It is Coming......

Well, the kids are back in school, Labor Day is upon us, and shortly the leaves will begin their yearly burst of oranges, reds & yellows.  I gotta admit that I have a hard time choosing between spring and fall as my two favorite times of the year.  Altho based on the fact that winter follows fall I will have to go with spring.  We all know I did quite a bit of moaning and groaning last year, alright let's call it like it really was, I bitched about the long, cold & snowy winter and I keep hearing that it will repeat again this year.  So prepare yourself for more bitchin' if that does indeed come to fruition.  I just hope that I handle it with a little more grace than I did last year.  A great way to handle it would be to leave for a warmer climate....say January thru March but that ain't gonna happen.

OK, enough already....one indication that Fall is quickly approaching are the little crab apples that are constantly dropping off of the tree in my side yard.  Now if I was really ambitious maybe I could use these little fruits in a jelly or jam but instead I will just use them as props for a photo.

I love this little hand-painted cup.  My Dad's sister was an artist and she painted this in 1962, over 50 years ago.  I love that I have a rememberance of her and her talent.  PS...the reason that bokeh looks so weird is that I took this on my back porch and that is the screening in the background.

Another reminder is the latest blooming hosta is now sprouting her final show

And finally, and this has absolutely nothing to do with fall....the kids went to the beauty shop and got their hair and nails done.  Aren't they adorable.  I just love those two....

And one last thing....I am joining Good Fences, TexWisGirl's weekly meme.  I know this isn't much of a fence, but I promise it is, an 8 foot one that obviously is used by many a bird to perch on.   And again this has absolutely nothing to do with Fall except that the sparrows never leave, Fall or Winter they stay no matter what.  I wonder if they bitched as much as I did last year??

"But the struggles make you stronger and the changes make you wise...And happiness has its own way of taking its sweet time. " ~ Gary Allen

Until next time.....

The Glorious "Give"

Whoever introduced stretch into capris, jeans, and slacks should definitely be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  I rummaged thru my summer drawers this AM looking for what to wear and pulled out capris that I had not worn all summer.  Needless to say they did not have the glorious stretch and the peacefulness of my morning was gone in a flash....struggle struggle to zip and snap.  And after finally reaching my goal, they were so uncomfortable that off they came with more of a struggle.  Now some of you probably can't appreciate that "give" that I'm talking about, that's because you probably are of a decent weight, flat tummy and are perhaps thin enough to wear skinny jeans, which is not even in my vocabulary.  But those of us that are not of the perfect weight, that may have a little more around the waistline that is needed or wanted can appreciate that wonderful give to our bottoms, again Nobel for those responsible.  Just sayin....

And speaking of glorious there are a few things that stop me dead in my tracks and beckon me to grab my camera and snap.  Among these glorious finds are.....

Interesting ducks at the pond across the street.  These are Cormorants, I have seen them in other parts of this area but never in our neighborhood.

Hawks absolutely fascinate me....

Sunflowers, they take my breath away....

Interesting faces, especially if they let me take their portrait.....

I guess I probably don't have to mention barns, especially old red ones....

And the beauty of a butterfly in my back yard staying still long enough to take a snap just makes my heart happy....

And then there are always horses....especially ones that are nuzzling.

And speaking of nuzzling, today is my sweeties birthday.  I am heading off to the care facility to deliver his birthday cards, give him birthday kisses, and throw in a few nuzzles too.

Have a happy, blessed week!!

"But the struggles make you stronger and the changes make you wise...And happiness has its own way of taking its sweet time."  ~ Gary Allen

Until next time....

Happy Sunday!!

Happy Sunday everyone.  

I hope your day is filled with sunshine and joy....

We have had the most delicious summer so far this year.  Not too hot, rain when needed, plenty of sunshine, I am putting my request in for next summer to be identical to this one.  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to order up some sunshine when needed?  Or to have all of our prayers answered the exact way we request them.  How many times do we tell ourselves that there is a reason for our prayers not being answered in the way we want...trying to figure out the whys while still hanging on to our faith.  My prayer is always "to let go and let God",  Such a short message but a mighty difficult one to adhere to.

I continue to enjoy summer by a trip now and again to the Arboretum.  Friday was another delicious day, sunshine and only in the 70's, blissful.  I decided to drive to the Fragrance Garden that is usually filled with beautiful flowers and wander down the Joy Path.  Ofcourse I wasn't disappointed....but before I reached the garden I found this....ahhh!!

You know how I love red berries and against that blue sky, bonus!!

Flowers in a variety of colors....

Love those anemones...

This butterfly had the most gorgeous wing span.

While at the garden I struck up a conversation with a couple, they were taking pictures of each other with an I-Phone.  I asked if I could take both of their pictures together (I do this alot) and ofcourse they were delighted.  Thus began our conversation.  He is a retired orthopedic surgeon and then the obvious question followed..."what does your husband do?"  I explained and when he asked what facility my sweetie was staying in, I was delighted to hear that one of his former colleagues owned the facility.  He went on to say that the owner was a very dear friend, a man in tune with care and and caring.  Along with the beauty surrounding us, that conversation made my day!!  He even gave me his business card and told me if I EVER had any concerns to call him and he would in-turn call his friend, the owner.  Perfect.

The only thing that concerned me on this trip was that some of the leaves on trees are already beginning to show signs of Fall.  Oh I am so not ready to give up this summer, but I do admit we have pretty terrific Falls.

Back home I noticed my neighbors sunflowers haven't bloomed yet, so summer can't be over!!

And the backyard birds are still with me.

OK, today is going to be another day on the porch.  I need to finish my bookclub book, "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman.  I will let you know how I liked it when I finish...right now, I am on the fence.  Next up, "The Orphan Train".  I am probably the only one that hasn't read this yet, we are reading and discussing this in my "story-hour" book club where we only read one book a year.  The remaining gatherings are book reviews presented by the members. I remember last year one of the books reviewed was "Me Before You" a book on my must read list.  I tried my best not to listen to her review, but the only way I could avoid her words was to nod off to sleep, then I started snoring...how rude!!

Again, happy Sunday and enjoy the week ahead!!

“No matter where life takes you...the place where you stand at any moment is holy ground. Love hard and love wide and love long, and you will find goodness in it.” 
—Susan Vreeland, Lisette's List

Until next time.....

A Little of This n That....

My youngest grand, Brie, is headed off for her senior year of college.  OMG where in the world does the time go??  It wasn't but a couple three years ago I was enjoying her kindergarten picture. Now 21 years old, old enough to drink and vote both done responsibly I am hopin'.  

Spent her last day at home with her on Monday, seeing a movie (Lucy, interesting concept and definitely her choice) and enjoying dinner together before she headed to Iowa State on Tuesday morning. It will probably be October or maybe even November before I see her again. Insert sad face....  

On Monday, along with the movie we drove onto Northern Illinois University campus where both my daughter and son-in-law coach.  Lisa wanted me to see the statue that their dog MAC posed for, well MAC didn't exactly pose, the artist took pictures and then created the piece from the photos.  Quite impressive.  Just fyi, statue on left, real MAC on right.  

We also found out on Monday that Hilary is ready to deliver that new bundle of joy, my great granddaughter....notice I said my, at any hour any day.  Her body is in preparation mode.

On Sunday my friend Marti, along with her family went to a French Market event at one of our local parks.  There were......

Jugglers on stilts....

Musicians playing folk songs....

A lady that made just about anything out of balloons.......

Unfortunately, the balloon popped shortly after I took this pic, but not to worry, we found the face painter and that wiped away all the tears....

And Saturday I shot a wedding.....OMG was I nervous.  A great responsibility shooting a wedding, it's not like you can ask them to re-do those vows or re-do the rings.  But as I reviewed the almost 1,000 pics, I think they will be pleased.  This was the 2nd marriage for both so the bride decided to go bold and wear red.  Bet you don't see that too much.  She looked beautiful and you could see in her eyes, her smile, her giggles that she was estatic and look at that smile on the groom!!  My granddaughter, Bailey was with me the whole time... hauling my gear, holding the diffuser, giving me confidence, a blessing!!

Oops, almost forgot, need to add a pic of a fence for Good Fence Thursday over at TexWiseGirl's blog, The Run*around*Ranch .  Another goodie from my trip to Michigan.  My goodness those colors are vivid.  Does the sun shine differently there??

Tonight I am headed to bookclub where we will be discussing "The Girls from Atomic City".  Good non-fiction book, relating the story of the building of Oak Ridge, TN where the first atom bomb was built.  Fascinating....and I am not a fan of non-fiction but this did hold my interest.  Except ofcourse when the author would write about all the science stuff, I do believe my eyes would glaze over.  No physics classes for me, biology was the most advanced I managed.

OK that's it. I have rambled far too long.

Until next time....

Did Ya Think.....

Did ya think I moved....did ya think my computer broke....did ya think maybe I passed on to wherever I might be headed??  Well, no to all of the above.  I just got lazy, spent a lot of time enjoying the back porch, took a mighty fine trip to Michigan, and my sweetie was back in the hospital.  Can't seem to get thru a summer now without at least one trip to the hospital.  And every single (insert 4 letter word here) time it has been a UTI.  Nasty things they are and it really wrecks havoc on my sweetie.  Another 5 days in the hospital, but he is back at the nursing home and doing OK.

I have also been busy this summer with family photography, not my family, other families.  Altho I did take quite a few pics at my granddaughter-in-law's baby shower....and btw, she is due at any time.  OMG me, a great-grandmother and a new baby in the family....sigh!!  Here is just a tiny clue has to who we are expecting....

There will definitely be more about this later (unless I fall into my "no blog" mode again)  I don't like that mode, I miss you all.

Anyhow, one of the adventures that happened since I last blogged was a wonderful trip to Michigan to meet up with a couple of bloggers who I am sure many of you know....Patti on the left from My Happy Place and Sarah from Paisley Rain Boots.  I stayed with Patti and her husband, Dream Boy for two nights and what wonderful hosts they were and ofcourse Wonder Dog was there as well. Then on Friday we met up with Sarah in Holland, MI and wandered thru Holland, Windmill Island where my grandson was married 4 years ago, and Saugatuck where my sweetie and I spent almost 20 years there each summer.  I must admit that when seeing the bench where we always sat watching the boats wind up and down the river tears rolled down my cheek.  It really tugged at my heart seeing these spots again, knowing that I will never enjoy them with my sweetie.....only in my memories.

Since I haven't blogged for awhile (understatement) I wanted to highlight some of my trip to Michigan, of which I have probably a gazillion pics, but I decided to focus on the color red.  That couldn't possibly be because that is one of my favorite colors.  Note, even the pic above of the lovely ladies has red in the background....

The lighthouse, lovingly referred to as "Big Red" resides along the shores of Lake Michigan in Holland.

Notice the red doors and shutters at the little village on Windmill Island....

This fine looking gentleman is a guide at Windmill Island who, with his Dutch dialect, gave us the history and played the Amsterdam street organ.  Note the red kerchief around his neck....I am really stretching this red thing.

This lovely young lady along with others performed in their Dutch klogs outside of the windmill.
They wear up to 10 pairs of socks to protect their feet while performing or participating as travel guides thru the windmill.  I will stick to my flip flops, thank you very much.  Pretty costumes and definitely red.

And ofcourse I couldn't visit Michigan without capturing some of the local barns.  Isn't she a beauty, so red against that beautiful blue sky, along with a white fence...perfect!!

And, a Red Tail Hawk...what a gorgeous bird.  So regal and if you hop on over to my collaborative blog, Focusing On Life, I wrote a little post on the Red Tail Hawk.

On Thursday, the day I arrived Patti and I took a walk to downtown Kalamazoo.  They have been busy updating and renovating the downtown area and I must say I was impressed.  Lovely parks, beautiful plantings, new buildings....whoever their city planners are, kudos to them.  Not only do they have beautiful parks etc. they have an area filled with beautiful churches.  Couldn't pass up these beauties with their stunning red doors.

So there you have it...just a brief tour of part of why I have been MIA lately.  I am truly going to try and do better, but with the prediction of the same kind of winter we had last year looming, my back porch needs my undivided attention while I can still enjoy.

Until next time.....