MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

FOR some it won't be so merry. A real bad ice storm set thousands without power in our state and it could not come at a worse time. Men are frantically working on restoring it and more snow and such could make it a really tough go of it. We managed to get the least amount of ice and I was glad. Our driveway is a skating rink..so cold the salt won't melt the ice on the roads or the sidewalks. Treacherous is a word that many people are using over the past few days. I managed to get my shopping, what little I did, over early. Was so glad I did that!  I went in the pouring rain to do my small tasks and prayed I would not catch pneumonia it was so cold. 
HAPPY to sit home now and keep warm and eat my Christmas dinner. More on that later..      

I WON!! I won a drawing for a cookbook from our beloved  blogger BETH MARIE!! I am thrilled, and honored.It sure was a shock and then I also got an early Christmas present of a new tablet and so I am trying to learn all the new things on it. I love it so far and it is so fast and easy. No wonder the clerk said that it was the best seller of 2013..I can imagine all the children in all the grade schools having these to work on..soon the pencils will be gone and the tablets we used to use. Soon kids will ask..what is a pencil?? OH MY!!  That is progress I guess. 

So for the menu for Christmas dinner..we missed Thanksgiving being so sick, so Turkey and Ham and all the side dishes we want this year. I will get back to normal after the new year. I am not making or baking any sweets this year..Jello is as close as it gets for me. I did find some nice sugar cookies in the store so will enjoy them too. 
                                  

I will close this with a photo of the last tree we had in our old home..We kept it up until FEBRUARY..YOU heard that right. It was the last tree mom saw and enjoyed and we just did not have the heart to take it down early. I hope you and your family have a wonderful and MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I'M SICK...

I am sick of just trying to keep going. I am sick of getting behind in everything. What the heck is going on? I look at life so differently now. I hate the way things are and seem stuck..stuck and cannot get out of my own way. I have "adapted" one person said to me. Yes, you could say that and then again.. NO I haven't. The pressure every day to just do one little thing that can help out..well it's not easy. The situation is grim,and trying to find a way out of it.. tiring. Is it any wonder I don't blog any more as this seems to be a daily thing for me. Pick yourself up and move on..easy to say if you are not involved. Easy if you are not attached to the situation. I am surrounded daily with reminders of past things and need to move on and then not able to. Sounds like depression to me. I have a lot of things to work through. I get joy from sun light..watching nature, breathing fresh air, cold or not, and spending time on line searching for new ideas. I got my retirement checks all sorted out, what a hassle that was. Seems powers that be could not figure out some things and kept asking me the same questions over and over. I dreaded hearing the phone ring. I am setting some goals for the winter. One thing at a time..one thing at a time. This too shall pass..

BARN CHARM TUESDAY

I miss our Barn Charm Tuesdays.. I liked seeing other's barns and posting my own photos of them. Something "charming" about them. I hope that one day they will reopen a blog site for them. Now I am posting my own photos today.. Hope you enjoy them.  As you can see there is still plenty of green here and up north. These photos were taken last week. This barn was very close to the road.. I was so surprised.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

 

IT'S DEAD AND GONE...

Well it looks like this blog is dead and gone.. I can write whatever I please because of the lack of readers here... sooo it's okay to post that the fall came and in the nick of time because our AC quit. I got so tired of standing trying to tinker with the controls. It was one of those digital display ones that keeps your room at a constant temperature. You would think that would be wonderful. I did.. UNTIL.. it got a mind of it's own.
It started displaying weird numbers and letters, and flashing on and off like it was having a seizure. I kept praying when it was 90 outside for just one more run to keep us cool. It was an older model but worked great. Sis decided to just let it go......
LITERALLY... she opened the window and after much prying on the braces...let it go out the window. It hit the ground with a bounce and landed right where our car had been sitting not 5 minutes before. IT broke into many pieces. The sound carried all over the neighborhood. Too heavy to lift it, we had to tug to get it up and flipped over to move it out of the driveway. ON the way out the window it decided to hang on the storm window and break it all out. So now the whole window is completely a mess.
Glass everywhere..OH JOY!! NOT!!!

WELCOME FALL.. please don't let winter come yet.. we are not prepared!!! Trips to find someone in this tiny town who does glass repair, (good luck with that) will be forthcoming.   

 Neighbors think I have went crazy as they see me go to the mail box and flail my arms in the air to keep the mosquito's off me..they are vicious and huge this year. It seems they have made a camp out of our yard and have called their army to 
stay for the duration. I looked up on a search engine what I could make myself and came up with this combination. The recipe consists of three household ingredients: epsom salts, beer and Listerine.  Combine a third of each in a garden sprayer, then wet everything in the yard.I was told one application lasts the season.  Boy you can bet I am going to try this at least once. Well maybe next season...this one is on the way out. BEER??? any kind will do it said..been a long time since a bought a beer..never liked the taste of it myself. 
Well gotta wrap this up here.. more later.. Have a great day.. the weather permitting that is.. 

RECENT VIEWS

I am not quite sure all my updates are going out there, but I keep adding here. Here are some recent views this summer because, YES, I am taking photos almost everyday!!

NASCAR in front of our store, those cars are sooooo loud when they start them up, makes your teeth rattle.

This cup made me laugh because my Sis always says this to me..she's a real cat lover! Had to buy it!!

Love the color of this Phlox..

Farmer's Market had such nice fresh vegetables..loved this little salesman. I bought beans because his
sign said.. "Corn may be wormy" ..talk about honesty!

CAT TV

She barely fits on the stool but she sits there anyway.  This indoor only kitty loves to watch "Cat TV" with all the squirrels and birds chirping around. It is spring and the screen enables her to smell and hear the critters. Don't ask what happened when she saw momma groundhog and her three babies in the yard. Oh boy!! 

It was carnival time! The weather cleared up and the kids came running. It's a big deal in a small town. Fairs don't start around here until July. Hard not to notice as you could hear the screaming inside the local store. 

I have had some troubles with this blog page. I am still trying to figure them out and get rid of what ever  was attached here.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

MIRACLE CURE???

Lately I have been taking that combination of Cinnamon and honey.
                                               

I thought, why not it cannot hurt me. Looking over the information it seemed that it was a cure for just about every thing that ails a person. Well it didn't hurt and I think my throat really is a lot better because of it. The cinnamon kinda burned a little on the raw places but boy the next day.. SUCCESS!!  I give it big thumbs up!! I will keep it in mind for other the other things. Check out the information on it.. it seems to be a real eye-opener for me. How in the world it would help some things is amazing if it really does. 

Now on to the best cure in the world.. here is something you might not know..
According to ehow.."Vicks Vapo Rub was created by a company originally called the Vick Family Remedies Company. It was part of a line of products. Its success first peaked in 1918 with the onset of the Spanish flu pandemic in the United States. While the company was a family business, it was eventually bought by Procter & Gamble in an effort to round out the company's product line."

Now many other people make their own version of this salve, but I think the original one is more powerful and the best. No one will convince me that it doesn't work because it really does. YES, putting it on the balls of your feet and covering them with socks before bedtime works too. Some think it is only a mind thing, but for me... it worked. I never slept so well.  I thanked the person who invented this stuff again and again this past week. I just don't know where I would be all these years without it. Anyone who opens a jar will be transported back to their childhood.. it's a smell that you just never forget. 

The weather is turning warmer here this weekend.  Surely will help me I hope. I think I will find a spot to sit in the sun and let the warmth of it just soak my soul. It's been quite a while since we saw 75 here in my neck of the woods. Hope your weekend is wonderful!! 

FUTURE OF TV

REMEMBER THESE???? You can't even give them away now. 

So the future of television coverage is about to change...again.. This time it will be broadcast for all computers and devices to pick up the signal and watch free.

WHAT???? Yes..this is definitely the wave of the future. We thought the large flat screens were wonderful and they still are selling..but wait.. you may not even need them any more. Here's an enlightening report about what will be changing sooner than we think.  NEW TV Here is another COMPANY that will make it easy to watch live tv on our computers..right now only in the New York area, but they will be  branching out soon.
How many of us are already watching shows we want to on our computers or IPADS? It is more capable of adapting to our lifestyles now. We can watch almost anywhere at any time. It's the "wave of the future" I was told. "It's going to be how we all watch things from now on." No longer sitting together watching programs but scattered in different locations all watching the same things. Progress makes us all have to move with the times. Sometimes I think it might not be the best thing, but then what can we do about it? Well..that's just something I was thinking about today. If you need me I will be in the bedroom watching the latest video of  Duck Dynasty on my laptop. YES..I know..... I know.....

ORANGE YOU GLAD....

Okay..I went into a store and saw this sign and just kinda wigged out. Why oh why could management NOT SEE that terrible mistake? It is large and very obvious.

SO it was describing a new product, and the display was not really big. It didn't take them long to do it. Shows how someone can just do their job and never mind the signs. Well of course, me, I had to tell someone about it. The clerk had no idea what I was talking about. She told me to tell the Asst. manager on duty. I walked around looking for anyone in charge. Well "just forget it" I thought.. never mind after a few minutes of finding no one. I decided to check out and the clerk asked me if I found her. I told her I hadn't but the sign was pretty large. She said she would tell her. Couple of days later.. I came back in and there was the sign still there. I know anyone can make mistakes, but this just irked me.

I decided to find someone this time and let them know.  Sure

enough I did find a manager and took them over to the sign. He laughed in my face and said no one else had noticed it. Well I didn't believe him. I said..

"Well I am sure they did and just figured no one was smart enough to take it down and correct it." Ohhhhh I got a nasty look from him.

AS I WALKED AWAY I SAID

ORANGE YOU GLAD I TOLD YOU ABOUT IT NOW!!!

                                              

LET THERE BE LIGHT....

                                                           

YES, one hour more of sun starting tomorrow morning. I will love it being lighter out in the evenings. Longer days mean you can get so much more done. Outdoor fun, work or relaxing it's all good!  SPRING forward your clocks tonight!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

WATERY WEDNESDAY

I really like adding photos to Watery Wednesday. I guess that's because I love the water. I don't so much love boating on it..just watching it.  I sure do like to stop and watch waves or listen to it. Something about it calls to me somehow.  This week's photo took place in Indiana.  I was down there on a short visit and went for a walk and found this footbridge running over a quaint little creek. {Click for better views)

                

 This tiny creek rises a lot when it rains in the spring season. I love to listen to the water moving slowly over the rocks. It truly was a restful, peaceful and very green place where I could have lingered all day long. Someone asked me if I had one of those waterfall things in my house. I sure don't, I don't think I could listen to it night and day. 

Below is a photo I took of Swans in the winter of 2011, I just could not believe how many there were in that cold river.

  

BARN CHARM TUESDAY

This is Barn Charm Tuesday and this week I entered this photo. Does it look to you like the big barn is a house? As I drove by I wondered if someone made their home out of the large barn. Several other smaller ones around it and sheds. Sorry it's a little fuzzy as the sun was shining right at me. I can't imagine the cost of heating a barn that size here in Michigan in the wintertime!! (Click for better views.) 

The second barn this week is a barn I pass on the way out of town. It looks like it is pretty old and ready to be torn down. Doesn't look used anymore but still retains some of it's color. 

                                    

We might be in for some more of the white stuff around here.. not sure if it will hit where we are as bad as Indiana or Ohio though. I wonder how these birds can stay on the ice like that it makes me cold just watching them. They sure started honking as soon as I stopped to take their picture. They have been around all winter this year.

DON"T FORGET TO PUT YOUR CLOCKS AHEAD ONE HOUR ON SUNDAY!!

WATERY WEDNESDAY

Wednesday is a Watery day and so I am posting my entry for this week. I took this last year at Lake Mi. This is the Badger that makes a round trip run from Ludington to Wisconsin once a day during the summers. The sun was shining on the side of it and you can just barely see the people standing on the upper deck as it comes into port. 

Locals use this boat to get back and forth to work and tourists use it for day trips to Wisconsin.  You can see that underneath holds LARGE semi's as well as regular cars .

It was fun watching it come in and it blows it's horn on departing and arriving so the whole town knows when it comes in. 

To enter a photo for Watery Wednesday CLICK HERE.

                                

BARN CHARM TUESDAY

BARN CHARM TUESDAY

While traveling a two lane road to Manistee last year I took this photo of an old run down barn that was on it's way out. I noticed another smaller one in just about  as bad a shape. I loved the shape of the smaller one. The large one had a tin roof. The roof will outlast the building despite the bad winters they have there. 

On the way back home I spotted this one..

It was used as advertising and for their farm. Place was pretty busy. I never stopped but here is the LINK so you can see what they sell. I must check it out if I get back in that area. 

For here.. we are looking at another storm to come through..this time maybe 4-6 inches of new white stuff. Me.. I will wait and see they keep changing the forecast several times a day.

ALL GOOD THINGS....

All good things must eventually come to an end or so they say..our week long visit in St. Croix ends and we return home to cold stateside.  I dread the shovel we might have to use or the heavy coats we have to haul out to wear. Maybe it's time to think about being a snow bird. "SNOWBIRD" meaning..

A snowbird is someone from the U.S. Northeast, U.S. Midwest, Pacific Northwest, or Canada who spends a large portion of winter in warmer locales such as California, Arizona,Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt region of the southern and southwest United States, Mexico, and areas of the Caribbean. Well we can dream anyway..most cannot afford to have two residences to care for. If I were a snowbird where would I go for winter?? Hmmm any suggestions welcome here.            

                                          

I lived in California for 20 years, and where I was there was little change in season. It was either green and lush or dry and brown. Rain and fog or hot and hotter. No trees changing colors or sight of snowflakes unless you went TO them. You could drive to the ocean,or the mountains in winter. Nice..but pretty expensive to live there. When I returned to Michigan I found that my blood must have thinned a lot because I was freezing and others were laughing at me wearing a sweatshirt in 70 degree weather. Took at least 4 or 5 years to get used to the cold temperatures. My first winter was TERRIBLE. I just could not get warm no matter what I did. Christmas was wonderful...all white and peaceful looking..until I had to snow blow the driveway. Ahhhh I realized why I had moved to warmer territory after all. 

Well I would have to think hard on where I would want to live, is there anywhere that has a happy medium? The climate being what it is and so many  global warming changes, we all may be in a more warm zone sooner than we think. 

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!! 

WHERE THE HECK ARE WE???

We are in a great place, ready for new adventures.

We are definitely on an island.. just look at that
view Ahhhhhhhhh it looks great!! I almost
thought we wouldn’t make it because someone
left their ID and we had to go back for it. ( Not saying
who, but the mind has been elsewhere lately..)
Anyway.. boy that heat feels good!! We got a ton of beaches

and neat places to eat and explore. Not a lot of tourists

to deal with so we can have the place to ourselves.

 

I rename this place BLOGGERS  BEACH.. LOL It is NOT

Hawaii, or Florida, or Ca. Can you guess where???

We can take a  break from the tanning process and wave watching and

walk over to that white building. It’s a CASINO!! Let’s try our luck and

see who can win the most with the least amount of money wagered! 

Just checked the weather here it is a balmy 74 degrees and wonderful.

Beats the snow reports back home.. I know we will love it!! 

Hey what happened to Sherry??.. I heard she got lucky at the crap table!!.

ACKkk 

who the heck is parasailing over my beach?? Oh.. maybe that is JOE

he said he wanted an adventure.. watch out Joe, the landing can be a

doozy!! 

Wonder what is on the agenda for tomorrow…oh well it is better than

home that is for sure…

HAVE FUN!!

HELL HOUSE 2013

HELL HOUSE ..that's what I used to call the house next door to us where I used to live. What with drug dealers and critters living in it after it was abandoned there was plenty of reason to call it that. The whole neighborhood was on a rampage to have the house torn down or remodeled. While I  still lived there some nice folks bought it and re-modeled it and moved in. The neighborhood was saved UNTIL..mom passed away and we had to give up the old house. It took me months to clean it out and leave that old place. It had been in our family 60 plus years. 

NOW there is another HELL HOUSE..it's OUR old house. The house sat until someone finally bought it for a very reduced price. Neighbors were happy UNTIL....they found out that our house was being used for a loud rock band to play in the garage and the people who bought it were not so very nice. Our old house needed a new roof and many repairs.  The roof was repaired, but a whole lot of the house was left to go unattended. Neighbors called the police numerous times over the noise and had lots of run-ins over this and that. This is how the house looks now..quite the difference

They took out the bushes in the front and trimmed the old pine tree up, tore up the backyard and park cars in it and the yard. New owners are entitled to do as they please I tell everyone who tells me things. It's THEIR house now.  It's sad that the place has to be a problem for others though. I tell them things could be worse at least it is occupied. Life goes on, but inside that old house the spirit of my parents and all the hard work they put into it still lingers. The floors still creak and the doors open and shut on their own, lights flicker and noises are heard once in awhile. I hope the new owner is used to them by now. 

SPRING BARN

 OH MY I'm so very grateful and happy to see so many new comments on my Summer Barn photo. Thanks a million.. I thought I would post another view of it since so much of it was cut out.  The second or third roof on it is just now sagging with time.About half of it is still used for storage and as a garage. These were taken in June before the vines started turning color as in the  previous post. We thought the vines were poison ivy but turned out they weren't. Glad to know it because they grew all over it as you can see by the picture below. We haven't had a lot of snow yet this winter and I am still waiting to take a WINTER picture of it. 

                                           

MY SUMMER BARN

I added a photo of my summer barn here. There are some really nice photos of all kind of Charming Barns.  

This barn belongs to my sister. I took a photo this summer of the vine that crept all over the side of it. I just love old barns..it always makes me wonder who built them and what they kept inside and how long it has been around. My Grandfather had a dairy farm in Tennessee and he took us out in the barn many times to help with the milking. I loved watching him work. My were those milk cans heavy when full. Ahhh the memories...

WHAT ME AGAIN!!

Wow two posts in a week..I must be dreaming!!. Back in the old days I could blog every single day. There must have been a ton of things to talk about. Not much these days. I sit here trying to keep warm in the frigid temps we have been having. I noticed this morning that all the frost we have had comes in different patterns each day. This morning I saw this one and it looked like little stars..Can't wait to see what is up for tomorrow morning now..

                                                   

Do any of you remember these things..  it sort of looked like this only it didn't have the hood. Anyway, I found one hanging in the closet the other day. It was made of fleece and looked cozy. Thank God it was one size fits all. It must have been hanging in there for at least 15 years!!! I washed it and dried it and put it on as soon as I could. BOY is it warm!! I loved it! Sis asked me.."Did you shovel snow in that?".. I snorted, "NO..but now I wish I had." It was below zero out and that thing would have been perfect. It doesn't look as snazzy as the one pictured here. I think I will look into one though as inside the house is pretty cold too right now. Sitting watching tv or whatever it really is a handy thing to have. Next question.. IS ONE ENOUGH??  LOL I have used those snuggie things. I have tried several things but this one is really nice. ONLY ONE draw back..  with mine you have to unzip and completely get out of  it to go to the bathroom, is that ever hard in a hurry.. Ackkk...  

WELL enough of my thoughts on that.. Hope you all have a great weekend...