Sunday, October 19 - Gorgeous view out of the back of the hotel (noted while eating breakfast) so I had to snap a few pictures before we left. Off to find the chapel for sacrament meeting. Attended the Petoskey Branch, small branch (probably about 30-35 there) in a small chapel (about the size of the one in Warsaw but no pews, just padded chairs). It was a very good meeting and I'm very happy we were able to attend. A sister talked about the parable of the lost sheep and how we are all lost at times and how we can be shepherds as well. The high councilor talked about genealogy ("gene-e-alogy") and then the first counselor in the mission presidency spoke for a few minutes about love and about following/honoring the prophet. After the meeting a sister came and introduced herself. Doug had taken some MoTab CDs with the intention of giving them to the missionaries but the missionaries were being transferred out of there tomorrow and were busy taking pictures with members, etc. Anyway, he gave one of the CDs to this sister and she was so delighted! I know she'll treasure it always. She gave me a big hug. It was fun. The counselor in the presidency came over to talk to us too and so Doug gave the rest of the CDs to him to pass out to some of his missionaries. It was kind of funny though because the branch was having a potluck dinner after the block. I've never sat through a sacrament meeting before with the smell of baking meatloaf/meatballs wafting into the chapel! 
Grabbed a quick lunch at Arby's (we hate having to eat out on Sundays and try really hard to just make sandwiches or something but it just didn't work this time) and drove to Mackinaw City to catch the ferry to Mackinac Island. We made it in the nick of time and enjoyed the 16 minute trip across Lake Huron to the island. It's fun here. There are no cars allowed on the island. You walk, bike, or ride in horse-drawn carriages.












We just walked around and took pictures for a few hours and then stopped in at the Yankee Rebel Tavern for dinner. Doug had salmon (of course Doug had seafood...) and I had an awesome dish, a pasta dish with chicken and a goat cheese cream sauce with Michigan cherries. Yum! Walked back to the hotel (neat old building - huge mansion, once a private home) and I was in my nightgown by 6:30. We've walked a lot these past two days and I'm tired. It's nice to just relax and veg. It's too cold outside to be out there after dark. 

Monday-October 20: Breakfast at the B&B then visited several fudge shops on the island. Oh yum! Spent too much and bought too much but we'll share with friends and family (coworkers too) when we get home (unless we eat it all first that is). Walked up the hill to Fort Mackinac. Great exhibits, very kid friendly. We were tired of walking by then and decided to catch an earlier ferry back to the mainland. First we stopped for lunch at the Pink Pony, had a table right by the window overlooking the bay. Watched the boats, ferries and Canadian geese while we ate. It was great. Boarded the 2:00 ferry back to the mainland then in the car for our trip to Lewiston. 

 Boy, did I find an out of the way place for us to stay. We thought we'd never get there after driving country roads forever. We finally made it to the Gorton House and it was worth the drive. Lois greeted us warmly and showed us around. The house is right on the edge of Wolf Lake. (We even got to drive down a leaf strewn dirt lane!) They have paddle boats and kayaks for their guests to use. However, it's a bit chilly for that! We walked down the stairs to the lake but there was a fine rain/mist and I couldn't get any pictures. Hopefully it's clear in the morning. I'd like to take pictures of this little bit of heaven. We got there and saw Tom (mid 70s) splitting a large pile of logs. Wow! There was a little shack with a smokestack so I assumed he was smoking fish/meat. I asked him the next morning and he said it's the boiler that heats all the water for house. He says it takes a lot of wood. Wow, we sure take for advantage that hot water heater in the basement! Lois is a quilter (just closed her quilting shop) and there are quilts everywhere in the house. Our room has a fireplace. Very cool! She suggested the Lewiston Lodge for dinner. I was expecting a roadside diner (after all, we are in the middle of nowhere) but it was very nice and very good. A simple bowl of beef barley soup sounded good to me (along with their homemade rolls served with honey walnut butter). Doug had walleye and loved it. Back to our QUIET room (we're the only ones here tonight and we're out in the middle of the woods) and time to veg. 

Tuesday - October 21: Lois made us an amazing breakfast this morning. Juice, hot chocolate, and the first plate was a poached pear with raspberry sauce and chocolate and then a piece of apple/spice/nut cake. She called it hunter's cake. Doug and I both said we were full after that! Then Tom (her husband) brought out plates with pumpkin pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs. Delicious! I couldn't finish everything though. It was so relaxing to sit and gaze at the lake while eating a delicious breakfast. They have many bird feeders and we saw a variety of birds including a blue jay and two different woodpeckers. Walked back down to the lake (all of 50 feet) and took a few more pictures this morning. No picture can capture the idyllic setting though. It was SO quiet, so peaceful, and I could have sat there for a very long time. However, we had to get to Grand Rapids (Tom said it was a four hour drive) so we packed up and left.

Long drive, but just a bit over three hours instead of four. We ate peanut butter schmear and bread, apples and cheese on the way. It helps make the ride go faster and helps the budget too! We got to Grand Rapids much earlier than we had expected to and so had time to go to the Frederik Meijer gardens, a 132 acre botanical/sculpture garden with indoor plant displays as well. Doug was in heaven. He loves his flowers! We walked around there for a couple of hours. I had to take a picture of a clever squirrel purloining bird seed. 

One of the volunteers there told us about an apple farm a few miles up the road so we stopped there to get some more apples (Cortland-Doug's favorites), some fresh apple cider and donuts. The donuts were good but nowhere as good as the ones we bought a few days ago at the roadside stand. 

Then it was time to attempt to find the hotel. Ugh! This is a stupid city with stupid roads. We finally made it to the Fairfield Inn though. I told Doug that I refused to get back in the car. (It was a very stressful 30 minutes). I said we either had to find a place for dinner that we could walk to or we would have pizza delivered to the hotel room. (We did that when we were in Vermont and it was kind of fun!). There was an Olive Garden next to the hotel though so we walked over there. Then back to the hotel to repack everything. There are always purchases on a vacation (books for the baby, ornaments, apples, fudge, more fudge, goodies from Cherry Republic, fabric, etc) and it takes some doing to get everything in already full luggage. I think we'll make it though. Tomorrow is going to be a LONG day. Our original flight was supposed to go through Chicago. Now they've got us going east to Philadelphia (two hour flight), a three hour layover there, and then a five hour flight west to SLC. We won't even hit SLC until about 9:30 pm. Ugh!


It's been an awesome week but it's time to head back to reality. You can't enjoy the escapes unless there is some drudgery in between! :)

Ten years in the making

Sometimes it takes longer to finish a project than other times...

This quilt was begun circa 2004. It was either the first or second quilt I started. The other one is still in a half-finished state.

I know it's that old because the quilt I gifted my oldest son and his wife for their wedding nearly 10 years ago was the first quilt completed (not started!)

By the time I got back to this project, the sunflower fabric line had been discontinued and was nowhere to be found locally.  World Wide Web to the rescue! I finally located enough of the fabric in a small shop in England.  Only a die-hard quilter would send across the pond for fabric to finish a quilt. I guess I have officially become a die-hard.

The sunflowers were in full bloom today, obviously in honor of the completion of their namesake quilt. 

Busy as a

We (well, okay HE) planted hollyhocks for the first time this year.  

It's been so fun to watch the bees gathering pollen.

They get so covered with pollen that they can barely move.

I watched as one tried to fly away. He wobbled and bobbled mid-air for a few seconds before he was able to fly away because he (she?) was so loaded down with pollen.

Meanwhile, another busy bee was harvesting the garden.

Causey

We enjoyed a fun family day at Causey.

The water there is such a beautiful color. 

It's always nice to have a chance to relax with family.

Black-eyed Susans and memories

My patch of black-eyed Susans has been beautiful this year.

It's funny how a glimpse of something can sometimes bring back a flood of memories.

Today, when looking at these flowers I was transported back to childhood and my back yard where Mom had a large patch of black-eyed Susans.

I also remembered 

- the gooseberry bush with the tart, pucker your mouth, berries

-the ornamental cherry bushes with the tiny edible berries

-the little Blue Spruce tree that we used to jump over that's now probably 30 feet tall

-the "cigar tree" (catalpa)

-pheasants hiding in the backyard in the tall weeds/grasses. They would suddenly fly up and scare the heck out of you when you were innocently taking the trash out to burn in the incinerator

-the incinerator, made from an old metal drum

-the plum tree, home to juicy plums and about a million grasshoppers

-finding "cheesies" on the mallow plants and eating them

-digging, digging, digging and making "forts" in the backyard

-being paid 25 cents for a bushel full of dandelions pulled up

-the treehouse (really nothing more than a platform), and feeling on top of the world 

-squeezing "Pitt berries" on each other

-pulling hard red berries/seeds off the front bushes and using them in our homemade pea shooters (straws)

-the shed made from wooden packing crates ~  many kittens were discovered there

-sticky milkweed

-Freedom to explore and be outside for hours on end. 

Life was good. Life is good. 

Summer's bounty

I'm not a fan of summer heat.

However, I'll put up with the heat if it means glorious fresh fruits and vegetables.

There's nothing like picking a juicy apricot off my own tree

or biting into a fresh from the garden tomato.

Sometimes I even get a little bit energetic and put the fresh produce to good use.

Minestrone soup made with garden fresh veggies is so good.

An hour of work = several days of lunches.

That's the kind of math I enjoy!

A quilt for Mason

I finally finished a quilt for baby Mason, due in September.

Mason is the long awaited grandchild of a very dear friend. 

I like the colors in this quilt although they're different from what I usually choose. 

The quilt reminds me of argyle stockings.

It was a kit from Connecting Threads and I think it worked up cute.
It's flannel so it's soft, cuddly and very warm!

Of course, no quilt shoot is complete without a few flower pictures thrown in for good measure!

I love the helper's feet in this shot!

Summer flowers and summer laziness

There are plenty of things that need to be done but summer days and 100 degree temperatures make me lazy. Taking pictures of flowers in the yard is much more exciting than dusting for example.