Just The Usual

Cleaning, grocery shopping, bookkeeping. But extra much so because we are having out of town guests. Sarah's aunt and uncle from Florida are coming tomorrow and staying for the week. So I've been scurrying around trying to get everything done. Last night we had to fly down to Northville (after Sarah got home from working) and winterize a house before it got dark. So for a treat we all went to Macaroni Grill. Had to hurry back to do the nightly uploading. So no time to visit the locals. :-(
Tonight we bought a new (old) truck for the business. We will be buying a plow so Renee can plow for Sarah. ha ha It's a new task for us this year. Hope it pays off. One of the PP companies requires plowing of the driveways. (for the foreclosure houses) Renee had said she wanted to do it..... I think one of the 2 new employees will be doing that. I'm pretty much working part time for the bus. now. I'm thinking pretty soon I would like to get paid!

Fall Fun

The girls scrapbook weekend was lots of fun and very relaxing. I'm not sure how many pages were scrapped but it was a good excuse to get away. Friday night we ate fish and chips at the Canadian Steak and Fish in Grayling. We all decided it was only "ok." Saturday was mostly rainy, but the sun did eek out so we decided to hit the road and drove to Petoskey. We introduced Renee & Chris to the Roast & Toast and other of our favorite shops in town. Renee was a maniac with the camera! Driving and snapping and making me very nervous. She did get a lot of really nice pictures though. I love her new camera. She let me take some pics and I actually took a few good shots. I will put them on various blogs. We returned home and had yummy taco salad and then Harvest Pumpkin Spice Bars for dessert. Sunday morning we decided not to make breakfast (so we could get the dishwasher running....) and opted for breakfast out at the One Water Street Cafe. 3 of us had the famous eggs Benedict. By the time we got home it was raining, hailing and thundering. Poor Sarah still had to winterize the boat. She was sopping wet by the time she was done. After cleaning and packing we got on our way about 1:00 or 1:30. It was crazy weather. We kept going in and out of sleet, hail and severe winds. The temp would drop 10 degrees inside one of the "dark spells." Then the sun would pop out and the temp would go up 10 degrees. Renee got us all safely home. She probably had a hard time uncrimping her fingers from the steering wheel. I got the most pages completed at 10, but I must admit I was only working in an 8 x 8 book. I think we will try and make this an annual trip! It was so much fun and quite relaxing.

Feeling Better and Heading Out of Dodge

Yesterday I started feeling much better. My nose finally stopped running and running. This afternoon Sarah and I and Renee and Chris are heading for Boyne. We're planning a restful, kind of scrap booking extravaganza type of weekend. I still have to grocery shop, bake and pack. I better get going!

Sneezing-Draining-Dripping-Coughing-Achy

That's me!

Ah, To Be Turning 4

Today was Sydney Bean's 4 yr celebration. I will include a pic if Renee sends me one. There was at least a million people in attendance. The Renee's have a lot of family and friends. The kid got the hook up. Lot's of baby dolls, kitchen dishes and plastic food for her new Little Tykes awesome modern kitchen with real working ice cube dispenser. I am sure a play date will be up and coming soon!

Still working on the office. Got a new desk last night. Moved everything around. It's still a mess though, so I can't do a pic until everything is put away. It was a nice, sunny day.

Rudolph The Reindeer Tea

After an average day of bookkeeping, phone calls, picking up the house etc. AND a nice dinner of salad bar and crab cakes from Ruby Tuesdays, my throat felt scratchy. I searched the cupboards to see what hot liquid I might imbibe to help the throat. My eyes scanned the teas and low and behold stopped on the package of Rudolph the Reindeer Tea. Ah just the thing. I stuck a cup of water in the microwave (i have no teapot :-( It helped. But I woke up this morning with an even more scratchy throat and watery eyes and stuffy nose AND a headache. Cinnamon tea for this morning. And a piece of cherry nut bread from Great Harvest.

Weekend Project: Re do the office so it's more user friendly. Last night we bought a new 4 drawer filing cabinet and some baskets and such for storing batteries, pens & pencils, papers. I think some of the furniture needs to be moved or REmoved.

Sistopher Outing

Yesterday started with a leisuryly drive down to Livonia. The trees were really looking pretty in all their splendiforous glory. We piled into the car and went to our first location; the Northville Farmers Market. The trunk was soon loaded with squash, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, beans, bread, fall decorations and even a huge pumpkin that is going all the way back to SC. Apparently they have no pumpkins there. We even went back for a second trip. I bought some pretty yellow/orange mums and the sistophers added a few more items. Then we went downtown for lunch at Rebecca's. Marlene and I chose the cabbage/veg soup and the sweet potato fries. Oh my! They were so yummy! Pretty fattening I'm sure, but oh so good. Our next stop was to the Northville Cider Mill. We walked back to the river to see the ducks. They were paddling around waiting for stale doughnuts. They didn't get any from us. We then proceeded into the store to purchase cider, doughnuts, carmel apples and cider slushes! We arrived back home stuffed and tired. Don and Riley pulled in to the driveway just as we were pulling in. No rest for the weary. Aunt Jan had bought some huge paper dolls from her earlier garage saling trip. So we made clothes for the dolls for the next hour or so. Riley is pretty creative and enjoyed making the clothes. Soon it was time for dinner. My sister can still cook so don't let her fool you. She made Italian crusted chicken, stuffing a squash bake, and fresh green beans. Cider Mill doughnuts for dessert. Very good! I had to leave so I wouldn't be driving in the dark; which I hate. All in all a very fun day!

What A Wind

There were some heavy duty gusts this morning. The deck umbrella blew completely around to the side of the house. Then it rained and blew. But by noon the winds and rain were gone, gone, gone and the sun came out to make a nice warm afternoon. I threw a roast in the crockpot and it was falling apart by dinner. I made yummy hot roast beef sandwiches and coleslaw with raisins and poppyseed dressing. It was tasty.
This week there is going to be a sistopher outing. My sister Jan is here from SC. So on Thursday we are going to go to the Northville Farmers Market, out to lunch in Northville and then to the Northville Cider Mill. I guess it will be a Northville kind of day. I'm looking forward to the trip.

A Beuticious Day

It started when the Fed-Ex man pounded on the door and woke me up at 8:15 a.m. What a sight! (me) I did some stuff around the house, then I decided to go to the new S-O-N-I-C. I ordered a breakfast sandwich and a Strawberry Limeade! It wasn't too crowded at the time I was there. But they were gearing up for the lunch crowds. ( I had already gone to the bank before Sonic.) Then I had to go to Lowe's and pick up a Dehumidifier for a job for Sarah. When I dropped that off she asked me to go to Gilroy's and get a carpet cleaner. Then I finally got home. I did junk on the computer from around 12:30 to 5:30. Had a Lean Cuisine Panini for lunch - not too bad. Called my dad to let him know we're going to the cottage for the week of the 24th. Gonna be a Scrapin Week end with the girls. Sarah and me, and Renee from across the way and cousin Chris. Can't wait!

Indian Summer

A period of mild, sunny weather occurring in late autumn, usually following a seasonable cold spell. [Late 1700s] Isn't it wonderful? The weather man said it would hit 80 degrees today and tomorrow.
My sister & hus. are up north, lucky ducks. I imagine it's gorgeous.
We accomplished some tasks around the yard yesterday, I did some grocery shopping and made a yummy recipe, Harvest Pumpkin Spice Bars to take to our monthly card party last night. First we started out at the Hollywood Diner for breakfast on Corunna Rd. I had a huge "super" omelet. Of course I forgot to bring the part I didn't eat home. The we went to Home Depot to pick up some stuff.
Today we are going back over to Mike & Chris's to finish off last nights leftovers. Cheesy Potato soup & chicken salad. And of course, Harvest Pumpkin Spice Bars! ( I sent a picture of them to Marlene via cell phone.)

A Birthday Dinner Rescued

Homemade lasagna, garlic bread with homemade garlic butter, salad and a birthday cake. Katie and Richie were supposed to come over to celebrate Richie's birthday, but had to cancel because Richie's sister is in the hospital to give birth. The Renee's graciously accepted an invitation to dinner. The dinner got "killed" and even Evan seemed to like the lasagna. He's kind of a picky eater. I was very impressed when after dinner the kids got up without direction and cleared their dishes. We had a good time (as we always do) with the Renee's.

A Very Nice Day

(The Alamo)

It started with me making biscuits and gravy (i cheated on the biscuits--i used "Grands") and scrambled eggs. Very good. Then I set up the new computer; which took quite a while. I did everything so far by myself and haven't needed to bug Tom yet...
Then we went to Wolcott's Cider Mill in Mt. Morris. We got apples, cider, doughnuts, a Carmel apple for me and apple dumplings for Sarah & Niki. It was beautiful. WAS. It is now clouding up. It's even supposed to rain tonight, yuck. Sarah & Nik got the camper all set for winter. boo hoo.
I'm making stuffed pork chops and asparagus for dinner. Cheating on that too and using box stuffing.

The Dump at 7:45 A.M.

Now that is real thrilling, let me tell you. Unloading wet, soggy trash; other people's nasty stuff. Good thing I'm not a collector of stuff, or I'd be pulling stuff as it's in mid-air on it's way into the dumpster. Should have took a picture. OK, enough about that.
So because I was up so early I've been everywhere and it's only noon. The library, Blockbuster and the grocery store. Getting ready to have that meatloaf sandwich I never ate yesterday. We have 2 teams out working today. There is so much work it's crazy. I might have to start going - YUCK. I really hope not. Anybody know someone with a pick up truck that could use some part-time work?

P.S. The pic is frm San Antonio. Stay tuned for more.

Oh yeah, Happy Birthday Karen & Raymond!

New Post

I don't know where the week has gone. Monday seems like ages ago. Tuesday I went down to Ann Arbor to sit with Don while Marlene was having surgery to repair an aneurysm. (which could not be done) So she got to go home after they woke her up! Wednesday I got up early to go down to Livonia to babysit for Riley. We had a blast and played with the baby dolls for SEVERAL hours. Then Karen, Riley and I went to Oodles of Noodles for lunch. I wish we had one here, it was yummy. Then we stopped to see the recovering Mar, then we went to go visit Knock-Knock. (That's what Riley calls my dad) A very busy day. I came home and took a nap. We had left-overs for dinner. (yuck) Then went across the street to celebrate Elissa's 12th birthday. Finally went to bed, whew! Yesterday, I stayed home most of the day. I took Sarah a sub from Jimmy John's. First time we tried that. It was ok, nothing special. Then I came home and made a meatloaf. I'll be having a meatloaf sandwich for lunch today.-) Insurance dude came over last night and Sarah and I both got hooked up with some Life Insurance. Then I watched "Survivor." I tried to watch the VP debate but it made me crazy so I had to stop.