TWO MORE

Two more photos worth posting.. I sure take tons right now as around every corner is a more stunning shot. Hope you all are enjoying some warm days too!
                                   Click to enlarge..

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!

I AM ON A LEASH!!!

Most of you blog readers know that when I use a product and find it works well,
I love to endorse it and tell you all about it so today I tell you that...

YES I am on a leash!! I got this new tech thing called a ZOMM from my Sis. It works great..
it connects your cell phone to your keyring by bluetooth technology. When you get too far from your cell

or vise versa it will go off. Now sometimes it is annoying because it is sensitve and wants not to be separated from it's partner, but it can be turned off. If you go on line you can also program it to your specific needs.  I can push the button on the key ring and talk on my phone hands free. It works really great when you are driving.                       
I can hold the button down and an piercing sound will start and warn others that
I am in danger or there is a problem. If you hold down the button long enough it will
even call help for you. I cannot tell you the relief it is to always KNOW where your
cell phone or keys are all the time! It can be charged by cord like a cell phone and will beep and tell you it needs charging. You can read more about it here .

Now for the reason I needed a leash.. I am always leaving my cell in the car or my keys some place and having to take time finding them. If I have one and get separated from the other I just wait for the alarm to go off. Sure helps tons at night when you can't see where you dropped your cell in the car. I get teased a lot by others that my purse is beeping, but it is worth it for sure. I am moving soon and so it is hard to keep track of everything, this makes life much more simple. Well that's my new helper...hope you
are able to check out the technology.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

LAUNDROMAT LESSONS

Our laundromat is not fancy, half the washers don't work, and there is no tv, radio or internet to entertain us.It's very old and the only one in town.The change machine works on occasion and is very picky on what dollar bills it will change.God forbid you get a bill that has too many creases or has anything written or stamped on the face of the bill. There is an attendant present some of the time,when you need him, he is no where to be found. Typical of a  small town,some patrons, however, do leave their newspapers and magazines behind for others to read.

Some things you take for granted. You just know other people already KNOW this thing or that. You figure they have taught their children over their young years how things work in this world.Recently on my visit to do my weekly chore I came across a young mother and her little boy. I asked the boy how old he was and he held up three fingers. Oh, I love that age. They are so cute and are into everything. I sat waiting for my rinse cycle,when the 3 year old asked me "where the plug goes" on

the magazine I was reading, I just had to shake my head. Had he never seen a magazine before? I smiled and told him there wasn't a plug because it was a magazine. He looked puzzled so I showed him the pages. He looked so shocked when looking at it. This purely was a child who had never been acquainted with magazine reading materials, only the computer type displays. I gave him the book and let him flip through the pages. This magazine was nothing he had ever seen before.  I asked him if he had some books at home. I was almost afraid to hear the answer.

In his little world there were no magazines yet, but a computer or game box, yes he

knew what those were. He knew that the big big machines at the laundromat were for big big loads of clothes and you had to put "tons of money" in them to run them. He

knew that his mom would not let him go outside the door of the place unless she was with him and no matter how hot it got in there he was NOT to play with the big fan that was on wheels. Getting back to the books, he told me he had some small books but nothing as big as that magazine was. I asked him if he had ever been to the library?

Did he know what a library was? No, his mom had not taken him to the library. My heart just sank. He was missing so much and would be so behind other kids when starting school. I sat and told him all about the library and all the things the library had to offer him. His mother came and sat beside me staring at her blackberry phone. I wanted so badly to be able to tell her what the boy and I had been talking about. Turns out, I didn't have to because in a minute or two the boy came back from his "walk" around the inside of the building and asked his mom about the magazine. I took the opportunity to tell her I had showed him the book. I told her there were all types of magazines and books for kids at the library for him to look at. She told me that she was new in town and had no idea where the library was. I told her where it was,and that I was sure her boy would love to visit there.

The mother of the boy thanked me and as she gathered up her baskets, piled high,

smiled back at me as they left. As she strapped the boy into his car seat I heard him

tell her he wanted to go to the library. The seed had been planted. I can only wonder if the boy will ever really get to visit the library. I can only hope so.

The more that you read, the more you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.

Dr. Seuss

RECENT PHOTOS

I haven't been taking a lot of photos lately. The recent heat wave has kept me pretty much in cool places. Today the air was less humid and a lot cooler. I snapped this

picture of some guys working in the heat of the day. Sure was glad I wasn't doing their job. It looks hazy and it really was. They were working frantically to get that side of the roof done while it was still in the shade. Takes talent to walk on a roof..I sure wouldn't do it for a living. The next photo was taken today..two BLOCKS from my apartment.

We are three blocks from downtown. A very busy wide street runs right in front of 

the home where this deer keeps showing up.She takes big chances crossing it, and always seems to be alone. The yard is lush with bushes and I think they may just be feeding that doe something really tasty to keep it coming back over and over again. This is the third time I have seen it there in the last two weeks. The neighbors watch for it and the kids have to be so quiet when it shows up to eat. This summer has been a bad one for food and water for critters. Just glad it is NOT a skunk!!

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT COOL WEEKEND!!!

LOST

Again..in what seems like only a short time, I have lost another “parent”. He sort of adopted me and included me in his family outings and daily life.I gained so much including another sister and brother. It seems like he was always there. He had been ill for a while now, but I always had hope that he would again beat it and rise to good health. He will be missed in more ways than I can count.

                                        

REST IN PEACE "DAD"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Well after a long 9 months wait..my niece's baby finally arrived today. He was really "ready" according to the doctor to arrive. I guess they had the due date pretty much correct when they tried to figure it all out. THEODORE was born at 11:15 AM and is 19 inches long.. 8 lbs and 5 oz. Mom and baby are doing well. The family are  hovering as usual, and spending many hours ooohing and ahhhhing over him. We've taken about 300 pictures between us all and at least 3 hours total of video. This kid will have a video picture diary of his whole first day of life, well doesn't every newborn nowdays with all this new technology?? So..that's about it from our little neck of the woods. Tomorrow the new Grandma and I will head home and take all the photos with us to tide us over until the next little visit. 
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

SUMMER DAYS!!!

Imagine my surprise when I went to take out the trash. I came around the corner and saw this "creature" hanging out of the top of the bin. YIKES.. I was glad it was not dark out or I think I would have yelled! I ran back inside to get the camera as the shot was just so funny.  Now why in the world would someone throw out a perfectly good pool toy that still held air?? Well upon lifting the lid I saw that  the other end of said "creature" was missing it's tail. Seems "creature" got into a fight with a mean little dog and well, the rest is history!!

                                                                               It's been quite hot around here and yesterday the local swimming park was sure full of eager kids ready to get cooled off.It used to be an ice skating rink but now it was re-made into and pond or swimming hole for the enjoyment of the community. They even added a beach area. There are plenty of trees for shade too. Locals are wondering why this wasn't done years before? Winters have not been near cold enough here, long enough, to use it as a skating rink. The ice never got thick enough. Kids sure are happy it is here now, because this summer sure has been a scorcher so far.  

I hear the rumble of thunder again..storms are not far behind. Hope you all have a great day today!!! STAY COOL!!

WHAT IS IT???

I certainly have learned a few things from all my years of blogging. If I cannot find the answer on google because I really have no idea what to look up..then I can ask the family of bloggers I know to help me out. Recently on one of my walks I found this huge tree with huge leaves. I thought it was a castor bean tree, but when I googled it the pictures just did not match. So I am kind of stumped. I really think this tree is amazing. I can see it from my apt window and when a storm comes it stands its ground wonderfully.    The leaves are huge, the size of my hand. Some fall off but they remain green when they do.

It appears to have some kind of pods or something on the branches too.  So if anyone out there knows what it is..let me know..the suspense i killing me. I don't see that kind of tree very often around these parts. Most of our trees are elm,oak,maple,chestnut or birch. Will be interested in what you have to say about it.

My feeble attempt to take pictures over the holiday with a camera WITH a setting for fireworks ( yes it does), went horribly wrong.. I think I just could not hold the camera still enough. All the excitement you know.. Oh well at least it was colorful. Hope your holiday was a good one at least the week will be a lot shorter! 

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!  

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

It's a bittersweet holiday here,we had hoped that Mom would be with us to await the birth of her third great grandchild. My niece is due any time now with her first child, so we are playing the waiting game. Mom was just so adamant that my niece would have twins, a boy and a girl. She may have been talking out of her head, but she said it in such a way, that we just believed her. She even made us promise not to tell her because it was a big secret. Well after 6 sonograms, it is definitely NOT twins! Only one baby in there and I will leave the gender as a surprise later on. I know my niece is more than ready for this to be over. Summertime is  hard time, but I think winter is worse. Traveling in the snow is not my favorite thing at all. We will be traveling when the time comes. I just hope it is not in the middle of the night.

No real plans for the holiday here. The town has a fireworks celebration that is awesome to view from inside your vehicle. Near and over looking the local river, one has to be really ready to fight off those large mosquitos that could practically take you away. Think I will view from afar. We might have rain but we certainly will have heat..90's and more. It truly is summertime now!
Well...I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A SAFE AND

ODDS AND ENDS

Thought I would post some odd and ends pics that are in the camera. Some are new some aren't.  These are of the old church. Most of the stained glass was removed, but these remain. Reminds me some of a castle. The lights still work and all that is wrought iron work.  Very old church but haven't found the age yet.  Next few are photos before the whopper storm we had.

He sat there a long time before the storm, but didn't catch a thing. The kids were having a great time. After the storm the banks were up to the top..hard rain at least three inches. Lots of tree damage too. Leave you with two more...

 

FAREWELL MY FRIEND!!

BOB BOWERS..OUR OLD MSN SPACES "RUSERIOUS" FAMILY MEMBER
PASSED AWAY AND THE WHOLE BLOG AND FACEBOOK FAMILY HAS LOST A TRUE FRIEND.

Many prayers are sent to BECKY and all the Bower family.  He truly was  a special person. Here is a link to his memorial page.  
         http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Robert-Bowers&lc=0427&pid=152310383&mid=4729223