Not So Lazy Sunday

Friday I took the day off of work because we had a wedding to go to. It started at 5:00, but it was about a hour drive away, plus it was in the area of where my MIL lives. We figured we would kill two birds with one stone and pay a visit to her while we were out there.

Oh, and it was a good reason to take the day off of work, too!

MIL is doing great and we had a nice visit with her.

The wedding was at a place called Mac & Rays. It's a marina/restaurant/banquet hall on Lake St. Clair. The wedding ceremony took place right in the same hall as the reception. I love that! No going from place to place and really, how pretty is this?



The bride and groom had two young children, and this is how they came down the aisle.



The wedding cake was pretty (and good!) and how fun is that cake top? I have a thing for wedding cake tops, and always look forward to seeing what people put on their cakes!





We had a great time dancing and drinking and visiting with cousins we don't get to see too often!

Saturday was a very lazy day so today is a busy one cleaning and going to the grocery store.

2 weeks until my vacation!

It's Cherry Time!

One good thing about Michigan:



We do good cherries! Yum!

One not-so-good thing about Michigan:



It's cool enough in July to do this.

Good for sleeping, though!

It's Friday!

Yes, Sally.



It's Friday!!

Over The Hump

We had a nice birthday celebration for Shauna on Saturday. We all met for dinner at Chili's and then back to the house for dessert. I made Paula Deen's Strawberry Cream Shortcake and man, it was really good! Everyone loved it! I think this is the first time I have made any of her recipes; but I wanted to make something different and this was surprisingly easy!

We spent the rest of the weekend cleaning the spare room, organising closets, getting rid of a bunch of junk and putting up a cabinet in the bathroom. It's nice to get things done and have that feeling of accomplishment.

It's been a crazy, busy week at work so far and Friday can't get here soon enough for me! My vacation is still three weeks away and I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to it!

We had a sad,tragic thing happen in Canton recently. Last Thursday 5 young people were killed on the Amtrak rail a few miles from my house. This is a memorial at the site of the wreck:



This is what's left of the car (Courtesy of the Detroit Free Press)



Apparently the driver went around a SUV that was waiting at the tracks, ignored the flashing lights and sped around the gates, where the train hit the car going 67 miles per hour. The oldest was 21 and the youngest was only 14, and there were two brothers in the car, too. So senseless! I guess there is no way to understand what goes through some peoples heads, you know? Unbelievable!

On a lighter note...two more days till the weekend!

The Brenda Photo Challenge..but first....

Before I post my photo challenge picture I have to say Happy 28th Birthday to my sweet daughter, Shauna.

You are beautiful, smart, funny and sweet.
We are so proud of you and the beautiful woman you have become.
Just to see your happy, sparkling eyes can brighten any day.
You have brought more joy in our lives than you could ever know!



Happy birthday, Link! We love you!!

OK on with the Brenda Photo Challenge-Shadows.

This challenge is hosted by Lynn of Musings From The Texas Hill Country Thanks Lynn for hosting this fun challenge!


Self-portrait shadows.

Basketball net.

Leaves.

More Charlevoix

So Charlevoix is a very nice little town in the upper western-side of the lower penninsula. Got that?

It has a beautiful marina right in the downtown area filled with lots of big, fancy boats. The main street is lined with shops and restaurants. Like a lot of towns up north, it's a nice place to get away for a day or two.



Charlevoix is also one of the places where some of the rich have their summer homes.



We went for a boat ride on Marissa's dads boat.



There is an inland lake, Lake Charlevoix and of course Lake Michigan. This drawbridge opens for small frighters and tall sailboats.



We only stayed one night and left at about 11:00 on Saturday. It was a nice weekend and it's always nice to spend time with the kids!.

Charlevoix

We decided to go up north this weekend after all. We left on Friday at about 10:00 in the morning, thinking and hoping that we would beat the crowd on the freeway.

No such luck.

We kept running into pockets of traffic jams. A normally 3-1/2 hour drive took about 5 hours!

Chris and Marissa were staying in her grandparents house, in Charlevoix on top of a big hill.



The view was awesome. If you look closely, you can see Lake Charlevoix in the distance.



Apparently grandma is a bit of a hoarder. There was a TON of stuff in the house, covering every horizontal surface and lots of antique furniture! I could have explored the house for hours looking at all of the treasures. This was sitting on top of the dresser in the bedroom we stayed in.



And does anyone remember these things?



This mirror was pretty cool. I have never seen one with the lights attached like that!



Underneath the mirror was a small crib stuffed with blankets and quilts and pillows and this doll.



I'm sure glad I didn't notice her until the next morning!

This was the bottom of a very old cabinet. I believe it was used to store records. Inside was miscellaneous papers, including directions to Lincoln Logs and a newspaper article from February 3, 1932.



Of course, there were some newer things like this Kleenex holder in the bathroom.



And this painted rock, that I liked so much I wish it was in my garden right this minute!

One More Day

Well, it's hump day again but it's also a work "Thursday" because I am off on Friday in honor of the wonderful 4th of July holiday weekend!

Last week at work we had a auction of decorated bird houses. I bid on one I thought was kind of cute, but was out-bid. However, yesterday I got a email from the lady in charge saying that the person who out-bid me changed her mind and did I still want it? I did; and here it is:







It says "casino" and the O is the door to the bird house. Considering we like to occasionally go to the local casinos I thought it was appropriate.

Last Thursday night my dads girlfriend called to say she was calling emergency and having my dad taken to the hospital because he was lightheaded and nauseated and there was blood in his stool. Rich and I and my brothers met them there at the hospital. Anyway, after they took blood and did a CT scan they determined that he had ulcerative colitis, probably caused by the antibiotics he was taking for some dental work! Jeese! He's much better now and they let him go home yesterday.

We don't really have any plans for this weekend. Chris and Marissa are going up north to Charlevoix and staying at her grandmothers house. They have the house to themselves and invited us to come up there, but I don't think we'll go. It's a 4 1/2 hour drive from our house and we would only stay one night. That's a lot of driving. My brother is having a BBQ on Saturday. We will probably just go to that and chill for the rest of the weekend!

One of my very favorite bloggers, Robyn of Bitchypoo lost one of her cats yesterday. He got out of the yard they keep their cats in and a dog or something got him. I feel so bad for her. We share a love of cats. She has about 10 of them and she fosters kittens too. If you can, go visit her and leave a comment. If you are so inclined, she has information where you can make a donation to Challenger House, a shelter she volunteers for.

I think I'll give my kitties a extra hug tonight!