WHERE DID SUMMER GO??

Wow I have not updated here in months. I sure am slipping. Blog entry what is that?? I have to remind myself to even look at it when it used to be a daily routine. Life happens.. now I am more settled in my place and enjoying my freedom and have things to keep me busy. Things are still green pretty much here but I expect them to start turning very soon. I am keeping an eye out for the woolly worm to see what he predicts for our winter this year. Last year he was 100% correct for my area anyway.Here are some photos I have taken over the summer..odds and ends.The sky was so orange when a local fire hit. Reminded me of how bad it was in Ca. where fires were eating up so much of their land.Sure was an eerie sight. I took this at a local Walmart made entirely out of their stock. It was very creative and boy it screamed  F A L L !

Haven't been able to get around a whole lot because of the heat this summer. I wait for the cooler days. It is so much easier to breathe.

It was a summer of firsts for my niece's boy Theo.. he had his first real birthday party and his first trip to the local county fair.

Watching him grow up reminds me how short life is and we must enjoy every minute of it.

HAVE A GREAT SEPTEMBER...

REMEMBER WHEN

I smiled the biggest  watching a neighbor teach his daughter how to ride a small two-wheeler. The bike never had training wheels and a small boy neighbor could ride it easily. She could not. So dad got his chance to run around holding the back of the bike and running along beside her. They did all this on the GRASS..no cement or paved street, smart dad. I remember falling on that street. OUCH…oh how I wish I had a video of that moment. There is no feeling in the world like the wind rushing through your hair as you ride as fast as you can and feel like you have wings for the first time. Wife came out and filmed a lot of her riding attempts. She just had to keep peddling. She tried another part of the complex that was flatter. MUCH better results. In less than two hours she was riding like a pro. BIG smile on her face. Neighbors came outside and applauded her efforts. I yelled..”Good JOB..DAD too!” I swear his face lit up like a Christmas tree all twinkly. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon at the end of September 2014. I had to think, I hope she remembers where and when she was when she learned, I remember where and how but not WHEN.  I hope her mom NEVER loses that video. A whole new world is ahead of her. Today she went to school, no doubt, with stories of her success. Can’t wait to see if she still rides well after school.. Stay tuned. 

OH DEAR Blog Readers….the smells from my kitchen this morning brought tears to my eyes. I used my oven to bake my mother’s recipe for BANANA BREAD.. OH how the whole place smells like home and MOM making  it over and over again. She loved it so. She never needed the recipe almost up to the day she left. She made it so many times it was in her memory bank.  ALWAYS the end piece with lots of butter on it, that was her favorite. HOT HOT out of the oven would make her just ooooh and ahhhh.  Making it this time for my sister’s birthday. I omitted the pineapple this time and made it plain. Can you smell it??? YUMMM!! Haven’t had this in ages. Last time I made bread it was in the microwave for lack of an oven. Well it was edible, but just not the same. It cracked on top just like MOM made it. So happy it came out good. Recipe link is above.

Got to say the fall here in Michigan this past week has been spectacular. The leaves changing very quick but the temps have been mild and cool at night. NO rain, just nice..it does feel like October instead of September though. I fear the winter will be early this year again. Still looking for the wooly worm and his prediction but the black squirrels here are  busy storing nuts from the nearby trees like crazy. That alone is scary. I shudder thinking about last winter, but at least know this year there will be way way less shoveling for me here in my new place. 

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.. 

FALL BACK

FALL BACK..do I like it?? NO..not really.. I love the long days of summertime.I can do so much more in a day with them longer. Some get up early for work in the dark and now they come home in the dark. It's a sign of winter coming so I guess we just get used to it. I remember that last year the fall was warmer and it was nice to have winter take it's time getting here. Wish it was that way always. 

 I feel for all those who lost so much in Hurricane Sandy..now that it will get darker earlier..it will be colder too. No heat and winter right around the corner. People during hurricane Katrina did not have to worry about SNOW and ICE hampering their recovery process. I know some places never did recover there, some may not in New York or New Jersey either. Losing everything is so hard and so many will have to start over again. I pray for those who need help and shelter..it will be a long hard winter.
The RED CROSS is taking donations..I know that is a good thing but I also know that sometimes it takes awhile for the funds and the help to get where it is going. I was so relieved to see the marathon cancelled and those supplies moved to where they can be used. When they knew this once in a lifetime storm was coming they should have cancelled it sooner. It sure makes me wonder though,  with the elections coming, that the outcome could be accurate with so so many people NOT VOTING because they cannot get to the polls or have no poll to vote at. People are still in shock, reeling from the loss they have had and could care less about the election now. Will be interesting to see how it all comes out. 

LAST ROSE OF SUMMER

The ground covered in a heavy frost, I watched the steam rise off the deck, bright sun glaring down on it. I was glad I had ventured into the yard and picked the last rose of summer.

ASSORTED PHOTOS

I have been taking tons of fall photos lately.. the colors here in Michigan have been

very brilliant this year. Lake Michigan has had some calm and warm days too. Beaches are pretty much deserted by now. Ships are coming in every day and the car ferry is almost coming to an end. Fall is here and the tourist season is over. Sun setting over the lake. We appreciate so the warm breezes and dread the winter cold coming.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL FALL WEEKEND!

FRIDAY UPDATE

SO it’s Friday again.. what a week.. we helped get 33 miners up out of their dark place and into the light of day and real life again. The news reported today that more than one of those miners had more than one mistress up in the real world. Whoops… I bet those guys NEVER thought of the consequences of their actions. Talk about reality TV.. uh huh…
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Update on the  flu shots.. got mine a couple of weeks back. No problems, but ever since then I have heard of a lot of people who are sick with some kind of something. Fevers, sore throat, etc. Several of the workers at mom’s treatment center have been out sick and even had to get antibiotics to help get over it. Does not bode well for the winter season around here. I have been using those wipes and hand santizers like crazy.  Got our furnace cleaned and heated up the house yesterday. I have been using those infrared heaters you see advertised for at least a month. Sure saves on the gas bill. They are well worth the investment for sure. Eggs went on sale at the store for 99 cents a dozen so I stocked up and decided to make a custard impossible pie.  It was yummy. Placed the recipe at my recipe blog.. is so fast and easy…was a pleasure to make it. Use the search box and find the recipe by name.
Gas went up here to nearly $2.95..wow..you really have to watch when to buy it or you will get really ripped off. I noticed that prices of fruit are back up in stores except for apples which are plentiful here in Michigan right now. Being aware sure helps with cost right now.
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SCHOOL PRIDE is being launched tonight on TV on NBC at 8 PM est. Ever since I saw the commercial I thought this was a great idea. Schools in this country are in such bad condition.. a show that goes in and restores them back to new brings so much back to the youth who go there. With pride in their surroundings they can’t help themselves but be more excited in learning. I think the photos of how bad they look will surely shock a lot of people. WORTH WATCHING this..such a good good idea. Well that’s all from here…
glitter-graphics.com
 
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HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

RANT DAY??

Pardon me. but do we still have a rant day that is a carry over from Spaces? Well don’t know the answer to that, but have gotten peeved about a few things lately that surely apply. First off.. why doesn’t anyone read road signs any more? I mean I am old school about things but really.. if the sign says YIELD.. DO IT!! If the sign says STOP.. do that too. Don’t roll on into the intersection waiting for the on coming traffic to stop for you. Twice I saw this and I must say it was NOT a teen driver doing it either. Here they call them a “Michigan roll.” Roll on out there and get smacked is what they should call them. Geez.. get some education!. I hate people who just go along and think they make the rules of the road. There is NEVER anyone around to give them a ticket to tell them that THEY ARE WRONG.. about what they are doing. Maybe if they got a ticket and had to pay money they wouldn’t do it again.

Mom and I nearly got broadsided with a man, (he was not a kid either) who just drove on through that very large sign that said YIELD. There is a lot of construction out there they are trying to finish before the bad weather comes, and I have seen people driving WAY too fast for the speed that is posted too. Too bad there is not an ”eye in the sky” camera around to film those drivers too. Another thing I truly don’t like is people who try to get out into the intersection before you have even cleared it. We have had some close calls lately and that always makes your heart race faster. There are some crazy drivers out there, who really should be given a lesson on how to OBEY the rules and road signs!


WHEW… now I feel better.. thanks!! (I miss the smilies from spaces)



Gas prices shot back up around here to 2.85! Never did find out why but that was at least a 25 cent jump.Went shopping for some fresh new apples and found that some stores had them as high as 3.99 a bag as where some others 1.99. Pays to shop around I guess. Michigan’s apple crop isn’t too great this year because of the freeze we had and so they are yielding a lot less than last year. The ones that are coming in are smaller apples and with less flavor. I find myself looking for the Washington varieties, they always are delicious.


Those of you on facebook know that Sis is trying out an e-reader. I am trying hers too. It is a fun little gadget that gets e mails and books and will go out on the web. Small and convenient and that is a good thing. Never thought I would use such a thing as I am addicted to my laptop now. It is a lot slower and harder to keep the wifi signal in tact but the battery life is great. You can make a picture viewer out of it with your SD card etc, so it proves to be a real multi-purpose item. I am quite impressed with it so far. So far I give it three stars. You can’t print anything out and maybe they will improve that in the future.


WELL it’s been quite a week here the last few days. Mom has made another trip to the ER and had a small surgery at another hospital. It never ends around here. I sure will be ready to get to the weekend!

LOCAL COLOR IS REALLY POPPING THIS WEEK.


HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!