Some Good Some Bad

Last Friday I was finally off after working the past three Fridays to cover for vacations. It was so nice! I met my buddy Karen for lunch. It was pouring rain so hard while I was driving to meet her that I almost pulled over! Anyway, we had a nice lunch and pumped each other up for the upcoming reunion on Sunday.

Saturday morning it was raining again so Marie and I just went to breakfast. Then she came over and I set her up a Facebook account. In the afternoon, Rich and I just went to the closest State Park by our house, Mayberry State Park.



The weather was iffy and we didn't want to drive very far and have it be raining. There is no lake there but there are a few picnic shelters we could use our metal detector at. We managed to find a few pennies before our metal detector went on the fritz and stopped working! We've only had it for a few years! The good thing is it's under warranty; the bad thing is I can't find the friggin receipt! I am in email communication with the sporting goods store where we bought it, hoping they can send me some kind of proof of purchase. It's possible we may go buy another one to use in the meantime because we enjoy it that much!

So Sunday was my junior high school class of 1972 reunion. That's right, junior high school. Karen and I went together. We were both a little nervous because we would be seeing people that we haven't seen in 38 years or more! Anyway, it was a BLAST!! We had the best time! I did learn that my high school boyfriend, Jeff, died in February. I was really hoping he would be there. When we parted ways back in 1974 his life was not heading in a particularly good direction. I was hoping he straightened himself out but it doesn't sound like he did. I spent quite a while talking to his brother and it's just so sad. Other than that it was a wonderful day!

Two more days of work and I am on vacation! We aren't going anywhere this time. I have some projects I would like to take care of, one of them being to paint our front door. It's wood and very weathered. As a matter of fact, I used a picture of it in the "Weathered And Worn" Brenda Photo Challenge a few months ago! I was going to sand and stain but I think it will look much better painted. Our house is brick and white siding, so I can go with practically any color I want. I am thinking a deep red might look nice. Either way, I will be posting before and after pictures!



Stormy days leave beautiful skies at sunset!

The Brenda Photo Challenge-Ruby Red Macro

Time for another Brenda Photo Challenge! This one is Ruby Red Macro! I stink at macro but here goes:





Placemat (complete with cat hair!)


Ruby red lids.

Red beads,

Ret cat toy!

Click the link above to see more (and hopefully better) Ruby Red Macro photos!

Hot Weekend and Waterloo Recreation Area

It's been hot and muggy all weekend...but I (almost) never complain about the heat. I just look at this picture....



and remember which I prefer!

This weekend we went to Waterloo State Recreation Area by Grass Lake, Michigan.



It definitely got our vote for the best beach so far..



We hung around there for quite a while. I love to walk in the water and pick up stones and shells. The water in the inland lakes is really warm right now. Especially compared to the great lakes, which are freezing all of the time!

Then we spent about a hour or so using the metal detector! We found three quarters, two dimes and three penny's. Rich is getting good at reading it and we are getting addicted to using it! We could have stayed until dark but the mosquitos were getting pretty thick! Is it me or has anyone else noticed that mosquitos are giant this year? I think it's all that dampness from the humidity..good for growin'!

After we left Waterloo we went to Cascades Falls Park in Jackson.







It was built in the 1930 as something to draw people to Jackson. It's actually very pretty. There were quite a few people there just sitting in the bleachers watching the water change colors and listening to music. Nice way to spend a summer evening.

This is turning out to be the summer of State Parks!

Lots more to come!

Stuff I've Kept Part 2

Here's some more stuff that I've kept through the years in no particular order:

This is a soda can Rich scraped our names on one day while he was bored at work. Note the date: 4-8-1975 at 8:30; that would be pm because he worked afternoons at Bordon's Dairy cleaning out the huge vats that they mixed up the ice cream in.

This is the invitation, thank you card, napkin and matches from our wedding..March 18, 1977.

This is my two graduation hats from Henry Ford High School in 1975 and then 23 years later from Schoolcraft College in 1998.

This is my grades from college. I took Medical Transcription and got a 4.0 GPA. I was totally dedicated and driven!

This was the little graduation figure on my cake from my high school graduation.

This is the ad from the first house we bought..back in 1978. Funny, we paid $26,500 for it back then, sold it in 1997 for $88,500, and then last year the people that bought it from us lost it in foreclosure and it was sold by the bank for $20,000....$6,500 less than we paid for it 32 years ago! How the housing market in this country and especially this state has changed!

I have kept calendars to from when the kids were young and active in sports and various things. Plus I also noted other things in them like deaths of family members and first snow days, vacations we took and stuff like that. Going through them brought back a lot of memories!

This is something that Rich kept for all of these years. A special section in the Detroit News done shortly after the riots in 1967. We were only 10 and 11 years old, and although we both lived in Detroit, we were on the outskirts and the riots were downtown, about 30 miles away. I do remember being scared, though!


Well, that is just a fraction of all the stuff I've kept.

Thanks for taking that little trip down memory lane with me!

Sleepy Hollow State Park And A Very Special Birthday

Before I get into today's post I just want to say Happy Birthday to my sweet daughter, Shauna. You are a beautiful, mature, awesome woman and we are proud of you!

So anyway today we went here:



It's in Laingsburgh Michigan. A pretty remote place not too far from Lansing.






Very pretty of course and not very busy at all.

In one picnic area that we stopped at we were the only ones most of the time.



We kind of like it like that though. That way we can use our metal detector without bothering anyone or anyone bothering us.



This picnic shelter actually had a fireplace, which I don't believe I have ever seen before.

And look what we found!



A dollar coin, three dimes and ten pennies! I think it's our biggest find so far!

It was a lot of fun and a lot of work for $1.40. But I think it's mostly the thrill of the hunt!

On the road out of the state park there was this huge dead tree right in the middle of the swamp! I think it died from drinking swampy water!



More stuff I've kept coming in a few days!

Stuff I've Kept Part 1

This past weekend I had some time to go through a storage container I have of stuff from my past that I have saved over these many years.

A lot it has sentimental value

And some of it is kind of ridiculous to keep..but I have held on to it for so long that there's no sense in throwing it away now!

This is the receipt from our wedding bands...we spent $64 for two gold bands! Rich still has his stashed away somewhere...mine was hocked a long time ago to buy food!
What cracks me up about this picture is when I wrote the date on it 1-08-77, I accidently wrote 76 instead of 77. It still takes me several weeks into the new year to get in the habit of writing the right date!!



This is my prayer book from when I made my first communion in 1965. Inside I have a bunch of funeral cards and obituaries from various family and friends that have died over the years.



This is some of the cards and love notes that I wrote to Rich before we were married.



These kind of little statues were popular to give in the 70's.



This is a key chain from my first real car (meaning one that I had payments on). It was a 1973 Gremlin with Levi seats! It was so cool!! I paid $1,500 for it. And I think I made payments for 2 years or something!



Actually my very first car was a 1967 Mustang. I loved that car but it was a real beater that I bought from a neighbor for $200! Didn't last very long but I sure wish I had it now!

This was my ceremonial vest that I made when I was in the Camp Fire Girls. I can't believe how tiny it is! That's my very own design on there with "honor" beads that I earned for various things like swimming and crafts and community service. The design on the back I think was the symbol for my Indian name. Can't quite remember what it was, though!




I'm going to have to do this in a couple posts because I kept a ton of stuff!

Weekend Stuff

Boy, five days off sure do go by fast!

Thursday and Friday were spent pretty much doing housework and nothing very important.

Saturday morning I came thisclose to getting another cat! She was on the path in the park that Marie and I walk every week. I saw her in the distance and made kissy noises. As soon as she heard me she ran to me and was rubbing on my legs and meowing. She even let me pick her up! She was so cute..pure white like my Smudge. The cool thing was she had one blue eye and one gold eye! I wanted her bad and was planning on going home and getting my carrier! Unfortunately, some other ladies walking told me that she lives in one of the houses just up the hill. She definitely wasn't feral she was so sweet and friendly, and I didn't have the heart to just steal her. Too bad. I hope she stays safe and out of the street!

Saturday afternoon, we packed a cooler and went to Seven Lakes State Park in Holly MI





It's a very nice state park with a beautiful beach and a great picnic area.

Saw another snake crossing sign.



And this time we actually saw a snake!



He wasn't crossing the road though! He was in the water. He actually swam out from the shore overhang when we walked up to the water. Turned around, stuck his head out of the water and looked at us for a few seconds.. realized we weren't a threat to him and then swam back to where he was! Looked to be at least 2 feet long!

We really liked this state park and probably will go back again someday.

We have now been to four different state parks and from now on the $24 we paid for our year permit is a bargain!



Sunday we went to Kellogg Park in downtown Plymouth so I could take some pictures of the fountain, using my mad photography skills! Later we went to my brothers for a barbecue. It was HOT, and we spent a lot of time in the pool!

Monday it was hot again so we pretty much stayed indoors and did nothing!

Now back to work for a short week, although my coworker is on vacation for the next two weeks so I will be pretty busy.

Had lunch with Shauna. She's liking her new job and doing awesome!

I knew she would!

The Brenda Photo Challenge-Freedom

OK this one kind of snuck up on me!

I think our American flag is the ultimate symbol of freedom, no matter how it's displayed!





I'm off to check out some of the other freedom posts HERE!

Have a great weekend everyone!!