Hen & Chicks

I seem to have a knack with Hen & Chicks. Or Any plant in the cactus family that does not take much attention. I found a Hen & Chicks on Leo's  back steps and they needed planted so I did an intervention some might call it a plantnapping and they have flourished. The main mama is about to bloom!












This was taken from Main Mama a few months ago and now she has a bunch of chicks.

Lightning

Last night it started to rain and we had flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder. Butch started grumbling about mowing greens in the rain...again! I said do not cry before you are hurt thinking it surely could not last all night. Well it did. The sun is starting to peek out now but from 6 to 9, the green mowing time, it was pretty rainy...and he has a sore throat with continual sinus drainage. Chewed him out for not using the netipot. He is now using it so we will see if he caught it in time.
Found a website about our hometown all done on a humorous note. It has been around since 2007 so not exactly new. I could tell right off the local hierarchy was not in charge of it because they were being lampooned. www.jeffersoniowanews.com  The website takes some maneuvering but very interesting in many places. Check out the archives. I got stuck on the "Who lives here" section where there are several pages of house pictures and who used to live there and who lives there now. Probably not of much interest to anyone but Jeffersonians past and present.
I am reading Sunday's Child by Tom Lewis and Butch finished The Help by Kathryn Stockette. Butch was in need of more reading material so I started looking on the kindle and found a bunch of free ones. Most of them were by first time authors, perhaps the reason they were free. I will let you know if they were worth downloading. There is a kindle for PC version that you can download for your computer and it is free. It works very much like the Kindle I have and can take with me anywhere. If you have any questions about that feel free to ask me or go to www.amazon.com and do a search for kindle. They will tell you about Kindle for PC.

Ladybug in flight

Have you ever seen a photo of a ladybug in flight? Me neither. I am not the photographer.

A story about our friends Bill & Kay

For those of you who know Bill & Kay well this will give you a chuckle and not surprise you. For those of you who don't know them well, I hope you will get a chuckle. Bill & Kay were getting ready to go on a trip so Kay had pared down all the food in the fridge. A day before they were headed off on their trip Bill decided to go to the Farmers Market. Kay told him NOT to buy anything. Firmly she said, "DO NOT buy anything!". Bill has a shopping problem that is famous. He cannot seem to buy just one of anything.
 Kay had a few errands to run before taking off on their trip and she came home to find  8 quarts of strawberries, 24 ears of corn, 4 pints of Blueberries, ( 4) 5 pound bags of sugar, 2 dozen eggs, and 6 tomatoes!


This is what Kay emailed to her friend Julie:

Funeral arrangements are pending for William R. Stilson, age 69 of Curtice, Ohio. He was reportedly found buried under 8 quarts of strawberries, 24 ears of corn, 4 pints of Blueberries, ( 4) 5 pound bags of sugar, 2 dozen eggs, and 6 tomatoes. He is survived by his overworked distraught wife Kay 


I think she is going to have to ground him for his own safety!

Touring Northeast Michigan

We took Bill & Kay on a bit of a tour first stopping at Fletcher's Pond.

Then we moseyed on to Alpena and stopped at Dollar Tree for some Maple Leaf Creme Cookies.

 Dollar Tree is the only place that has them and we have refrained from stopping there every time we go to Alpena until yesterday. Butch was driving. After filling the car with the aroma of maple we did a short tour of Alpena and then moved up the road to Rogers City and the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse.

Following a pleasant visit at the lighthouse we found our way back to Hillman and played cribbage for a good share of the afternoon and evening. Bill had received a really bad haircut a couple of months ago and the "edges" had reached a point where they needed attention but the top was fine so Butch took out his clippers and trimmed Bill up around the edges. He did a pretty fair job considering both of them had enjoyed more than a little margarita.

Cold Front

Yesterday was a busy day with surprises. I was expecting our friends the Stilsons  on Wednesday but they came yesterday afternoon and what a pleasant surprise. We have had a great time with lots of laughs since they arrived. We have showed them around Thunder Bay Resort by car and golf cart. A cold front went through yesterday afternoon and we dang near froze to death on those golf carts. We made it a quick tour for sure. We enjoyed pizza at the grill and then went into Hillman for ice cream at the Lickety Split.
This morning Butch is playing his usual golf at Bill and Kay's insistence and then we are going into Jaques restaurant in Hillman for omelets. Kay loves omelets and at this particular restaurant not only do they have good omelets they also have homemade wheat bread. So more fun plans for the day.

Kay is objecting to picture taking but I think it is a good one of all.

I have neglected to tell you of Butch's bracelet making. It is the bracelet that hurts my wrist to make. Unfortunately he says it strains his eyes. Age takes its toll. Take care of your body, you never know how long you'll need it and it is doggone frustrating to have it give you trouble. I tell this to all the young ones knowing full well it is either too late or falling on deaf ears. 

It is Butch's bracelet. I started it and finished it for him. He did the middle.

Water for Elephants

by Sara Gruen I just finished this book and it is worth a look to see if it suits your tastes. Butch enjoyed it very much too.
http://www.amazon.com/Water-Elephants-Novel-Sara-Gruen/dp/1565125606

Sometimes...

Thinking of a title is the hardest part. Butch is off traveling to another golf course with a bunch of guys. Something he said he wouldn't do but we all know how that goes. I am doing laundry and plan to get  a walk in shortly. Missed yesterday.
It is one of those mornings that remind us that summer is on the wane and fall will be here soon. Just a bit of coolness in the air. Very nice after the hot days with the AC running. I know all you folks who have had the triple digit temps are chuckling about our so-called hot days in northern Michigan. It has been a very pleasant summer weather wise. Near perfect most would say. I was very interested in what yesterday would be like because "WINDY" was in the forecast for here. It was going to be blasting away with 20 mph! Whooeee! That is merely a breeze in most places we have been where wind doesn't even play a part unless it exceeds 35 mph with gusts from 45 to 60. But it was a windy day here-the windiest one of the summer. Maybe winter is a different story. I have no plans to find out.
Must get my sheets in the dryer...till later...

Link of the Day

I haven't given you a link of the day for a long time. I have run across this one before but I think it is one that most everyone can use at one time or another.

 

Manuals Online

http://www.manualsonline.com/

 

"Locate hard-to-find user manuals, discover new features, and realize

the potential of the products you rely on. Manuals Online pairs

self-help and product information with a growing community of engaged

product owners."

States Visited

This is a map of the states we have visited. I guess by rights you have to stay over night in a state for it to qualify. So that is a criteria for us and this map. We could add another 8 if we could count just passing through.

Off to the Theatre...

Lobby gathering- pictured L-R-Wanda, Ronni, Howard, Tom and Jan

Sunday afternoon at the theater. I do believe this is our first outing as a group since we have been here. That was a frequent occurrence at Snow Mountain Ranch the last 3 summers so I have missed it. It lived up to my expectations and we had a very nice time. We attended a play at the Thunder Bay Theatre in Alpena and it was "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" . It was a comedy and we all enjoyed it very much and afterwards we went to a Chinese/Thai resataurant to eat. Great outing and I would love to do something like it again.

Howard-I kept this photo even though it is blurred simply because I thought it turned out to be an interesting shot. 

Butch and Ronni during intermission.

Ronni and Jan at the restaurant.

The morning after...

The entertainment in The Barn last night was great. Michael Lee Seiler We have been fortunate this summer to see some very talented performers and right in our own backyard so to speak. Unfortunately they have not had the crowds that they deserve. Anyway, we enjoyed Michaels performance.
We also enjoyed Hillman's fireworks last night and right from our dining room window. It was in connection with their V-J Day celebration. We didn't make it downtown for the parade or any of the "festivities". I wish they would change the theme of their celebration to Patriot Days or something else less specific but then we will be rolling our wheels down the highway in about 7 weeks. They are most likely the last town or village in the country celebrating V-J days.
Butch is doing the green mowing thing again this am and he stopped by to tell me I may have to come pick him up at the maintenance shed. He had a break down this morning and had to replace a pin. Don't worry, I do not have a clue either. All I know is that it will delay him getting finished and he will be holding up golfers from their dedicated pursuit of...hard to find the right word here so we will skip over it!
I am on break from handwork and it has been a surprise to me how much I miss it, both Swedish weaving and bead weaving. I must get the wrist healed up as much as possible before attempting it again. Tried it a bit too soon and have suffered a relapse of the wrist injury. Once again it is getting better.
We have a social outing with many of the fellow workampers this afternoon. That has been a rarity this summer and we are looking forward to a good time. I will take my camera.