In Michigan?

OK Last week, told you I was going to show you something that you don't expect to see in Michigan and here it is:



That's right...Palm trees!!

Every year the nursery I pass on my way to and from work puts transplanted palm trees all along the road in front of their store. To me it's like the official start of summer..when the palm trees go up at Grimboli's Nursery!



They're probably not the healthiest-looking palm trees you could ever see, and at the end of summer, right before they get dug up and taken away, they really look like they are missing their Florida home!



But for the short time that we have them here, I love looking at them!

Where Did Our Baby Go?

Where did our baby go?

He was born on May 27, 1979.
We named him Christopher Richard.
Big name for such a little guy!



Next thing we knew he was year old!



Then we blinked and he was in kindergarten!



Then we turned around and he was graduating from high school!



Today he's 30 years old!



And married to our sweet daughter-in-law Marissa



He's a sweet and loving husband and a wonderful son.

Happy Birthday, sweets.

You've made us prouder over these past 30 years than we can ever say.

Memorial Weekend

We had a great weekend!
Most of it was spent getting ready for the party on Monday.
Sunday we went to a baseball game. It was an uneventful boring game and they ended up losing 3-1. Bums!
Monday we had 30 people over for good food, good drinks and good company!
I ate too much and was exhausted by the end of the day!
It was a blast!!
Hope you all had a good weekend.
Check out my clematis in the header picture.

The Brenda Photo Challenge-Doorways

This challenge is hosted by Annie of Annie's Blog Thanks Annie, I hope you are enjoying your visit here with us!

Whew, this one was a rough one for me but this is the best I can do..

Faux chalet doorway!

Purple doorway.

Church doorway.

Beautiful doorway.

Friday! (almost)

It's almost Friday and it's a three-day weekend!! Yay!!

Thank heaven for long weekends. This one will be saving my sanity for sure.

This wicked little creature is responsible for a great reduction in mourning doves in my neighborhood! Click on the picture for the full efect. Sorry it's a little gross, but a great shot by Rich!



It's looking like a pretty good weekend weather-wise. Good thing because Sunday we are going to a Tiger game and Monday we're having a bunch of people over for a Memorial Day barbeque. So we don't need any rain or excessive heat! Should be
mid-70's and sunny. I have a ton of stuff to do of course but I am looking forward to it.

I still don't have any doorway pictures and Saturday is fast approaching!

Coming up next week..a little tribute to my son who's turning 30 and a picture of something you never expect to see in Michigan!

Home Again

We're back from our little day get-away. We had a great time, but we always do with Don and Linda.



The beach was very pretty but it was freakin' COLD out there so we didn't stay out too long.

The casino was nice but not nice to us if you know what I mean! Let's just say we left a deposit for the next time!

Tomorrow is Monday again and I seriously have to find some doorways to photograph!

Oh, I'm having approximately 28 people over next Monday so I need to start psyching myself out for that, too!

Thank God For The Weekend

Yay..it's the weekend! This week wasn't toooooo stressful but that could be because I made up my mind that it wasn't going to BE stressful! Mind over matter, you know! To the credit of my supervisor I have to say that she is doing everything she can to keep me from getting overloaded with work, and to let me know how much she appreciates me, so that helps!

Well, this morning we are heading to the Blue Chip Casino on Michigan City, Indiana with my brother and SIL to stay the night. I've never been there but it's on Lake Michigan which means if the weather is decent, we can watch the sun set on the lake! That's one of my favorite things to do during the summer. It can be very pretty! I always thought it would be fun to be on the west side of Michigan in the evening to see the sun set on Lake Michigan and then drive to the east side of the state to see the sun rise on Lake Huron!

OK, I have to get ready to go. Here's a picture we took of a laser light shining on running water!

Mothers Day And Other Things

Last week at work was the usual stress-fest and Friday was especially so. The last hour before I left I was swamped with work and left a huge pile on my desk for Monday. When we went to dinner that evening, I actually had a beer, which is shocking because I hardly ever drink, but it did the trick and helped me relax and blow off my day!

Saturday Chris came over and brought lunch. Marrisa was up north at a wedding shower so he stayed for quite a while. It was nice to see him as usual. They gave me some awesome Bath and Body Works shower gel, soap and lotion.

Sunday was a very nice day.

We started with a visit to the cemetery. I cut flowers from my lilac bush to put on my moms grave. She used to love the way they smelled and would always walk into my backyard to smell them when they were in bloom. Anyway, they don't last very long after they've been picked but they looked nice for a while, anyway.



Then to the nursing home to visit my MIL.

After we got home Shauna came over and we went to dinner. She brought me a cute angel ornament, a flameless candle and a beautiful homemade card!



All in all it was a nice day and a nice weekend.

I managed to get through Monday at work with minimal hair pulling!

Last night I even made hard boiled eggs and cut up vegetables for a protein salad.



Surviving the week!

The Brenda Photo Challenge - Circles

Woo hoo! It's my turn to host the photo challenge. If you haven't already, go
here and visit all of my other photo challenge friends!

OK On with the show!


Pepsi logo.


Border edging.

Dart board that I stare at whenever I am walking on my "dread"mill!

Circles within circles.

Old air conditioner vent.

Anyway, um..do I have any volunteers who would like to host the next challenge? Someone who hasn't before? Come on, you know you want to! Send me a email if you do or I'll just pick someone to ask on Sunday!

Thanks again, Jan for asking me!

Ugly Road Beautiful Trees

One of my favorite things about spring is the newly flowering trees and bushes. It's so nice to see after a long, dreary winter of grey skies and leafless trees. One place I especially love is this road by my house:



This is about a mile stretch of road that is lined with beautiful flowering crab apple trees.



Its such a pretty sight. Of course, the road is ugly and in sorry state, but the trees sure look pretty!

This is my clematis that I planted last year. Two weeks ago it was just a few inches above the ground, now it's about 15 inches tall! It grows a inch a day I think! It's going to be HUGE this year and I can't wait for it to start flowering.




Ahh..Spring. Gotta love it!