Houghton Lake

This year our annual family vacation was on Houghton Lake, in the swinging town of Prudenville, MI. 

Houghton Lake is the largest inland lake in Michigan and the 6th largest natural inland lake in the United States. It's located just north of the center of the state, in the circled area. 

Our objective for this Airbnb rental was to have a good beach for the boys to play on and it did not disappoint! 

There was 100 feet of beach front! The water was so clear and the bottom was nice and sandy! 

And it was very shallow! You could walk out 50 yards and it only was up to mid thigh. 

Which was perfect for Max and Levi! Brad is on his knees in this photo! 

The house itself was nice, but not nearly as nice as ones we've rented before. 

I didn't take any pictures of the inside because it was nothing remarkable but it was comfortable and we pretty much had everything we needed. 

We got to see beautiful sunsets almost every night. 

There was a great playset that the boys had a lot of fun with! 

We spent a lot of time feeding ducks! 

But mostly they played in the water! 

We found a blow up jet ski and they loved it! 

One day we went to Lakeland Recreation area where the boys got to drive little go carts.

Rich and I actually drove the adult go carts too and they are just as fun as I remembered! 

Every morning Shauna and I walked back and forth on the street the house was on. 

This carving in front of one of the houses was beautiful!

And these hollyhocks were gorgeous and huge! 

The week went by super-fast as vacations usually do! 

I took these last pictures when I was getting in the car to come home! 

It's always so nice to spend a week together and especially to spend it with the boys. We made lots of good memories! 

Next year we plan on staying on Higgins Lake which is a few miles north of Houghton Lake, a smaller but beautiful lake! 

Anyway, this is not the first time we've spent a week on Houghton Lake. Back in 1975, the year I graduated, Rich and I went there with his family and stayed at a resort. We came back in 1981 when Chris was 2 and Shauna was 6 weeks old and again in 1982 when Chris was 3 and Shauna was 1. 

Next post I'll show you our trip down memory lane! 

See you then and thanks for stopping by! 

Estate Sale #1000000000000

I hope you all are not getting tired of hearing about the estate sales I go to because I have another one for you! 

This is the house and before I go into what's inside, I want to talk a little about it. It is for sale and the asking price is $625,000.  Yes, that's a lot because real estate is crazy anymore, but this house sits on 3.5 acres which are 2/3 wooded. It has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a big front porch, good sized deck and a huge pole barn in the back. 

The house is older and definitely needs some updating but compared to some of the other houses or condo's I've seen at estate sales for a similar price, this is a bargain! You get so much more bang for your buck! I wish I could buy it! 

Anyway, to each their own! Now on to the inside. 

This is the dining room to the right of the front door. That wallpaper! Oy! 

The kitchen was a decent size, not huge and definitely needed updating. It had a nice tile floor though. Actually, the house had beautiful tile and hardwood floors throughout. 

This master bedroom (sorry primary bedroom!) was on the first floor. 

There was an attached bath and closet, but it was blocked by a dresser.  I really liked the little hallway that went to them. I was so tempted to slide the dresser over and go to look at them! 

I didn't get a lot of pictures of the basement or the upstairs. 

It was a walk-out basement. They had the door wall blocked with a couch. The window was fogged because it was a little steamy outside and freezing cold inside!  

There was a huge work out room, a huge office and a sewing room with hundreds of patterns and a couple of those dummies that you use to fit clothes. Someone was a big sewer! 

This huge corner bookcase was in the basement, also. It was filled with health and self-help books and the whole right side was books about houseplants and gardening. 

This staircase going up from the basement was so pretty! 

Inside was a few interesting things. I think this was some kind of decanter. 

 

There was a glass ship inside.

This was a square record on a turntable. 

Looks like one of the ones you used to get on a cereal box or in a magazine or something! 

This little juicer was cute. 

Remember when Potpourri Crocks were so popular? 

I had one on my kitchen counter for years and used it a lot! 

These skull goblets seemed out of place with the rest of the decor! 

Here's what I bought. 

This vintage Tupperware creamer and another glass butter dish. I know I just bought one, but I like this one so much better! 

A new box of 5 Gladware containers and a new box of slow cooker liners. I opened it at the estate sale to be sure they were all ok.  Total spent: $6

Lastly, here is a picture of my son's garden over there in New Hampshire. 

He's got the neatest, most well-kept garden I've ever seen! If only he would have been so neat and tidy in his bedroom all those years ago! 

Update: 

I cut all the roots of my snake plant apart and repotted them in some fresh soil. It looks much happier now! 

Well, were off for our annual family vacation in a few days and I'll be back to tell you all about it! 

See you then and thanks for stopping by! 

 

Houseplants

We had a nice 4th of July weekend. Just spent a little family time and went to the Independence Day Parade in Plymouth. 

It was pretty uneventful unless you count that our air conditioner decided to stop working on the two hottest days of the year! We had them out to fix it today and it's working for now. Unfortunately, we probably will have to have it replaced before the year is out! 

Anyway, I have recently decided to try to fill my house with houseplants! I always liked having plants but worried about my cats eating them and getting poisoned, so I never had many. Now that my cats are old they are not able to jump onto counters and tables so I don't have to worry about them eating any of them! 

I do have a Thanksgiving cactus and a snake plant and have had them for a long time. The cactus blooms ever year around Thanksgiving. 

I'm starting to have some issues with the snake plant though. 

It's growing roots above the soil and the leaves are curling inward. I have an app on my phone called Picture This.  You can take a picture of any plant and it will identify it and tell you how to take care of it. You also can take a picture of a sick plant and it will tell you what's wrong and how to fix it. 

Side note: There is also Picture This apps for bugs, birds and stones! I have all of them and use them often! 

The app told me that the snake plant is not getting enough water and it should be watered at least twice a week. Plus, I need to separate and repot it. 

I recently went to the garden center by my house and bought a few more. 

I've always loved African Violets and hope this one grows good. My book on houseplants (pictured above) that says they are difficult to grow but the sign in the garden store says they are easy! We'll see. I repotted it two weeks ago and so far it's doing good. 

This is a crispy wave fern. I got it for Mother's Day last year from my boss, Kate. It wasn't doing great but it's hanging in there. I moved it to get more light and repotted it to a bigger pot so hopefully it will grow big! 

This plant is called a scarlet star. According to my houseplant book you are supposed to keep the middle part filled with water. It's like a funnel. They said use rainwater but I'm not sure that's going to be happening here! 

This is a polka dot plant. My book says it's difficult to grow but the app says it's easy, so we'll see. It's very pretty and is also doing good!

Here's my little set up in my room. 

It's in front of a South facing window. The blinds are down and closed for picture taking purposes. Plus, I have a little water fountain running for some humidity in the air. The little card on top reminds me to water every Tuesday and Saturday.  and on the back is the date I fertilize. 

So wish me luck!  I haven't had much with plants in the past pre-cats. I'm hoping these guys thrive and if they do, I plan on adding plenty more! 

Next time I'll post about another estate sale! 

See you then. Thanks for stopping by!