had lunch with Peggy and Shelly today - it was so nice to catch up with them. We stayed longer than we should have and we laughed louder than we should have and we ate more than we should have (or at least Peggy did after she went back to work and munched all afternoon!) It was so nice.

Joanna came over for a bit this afternoon - Sheala dropped her off when she was coming into town - then Robin came to pick her up. Robbie and Robin are going hunting this weekend - I hope Robbie gets a deer. Then Caroline came over later on and FORCED us to take her to dinner - just kidding - we had a nice visit too.

So - see you tomorrow at Ryder Center!

Frankenmuth Weekend

We sold over 100 plates this weekend - it was really a good show. Even though it rained and was really cold for most of Saturday we had great customers. We usually do not sell well on Sunday in Frankenmuth but this time we did - I think everyone was so happy to see the sun that they felt like shopping!

I met so many really great people - sisters outs shopping together - families having fun teasing each other - lots of dogs in strollers, just when you look in one to see a cute baby there is a little dog panting away looking up with big brown eyes at you - we had fun people around us selling, always a bonus!

I kept praying to St. Anthony for people to find my booth if they were looking for something small to buy for Christmas gifts. He keeps coming through no matter what I'm looking for (someday God will tell me I could have asked to find salvation and I spent all my prayers on finding stupid things around the house and selling plates!)

So this week I have to wrap until my fingers bleed in order to have enough knives for next weekend at Ryder Center at SVSU. So I better quit writing in here and go downstairs and wrap, wrap, wrap.

Getting Ready for Frankenmuth

This weekend Friday through Sunday I will be selling at the Frankenmuth show at Zehnder Park on Main Street.

We had Caroline and Javier and Joanna and Robin and Sheala and Robbie over for dinner last night and they were a big help bringing up the tables and dishes for the show this weekend. Now everything is a mess upstairs! But I wanted to get two more containers done by tonight so I wanted to get started on them.

I love it when I unwrap dishes I bought months ago - it's like a fall day when my Mom used to say all excited, "oooohh look at that tree!" and two minutes later, "oooohh look at that tree!" Same thing last night, "Oh look at this dish!" What fun it is. I forgot about buying a watermelon bowl - it is so cute. There are several Asian dishes on pedestals that are so cute - they would be great all together on a table with different dips in them. Some reindeer plates and lots of snowmen plates - I know, I know - it isn't even Halloween!!!!

We had a fun time last night with Javier - he talks and talks and talks - he went outside with Papa with the chalk and came back in for dinner - afterwards Robbie found a box of wind up monsters and superheros in the basement and he and Javier played with them.

Yummy Salad

We went to Harvey's the other night and I had the new Anti-oxidant salad - it was so good I decided to make a version of it tonight for our dinner. I used Spinach for mine and romaine for Pat's then I topped it with:

Strawberries
Kiwi
Dried Cherries
Red Peppers
Green Peppers
English Cucumbers
Walnuts
Turkey Hot Italian Sausages - hot off the grill cut in slices

The dressing was pomegranate juice, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper

IT WAS REALLY GOOD! Pat loved it too.

I went to my doctor appointment and found out my bad cholesterol is down the good is up and my blood pressure was fabulous. I guess starting back walking is working! Really the first of September was such a turn around from the knee surgery - I can walk without feeling awful afterwards - no more leg cramps either - so maybe I'm on the mend for good!

We just got back from Huron House for our 38th anniversary weekend - we had such a nice time - the sunrises were spectacular - the room was warm and cozy and newly redecorated and we had two trips out to Tuttle Marsh with Eagles close by each time!

There was also a triathlon in Tawas that we got to see and that was fun, too.

The sunrise this morning was through the clouds - so instead of one line coming at us from the sun there were several - it was too cool.

We had the best time ever - we love Huron House in Oscoda, Michigan!

Last Day at Pier 23

We drove to Tawas on Sunday to have lunch on the deck for the last day of the summer for Pier 23. We love going there - the day was a little cool but with sweatshirts on we had the deck all to ourselves. It is our favorite pastime - watching sailboats skim on top of the waves in front of the lighthouse. We always feel sad when they close and go back to Florida for the school year.



I bought some beautiful beads Cloisonne Beads in Tawas - there were red beads, white beads and blue beads all with flowers on them. Round, oval and heart-shaped. I wrapped about 50 knives for the upcoming shows. I also set aside some of the heart-shaped ones to go on the forks and cake server that will go with a beautiful cake plate I bought for the Children's Museum annual auction in February.

Sheala and Robbie to the Rescue

We invited friends over for dinner but there was one problem - we wanted to have a chicken on the rotisserie but we had to go to church during the time it had to roast and it had to be basted every 15 minutes - thankfully Sheala and Robbie came over to chickensit.

While their parents went out for a romantic anniversary dinner they came over and basted that chicken to perfection. Then they set out our humus and cheese and crackers and everything was ready when we came home! What sweethearts! Thank you.

I made the salad that was on the first "Aarti Party" show on Food Network. She is the winner of this year's Next Food Network Star. It was fabulous - everyone liked it. I had never heard of it before. It was kale and mangoes that had to be massaged for two minutes - she said it would start smelling like bananas, and it did! Then added mangoes and (she had pumpkin seeds but I used sunflower seeds). The link to her recipe is below. You can see her make it On Demand if you have it.

Aarti's Massaged Kale Salad



Then I stole a recipe from Steve, the chef at Fandangles in Flushing, Michigan,
but I added to it - he grilled peaches and put them with Mango/Coconut Ice Cream - yum - but then I added a little stream of Apple Jack that our friend Jack made. Some concoction that has hard apple cider and rum - oh my goodness that was a great dessert.

We had a great time!

Dinner with Friends

We had dinner with Jan and Rod last night - it was so nice to catch up and hear all about their grandchildren. An extra bonus was Jamie joining us for dinner, too. It was a fun night - the food was spectacular from Rod's main course - chicken and roasted vegetables - to Jan's Aunt Maimee's pound cake in a delicious sauce with strawberries and cream! YUM - GOOD.

Jamie - I think he talked me into a Droid - we'll see what goes on sale before Christmas - I can't wait to buy one - my friend at work, Jim, has one and he really likes it - so I'm going to start looking around so I will be ready for a sale.

The weather has turned to Michigan Fall - I love it - I wish we were camping!

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.

What an exhausting day!

We have been to several thrift stores - a few antique stores - and best of all Meijer Gardens to see Chihuly in the Gardens and the Davinci Horse. I will update tomorrow when I have more time - but the trip to Grand Rapids was REALLY FANTASTIC!

Reunion Planning

We had such a nice visit with John and Mary Beth and Joan and Tom and Steve last Sunday. We decided to send out postcards for the class reunion. Their home is so beautiful and the backyard is such a relaxing spot.

Steve took care of us all afternoon - we laughed until our cheeks hurt - and we had a preview of some of the foods that will be served at the reunion. IT WAS FABULOUS!

It's only a few weeks away and I can't wait to see our friends from YIKES 40 years ago.

Robbie and Sheala

A visit from the Jacklin family last night was such fun.

Pat and I had to go to the store because we only had chicken for dinner - no sides - so we went to Kroger and I bought 8 different salads, corn on the cob and a loaf of jalepeno bread and hummus and some sushi. (My grandkids LOVE sushi.)

Sheala and Robbie were playing cards in the kitchen when we walked in from the store and I set out the bread and hummus for them to eat. Joanna found some celery in the frig and had that with hummus, since she is now on the Atkins diet with Robin.)

The kids stayed in the kitchen playing cards and I went to sit with Jo in the living room. Pat started cooking chicken on the grill and we waited to see if Robin would get out of work in time for dinner with us.

Sheala was humming away in the kitchen (a sure sign she is winning at cards) and Robbie was laughing and bugging her. Joanna was working on Soduko (which by the way she does in pen with nothing scribble out or written over!!!!)

Then Robbie and Sheala decided to make smoothies - frozen blueberries that our neighbor picked for us a few weeks ago. Then Robbie sat on the couch with me and told me "there is no love in his family" he proceeded to tell me that Joanna and Sheala saw him fall on the stairs at home and they didn't even care - they just laughed at him - he wasn't feelin' any love! I told him I loved him more than life itself.

Our nephew, David, called and I talked with him a bit and then Pat talked with him until it was time for dinner. Then Robin came in, Pat brought in the chicken and we sat down to a yummy dinner. We sent them all home right after dinner (they usually help us clean up but we insisted they needed to leave for their errands).

Then we went to the park for a bit and came home. It was a very nice night in Saginaw.

Rain Rain Go Away

We have two outdoor weddings to go to today! The rain is threatening with gray clouds and nastiness out there! Hopefully the sun will peek out for the weddings.

We played cards with Bill and Amy last night - what fun. Bill and I even traded hands a couple times because we both were complaining so much about the rotten cards we were getting. One time I got better cards and the next time MUCH MUCH worse. We played a couple of games of Spades and a couple of Hearts. I don't think I've been up that late in a long while. We drank gin and tonics and of course I had leg cramps last night, all night long. But - it was a fun night.

It is official - I got my numbers for retirement - I'll take a hit by going a year early - but - we can actually do it financially. However, after January there will be no more Keno! A small price to pay to start having a great time with my sweetie!

1/2 Day

Pat and I took off for up north this afternoon - what a nice ride. I can't take it for granite anymore - it feels so good to have my knee feel fine on a long ride - I wasn't sure I would be able to go on our adventures anymore - but not one bit of being uncomfortable when we went today! YEAH!

I haven't even started "cleaning for the cleaning lady" as my Mom would say and she comes tomorrow! I will have to scurry around in the morning in order to have the place be clean enough to be cleaned!!!!

Remembering Paula

Being a Great Wife and Mother
A Sister and Friend,
Playing Pinochle – always my partner and
Always bidding high against David,
Cooking Sweet and Sour Pork,
Selling at the Antique Festival,
Going to Thrift Stores and Garage Sales,
Encouraging Artists and Painting Beautiful Art,
Opening and Closing Her Gallery,
Filling up Every Available Space with Treasures,
Coaxing David to Make More Space Available,
Camping, Talking, Laughing,
Enjoying Life and Making Other People Enjoy it, too.
I'll miss you Paula

New Business Card

I love my new business cards - I've resisted getting any but when I am at the craft shows lots of people ask for them - so - when Vista started advertising on TV I decided to try them - they were very affordable you just have to wade through one or two emails every day from them. All in all - that is worth the price to me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANE SCHMANE

Just a short fireworks from Saginaw, Michigan 2009 - Happy Birthday, Sister Dear - all these people were ooohing and ahhhhing for your birthday celebration!

First Blueberry Pie

MMMMMmmmmm..... Our tenant, Marge and our next door neighbor, Juanita, went blueberry picking this morning - they came back and gave us enough berries for blueberry pie - the fruit was tart and the crust turned out great - mmmmm.... I know my friend Kay is cringing at the thought of ruining a good blueberry - but we loved it!

I spent the morning, with Pat's help, finishing up the dishes and knives from the Frankenmuth show - we had lots of bugs at the show and I didn't want to bring them in the basement so we left everything in the garage until I could get to them. Pat bullied me into doing it this morning and by the time we were done I thanked him - it has been on my mind but I just hate getting started!

Then we went for a nice drive - to the Wooden Shoe restaurant - it was a great drive but I don't think we would go just for the restaurant - even though we ate outside on the patio on the Tittabawassee River it was just an okay place. The Dockside in Bay City on the Saginaw Bay has us SPOILED.

YEAH

I just found out I can retire in January 2011 instead of 2012!!!!! I am SOOO happy - the smile hasn't left my face. We had our friends Bill and Amy and Jan and Jim over for dinner to celebrate - I tried my niece Kim's shrimp recipe - but I made it a little easier. We bought already cooked shrimp at Jack's then added:

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp ginger
Juice of one lime

Marinated for 1 hour then we put it on a flat screen type grill pan and covered it with foil - then we put it on the grill for about 5 minutes - just to warm it up.

YUMMMMMM!!!!

River Roar

We went to the Dockside in Bay City yesterday afternoon and watched the practice runs for the River Roar this weekend - we had such a good time - lots of sunshine - warm wind - fast boats - and most of all sitting next to my Honey. I sure did miss him while he was traveling the past two weeks. Good to have him home.

Looking for......

Classmates addresses: Joe Schneider, Janice Sutter, Bob Wilcox, Margot Phelan, Ron Majewski, Rene Gaudreau. I am sending the flyers out for our 40th this week - I want to make sure everyone is invited.

Nice Dinner

I just had dinner with my son-in-law, Robin. We had such a nice evening - talking about family and church and life in general. He is so proud of his kids and it shows in the stories he tells. Joanna is in Hawaii and Pat is in New Jersey so I texed him and asked if he wanted to go out to dinner - it was very nice.

Pat will be home tomorrow - I can't wait - I miss him lots.

Long Weekend

The weekend in Frankenmuth was so hot - and really no one had purchases in their hands - I am really only going to do Fall and Winter shows. My plates are great gifts for Christmas and I'm going to stick with that for now. I certainly made enough to pay for everything but I am sure I could have spent the weekend with my family visiting from Tulsa and had more fun! Thank goodness for Patrick - what a good sport - he sat with me all weekend long!

I had my cousin over for dinner last night and we wrapped spoons and knives to match dishes she had. That was a lot of fun and very nice to visit with her.

I'm supposed to be getting out the class reunion flyers tonight - but I decided to wait until tomorrow! I never knew what a procrastinator I am! Going to work at 4 am yesterday really exhausted me - I had to work at a very fast pace trying to make up for Friday when the computers went down at work - I did make my deadlines but I am still paying the price - when I came home this afternoon I took a nap and I am sure I'll still sleep well tonight.

I talked to Sheala for a bit today - she had a WONDERFUL time in Boston. She made so many friends and really didn't want to come home. I am so happy she had a great time. Now they are visiting their cousins in New Jersey - what a fun way to begin the summer.

Family and Shows

We saw lots of family at the funeral this week - of course we all decided never to miss another year without getting together - but you know how that goes - weddings and funerals.

It was a nice time to see two of our nieces and my sister from Tulsa - we don't get enough hugs, smiles, and kisses from them. It was so nice to talk with them about their future plans and tell them we love them. Jim and Cindy showed us a slide show if their Mission trip to Cuba. Cindy has been at her sons house and then her mom's house for a few weeks and she was home last night - I like it when she is home! Mary Lynn went over to spend the night, too - I'm glad she stayed. I missed Kathy and Larry though.

The show in Frankenmuth was HOT HOT HOT yesterday - and it looks as if today will be the same - but at least all the storms were down south of the show so maybe when we get there today our tent will still be standing!

I Sold a good number of dishes - there was this really great cobalt blue bowl shaped like a fish and I was so glad it sold - it needed a good home - it was my favorite piece on the table. Today my goal is to sell the beautiful pink glass bowl with a spoon with beautiful Swarovski pink beads. I don't like having pieces that are so special to pack away.

Well off I go - time to find a few more dishes in the basement to take with me - I noticed I didn't have near enough glass dishes to sparkle in the sunshine.

Resurrection Sunday - Budapest

Thank you Maureen!

FRANKENMUTH

I will be in Frankenmuth all weekend long - starting today at Noon, Friday, June 18th through Sunday. I will be selling the hostess sets - $10 for one set and $15 for two sets. I found some really great dishes - perfect for the 4th of July!

We are hoping the weather cooperates - it sounds as if it might - I can't wait to see you all.

Prayers

My cousin, Mary Lynn, lost her son this week while he was out on his daily exercise run - he had a fatal heart attack at the age of 46. He was a good man - a fun uncle - loved by many. His obituary shows how full of life he was (Click on his name below to read it). Our love and prayers to his family and friends.

Fr. Damien

Jazz on Jefferson - What Fun

We saw so many people that we know at "Jazz on Jefferson" last night. We had such a good time. People from St. Mary's and St. Pete's and the City of Saginaw and Delta and we had our booth next to Jan and Jim - it was fun, fun, fun. We could hear Jean Marie singing over on Millard Street which was very nice.

We sold 20 plates and knives which was a great night when no one even knew there was going to be a vendor spot. It was such a nice evening. We hope to do it again next year.

This week

I had the week off from work - what a luxurious thing - to be off and not trying to recuperate from surgery! I have such good friends at work who pick up my job and get it done while I am gone - I can't thank them enough. Anyone who has been following my blog knows that I have been counting down until retirement - well - I'm under 500 days!!!!!!!!!

We started out our camping year on a great note - camping with friends at the Rifle River State Recreation Area - we had one really great day weather-wise and the others were okay. Pat is camping with his brothers this weekend so I've been shopping the estate sales and going to buy fabulous beads at Joanne's - they were all on sale so I bought lots.

Jan and I are excited about the Jazz on Jefferson on Wednesday evening - Her purses are so fabulous you will want to see them - we will be set up in the Team One Credit Union parking lot - hope you will stop by and see us.