Thursday, July 31, 2008

Did I tell you that last week Juan, during one of his garbage picking days, found some coloring books and crayons? Well...he did! Not just a few crayons.....a whole plastic shoebox full of them....mostly new. The people were moving and for some reason decided not to take these items. Don't know...maybe the kids are not kids anymore...who knows. So, we have the two girls for today and tomorrow and they like to color. This should keep them busy for quite some time....I hope. I don't know....we only have them for one hour but that hour just seems so long. Guess I'm not used to little ones anymore.
Nothing else new. Wedding is Saturday and for us will be an all day affair. Ann had said she was taking time off from work...yesterday, today and tomorrow. Lots of work planning a wedding. Think if I had to plan one I would just hire an event planner. Let them do the running around for stuff and finding the best prices or best DJ's or whatever. And!!!!!....you have to be calm about everything. I'm not calm anymore....sigh too many times. So....that's that!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Heard from my sister-in-law today. She wants us all to come to her home after the wedding ceremony this Saturday. Guess I told you that our niece is getting married. There is a gap between the ceremony and the reception...wedding at 2pm...reception at 6pm. I had originally thought that we would go to the ceremony and then come home, change and go to the reception. Thought that there would be too much going on at the bride's house but the wedding party will be driving around in a limo, taking pictures until the reception. Going to their home afterward will make it easier for us to just follow them to the reception. We haven't had a big wedding on that side of the family since the bride's parents were married. Yikes!
Made some stuffed peppers today for our dinner. They are in the oven right now...ummmm. Love green peppers! Juan does not really care for green peppers but he likes this recipe. It calls for a can of tomatoes and since he won't eat chunks of cooked tomatoes, I have to blend them up so he can eat them. I'm telling you...ahhhh!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Today, had a surprise visit from an old neighbor. Was sitting out on the front porch when who rides by on their bikes were Carol and her son Frankie. They used to live right next door to us. Frankie is now 11 years old and I told them how when I look at the tree planted on their old lawn I always say to myself, "That's Frankie's tree." Carol planted the tree the year that Frankie was born. The tree is really huge now...very tall. Showed her all the stuff we had done inside and outside our home and she loved it all. Wants to know the name of the guy who redid our bathroom as she wants their bathroom redone. Frank wasn't with them as he was golfing so just told her to say hi from both of us. While she was here Aunt Bea stopped by. She had called earlier that she was coming over so knew she was coming. She didn't really stay that long. Told me all the goings on with Sandy, Lenny and all the girls. Juan came home while she was still here. He had with him a whole big container full of coloring books, crayons, regular books and a few toys. We sorted through it all and put aside what we are going to keep for the girls when they come over. Lots of new stuff to keep them busy. :) Have to go the store now and pick up a few things for the week.

Friday, July 25,2008

Another product I really love....Clarisonic Skin Care System. Know it's on the pricey side but for me it really works. Have some psoriasis on my face and this product keeps it in check. Just bought it in, I believe January, and today the base charger won't charge. Called the company and they are sending me out a brand new system...the Clarisonic and it's cradle charger. The brush head I will keep. Very pleased with this company. Noticed on their site that they now have a universal charger cradle. Will probably use an adapter for when we go to Mexico so don't think I will get that product. Their web site is: www.clarisonic.com ...if you are interested.
Have to watch the girls a little longer today as there is a union meeting right after work for Brandy. Have the movie "Alice in Wonderland"....hopefully this will keep them amused.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Finished the above scrapbook page for Alex's album. Put all the wording from her blog about Camp Dearborn onto the page....except added the "can't go back" part. Alex is going to be watching GiGi for us when we go to Mexico. She will just block her off in the kitchen during the time when she is at work. You know...newspapers and all that stuff. Should save us a lot of money than having her in a kennel. Hopefully she will be a good girl...but that's not for a while yet.
Need a haircut but will have to wait until next week as the girl who does my hair is on vacation this week. If I need a haircut that means GiGi also needs one. Maybe next week also for her.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Camp Dearborn. Alex went yesterday for their 60th anniversary and took some pictures. Don't know...maybe because it was a cloudy, rainy day or ??? but, looking at the pictures just made me sad. I know things are bound to change but we had such happy times there and the pictures don't show anything happy. The tents where we camped on Row E have been taken down and it's just all grass. The place used to be packed with campers and now doesn't look like many are there. The playground equipment looks all forlorn. Where is everyone? Well, you can't go back but you can in your mind. It's brighter there.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Did you ever find a product that you just love? It's these Green Bags that keep fruits and vegetables fresher, longer. They really work! The are reusable bags, up to 8 to 10 times, that are made with some natural mineral called "Oya" (yeah, like I ever heard of that mineral). Anyway....they are a great product! I use a marker to write on the bag which fruit or vegetable I have used it for as you are suppose to use the same product in the same bag. They cost $9.99 but if you have one of those 20% off coupons from Bed, Bath & Beyond, you can get it for $7.99 which isn't too bad. There are 20 bags to a box of two different sizes. So try it...you'll like it. Ü
Went to the birthday party today. So many little kids! But it was fun watching them all. Came home and a short while later Alex and Caroline stopped by after going to Camp Dearborn for their 60th reunion. Wow....60 years already.
Getting dark outside....think it's going to rain again.

Friday, July 18, 2008

The last scrapbook page I did of Traverse City is above. Photos are of Juan in the famous cherry tree grove that actually were apple trees....cherries....fish town....dog tricks in downtown Traverse City....young people who were the entertainers at a dinner show we attended and Juan standing in front of a huge tree. Going to be another hot one today. Still not dressed and have to go get a card for the birthday party we are going to tomorrow. I know.....I could make one but don't feel like doing that right now. Will just run over to Target and pick one up. Our niece will be getting married in two weeks and will make a card for her. Have to say that GiGi is lovin' the front porch. I just tell her "come on...let's go on the porch" and she runs to the front door. Of course, she would love to be able to run after every dog, squirrel or bird she sees go by. So nice to sit out there without all the bugs! Heard through the grapevine that some people I know are going to Camp Dearborn tomorrow for the reunion....hummmmm. Wonder if they will stop by?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Everyone seems to like our front porch. I was out there late last night during the thunderstorm. Pretty cool. The Canton siren went off but the all clear one never did go off. ?? Guess we should still be taking cover. Have some running around to do today and it's going to be another hot one. Saturday we are going to a two years old birthday party. Our neighbor across the street from us and the party is at one of the Summit's pavillions. The mother has it planned for 3 hours.....like yeah. Don't think so.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Here's the front porch as it now looks...and no mosquitoes! Well, at least when you keep the screen door closed. I likey. If you look closely in the last picture you can see two little white specks in the dark....that's Juan. hehehe. If you click on that picture you can see it better. Also did one more scrapbook page from our trip to Traverse City but will post that one tomorrow. Think I will do a scrapbook page of the front porch....ummmm. We are back to watching Sierra and Alexis although yesterday we only had Sierra. Juan had found this toy that was unopened...a glitter paint set with 24 tubes of paint. Can understand why the parents threw it away. Anyway....Brandy said it was okay to give to Sierra. It is recommended for children 5 and up.
Have to straighten up this house today. Don't know how it gets so messy with just the two of us.

Yes, the men were here to install the enclosure and are coming back this morning to finish. Need to install a couple of the handles and seal in different places. Looks better than what I thought it would. Juan had wanted tinted glass and I thought it would be too dark but not so. Also, the color is darker than siding we have but doesn't look bad. Am pleased! Juan told people that there would be a black tie grand opening. :) Everyone passing by really like it. Will put up some pictures tomorrow.
Did the above scrapbook page of the Music Museum we went to in Traverse City. Lots of neat old musical instruments including big organs like they had at roller rinks or dance halls. Interesting.

Monday, July 14,2008

Still waiting for the men to come and install the enclosure. Not sure when they are suppose to arrive but, planning on sitting out there tonight....with Juan and GiGi. :) Now she will be able to go out there without a leash.
Finished the above scrapbook page of the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Boy, it was so neat walking out of a forest and onto the dunes. Everything was so bright and BLUE! The sky and Lake Michigan were beautiful. But...WINDY!!! Can understand why the dunes are always changing. You can't tell from the pictures but we were standing 450 feet above the lake. A few brave souls ventured down the dune to the lake. Some found out that they weren't as fit as they thought they were when they had to climb back up the hill.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Did the above scrapbook page of the wine vineyards we went to in Lake Leelanau. For some reason was having trouble piecing the two pages together. Not quite sure what the reason was for this so had to do it a different way. In the process it made some of photos on the right side blurry which they really aren't. Well, you get the jist of the layout anyway. We had a wine tasting here at this particular vineyard...the Chateau Fontaine. You can see some of the grapes growing in the distance on the top right of the page. These grapes were planted by Michigan State University back 22 years ago. The owners did a great job of explaining and letting us taste the different wines. They had cheese, crackers, bread, seasoned oil and grapes out for us and of course, wine. We ended up getting a bottle of their Chateau Fontaine 2006 White Riesling which both of us really liked. Neither of us are big wine drinkers so we bought this for guests who are. I also picked up a package of Bread Dipping Herbs that you add to oil and two cheese ball mixes. One was Chardonnay, Garlic & Cilantro and the other is Red Wine, Red Peppers & Chives. Each package makes four cheese balls so will have pleanty on hand.
Juan is out cutting the front grass. We cleaned off the front porch as tomorrow people are coming to install the enclosure for the porch. Sure will be different. I had to move the flower containers around to make room and also moved the hanging basket. Now it is on a stand, still in front but, near the other end of the house. Have to take down the wind chimes we have out and later will have John install hooks to hang them on the over-hang. And that's what going on.
Oh...and the slide show near the bottom of this page has all the photos from our trip. You can put your cursor over the picture to see a discription.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Got back from Traverse City last night. Wasn't able to pick up GiGi until this morning and she was glad to see us...happy all day running here and there. We had a pretty good time on our trip although I was a little bit dissapointed with Traverse City. They had all kinds of tents up for the Cherry Festival and you never got a good view of the bay from the downtown area. Still, the lake is big and we did drive round it. We had stopped at a roadside market to pick up some cherries for home and saw in the back a big grove of trees. Everyone was walking out there taking their picture in front of the cherry trees. We did also until someone noticed that they weren't cherry trees at all but apple trees as shown in the bottom picture. Oh well. :) We did see lots of cherry trees in other areas. Went to a winery...very nice....a music museum....very nice...and a dinner show....lots of fun. So...again...a good time. Oh...went to an Indian owned casino and we ended up losing $30.00 but still was fun. The Indians that own the casino also own the hotel we stayed at...The Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Tomorrow we leave early in the morning for the Cherry Festival in Traverse City. We have never been to Traverse City so should be interesting. We have to take GiGi to the kennel tonight. :( Our neighbor offered to take care of her but she has lots of dogs and since GiGi doesn't like other dogs around her, thought it would be too much...for both of them. She and Aspen were once at this particular kennel before....for a wedding we went to in Illinois. Here is the site where she will be: http://hallidayspetresort.com Not going real fancy with her....just the regular. So...talk to ya when we get back.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Well, the plumber guy is coming this morning at 11am. He was suppose to have come yesterday but called and cancelled. I have some running around to do this morning so Juan will be here with the guy.
Did the above scrapbook page yesterday and nothing much else. Sat out back on my swing with GiGi and rocked away. Such a life.

On another thought....just got back from the store and the bank. The guy was here fixing the faucet. Young guy. Handyman. What was wrong with the faucet, you ask? It was the spray hose. Leaking! Guess what he charged? Twenty bucks! I am ordering a new sink and faucet and we asked how much to install them. One hundred and twenty dollars! Now in case you think I am complaining....NO WAY!!!! Home Depot was going to charge $360.00 to install the them. So....anyone out there in the neighborhood who needs a handyman....we got his number.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Trouble....yes, we have trouble. Right here in my kitchen. Always something. The faucet is broken...have to get a new one....BUT....I want to get a new stainless sink....one like the one we already have. It's a two part sink...deeper on one side....AND....no one carries them....you have to order them..........SOOooo....a plumber is coming out this afternoon to fix the old faucet. Probably will cost some ridiculous amount.
The above picture is of the cake we had for the 4th and a picture of Sierra and Alexis with their Hannah Montana hair piece that Alex bought for them. Can't really see how cute it really looks.
Alex went with Tanya, Paul and Paige to the Toledo Zoo and will be leaving for back to her home this afternoon.
We leave early Wednesday morning for Traverse City and will be back late Friday night. AND....the front porch will be enclosed the following week. Not sure of the day as they will call. They had wanted to install it this coming Wednesday but we won't be here.
And that's it! OH....JUST ADDED A NEW PHOTO SLIDESHOW ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Saturday morning. Alex is now getting ready to go to Tanya's for the day. They are all going to the Toledo Zoo which John, Brandy and the girls went to yesterday. While ther, the girls had their faces painted. We had our BBQ and later John shot off a bunch of fireworks. I stayed mainly in the house as am not a fan of fireworks at home. Like it better when professionals set them off. :) Today have to clean up from the night before and not do much of anything else.
That's Sierra, 7 years old, pictured on top and then Alexis, 3 years old, on the bottom.
Will try to put together a scrapbook page with the photos I have.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Well, storms came and went. Boy....the siren here in Canton went off so many times. Of course, Juan and I just stayed put. At one point at around midnight Juan did go outside to see what he could see. Like that was going to do any good. Today, Sierra and Alexis helped make Grape Gelatin Squares for tomorrow. I have the cream cheese out now to soften and will make the Strawberry Jellow Pretzel dessert later today. Will make the potatoes tomorrow. Took out the last of the corn-on-the-cob I had in the freezer. Will have that also for tomorrow and bought a one layer cake for dessert. The cake is really pretty. Will have to take a picture of it before we cut into it. I also bought two frosted cookies for the girls. They have the picture of the Little Mermaid on them. And that's about it.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

What is with all this rain? Now I'm not really complaining but...wow. I kind of...just kind of...feel sorry for all the kids out of school for the summer. Not much of one for them so far but, unless they have access to a pool, they are never outside anyway. Juan is making his ribs Friday so am assuming that all will be here. Know John will be but haven't heard from Alex and there is a thunder storm here now so don't want to call her just yet. Just thought of something. I suppose I could call her on my cell phone and that wouldn't be the same as calling on a regular phone during a storm.
Well, I called her but no answer and no return. Figure she must be sleeping as she had told me that she probably only got a few hours of sleep the hold time she was there.
Sirens! and Thunder! and Lightening! oh my! Doesn't look like this is going to stop anytime soon. It is already almost 11pm and still it goes on and on.
I'm tired...think I will go to bed early. Yeah, right!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

July....half the year gone by already...wow. Anyway...have to go to the mall today and find something for the up-coming wedding next month. Also, have to order some shirts for Juan through the Penney catalogue. It has the style of shirts that he likes. Went to John's place Sunday for pizza and to meet Brandy's mother and step-father...her sister was also there. Ended up bringing some boxes of Christmas items of Brandy's to store in our basement as they really don't have any room. John, at one point last week, told me that he was bringing his clothes over to our house. I said, "What clothes?" He told me, his clothes that need to be washed. "Don't think so, John!" I will still iron his dress shirts for him but laundry is now a no no. Do his laundry! Eh!
Juan is going to be making his ribs sometime this week-end....not sure which day...Friday or Saturday. Alex is suppose to be going to Tanya's....I think. She is currently at some lake house in Harrison, MI. Back to work for her tomorrow so she will be coming back to her home today sometime.