Bye Bye July!!

It was a beautiful day in Michigan today! In the 80's, humidity not too bad, sunny. It was so nice I decided to take the pups to the park earlier than usual. Usually I wait until the sun is low so they don't get too hot but today it was just so nice we decided to go early. After a rousing game of frisbee we returned home and as soon as I got them out of the car we headed out to the pool!! Zoe jumped right in, of course, and layed right down.


Charlie jumped in too but he decided he would sit first. That didn't last long! He decided he would just stand.




Cooled her right off!!



Blowin' bubbles!

It's already been a year...

It was a year ago today that my Mom passed away. The time has gone quickly. This picture was taken shortly after she moved here. She was in one of her favorite places, her office, and doing one of her favorite things, surfing the internet.

Eventhough we didn't have the best relationship, I think of her often. Things and places will remind me of her. Even sometimes things I say or a certain laugh, I can hear her. I suppose I mostly miss the relationship I wish we had but now never will.

I still believe she's better off though and I don't regret my decision to remove the ventilator. I believe she is in a better place.

Happy Birthday H!!

Today H is double nickles!! To him it's probably just another day since he had to work. I almost forgot when we got up this morning and when I wished him Happy Birthday and told him I had almost forgotten, he said he had forgotten too. When you're gettin' older than you feel I guess it's sometimes good to forget.



For his birthday we bought these really cool outdoor speakers that are solar powered and can be hooked up to your iPod or stereo or whatever. They really are cool and gadgety. Love those gadgets.


I'm supposed to go to obedience class with Charlie tonight but it's so danged hot out there we might just skip it to celebrate with The H. Or maybe we should give him a gift of peace and quiet and go to class after all!! He might appreciate that more. I baked him one of his favorites for his birthday cake, Pineapple Upsidedown Cake! Shhhhh, don't tell! And don't worry, he rarely reads this so he won't know until weeks later!! Happy Birthday honey! xo

It's Official!!!

It's official! Today I made our airline reservations for our Christmas in Hawaii trip! I have been watching the fares go up a little each day and decided it was now or never! I can't even repeat or admit how much it's gonna cost but I'm telling myself (and everyone else) that this will be a "once in a lifetime" experience. Imagine 10 days in Hawaii with your family when it's freezing back home in Michigan and you are sitting/walking on a beach enjoying sunset after sunset after sunset!! The next step will be to find a place to stay. It's exciting and yet depressing because it's so darn expensive!

It was a beautiful weekend here in Michigan, warm but not humid so we were able to leave the windows open and air conditioner off. Howard spent a little time doing this

(along with his little buddy) but most of his weekend was spent installing ceiling fans in Scott's bedroom and the master bedroom. The master bedroom is a bit tricky because he has to install it in a cathedral ceiling while standing on a water bed! Got that picture??? It will be so nice to have ceiling fans in all the bedrooms. He's put it off for 7 years. I think he thought it would be a real problem because when the cheapo builders built this house they didn't bother to install ceiling lights in any of the bedrooms. That meant he had to do all the wiring too, from the attic, which wasn't easy. But in his usual "handy man" fashion, he's completed 2 out of 3 so far. I do love me a handy man!!

Zoe got her share of naps in too. She went to the park both days to play frisbee. She played while "Chicken Little" spent his time running around trying to find the car or get away from some noise only he could hear.
He only seems to feel safe at home, either in the house or on the deck.

I spent part of the weekend trying to bake the perfect loaf of rosemary/olive oil bread I buy at the grocery store. I have tried baking this darn bread so many different times in so many different ways and I just can't get it to turn out right. Today I baked two loaves and the first one puffed up so big and somehow stuck to the pan even though I had put cornmeal in the bottom of the pot. So this loaf had no bottom. The other loaf is baking now and it's raising straight up! It's gonna look like a volcano when it's done I think! You would think with people baking bread for thousands of years that it wouldn't be that difficult. You would think. I'm not giving up though. One day I am going to bake the perfect loaf of bread. I just pray I will remember what I did when the time comes so I can repeat it!

Room For Rent...

I guess this must be what empty next syndrome feels like! Not that we would know. No, it's not what you think. Scott hasn't moved out. He has already informed us that he will be living in our basement until he's 30!

One morning I heard a lot of cheeping going on and discovered the babies had flown the coop! I don't know for sure but I'm telling myself they are alive and well and enjoying the beautiful Michigan sunshine!!

It's been a beautiful week here in Michigan. The windows have been opened, sun shining and no rain to speak of since maybe Monday? The flowers are blooming, birds singing and everyone is happy in their little Michigan world!


I've taken the pups to the park or school field almost every day or else to their respective classes. Something is up with Charlie. He's turned into Chicken Little and really thinks that the sky is falling. He's developed a real fear of thunder storms which is bad enough but since July 4 he's also become afraid of fire works (or any loud pop or boom). It seems every time I go up to the high school some kind of boom goes off and he takes off running. Usually back to the parking lot and to the car but today he even ran past the car up to the school building. Yesterday we were at the park and it was a truck rumbling by somewhere. Tuesday night at obedience class someone was shooting off a rifle down the road (this place is out in the country) and he freaked out and we had to go inside to complete our lessons while everyone else was just fine outside. It's depressing but I don't think he will outgrow this. Just something we are going to have to learn to live with.


Here they are, friends to the end!


All I can say is it's a good thing this one is such a beauty but it's only surface beauty. Inside she's a rabid dog, growling and lunging at anyone who passes by us at Agility Class. Even the sweet Golden Retrievers, Chocolate Labs and cute little Shelties are not safe around this one. She even thinks she can take on the German Shepherd (who is equally rabid, growling and lunging) but she is so wrong there. That dog would definitely eat Zoe. She's an embarrassment to me at class and I'm continually having to bribe her with cheese and chicken as we wait to take our turn on the course. Once on the course she has her nose to the ground and runs through the course with my "gentle" persuasion. I'm not sure if people feel sorry for me or hate me, I think it's mixed. Like I said, it's a good thing she's pretty!

Last Night Brought Back Such Nice Memories...

Last night we attended the wedding of the daughter of one of my Bunco friends. Amber also played volleyball with her in high school. Stephanie's wedding and Amber's had so many similarities it was amazing. First the colors of the weddings were similar, black, white and green (even though the green wasn't exactly the same), flowers on the table, cupcakes instead of a wedding cake, colors of the bridesmaids dresses (complete with green sashes), even the song played for the Father/Daughter dance (though by a different artist)! We sat at the table with 4 other Bunco girls and their husbands/date. Of course, the bride was gorgeous and the groom very handsome and I'm so happy for my friend who has a very happy daughter and a new son-in-law! Today has been a rainy day here in Michigan so we've spent most of the day inside. We have been trying to decide if we should use our time-share in St. Pete this summer or not. It's not at a particularly good time for me as it's the week before school starts and I believe I'm supposed to work a few of those days. Also, Howard offered the place to a guy from work and hasn't heard back from him yet. If he doesn't take it I think we will try to go down. Neither of us has been to the beach in a few years so it's always good to keep an eye on your investment, at least that's what I'm telling myself!

Amber and Andy are down in South Carolina this weekend attending Andy's Grandma's 90th Birthday party! I'm sure they will enjoy catching up with all his family members as well. Happy Birthday Andy's Grandma!

I tried to get new pictures of our baby birds today but every time I've gone out there to try I get dive-bombed by either the mom or dad! I think they are pretty serious about hurting me if they can so I had to give up and this is the best I could do. Pitiful!

This afternoon Howard was eating some Combos and I mentioned that Scott tells me they are Zoe's favorite snack. This is what happened when he shared one with her.

Lavender Everywhere!

Today I went with Cheryl and her neighbor/friend Brenda to a Lavender Festival! It was sooo hot and humid! It was a really interesting venue. It was out in the middle of nowhere basically.

We parked in a corn field of some type and then took the shuttle bus (air conditioned, thankfully) to basically a house on a large lot where the festival was held. Behind the house was a corn field and beyond that a diary or farm of some type with cows. The festival was on the side lawn and there were tables in the shade where you could eat lunch. The even had a harpist!

There were demonstrations held every hour and between those we visited all the booths filled with all things lavender. They even had a couple baby alpacas there (which I forgot to get pictures of). We each picked up a few lovely lavender items and Cheryl and I bought some lavender plants.





Back on the home front, the babies are getting bigger!

And Then There Were Two...

I don't know what happened or when it happened but we seem to only have two baby Robins now. They sure were hungry today though and look how they are growing!


Feed me Mama!!


Here's Mama waiting for me to finish taking pictures.

Here's Some Fauna!!

A few weeks ago I noticed this nest up in our Japanese Maple tree.


Then I noticed this lovely Robin sitting on the nest in our Japanese Maple tree.


Since I couldn't see in the nest because it's about 6 feet high, I just put the camera up there and clicked away. Low and behold, three beautiful, blue eggs.


A few days later when I put the camera up there, imagine my surprise!! Fuzzy little chicks!


The next day I put my camera up there and I guess they thought it was their Mommy because they were definitely expecting some food!!


They are developing every day. Their color is changing and they have that little fuzzy, feathery stuff starting.


I could only see two in this picture but I'm hoping number three is hiding in there somewhere!

Nice Weekend With Amber...

Amber came "home" Friday evening. This was the longest period we have ever gone without seeing her, 6 months!! Friday night we went to dinner at Mr. B's and then later went to hear a friend of Amber's, Pat, who is a drummer. He was playing with a band. When we got to the restaurant/bar we went down to the basement where the band was playing. We said hi to Pat and took a seat near the bar. I was looking at the singer thinking to myself that he looked very familiar and trying to place him when Howard says, "That's my Dr.". Sure enough, it was Dr. Baker, our Dr. It was weird watching our Dr. sing and play guitar! While we recognized him he didn't recognize us and we just left it that way.
Saturday Amber and I did a little shopping. When we got back we started dinner and started mixing up the margaritas. We had steak, Asian slaw, corn on the cob and a little caprese.

The slaw was a little spicy since it called for Asian chili sauce. Next time I'll add a little less than the tablespoon it called for as it had quite a kick to it!!
After dinner we took the pups up to the high school field for a little frisbee. We didn't stay long as Charlie has been doing this weird thing where shortly after we get there he starts freakin' out and running back to the car and won't play at all.

I think he's remembering the fire works he's heard going off while we were there but nothing happened tonight and he was still freaked out. I sure hope he gets over it soon!!

Zoe runs and plays until she wears herself out and she's breathing so hard I worry she won't be able to make it back to the car!



Here's Charlie doing a little play bow, saying "Hey Zoe, let's play!!"



Here's Zoe saying "I'll show you some play little brother!!"

Hope everyone had a great weekend like we did. Thanks again Andy for giving up your weekend with your wife! We really enjoyed having her. Next time we hope you can come too!!

What's Bloomin' in Michigan??