What A Week!

THGGM and I spent the week in Traverse City. Oh, what FUN we had!

Tuesday was our 30th wedding anniversary (today is our oldest son and daughter-in-law's 5th!) and we drove to the lovely little town of Elk Rapids.

It was such a BEAUTIFUL day!






Really, you simply MUST make an effort to go there.

The entire trip was wonderful, I just stopped in at Daughter's to download my pictures to her computer.

Can't wait to get mine back!

I miss you all, deeply.

What Happened?

Sweet, adorable, cuddly Famke has suddenly changed from a smiling baby to a full-fledged female with opinions and agendas of her own.

This morning, her mommy found her attempting to escape from her crib.









Oh, this little lady, who looks so much like her daddy, is shaping up to be MUCH like her mommy was at this age.

It's going to be loads and loads of fun.

Three New Posts

I have good news!

Dell has consented to honor the warranty on MY laptop. My laptop hasn't worked since last summer. The one I have been using, the one that most recently stopped working, actually belongs to Daughter.

When THGGM realized that a new computer was going to cost A LOT of money, he got on the phone with Dell. Thankfully, I had kept detailed records of all of my interactions with them over the nearly one year that I had the computer. That REALLY helped.

So, they are sending me a box to mail it to them, and they will replace the faulty part at no charge.

I cannot seem to wipe the silly grin of unbridled joy from my face. Not that I would want to.

Famke

Daughter and Son-in-law had a birthday party to attend Saturday night, so THGGM and I had overnight guests. We LOVE this, probably more so because our guests sleep all through the night.

I'd forgotten how daunting of a task it is to get two little people ready for church by 9:15.

Famke was all dressed in a darling white smocked dress. As I was putting her into her carseat I noticed a familiar odor. When I picked her up to change her, she vomited all over her pretty white dress.

We arrived, late.

Famke has a new sound that she delights in making.

It's yuk, yuk, yuk, yuk, yuk.

I cannot imagine where she picked that up.

The "New" Couch

This is it! The very large couch THGGM found at our favorite thrift store.
Before he paid for it, he had to make sure that the 'old' new couch would actually fit in the den. It did. Although it wasn't all that easy. This morning THGGM pointed out to me that he can recline on one end of this couch while I sit comfortable at the other end drinking my coffee, reading my news magazine and listening to him recount his very odd dreams.

The Government Has Stimulated Me

Let's see.

The important news, running backwards through the week...

Tonight THGGM and I went computer shopping. Yes. Yes. Our stimulus check was deposited today. Presently I am at Daughter's, hoping to find what I want on line. Without someone looking over my shoulder asking if I need any help. (I don't know yet. I just walked in. How could I know if I need help already?)

My dad and I had lunch at Old Country Buffet.

We visited my mom. She had just returned from physical therapy and was TIRED. We let her sleep.

I shined up my pink bathroom.

While at my dad's eye specialist this morning, I got another one of those delightful eye-migraines. At least I would have been in the right place, were it not to subsided after two hours. The eye issues resolved. Now I just feel sort of icky.

I left the house at 7:10 for an early morning eye specialist appointment for my dad.

THGGM bought a couch. I like it. Maybe he will even let me sit on it with him.

Thursday night THGGM bribed me. He offered an hour of unhindered thrift store shopping. What fun! What amazing lives we lead now that we are both in our late 49's.

Famke and I spent some time in the yard. I tried to teach her how to smell dandelion's. She's not as into weeds as I am.

Daughter took Jonge for a nice short summer haircut. He looks SO mature. I nearly cried.

My dad and I drove across town on Wednesday for his echo gram. It has been almost nine years since his heart surgery. Wow. Nine years. How time flies. No changes. The doctor was pleased.

I cannot remember Tuesday.

On Monday Jonge and Famke came to play with me. Pa stopped by to play for awhile. Jonge and his great grandpa have a cute relationship. They both have canes, and a rather wild game of 'cane ball' occurs whenever the two of them get together.

Famke ADORES Pa. She gave him a brief demonstration of how very close to crawling she is getting.

Still Thrift Shopping

No time to thrift shop this weekend (see below) but last weekend I did amazingly well!

I found three posters from the same era. Each were marked five dollars.

I passed on them at first, but when pictures went on sale for 30% off, and THGGM told me he still had a 20% off the total sale card we went back and got them. I figured that if nothing else, that was still waaaay less expensive than the price of the very large foam board they were mounted on.

This one is hanging in the breeze way over the steps to the basement.

Oh, and yes. I will not be getting a sewing machine. It will be a new computer, hopefully soon.

Food Puppets and What I Did This Weekend

I seem to be able to make a puppet out of just about anything.

So, for lunch one day last week when Jonge was convincing that he ONLY wanted "peanut butter on a 'poon" for lunch, I added a bit of grain by making faces with Cheerios. It was messy, but fun. Anyway, by my age one realizes that nearly all fun is messy.
















I had a very pleasant weekend! On Friday my dad and I went to visit my mom and got to attend a "Mother's Day Tea". It was very nice. My mom seems to be recovering well from her bout with an infection. We had a very nice visit with her.

On Saturday we drove to South Bend, Indiana to the wedding of my oldest niece. It was such a lovely wedding and reception and the drive to and from was so gorgeous also! If a beautiful bride means a beautiful marriage then these two have it made for life! My niece looked radiant!

We missed the graduate school graduation on Friday of my nephew, who now has a masters in philosophy from ICS in Toronto. His parents were able to attend that ceremony and leave early in the morning for the long drive from Toronto to South Bend. They made it to the wedding in time hear the "I Do's".

My Mother's Day was FANTASTIC. If you are a mom, I hope yours was too!

Five Posts in Thirty Minutes

This morning, THGGM dropped me off at Daughter's house so I could access her computer.

Mine appears to have died. I am sad.

I will have to figure something out, but until then, here are five new posts.

Oh, and I am eagerly awaiting my 'stimulus' check.

I have my eye on a sewing machine.

My eye keeps wandering over to new computers - but - NO! I decided on a sewing machine and a sewing machine it will be.

Look What I Made, and You Can Too!

I found the idea to make this in an issue of "Somerset Life".

THGGM pruned the magnolia tree, which gave me the amazing twisted branches.

The 'flowers' are made from a roll of crape paper I found at a thrift store for pennies.

I cut strips of about 3-4 inches into rough ovals and twisted them three times around the branches.

SO easy!

I was in need of a punch of color on my piano, and this certainly did do the trick.

Really. You should try this at home.

Pretty Salt and Pepper People

Due to the flu using up two complete weekends, one would think I haven't been doing much thrift and antique shopping. That would be a lie.

I've done plenty.

I found this charming occupied japan salt and pepper shakers at an antique mall on Saturday.

Just look at her pleading eyes. Clearly, she is saying - Take me home and turn me and Mr. Pepper into darling little hanging tassels!

So, I took them home (well...after i paid four dollars for them) and soon they may be dangling tassels on a knob somewhere.

Clothes Pins

Good grief. Once I get an idea in my head, I push it to the max. For the first ones I made, I actually snatched clothes pins from my back yard clothes line. Then, just to keep peace in my home I bought several packages just for this purpose. These are SO fun, and SO easy to make! Try it, you'll like it. I especially like the ones with Emily Dickinson's poem about hope being the thing with feathers. It was thrilling to already have that stamp, and that the entire poem fit on three clothes pins. And then, of course, I gave Emily the created.

What Is It?

I feel blessed to have been given the gift of growing things in my yard!

Things that I have not planted, and many which I cannot identify.

Like this bush.

THGGM wanted to pull it out, but I made him wait so we could see if it was a forsythia bush.

It wasn't.













Just about the time he was going to uproot it, it broke forth into these AMAZING flowers!

None of my bush/shrub garden books have been of any help.

Well, except to point out that nearly every unidentifiable bush seems to be called an azalea bush.

Any ideas? I'm open to all guesses.

Sunday!

Progress is being made on repairs to the computer. Hopefully, I will be back at it soon.

I thought I would miss writing more, but what I actually miss is reading all of my favorite blogs!

I've remembered how to write with pen and paper, but that doesn't fill the need to know what is going on with all of my blog and e-mail friends.

Jonge is talking A LOT, Famke can pull herself up, we have all recovered nicely from the flu and my blood sugar is great all day, but still rises while I sleep. I do not have that figured out yet.

My mom has been treated for an infection, but seems to be doing MUCH better. My dad had a lovely visit with her yesterday. They had their Saturday bag of popcorn together and had a very nice time chatting.

Hopefully next you hear from me, I shall be writing from my own kitchen. There is, I am told, always hope.