Little Getaway

 Last week Rich and I took a little getaway to Traverse City. 

I took a few pictures on the way up of the trees. 

Only about half the trees were changed but they were pretty. 

The weather was sunny and not super cold but the wind was crazy! I usually like to walk along the beach and browse the stores in Downtown TC. Because it was so windy walking on the beach was out of the question, so we browsed a few blocks of stores downtown then went to dinner and back to the hotel to swim and use the hot tub. 

The next day we decided to go to Sleeping Bear Dunes. We hadn't been since the kids were little. 

Our first stop was the Dune Climb. 

It's a big climb and at the top you see more dunes and Lake Michigan in the distance. We opted not to climb it this time but there were quite a few people who did.

Next we wanted to drive the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Because it is a National Park it cost us $25 to drive it but it was so worth the money! 

There was a bunch of places to stop and see the beauty along the way. 

This covered bridge was so pretty with the sun and shadows on it. 

Another place to stop was this view of Glen Lake and Lake Michigan. 

Driving along the winding road takes you higher and higher along the dunes until you reach the top. We parked our car and walked up a small sandy incline to see this sign. 

 

Because on the other side is this drop. If you go down and can't get yourself back up it's going to cost you. When we were there only two people were brave enough to go down to the lake. 

See the two people climbing back up in the picture below? A guy and a girl and the girl was way ahead of the guy! 

The picture shows how steep the dune was! The girl made it to the top while we were watching. 

Everyone clapped and cheered for her when she got to the top. Here she is in the purple shirt resting! I heard her mom say, "Thanks for saving me $3,000!" 

The guy was way behind and you could not even see him yet over the top of the dunes. We didn't stay to watch him and he could still be there for all we know! 

Note to Mari: We tried to see the Little Mac bridge in Manistee on the way back south but it was closed! 

It was a nice to get away for a few days. 

In other news: I had a follow up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon on my shoulder and healing is progressing exactly as it's supposed to be. He figures by the end of the year my range of motion and movement should be 100%. It's a long road! I'm still getting physical therapy twice a week, but I only have one week left and then I'll just do the home exercises. 

Oh and the fall decorations are up at work

I think it looks so pretty! 

That's all for me for now. See you the next time and thanks for stopping by! 

6 1/2 Weeks and Two-handed Typing

It's been 6 1/2 weeks since my shoulder surgery and things are going really well! 

At my 3 week follow up the doc told me that it was 50% healed and would be 100% healed after 6 weeks. 

I told him I was concerned about re-tearing it but he said at that point it would take something catastrophic like a car accident or a fall down the stairs! Yikes! 

None of that happened 😁so I was able to stop wearing the arm brace after 6 weeks and it was none too soon! That thing was hot and itchy and I was totally over it! 

My shoulder is still pretty sore and my range of motion is a little limited but physical therapy is going great and helping a lot! I should only have a few weeks left!

It's so nice to hit milestones like being able to put my hair in a ponytail and put deodorant on my left armpit again! 

Speaking of my putting my hair in a ponytail, Rich was doing it for me by using the vacuum cleaner hose. He would wrap the band around the end of the hose, suck my hair into it and then roll the band off the hose onto my hair! LOL! Sounds crazy but it worked really good! 

I went back to work after 3 weeks because I was going stir crazy at home. They were so glad to have me back and I missed all the residents! 

Rich and I had to get new passports because our old ones expired two years ago, and we are going on a cruise in January. 

I call these photos our mugshots! 

We went to a fundraiser walk at the Detroit Zoo. 

It was fun to walk around with the boys although it was pretty warm out and the animals were barely active! 

And our Levi turned 6 years old on the 27th. Gosh, time sure flies by!

His party was at a skating rink. 

Here he is helping his little friend skate! 

I got this picture of this little sparrow drinking from our hummingbird feeder. 

He kept coming back for more! He was loving that sweet water! 

We are going to take a little trip up north next weekend. Just for a few days but it will be nice to get away! I'll tell you all about it when we get back. 

That's pretty much all that's going on right now. 

See you the next time and thanks for stopping by! 

I'm back (For a second anyway)

 Hey all! I'm back for a quick second just to say hi and that I have missed you all!

This will be short because I am typing one handed which is such a hassle!

We took a nice family vacation to Lewiston MI where Brad's cousin owns an Airbnb on a lake. Lewiston is a small town in the middle of nowhere so there was not a lot to do! But we had jet skis and a pontoon at our disposal so we had lots of fun!

Then, on August 15th I had rotator cuff repair surgery on my right shoulder. I really didn't have any choice if I wanted to have full use of my right arm for the rest of my life (which I do!) I researched it and listened to everyone's horror stories so i would be prepared for the worst and...........

it hasn't been that bad! I only took oxycodon for the first 3 days and then I was able to control what little pain I have with acetaminophen and ibuprophen and I'll probably stop them in the next few days. 

I've already had two physical therapy sessions and will be going twice a week for at least the next 8 weeks then we'll see after that. Plus I have home exercises I do a few times a day.

THIS is the biggest pain right now

I pretty much have to wear this 24/7! I hate it and have 5 weeks left to go with it! When I have my follow up with the surgeon on Sept 4th they may remove the pillow which will make it a little more tolerable but I can't wait to get it off for good!

I can't finish this post without mentioning that Rich has been the best caregiver I could have but I knew he would be!

So that's my world right now. I'm going to be visiting everyone again soon but my commenting will be limited because you know..the one hand typing thing!

I'll be back when I can type two handed but, in the meantime, take care and thanks for stopping by!

Phone Dump and a Break

 

Here's some random photos from my phone. 

This is a throwback photo from 4th of July 2021. I miss them being that little!

This year Shauna wanted to repeat this photo only Maxwell wouldn't wear the stars and stripes tank top she got him!

This is my friend from where I work. She's 99 years old! 

Here she is with her first great-grandchild! I took this picture off of her phone. 

Note: I thought she was the oldest resident we have but I was wrong. We have a gentleman who is 101! 

We went to the Independence Day parade downtown and this was a new feature. 

A giant Uncle Sam float! 

I see this shed when I walk in our park.

I think the window-look planters are very pretty! 

Well, that's going to be it for me for a while. I saw an orthopedic surgeon last week for my arm and I am getting physical therapy for the next 4 weeks. 

After that we'll see how it goes. I'm just getting through day by day right now. 

We have a family vacation planned at the end of this month. 

So for the first time since I started this blog, I am going to take a break for a while. I'm going to do my best to visit you all at least one more time and then I'll be back in a few months! 

You guys take care and enjoy the rest of the summer! 

Miscellaneous Stuff

I wanted to post one more picture from the estate sale I went to last week. 

A single Pandora bead for $20. I don't know if that is a good price for one bead or not. I never got into the Pandora bracelets when they were so popular! Remember that? I worked at U of M at the time and one of my coworkers spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on beads, enough to fill two bracelets! 

We kept the boys overnight last Saturday.  Not that we need an excuse to keep them anytime, but Brad was out of town on a golf trip and Shauna wanted some alone time. We were happy to help out with that! 

Of course, an overnight at Nonnie and Bonk's always includes a trip to the Dairy-Go-Round! 

Chris and his girlfriend both have birthdays in May. I sent them a solar garden light that looks like a watering can with lights coming out of it. Here's the picture he sent when they got it. 

This is from his patio door. It is so freakin' dark at night where he lives plus he is surrounded by trees so he only gets moonlight for a short time!

Her's the same shot during daylight. 

To see the watering can solar light zoom in and look right above the bucket with all the colors on it. 

In other news, when we were having our carpet installed a month ago, I was helping to move heavy furniture. A while later I notice my right shoulder was really sore and over time it just kept getting more and more painful. Last week I finally went to the doctor. I know, I know I waited way to long because I'm really bad about stuff like that. Anyway, she suspects a torn rotator cuff so I'm having a MRI on the 26th and a visit to an orthopedic surgeon on July 3rd.

I will do everything I can to avoid it but it's possible a surgery may be in my future! All I know is my shoulder is very painful and I can't go on this way! Not happy about it of course but we'll see what the surgeon says.

That's it for me! See you the next time and thanks for stopping by! 

Estate Sale

My usual days to go to Estate Sales are Thursday and Friday and lately it seems that I always have something else to do on those days and have not been able to go to as many as I would like. 

But last Friday there was one about a mile from my house so I manage to get to it before I had to go to work. 

This is the house:

It is for sale and according to Realtor.com they are asking a scant 1.1 million for it! Jeez, real estate prices are even crazier than last summer! 

I liked the front door. 

Although for such a big door is sure had a small, chintzy-looking handle and lock on it! 

The house is a beauty that's for sure. 

Blogger won't let me enlarge these pictures for some reason but that's the kitchen and family room. 

Everything for sale was high-end and expensive!

There was a bunch of glass and crystal pieces as you can see in the kitchen. 

I thought these plates were so pretty!

They were also $13 apiece! Pass. 

I liked this wine bottle holder. 

Priced at $40. I rarely drink wine but if I was rich and had a big house, I would definitely buy this. I think it would look pretty cool with a couple of wine bottles in it! 

This wall hanging was stunning and huge! 

Apparently, the piece was called "Circles" and it was selling for $300 per panel or 4 for $1,100. 

Not sure what a panel included but either way that's a lot of money! 

There was a closet full of pillows of different shapes and sizes

Doesn't that look like a Bed Bath and Beyond store?

This table had a bunch of jewelry making beads and tools on it. 

Don't need any of that but I really liked that lamp, though! I could not find a price on it but I'm sure it wasn't cheap! 

This giant ottoman was pretty cool. 

They were asking $200. 

There was several really nice pictures throughout. 

These were in the laundry room. 

I really liked these bookends. 

They were asking $30 for them which I thought was a decent price. But I passed. Don't really need them. 

This is the only thing I ended up buying. 

Yep, all that beautiful stuff and all I bought was a $4 plastic milk crate to keep our hose in! 

Last of the big spenders I am! 

Then the same day at work I received this text message. 

Sometimes when a resident leaves or passes away the families do not want all the stuff in their rooms and they will offer it to anyone who wants it. 

Kind of like a free Estate Sale. I went but did not take anything. 

That's it for me for now. I will leave you with the latest from Maxwell and Levi. 

See you the next time and thanks for stopping by! 

Lego Flower Bouquet

I few posts ago I showed you my shelf with the Lego flowers that I built. I forgot to mention that one of the flowers was missing a very tiny but important piece. 

The little piece that holds one of the flowers onto the stem! I looked all through the pieces and even looked in the boys Legos to see if there was something similar to use. 

But no luck. 

Luckily, I went to Lego.com and was able to order the exact piece I needed. 

 

Free of charge of course and it took about 3 business days to arrive. 

And now it's completely finished. 

In other news, I have several Orchid plants that Rich brought home from work. One of them is just a tiny one. The instructions say to water it with one ice cube every week. 

The ice cube barely fits in the pot! 

That's it for me for now. 

See you the next time and thanks for stopping by!