Family Rest

Over the Labor Day week-end, my sisters and I took a trip together to see my brother Jay and sister-in-law Cheryl. I was up for 6 days, came home for one, then headed back for a family vacation and well deserved rest, we had so much fun.

Sitting together on their back deck, we listened as Jay told stories from his recent trip to a reservation in Manes-tee.

He and Cheryl have been working hard getting the sauna and cabin ready for winter.

Always class, Cheryl stains in her long skirt and jewelry! Actually, we had walked back to the cabin and she couldn't resist trying out the new deck stain. Eventually, she and Jay will finish staining the entire exterior of the cabin.

I love their dogs. Sierra is a yellow lab who loves to play fetch and swim. So combining the two seemed the natural thing to do!

She could do this all day if you let her, and if you had the stamina to keep throwing the stick! Ralph is a sheep dog mix, and is the sweetest thing. He's diabetic and almost blind, but you'd never know it. He's an awesome watch dog, and a big moosh. I love him!

Nature abounds in and around the pond. I caught this glimpse of one of the bull frogs that live here,

and also this garden snake sunning by the tree.

They own many chickens, this is Mardi-Grau, a young Polish hen.

There are so many different mushrooms on the forest floor, and these shelf mushrooms on the side of the trees. I don't know the technical name for them.

I thought the yellow ones that are in numbers were so pretty.

Jay found that something was eating his tomatoes, and set a live trap thinking it was probably a raccoon. In the morning, he found this little possum, and released it by the river and woods down the road. He was so cute!
I can't wait til I can go back, I just love it up there.

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!