Bowling Champs, Planting and Can Spring Be Far Behind?

Yes, we are the Champions! It was a bit anti-climatic since we really already knew a month ago that we had won but there was still money to be won Friday night. Sadly H and I didn't win any. My bowling was far below average except maybe one game. Bill and Judy, our partners, bowled best that night and won extra money. They and H were feeling no pain by the end of the evening! Here's the beautiful trophy that is ours to keep until next year. We will keep it until December and then give it to Bill and Judy for their Christmas and New Year's celebration. When I looked back at the plaques on the trophy I see that we won this trophy the first time (with different partners) 20 years ago! We also won it again back in 2009 with Bill and Judy. Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny, warm Spring day and we got a lot done around the house. I took my herbs outside on the deck to enjoy a little of the sunshine. Zoe was enjoying her time in the sun too! It was a good day to take my geraniums outside on the lower deck. I've been bringing these in every winter for the last 5 years or so and because the basement gets a fair amount of sun they continue to bloom all winter long. The ducks made an appearance yesterday and I found another little turtle. This one was even smaller than the one from last weekend. I tried to take a picture but with my phone and it turned out all blurry. I quickly took him down to the pond and tossed him in. There must have been a nest around here somewhere but I don't know where it is. I've found both turtles in approximately the same spot though, in the middle of the back yard. I had to go to the plant nursery to buy soil so I took a quick look around to see what else I could find. These lillys were on sale for just $5! What a deal. Hopefully I'll get them in the ground later this week. When I got back home I was able to pot up my porch lettuce. We'll be able to have lettuce for a month or so now. I picked up these tomatoes also but it will be another month or so before I can put them out in the garden. I figured I better get them now or they won't be there when I'm ready for them. Speaking of the garden, H and Tyler went out there yesterday for me to make the bed four sided. H brought some boards out, attached them to the existing boards and now we will hopefully be able to keep the grass out. I went out there this morning to plant a few things and to see how my garlic is growing. Tyler told me yesterday that it was coming up. It's off to a good start! Today I planted some lavender that I got at the nursery yesterday and also planted my onion sets, carrot and radish seeds. I also planted some extra lettuce seed I had and some green bean seeds from last year. If they don't came up it won't really matter. I just thought I would give it a try! There's the lavender, the green plant. Carrots and Radishes to the left, green beans and onions to the right. I left just as the rain was beginning so hopefully everything will get a good soaking. It's a light but steady rain and has been coming down all afternoon. It's a perfect day to stay inside and enjoy a nice warm fire that just takes a little chill off since thankfully it's not too cold outside. And just watch the rain do it's work on all the things that are coming up. The weather for the coming week is supposed to be warm, in the 70's most days. Finally, capri and sandal weather!! Have a great week!

Another Week, Still Chilly...

Well, another week has come and gone and it's still chilly. In fact, this is what we woke up to Saturday morning. Thankfully it all melted once the sun came out and yes, thankfully, at least the sun has been out this weekend. It's still only around 40* but the sun makes it seem so much warmer. As I walk around the neighborhood every day I can tell that Spring is at least trying. Several neighbors are having their grass turn green. Ours is still patchy but it's greening up in spots. This guy was out on the pond yesterday swimming about. With all the rain we've had the water level is up quite a bit which is good because the pond has been drying up the last couple summers. I am hearing the peepers loud and clear each night even though it's still cold. Plus I got a pedicure yesterday just in case the temps happen to go above 60 this week and I can wear sandals. Hope springs eternal. Last Thursday it reached 77 and I did wear sandals. That's when I decided it was definitely time for a pedicure! Not much else is going on. I'm trying to wrap my brain around the fact that we only have 7 more weeks of school. The garden will be up and going soon. I already bought my onions and carrot and radish seeds and was hoping to get them in the ground today. Unfortunately, H has been on the phone with people from work for the past 3 hours so it doesn't look like that's going to happen today. Maybe next weekend. He's going to install a front and back board to the two side boards so my dirt and plants will stay in the 10x10 area. Every summer the grass tends to grow into my plot and it makes it hard to weed with all that grass invading. I did buy some herbs last week and and finally got them planted today. It's still too cold to put them outside but this sunny window should work for a few more weeks. This afternoon Tyler and I took the pups on a long walk. They go absolutely nuts every time they see another dog. Today there was a statute of a dog sitting on a porch and Charlie went crazy over that! We walked up to the high school, let them run for a while, then walked home and around the neighborhood for a while. I would so love to be able to walk them together some day. I guess we'll have to keep working on it. This is how they looked when we got back and went out on the deck. Zoe was completely ignoring me. This is how she looked when I asked if anyone wanted a cookie. Charlie was a little more attentive as well. I know I'm highly prejudice but just look at what beauties they can be. The boys have been helping out around the yard a bit. Tyler started cutting down the saplings along the pond a week or so ago and then today he and Scott joined in and they got a little more done. While they were out there I was around the side picking up puppy presents I found this little guy! I've never seen one around here before. Tyler said it was a painted turtle. Mostly I've seen snapping turtles but of course, much larger. Tyler carried him back down to the pond and released him into the water. In other news, Amber, Andy & Quinn went to Nashville this weekend to visit Aunt Lizzie and a few other friends. They live on a small farm so I'm sure Quinn is having a ball! Tyler has a couple interviews this week. One is managing a new hamburger joint, another is managing a video store. Neither of these are really jobs he wants but he's going to find out what they are all about. He's also been contacted by the county parks HR office. They want his driving record so that's a positive sign. Unfortunately he has to send to Hawaii to get this information so it might take a few days. Hopefully the jobs he's interested in will still be available when he gets the information they want. That's all the news worth reporting! Have a good week!

Still Cold, Add Rain = Depressed Michiganders

It's still cold around these parts and today is the first day we've seen the sun all week. It's been rainy, which I admit, we need, but there is no real warm up in sight. I think the warmest temp predicted for the next week is only in the 60's. It's the most popular topic in town, the weather or lack of Spring. I do see my daffodils and tulips trying to make a Springtime appearance but with no sun it's been tough. The ducks and geese are still hanging around but I haven't seen our little deer friend all week. Guess she's moved on to greener pastures or heavier vegetation since there is no green pasture anywhere to be found! This week has been a busy one. We are finishing up the ELPA testing for ESL students and while I haven't done a great deal of the testing I have helped out where I can. I've been busy babysitting 5th graders who can't seem to behave themselves when their teachers are out. Grrrrrr! Thursday night was supposed to be Bunco and thank goodness one of the girls called me to make sure that I had heard that we weren't actually having Bunco because the hostess had conferences at her school. I would have been ringing her doorbell that evening instead of showing up at a local restaurant for dinner. Friday night was our position night in bowling. Howard had to work and didn't make it but thankfully we didn't have to worry about it because WE HAD ALREADY WON!!!! We had enough points that no one could catch us so the deal was sealed and we are the FIRST PLACE TEAM this year!! Woo Hoo for us! We didn't really have a chance to celebrate since Howard wasn't there. I ended up just going home instead of out to dinner. I coughed and coughed all week and by Friday night I was ready for a rest. Saturday night Howard was the host for a concert. I was asked to be in attendance and since it was on a Saturday night and I wasn't sick, I went! It was Bob Seger who is huge in this area since he's from Michigan. One of the people in the suite mentioned that he was 68! While I'm not a fan of Bob Seger I did recognize much of his music. The best moment of the evening was when he sang "Turn the Page" and the audience sang the entire song, all the way through, with him. A good time was had by all especially H who enjoyed Bob Seger but really was excited because one of his favorites opened for Seger, Joe Walsh! He was very good too. So many old folks in the audience too just rockin' out. In other news, Tyler is still hunting for a long term job but he did pick up a little side work. He will be helping install docks this week. It will be cold, messy work but he can use the cash as he's wanting to buy a car and every bit helps. Today he took the pups up to the high school for a run which they greatly appreciate. Then when they finished that he took them for a walk! H and I were out walking too and passed them along the way. I'm so thankful he's doing it because I just can't manage the two of them together. They are so crazy especially if they see another dog! That's about it for news or at least any news worth sharing. Still waiting for warm temps and signs of spring. That's the big story here. Have a good week!

Easter, Spring Break and Cold...

So Easter, along with my Spring Break, have come and gone. I wish I could say the same for this cold weather. There is still no real sign of Spring anywhere here in Michigan. :-( Ok, it's not this bad, at least the snow has melted. I did see this little cutie again before I left for Virginia to spend Easter and Spring Break with Amber, Andy & Quinn. She came right up in the back yard and licked and licked my feeder which was right about her head level. I had been quite sick since the last time I wrote. I came down with a respiratory virus (which I thought was the flu) and missed 5 days of work! I got sick on a Thursday and didn't return to work until the following Thursday. I'm still coughing! I was on all kinds of stuff, inhaler, cough medicine with codine, antibiotic. I haven't been this sick in years. Thankfully I was over it in time to go to Virginia. I left the Thursday before Good Friday. Tyler drove me to the airport and I was with Amber and Quinn by 5:30! I did have time to bake these beauties and get them shipped off to Quinn before I had to leave. The week went by so quickly. It wasn't exactly warm there either though warmer than Michigan. It was so chilly there that the cherry blossoms hadn't even bloomed yet. We were scheduled to go on a river cruise to see the blossoms and we never got to go. At least the sun was out most days and a sweater or sweatshirt was warm enough for me. Plus the beautiful daffodils were blooming there. I saw these on one of my walks. Saturday morning was chilly but sunny. Quinn attended an Easter egg hunt at their church. She was a little shy and didn't want to go without Mommy. You can't tell from these pictures but lots of other Mommies or Daddys helped their little darlings hunt too. I had a hard time getting any good pictures of her. After the hunt she played on the playground for a little while with a couple of her friends. Easter Sunday A, A & Q got up early to be at church by 8:00. I stayed behind to fix breakfast, half of which turned out and half didn't. I cooked the bacon, which was fine but somehow my brain didn't register the right amount of milk for the blueberry muffins and I ended up putting in way too much. You just can't fix that! I baked them anyway but they weren't really edible, though we tried. Later that day Amber made a ham, potatoes, asparagus and I tried baking again. Another fail, though this time I know the ingredients were right. I tried making popovers but I don't think the oven temp was right or something. They turned out like little hockey pucks (Thanks, Amber for pointing that out) but at least the rest of the meal turned out well. Andy's sister, Molly and Amber's friend Liz and her Mom came over to join us for dinner. A good time was had by all! The rest of the week we were busy with lots of little things. Quinn got a scooter for Easter so we had to go outside every day and practice. On Tuesday, just as we were finishing up at Home Depot buying spring flowers and a tomato plant, the pre-school called to say Quinn had pink eye! We rushed to get her, then called the Dr. so we could get her started on eyedrops. She didn't care for the eyedrops one bit and she needed a bribe in order to get them in. All too soon the week was over and it was time for me to return home. I was able to walk most days while I was there and thankfully didn't get lost. Amber and Quinn went with me a couple times too. We walked all around different neighborhoods in Arlington looking at the old and new homes. They don't look like all that but Amber said most of them are $1,000,000 and up! Yikes! Since I've been home I've just been catching up on laundry and stuff around the house. I walked yesterday and today though it was really chilly. I just don't know why it's taking Spring so long to get here. No tulips or daffodils are blooming, no buds on trees, no green grass. Everything is still brown and there's even a bit of snow/ice hanging around. I know it can't be too far away though. The ducks are back at the feeder, I'm hearing and seeing geese land on the pond and last night I heard 2 or 3 peepers on the pond. That's my sure sign that Spring can't be far behind! Have a good week!