Summer Solstice - First Day of Summer

Summer Is:

Water Skiing














• Blowing Bubbles

Camping



• The Zoo

The first day of summer officially kicks off today at 7:28 a.m. ET, the beginning of the summer solstice and the longest day of the year—at least in the Northern Hemisphere.
The summer solstice is a result of the Earth's north-south axis being tilted 23.5 degrees relative to the sun. The tilt causes different amounts of sunlight to reach different regions of the planet.
Today the North Pole is tipped closer to the sun than on any other day of 2010. As high noon on the first day of summer, the sun appears at its highest point in the sky—its most directly overhead position—in the Northern Hemisphere.
That doesn't mean the sun will be exactly overhead at noon for everyone, said James Bell, an astronomer at Cornell University in New York State.
It depends on the viewer's latitude—the sun is only shining down directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer. "It's still at a low angle if you're up in Alaska," Bell explained.

June 17th

Happy Birthday, Sarah jane and Riley rose. Oh, and happy anniv. to our neighbors LeAnn and McKenzie. Went out to lunch at Red Robin. It was a beautiful day. I told Sarah she could do whatever she wanted. She picked a nap-- go figure. That's what happens when you work too hard, I guess. I called R.R. and wished her HB by singing the traditional song over the phone. Syd went swimming in the neighbor's pool, she was the only one brave enough. The other kids thought it was way too cold. Then we went to Tee Bonez for dinner. Very cool, on Lake Penemah where we used to ski; (in Fenton) there was a band and we had a nice dinner.

No Smores Allowed

Had a great time camping with our friends the Hinspeters. Went to Brighton Recreation Area. It only rained Saturday night and it was a peaceful sounding sleep inducing rain. It was cloudy most of Sat. and today but that's ok. Went for a bike ride on some trails Sat. a.m. Probably a couple miles around Bishop Lake. Went canoeing and kayaking in the afternoon for about an hour and a half. It was very muggy. We all really enjoyed that though. Chilled out and read in the late afternoon. Tried a mango smirnoff drink. It was pretty good. Then we ate a grilled dinner of chicken, asparagus and veggie packets. Strawberry shortcake for dessert. We ate very healthy all weekend. yea! I have to go "out" to work tomorrow because we got a HUGE job. But my goals for the rest of the week include making homemade granola and some whole wheat muffins. The plan is to eat healthy and exercise because I cannot afford my $200/month diabetes meds. (that's just one of 3 that I take.)

They're Back!

Mr. and Mrs. Blue Bird, that is. Syd noticed them yesterday. She said some birds are fighting on the grass. And sure enough it was the bluebird and the sparrow going at it again. I guess Mr. BB was still not happy with Mr S. taking up residence in the camper birdhouse. Later in the afternoon, however I noticed that the Mr. and Mrs. BB were hovering about and keeping an eye out on a different house. This morning I was up early and noticed them still hanging about. Upon closer observation, I saw that Mrs. BB was bring grass and such items back and forth and stuffing them into the new house. I was able to get some nice photographs of them in action yesterday. Mostly Mr. BB. They are so pretty and also fun to watch.

Finishing up packing the camper and hope to be pulling out by 4:30. Hope the rain holds off at least until we get set up.

Getting Ready for the Camping Trip

There is always so much to do. Whew! That's probably why once you get there you sit around and relaxxxx the whole time! Washing, packing the clothes, food, camping necessities. Why just the food alone, you have the "dry" goods, the refrigerator food AND the freezer food. I'm not complaining, really I'm not. Trying out a new state park with some friends. Brighton Recreation. I think it's really in Howell though. If the weather holds out we may try kayaking on Saturday. I really hope the weather does hold out. There is nothing MORE frightening when you're camping than a thunderstorm, especially if there is alot of wind. Let's not even mention the "T" word.
Then there is all the double-checking to make sure everything is still in the camper. Matches, newspaper, towels, paper towels, toilet paper, blankets, chairs, etc... That is my job today since I didn't have to go mowing.

Way Back Tuesday

Ha, ha. couldn't wait til Wednesday.
So, I was thinking about going to Ipperwash Beach as a kid. Just random thoughts actually. So bare with me. They will be in no particular order.

• Getting candy & pop from Blue Jays & another store
• Larry St. John throwing firecrackers at us
• The old log cabins
• Staying in the cottage below the Wagners
• Going to the beach at Grand Bend
• Trying to water ski behind Cliff Maye's boat
• Walking the beach
• Sunsets on the beach
• Going to the Forest Gospel Hall
• Going to the cute stores in Forest
• The Brown's A-Frame cottage and their get togethers
• Going to the bakery with mom and getting fresh tarts & bread
• Running up & down the sand dunes
• Purple Haze (private joke)
• Trips to Kettle Point
• Crossing over the bridge to Canada

**feel free to add your own memories - comments

SC Hometown Day Parade

Didn't go the the Birdhouse in Freeland or the farmer's market in Midland. Instead went to the Hometown Days parade. Sat by the "Tree's" and friends. Prime spots on Miller Rd. by Mary Crapo. (where the play was held) It was hot & humid and long. I held the bag while Syd and Evan scooped up the candy that was being thrown. Then went grocery shopping. Made some coleslaw and went to the last card party of the season.

Today we researched some bike trails in the area, decided to head out to do a quick job and then go biking. We got rained out before we even got there. Will go another time. There is a 7.5 mile trail in Clio and a 3 mile trail in Flushing that we want to try.

Fabulous Friday

Just sitting with my coffee and enjoying the cool breeze and quietness of the morning. I'm hoping the clouds will clear up and we will see the sun. Finally got a peak of it yesterday afternoon. Sure glad the heat has dialed down a bit. Not sure what's on tap for the weekend. Probably a little work, a little rest. I would like to go to a farmer's market somewhere to get some fresh veggies and fruits and maybe some organic chicken.

Thinking about going to the "Birdhouse" in Freeland and the farmer's market in Midland.

I Love a Surprise

Especially when it comes in the mail. It appears I wrote too many checks to good ole Uncle Sam and he returned one to me yesterday. Thank the Lord! It arrived at a most opportune time. The check book was squawking up a storm. LOL I did this last year too. It seems I keep forgetting to tell the accountant about the last payment that I make. Oh well.
It's June already. Wow. Going to be a busy month. Going to make a batch of my famous enchiladas tonight for dinner. Maybe with a salad from the lettuce growing on the deck.
K, bye gotta get back to work.

Memorial Day 2010

Remembering fallen soldiers of every time and season.

Had to work in the morning. Just mowing, but all the way to Novi & Brighton. Then came home and cleaned out the van. Now just waiting for some rain. It is very dry. My sister had storms and lost power down in Livonia. Had fun reviewing past memorial days via my previous blog posts. What a neat way to record things. There is so much I would have forgotten. It's neat to have it all electronically recorded. I'm amazed at how much some things have changed, and yet also how much they have stayed the same. Last year we were recovering from throwing a wedding. Other years involved planting a garden and one year a camping trip with great friends.

2010 Balloon Glow at Frankenmuth

While watching the news last night, we saw a clip from the Balloon Flights in Frankenmuth. The newscaster said they were scheduled to take off at 7. We hurried up, jumped in the car and flew up to Frankenmuth. We arrived just in time. We saw several balloons take off. What a beautiful sight. We hung around listening to the announcer. We soon learned that it was actually a race and that the balloons would be arriving overhead and dropping a bean-bag with streamer attached into a target area. We decided to hang around. I'm glad we did. It was really neat to watch as the pilots maneuvered the balloons over the target area and dropped the bean-bag. Several missed the area entirely as they depend on finding the right wind currents to guide them. The pilots then landed the balloons and ferried them back to the area where 15 of them set up just at sunset and fired the burners creating the "glow." It was really beautiful to watch them glowing and listen to the "whoosh" of the flames.

Not Much But Work, Then Rest

Had to go to work again today. Just mowing. 4 lawns from Ortonville, to Grand Blanc, to Burton, to Flint. Got home at a decent time, took a relaxing bath and settled on the couch to veg. Sarah was updating the work. After about 1/2 hour she jumped up and said, "we have to go." Apparently, we skipped a job that was due today. So, back out we went. It was quick tho, and we are back home again.
My Peonies are in full bloom. Beautiful this year. Yesterday, as you saw on my fb, was the Community Picnic at the elementary school. I was in charge of Syd and Emma. Who by the way is the class whiner. She lived up to her name. Wow! That was interesting. Now I remember why I never wanted to teach Kindergarten. Syd did a great job of getting her to "refocus." And of course and ice-pac was involved. The kid only ate watermelon for lunch. Which was provided by Famous Dave's and was quite good.

Field Day Thursday

A trip to St. John and Henderson Mi. First a stop at Hardee's in Owosso. One of the few left. Then on to St. John where I mowed and Sarah did the "maid service." Basically just wiping down everything and vacuuming, like a "refresh" cleaning. Then on to Henderson, which is out in the middle of nowhere basically. The farmers were bringing in the hay. The grass at the property was super high. I guess last time the crew tried to mow there the lawn was wet. Some spots were over a foot tall! I had to go real slow. It was huge too! Over an acre I'd say. About half way through I noticed my neck and arms were getting hot and burny. I covered with an extra shirt for the duration. Man it was hot. Then more sitting in the sun. Niki's games last night-they're always a double-header. Whew! More hot. They squeaked out both games though. Was wishing I had a pool to go swimming in when I got home.

Whey Back Whens-day

Found some old pics. One of the girls tubing up north. The "good ole days." What fun they had. And me too, tryin to make them fly out of the tubes.

The other is of Syd and Niki back when Syd first started coming over. Oh my, she was a tiny little thing.

A Taste of Summer

Highs in the upper 80's. Good Grief! We never seem to be able to have just a "normal" temperature. We're either above or below average. Last night we enjoyed a 'Lost' party with the Renee's. Burgers and spaghetti salad. Renee tried the new recipe from the Kroger magazine, buffalo chicken dip. It was very good. Topped off the dinner with carrot cake or ice-cream sandwiches. I chose the carrot cake. Yummm. Today's agenda includes daily chores and trying to stay cool! Tonight's menu will be: Grilled pork tenderloin (recipe from chef Donaldo), grilled peaches and grilled asparagus.

Scrap at the B&B

Wonderful weekend with the sistopher and neicopher and great-neiceopher & great-nephewfer. It all started with a trip to the scrapbook store. Got some beautiful pages for my new ancestery book. Then went back to the B &B and Don graciously unpacked my car and took everything down to the basement. Marlene got us started by buying a georgous ancestry pad of pages and some scrapbook pages. We then made a lot of copies of documents and photos! Thanks Mar! She copied down the family tree that I had worked on to date. Dinner by Chef Donaldo and his apprentice Karen was Greens a la Taco Salad served with Corunna. For dessert a fresh baked Rhubarb/Strawberry Crumb served with vanilla ice-cream. Breakfast on Saturday was Buttermilk blueberry pancakes served with Canadian bacon and of course coffee. Lunch was Hummus and chips with Asiago & apple brats. Yummmm. Some people had another slice of the crunch. (not me I was too full!) The sleeping accomodations were cozy and peaceful. Other activites included a Barbie wedding, (video will probably show up on another blog) magnetic dolls, storybook reading general silliness.

A Full Day

Did the morning work & paid bills. Watered flowers. Went to Rich's - bought some basil, red-leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, and nasturtium plants. Oh and a grape tomato plant. Picked up Syd the Kid. We got the car washed, picked up some bird seed, picked up some lunch and headed for the park. Ate at the park and played for a bit. Came home. Planted all the stuff in pots, cept the nasturtium which we put in the flower bed. Picked up Evan. Then did a "drive by" to see if peeps were living in the house that we have to do work at tomorrow. Took a small bike ride with Syd on her Barbie bike. Went to the store to get shrooms for the ke-bobs. Made some awesome grilled chicken kebobs and ate them with some fresh pineapple. After dinner I played "hopshotts" with Syd. Threw to the ball to Bailey several times. Now I'm just chillin. Very nice outside today.

Post Today is on http://fit-n-trim.blogspot.com/

Today's post is back on http://fit-n-trim.blogspot.com/

I don't care if anyone reads it or not. It's just something I need to do. I think it keeps me accountable to something.

No Cell Phones in The Courthouse

New law in the Genesee Co. courts ~ No cell phones allowed. Duh, ya think? However if you are a lawyer, cop, employee, or juror you may have one. Ok, that's probably 70 percent of the people there. Hoping to see more places adopt the rule. Michigan will soon have a "no driving while texting" law.

I have a fresh supply of kleenex, cough drops, cough medicine, Tylenol, benedryl, chicken soup and vernors. Can't seem to shake the cold. Took a 2 hour nap this afternoon. I seem to feel worse in the afternoon and evening.

Sneezing, Sniffling, Coughing

That's me for the past three days. I haven't been sick or even had a cold for at least 2 years. But the neighbors have been passing this cold around to each other and I think it finally got passed on to me. Stuffy head & nose. Bad headaches and some dizziness. Been mostly camped out on the couch reading, watching tv and napping. Yesterday I did sit out in the sun at Niki's softball tourney. It felt good for a while. But then in the afternoon, I started to feel drowsy so we came home and I napped. No cooking for me - take out Chinese. Then back outside for a bit to watch as Syd learned how to ride her 2-wheeler Dora bike. Hopefully the sneezing, sniffling, coughing will soon be through!

All Dressed Up & No Place to Go

Mr. & Mrs. B. Bird have returned only to find out their previously occupied home went into foreclosure and Mr. & Mrs. Sp. Arrow and family have moved in lock, stock & barrel. Mr. & Mrs. B. Bird were quite upset. So much so that Mr. B. was engaging Mr. & Mrs. Sp. in a duel. This went on for a relatively long time. The Sp. Arrow family was not about to budge. So I quickly dressed, & ran to Meijers to purchase a new home. Now the plan is to entice Mr. & Mrs. B. Bird into the new home. They were nowhere to be seen when I returned. I'll be keeping surveillance this afternoon.

Way Back When-s-Day (Thursday)

I got the blog title from my sister, of course - got to compete. I think she actually got the idea from another blogger anyway. Here are some pics from the family first trip to Florida. ~ December 1971. Just the 4 out of the 6. We were quite "wowwed" with the ocean, oranges and the sun. I fell in love with it way back then.
It's raining cats & dogs today! Found some cool stuff with the genealogy today. I'm making a pork tenderloin with sage (from my sister's herb garden) and bay (from my bay tree) with red skinned potatoes and asparagus. Smells delicious-i-oso. Crockpot of course.

Just Another Day in Paradise

I made this basket up last week. Went to Rich's Market and picked out all the flowers. They were on sale 3 for $10. Did some dishes, computer work, banking, shopping (the grocery type), made grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner then rode my bike while Syd rode her scooter. Now I'm blogging, ordering pictures online, adding songs to my playlist, and listening to Nicole reading from Frankenstein.

Tired, Cold & Sore

Tired is because we stayed over Tom & Renee's too late last night playing "Sing-star." It's just so much fun. I couldn't leave until I beat someone. Finally did- singing MmMmMmMmM song by Crash Test Dummies. Then tired some more because we had to get up at 7:30 and go to work. Tired, Cold and Sore from cleaning a most nasty house. It was disgusting. I don't even want to put up pictures because it was so gross. It was freezing cold today, possibly even saw some little tiny snowflakes. I should add smelly too, cause that's what I was after cleaning that mess. Came home dropped the trailer full of junk, changed clothes and headed back out to finish a couple other jobs. Rushed home to take a bath and get ready for the prom pics. Ended by ordering take out Chinese and vegging out, which I'm doing now.

Monday's Musings

Some Places I'd Like to Visit This Summer

• Ann Arbor Farmer's Market
• Shipshewana
• Algonac State Park
• Boyne, Mi
• Holland Tulip Festival (Too late, I already missed it)
• Otsego State Park
• Mackinaw Island: The Great Turtle Run/Walk
• St John, Mi: Mint Farm
• Roscommon, Mi - Kirtland Warbler Festival
• Saginaw State Park: Walk the trails in nature center
• Oscoda, Mi: Kayaking

Some Much Needed Rain

Except that I couldn't open the G.S. until bout 12:30. Only a few people today. Made a few bucks. Sarah boxed it all up and put away the boxes until next time. Didn't do much today. Lazy day. Made an awesome chicken pasta for dinner & then strawberry shortcake too! Now I'm just trying to finish the book I'm reading because it has to go back to the library tomorrow.

May Day ~ May 1st

May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to several public holidays.[1] In many countries, My Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by the unions, anarchists, and socialist groups. May Day is also a traditional holiday in many cultures.

So what are you doing this May Day? We had a bit of rain, now it's just cloudy. I'm sittin here in the garage again, trying to make a buck. Had a wonderful evening last nite playing euchre at Mike & Chris's. Had a bbq - first of the season. I came in third place and recouped my $5 game fee. Yahoo!

Last Minute Garage Sale

Wow! Nothing like deciding at 7 in the morning to have a garage sale. There was no "business" work so I said, "Let's do the garage sale." The neighboring subdivision has it's once a year sub sale. So we threw up 3 signs and dragged out all the stuff. Made $90 bucks~ not bad. Today will be the BIG day. Fair amount of traffic already. Going to be a beautiful day!

It's Wednesday

A little warmer than yesterday, hooray. Picked up Syd the kid, ate lunch then went to the mailbox. Low & behold the surprise my sister sent me was jammed in the mailbox. It was some rustic wooden birds. Very sweet. Syd and I decided to paint them up alittle. This will be a project that will last a couple days. Will post Before and After pics when the project is complete. Can't wait to add them to the new bird/flower garden. Went to the library later in the afternoon. Procured some videos, books and an organic gardening magazine. Weee! Also, found out the first Swartz Creek Farmer's Market is this coming Sunday. Whoooo-hhaaa. Went to Sarah's mom & dad's. Split some Rocky's Pizza and saw the new carpet and patio. Got some forms to start my genealogy exploration.

Tuesday's Thoughts

Another busy week. Had a double-header last nite against Linden. 4pm til 8pm. That's a long time. It was so windy, I had to sit in Grandma's car through most of it. But they won both games and Nik pitched awesome. The grandbaby is almost 12 weeks already, wow!
Just the usual stuff, dog to vet & groomer, invoices, invoices, invoices. I went to Riches Market yesterday~ couldn't resist. I got a Tri-colored sweet potato vine and some cilantro to put in with my basil. I put them in that cute HUGE coffee cup planter that Syd & Renee got me before Easter. It looks really cute!


“Able to keep!” how sure is the word!
He is my Keeper, Savior, and Lord.
“Never shall perish,” one of His sheep,
Glory to God! He is able to keep. —Anon.

Lives rooted in God’s unchanging grace can never be uprooted. (From Our Daily Bread)

A Little Hiatus

It just happened that way. I think every once in a while your creative juices just dry up. Seems the week just flew by. Softball on Monday. Had Syd every day after that. We were busy watering flowers, taking walks and well just playing outside. Then I had to take the truck in to get new tires. Then we had to take the truck up to the RV joint to transfer the brake system. Then there was getting the camper ready. yada yada yada. We left Friday for Bay City campground. Got there too late to make dinner so we ordered pizza, from BC pizza - just like the place up in Boyne. It was a little chilly but we built up a huge fire and were able to sit out til about 9 pm. Had to get up early to go to Niki's softball tourney. They ended up winning 2 out of 3 games. It was cold and supposed to be rainy so we decided to pack up the camper and head for home. Ate a classic turkey dinner at the Turkey Roost in Kawkawlin. Got home took a hot bath and just chilled out and went to bed early! Here are some random pics I took around the house.

Just Amy

It was probably one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Great venue. The Performing Arts Center. ( Grand Rapids) Small and personal. Our seats were in the orchestra section. Eye level with the performer instead of having to crane your neck. Acoustic only. Just Amy, another guy on guitar, one guy on keyboards and a drummer with only a mini drum set. She played songs that people shouted out from the audience. She played lots of oldies and then some from her new CD. Pure Amy. It was kind of like you were sitting around in her living room. She talked in between songs - just kind of personal. Loved every minute of it!

Feather N' Fin

Fun Feather N' Fin Fact: The ice cream shop we all know as "Feather N' Fin" originally opened its doors 31 years ago as a Chicken and Fish take out (go figure, with a name like that!). Over time it grew into an ice cream store. Read the story on our website!

Finally made it there last nite; went with the Renee's. I had NSA Turtle on a sugar cone. Pretty good. The weather was awesome; 80 somethin degrees.
Can't go to the "crop" at the sistopher's tonite cuz Riles got the flew. Poor thing. Wouldn't want it so I'm staying away. Instead I'm making stuffed chicken for dinner. Then maybe cleaning my dirty house. OR maybe not. We shall see.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Got up early to beat the rush at Starbucks. Free coffee up to 20 oz. in a refillable mug. Of course I had to get a slice of fat free cinnamon coffee cake to go with. Gonna do laundry today. That is a real bummer since it's going to be 80 degrees. Should have done it earlier in the week. Then try and talk Renee into going to Feather N Fin for their big opening at noon.
Items of note:

• Got new specks yesterday
• Going to go to my sister's "crop" Friday & see the kids (Brady & Riley)
• Going to Grand Rapids to the Amy Grant concert on Saturday (Yay!)
• Traded in the Fusion

Field Day Tuesday

Yep, back to that.... Here are a few pics of a tub that was in a pretty junky house. It was crazy. I don't see how you could even get into it. It was a cold rainy day, but I got to have breakfast at Subway and also go to the Flint Farmer's market, so it wasn't all that bad. Busy day yesterday. Put the Dodge Pick-up on Craig's list Monday nite and sold the truck yesterday afternoon. Traded in the Fusion for a Big Pick-up. V-8 to pull the camper. This afternoon Sydney and I put out some of the yard decorations. Yay for warm weather!

What Number is Your Pain?

That's what the doctors and nurses always say. Well, I had a number nine neck pain yesterday. Don't know what I did, guess I just slept wrong or something. It was at least 50 percent better today. Couldn't do much, especially work on the computer. I'm so glad I feel better today because that pain was just so hard to deal with! Sold the work truck today; had it less than 24 hours on Craig's List. Wow!

A Good Day

Started out by going to do a bid. Got a cute little bird house and thingy to hang it on. Then took my dad to lunch. Arby's of course. Had a good visit. Then home. Cleaned out the garage. It was a long time coming. Made camping reservations for Otsego Lake Campground for Aug. Grilled fish and veggies for dinner. Sold some of our "gently used" goods to a friend. They purchased: the leftover pavers, a lawn mower, kids swing, leaf blower, garbage can, 3 gas cans & some flower hangers. Delivered it. Treated ourselves to DQ for our efforts!

Any Number Can Die Cast Reunion Party

Oh what fun! We had a cast reunion party. We watched the dvd of the play. How fun to watch and laugh at yourself. It is amazing to see the thing in it's entirety for the first time. We had munchies and drinks. Saw a video that the director's son made that was hilarious. Various candid shots, and silly pictures. He made a silent movie out of the still shots.

Sometimes

do you wonder how you got to, say, Thursday of the week? I can't believe it's already Thursday and I have no real idea what I've been doing. It's all a blur for some reason. It's not even that I've been exceptionally busy or anything. At least I don't think I have. LOL I kid-sat yesterday. Um what else? We got Niki a car finally. Ford (yay) Contour SVT. Some sporty special edition. 5- speed, reminds me of the good ole days. Went to the funeral home for a friend of Nik's whose father committed suicide. Now that's a tough one. I think I went grocery shopping. But, for crying out loud I haven't even done the laundry yet. I don't really feel that I've done an extreme amount of work, so hmmmm, I'm stymied. This morning I did go to the eye doc. My right eye is about 20% worse, so I picked out some new specs. The doc said that my eyes look really good for someone with diabetes for twenty years. Only one spot of blood. I guess they would typically see more. So, that's a good thing. Talked to an old friend from way back UPBC days, that was fun. Caught up on the episodes of "Biggest Loser." Kept an eye on Bailey's sister , who was very well behaved. Just barks a little more than Bay does. Well, there you have it.

The New Bird Sanctuary

Easter Table

Chickadee

The beginning stages of the new bird/flower area. We are putting some pavers down. Then I will design the flower garden. I think some of the feeders still need to get moved around because the pesky squirrels are still getting on them. I think they are too close to the tree. Going to be 70 degrees again today, so maybe I will be able to get back out there!

Around the Neighborhood

Just playing with the new camera; these are some of the results. Getting ready for Easter dinner tomorrow for 12. Starting with a spiral ham, then scalloped potatoes, Homemade baked beans, green beans with onions, coleslaw, applesauce and rolls. Whew, that's a ton of food.