Heading North

I was at my brother's for a week, and now am heading back up today with my sisters, for a family visit. Will be back Monday night! Everyone have a wonderful Labor Day week-end!

Port Huron Lip Dub

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM_NYnCr9KY
Well here is the final product for the P.H. lip dub. We know there are things to improve on for next years, but for our first attempt with no director, I think it's pretty good! Go have a look!

A Potpourri of Pictures

I thought today I'd share some of my favorite pictures from this month.
Miss Jenna, my great niece, and Lily the little goat born in April, are true friends. Lily will follow Jenna anywhere, it's so cute to see them play together.

Even in the go cart, she climbed in with her as if they were going on a trip together!

The ultimate was when Lily leaned over an gave Jenna a kiss! Is that not the most precious!?
My great niece, 4 month old Isabella, is such a smiley girl! It wasn't hard to get her laughing!!

My sister Marti and I spent the day Monday in Lexington, a little town north of us. We stopped at the harbor overlooking Lake Huron. These swans were along the shore.

So Pretty.

The water in the lake here is just the bluest blue.

I keep saying, as soon as the roses quick blooming I'll trim back the bush. But my roses haven't stopped blooming since they started early in April! The bush is loaded again with buds. I've never had this happen before, but am enjoying the continuous blooms.

Melancholy Moment

It's coming down. Chippewa School was my intermediate school, I attended from grades 4 through 8. Last night, I went to see the school for one more time, as it's being razed to make room for a new department store.

The doors were open, so I took my camera and went inside. Curiosity had the best of me.

In the seventh grade hall, I went into my former science classroom. How did we fit in here? It seems so small compared to my memory of this room. Twenty four kids and desks in this little space?

Going into the hall way, brought back many memories. See the drinking fountain? I, for as long as I can remember since going to this school, have had dreams that take place in this hall. In every dream, that drinking fountain and the bathroom doors it's between, have been in them. So when I saw the fountain, it was such a strange feeling that it was always there in the back woods of my memories. The thing is though, my memories of this school are not the best. In fact, I have to say that they were the worst years of my life. I had no friends, I was bullied, it's where I experienced my first panic attack which was the most horrifying day, and I was a skinny rail who couldn't eat without throwing up. The lunch ladies had to stay by me while I ate, which caused me even more embarrassment. I had one teacher who would humiliate me in front of the whole class because I wasn't scoring high on my math. So why does this school being torn down, cause me to feel so nostalgic? You'd think I'd be jumping for joy!

I guess what it comes down to, is no matter the experience, good or bad, it was a major part of my life which helped shape who I am today. It took many years to grow from this experience. At first, I was shy, timid, scared of my own shadow. (I don't think kids, or grown ups for that matter, realize what words can do.) Over the years though, I've come to realize that I'm much stronger, and in fact, "What doesn't kill you does make you stronger." I've learned that I am a person who doesn't have to take anything from anybody, that no one will ever put me in that position again. I can put that part of my life behind me, and move on from there. Confident, love myself again, and know I can forgive those who had such a negative effect on my life for so long, and now have the ability to forgive those who bring that into my life today.

So good-bye Chippewa, You were a building that helped build me. It just took me a long time to realize that. You will be missed.

Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole~Mmmmm

I, along with many of you,am an avid Pinterest pinner. My boards keep multiplying, especially my recipes. So after reading Kim's blog, Kim's Creations, today, I decided to try one instead of just pinning them. So I went into my Recipe board, and decided on this one.

It's called, Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice. Oh. My. Gosh! This is so awesome!

Paired with some fresh garden veggies, this recipe is a true keeper! Ken and I are both still raving about this awesome, cheesy treat! The recipe can be found here.

http://picky-palate.com/2010/09/13/cheesy-chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole/

There is plenty left for dinner tomorrow night, also.

When I made it, I cooked the chicken in the chicken broth. Then rotated between the flour and broth when making the sauce, before adding the remaining ingredients. This is just so tasty, I know you'll love it! Thanks Kim! I've bought the ingredients for 3 more dishes I found on my recipe board!

I May Be Sensitive, but My Skin Isn't!

My husband has a hearing deficit disorder, or hdd. For some reason, he thinks I have sensitive skin. I don't. Not now. Not ever. I've made sure he knows this countless times. It started with my Dove soap. I love original Dove. I love the scent, I love the way it makes my skin feel, I always have. A couple years ago, I had soap on my shopping list. Same as always, Dove original. He came home with Dove for sensitive skin. What!? No original fragrance? Ken told me since I had sensitive skin, I might like that one better. Now there's one thing you must know about me. I have my favorites. I love regular unsweetened almond milk. not vanilla flavored, not sweetened. If I want peanut butter, I want regular, not reduced fat where they add a ton of sugar to make up for it. Regular V8, not high fiber or low sodium! Kitty litter in a box, not that bag with the narrow opening that weighs 42 pounds. I'm very specific. Ken loves to go shopping, I despise it. Going with him is a chore in itself. He's been know to sit down on the floor in front of the peanut butter, and compare prices. So when he comes home with something "different" because he thinks I'll like it better, I'm not impressed. And when he does, it isn't just one of the new thing to try, along with my preferred, it's in bulk. I still have 10 bars of the soap he bought. No thanks.
So last night, he took my list of 3 things. Almond milk, Bounce or Snuggle dryer sheets, and English muffins. Well he knows better with the milk and muffins, and I thought he knew, after all these years, what dryer sheet. I was wrong. He came home with unscented sheets for sensitive skin! What!? Call me weird, but I happen to like the scent of dryer sheets in the laundry area. I like it when I walk past the dryer vent outside and smell the perfumed air. And, again with the sensitive skin! I don't have it!!!! So why don't I go myself? I detest shopping, and therefore am my worst enemy!

A Great Article on a Great Brother!

In July, my brother Jay (Jim) of Willow Winds, held his M.O.S.S. (Michigan Outdoor Survivor Skills) class. The Detroit Free Press sent a reporter, and an awesome article on the experience was published in the paper. Make Fire Eat Catails gives a great description of the 5 day class offered to those who wish to learn primitive skills. So if you like, pop on over and see why I'm so proud of my brother!

Morning Breakfast Guests

This morning, I was awoken by my chickens carrying on in a way I'd never heard. Bobby kept nudging me til I got up to see what the commotion was all about. Then before I could get out of bed I heard this blood curdling squawk and was afraid a hawk had gotten one of my hens. I ran to the porch to see what was happening, and not a chicken was in site. They were hiding!

Where I scatter their food, were these two Guinea hens! My girls were terrified! I mean this couple makes a terrible screeching noise! So I ran back in the house and grabbed my camera. I followed them out into the back and starting snapping pictures.

This little bunny came running out of the horse field to investigate. I've never seen Guinea hens around here, so this was a treat! My hens didn't think so, though.

Bright, then not so "Chipper"

Andy has a favorite perch, it's called my shoulder. I cropped me out, after all I just woke up and was still in my nightgown! I love Andy's picture though, and thought I'd share.

Chip on the other hand, was just waking up and he wasn't too happy about opening his eyes to a camera in his face! If looks could kill, huh?

Beautiful or Creepy?

I guess it depends on if you have arachnophobia or not. I'm not fond of spiders, but will look at them. When we were kids, these garden spiders were in abundance. I haven't seen one for many years. I was surprised to see this one in my tomato patch, hovering above three big red ones I was ready to pick. Needless to say, they're still in the garden!

Night Beauty

Have you noticed, when taking photos of flowers in the dark of night, the vivid colors seem to pop right out against the black sky? This is my favorite time to grab my camera and head outside.

So take your camera for a walk tonight, and see what beauty is in your yard! Then show us your pictures ok? I'd love to see them!

Port Huron Lip Dub

For the past 5 months, I've been on the planning committee for our city Lip Dub. What is a Lip Dub? According to Wikipedia: A lip dub is a type of video that combines lip synching and audio dubbing to make a music video. It is made by filming individuals or a group of people lip synching while listening to a song or any recorded audio then dubbing over it in post editing with the original audio of the song.
This lip dub was made to promote the city of Port Huron. We used the songs, "America" by Neil Diamond, and "Summer in the City" by Lovin' Spoonful. The first part, "America" was filmed along the St. Clair river front. The International Bridge to Canada provided the perfect back drop. This picture, by our videotographer, Scott Bert, shows just a portion of the parkway and participants. There were over 50 groups participating, some being March of Dimes, Parrot Heads, dog walkers, a senior clog group, Red Hats, classic cars, and jeeps just to name a few.

The Red Hat Ladies rode on the party boat, displaying their purple dresses and red hats. What a hoot!

My sister Kathy and I were in with the dog walkers, me with Chip, and her with her cock-a-poo Paddy. You can see my hubby Ken in the window, taking the picture.

Pine River Stables brought this horse painted in the American flag! This photo was taken by committee member Rob Richards.

A boat regalia passed on the river, adding to the water life. Picture by Scott Bert.

The finale was held at Vantage Point, a popular area for viewing river activity. Here, people lined the property and the rocks, waving hundreds of American flags. Photo by Dale Merrill.

The turnout was incredible! This photo was also taken by Rob Richards, the following was taken by Mark Rucker.

The lip dub will be shown on You Tube in about 2 weeks. I can't wait to see the completed project, and will share the link as soon as we get it! In the mean time, you can go on You Tube, search lip dubs and see what other communities have done. Then maybe you'll want to find some interested parties in your home town, and join the fun!!

Lazy Days of Summer

My cats reflect how I feel in this heat. Just laze around in the cool, and don't move!

Mitzi sleeps in her basket,

and Toby sleeps in his.

Andy amazes me with his balance, sitting on the skinny arm of the rocking chair!

Just give Tyler a box anywhere, and he's totally content.
Me, the recliner. In between household chores, that's where you'll find me!
How are you dealing with this unusually hot summer?