Deer season once again!

It seems like 'deer season' rolls around all too fast lately. Tom has left this evening for the U.P. and his annual 2 week deer hunting trip. Although I wonder why he goes every year since there are way more deer in the lower peninsula due to the wolf population in the upper peninsula killing off a lot of the deer. I suspect it has much more to do with he camaraderie with the guys than the actual shooting of a deer!

This year it was much harder to watch him go than the last few years. It is probably due to the fact that he was in the hospital just a couple weeks ago with a 95% blockage in his right coronary artery and they also found an aneurysm that they were also able to fix. The doctors gave him a clean bill of health to go, yet my mind has trouble wrapping around the fact that he will be okay after such a short recovery period. I can't believe a person can be at deaths door one day and two weeks later be okay to travel 12 hours away into a remote area with no easy access to health care if needed. I know I worry too much, but after burying one husband, I am not really looking forward to having to do it again. And for whatever reason, this year I feel more alone than ever before. Perhaps because the kids are all busy with their own families, and the grand kids are growing up and not wanting to come and stay here like they use too. I have the two dogs, but they seem more work than company of late. Probably because one of them is 11 months old and still a puppy and a lot of work. And she pesters the older dog until she gets upset and barks and that drives me nuts. Maybe I am just getting too old for all of this stuff. Plus working part-time most weeks and full-time some weeks, just seems to get me down and depressed to the point of not feeling like doing anything at all. It even seems like a chore to get on the computer and type most nights.

Well, enough complaining...................going to go and read a bit and see if that helps. Until next time.....................

October 26, 2009 ~ Drew's 5th Birthday

Last time I wrote was around the middle of September and I was talking about some of the leaves already having changed color. Well, here it is toward the end of October and many of the leaves have fallen off the tress already while still in the summer color of green. The wind and the rain has caused them to fall before they even had chance to transform the trees into a beautiful shade for us to enjoy! My best guesstimate would be that half the trees are half bare already. The ones with most of their leaves still hanging on them, are very pretty though. The reds, yellows, oranges, Burgundies and gold ones still mixed with some of the green ones make a very pretty picture to see! I happened to see a tree on Saturday while running errands that had all if not most of its leaves still on. What was so interesting about this tree was that along the top and upper branches, the leaves had begun to turn different colors. Some were gold, some were orange, some were red, etc. All on the same tree with the solid green below it just struck me as being strange, yet beautiful in it's own way. I may just go back and take a pic of it so You can all see what I mean!

Work seems to be going okay............I may be taking my Tuesdays back and giving up the half day on Friday. My co-workers husband has found new employment and they just sold one of the houses they had been fixing up to help make extra money. It had only been on the market for 2 weeks and it sold. I'm happy for them, so she may not need that extra day of Tuesday's that I gave her. I'll talk to her and see what she thinks about it.

Well, if I am ever going to get this computer room organized, now is the time I should be doing it..........so that is what I am off to do. I'll be back..........eventually!

Almost Autumn

Well, I have been very busy.......doing what exactly I don't know. Just working and family stuff mostly. I can't believe that it is almost fall already. I feel as if I have missed the summer season again this year. Not that summer was really very summer like this year. It was a tad bit on the cool side for summer in Michigan. Plus the fact that Amber nor as many grand children came to spend time with us made it seem like school was still in session........sigh! And now that school has started up for this year, they will all be busy doing their own things and we will see them even less. But that is life.............children and grandchildren grow up and actually become people with lives of their own and interests of their own and friends of their own. They are busy just growing up, and that is what life is about after all! Sort of that 'one season following another' type thing. Life follows patterns just as the seasons do.

And speaking of the seasons, I am really looking forward to enjoying this fall season. The trees in Southwest Michigan have begun to change colors........not all of them, but some are beginning to and I am ready to watch and see what kind of a masterpiece the Lord will paint for our enjoyment this year! I love the cool, crisp feel to the air too. To me it just has a different smell to it. But then each season in Michigan does have it's own smell.............and that is one of the reasons I love living here so much. The only thing I would ever change would be the snow. Now mind you, I love to look at it, and even go out and play in it still............what I don't like about it is the accumulation on the road where I must try and navigate to work, the grocery store and anywhere else my errands take me. If we could just do something about keeping it off the roads I would have no complaints at all about the winter time. And now that I've said that, it seems like a good time to close and go outside and enjoy what is left of the beautiful weather that Michigan has to offer.

Well it is happening. Amber is growing up so fast, she is outgrowing us! I know that is the way things go as they become teenagers, still it is hard! It is like letting go of another child and realizing that a part of the relationship you once had is gone and nevermore to be! I just hope she can get the guidence and support that she still needs at her age from her mom or another female figure who is a big part of her life! I miss her so!

My daughter the photographer.............

does an awesome job. She is not a professional, at least not yet, but in my opinion is good enough that she could and should be one!

She took these photos of some of our family, her children, our grandchildren,including some fantastic shots of Amber.

Puppy

Here are the more recent pictures of the pup....although she is only a pup in her actions. She is way too big to be considered a puppy any more. These pics were taken within the last couple of months.
In fact, these first two were taken just last night. She had just finished tormenting us and the other dog, Prancer and was looking for more mischief to get into. I wanted to get some of her before she went to the vet today to be spayed. We both took her so she wouldn't be mad at just one of us. Much to our chagrin, we needn't have felt too badly about it. She went with the vet technician happy as a lark, with tail wagging and never even so much as a glance over her shoulder to see us. I thought she would have looked rather forlorn as we left her with strangers but obviously I thought we were more important than we really are! Although, I am thinking that by the time we pick her up tomorrow morning she will be plenty glad to see us and more than happy to return home. At least I'm trying to convince myself of that!

And this last photo needs an explanation. It is a little dark and I apologize for the lack of photo retouching before I posted it. She had discovered her own reflection in the glass fireplace doors and was jumping at the doors and barking rather furiously at the other dog staring at her. We had a pretty good laugh while she was carrying on. She even took it to the next level of hilarity when she spotted hubs reflection in there too!

Weddings and Graduations

Here it is, the end of May. Memorial Day weekend is over and the unofficial start of summer has begun. And with it come the many weddings and graduations that take place in the month of June. My work has been busy helping brides and grooms order wedding invitations and graduates graduation invitations. It is always a busy time of year for that.

I, as you may know, have been filling in for a gal at corporate headquarters the last few weeks while she recovers from her surgery. The time spent there was quite educational really. I learned a lot of what goes on that we don't see while working in a satellite office. I know now that we must be more detailed in taking classfied ads from walk-in customers and those that call on the phone. Classifieds is a very demanding and busy part of the paper I work at. And though it's been educational, I am exhausted from working the extra hours. The position I am filling in for is full-time, and I usually work part-time. I know it's only two more days per week than my usual work week, but it seems to take it's toll. But I will be returning to my office Tuesday, June 2 and it will almost seem like a vacation. I will work the rest of this week and Monday of next week at corporate and then back at 'my' office amd my regular schedule. I have accumulated comp time and am planning on using a couple days in late June. My baby sister is coming home for a visit from Denver and I will take some time off to spend with her and my older sister. I am looking forward to having a good time with my only two siblings!

I had planned on posting some new photos of our pup, Cocoa, but something is wrong with the transfer process from camera to computer. I have some more recent ones than are already posted, but I wanted to post the latest ones too so all could see how much she has grown.

Sunday - the beginning............

October 2008 - Grandma and Hub at Grandma's 90 Birthday Party

of another work week. I am supposed to be ironing something to wear to work tomorrow. I seem to be putting it off as long as possible. Perhaps my thinking is that if I don't do it, tomorrow won't come! In all reality I know that won't happen, but in my mind I don't seem able to accept that concept!

It has been a rather ghoulish week for us. Hub's 91 1/2 year old grandma passed away on Monday April 27Th about 4PM. We arrived at about 4:20PM thinking we would be able to say our goodbyes. Grandma couldn't wait........weeks ago she told me that it was 'taking just too damn long to die!' She was more than ready and last summer the doctors informed us that she probably wouldn't see another winter. What did they know? Grandma fooled them all.........she probably stuck around just to embarrass them.....that's the kind of stubborn she was! But she was a dear old lady and I loved her. Coming into the family only 19 short years ago, she didn't have to accept me as a grandchild......yet she did. And she accepted all my kids as great-grandchildren and my grandchildren as great-great grandchildren. She was a classy lady and I learned a lot from her.....too many things to list here. Oh, they weren't things like knitting or any kind of needlecraft.......it was things about life that she had learned and just listening to her I learned. Go in peace Grandma, have that dance with Grandpa Joe in Heaven. I can picture the look upon your face when you met our Maker face to face!

The day of visitation at the funeral home wasn't too difficult for the older ones, but the younger ones......say early 20's and under had a hard time with it all. The only hard time us older ones had was when an old and dear family friend came to pay her respects and dropped dead of a cardiac arrest two feet from Grandma's casket. She wasn't pronounced dead at the funeral home. They took her by ambulance to the nearest hospital but I know she was dead before she even hit the floor. So the day after Grandma's funeral, we had to go back to the same funeral home and the same room to pay our respects to our old and dear family friend.....the only thing we can say about it is that she passed away fast and didn't suffer with friends near her and we were able to contact her family right away.

I have several drafts started and never finished because I ran out of time. I will get to them in the near future I hope, and now I must go and iron, and then turn in for some much needed sleep.

"Cocoa ~ The Not So Magic Magician"

Cocoa is growing every day. Soon she won't be a puppy any more and I'm thinking that might be a good thing! The other day while I was doing dishes and she was laying underfoot once again, she got up and wandered into the dining area. I did have a rather tall round table covered nicely with a floor length table cloth and sitting on top was a lovely plant that had been sent to me by a friend after my open heart surgery 6 years ago.

It's a miracle that I kept it alive and thriving for that long. It WAS the only live plant in the house!

Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement that resembled a magician pulling a table cloth out from under a table set with dishes and silverware. Only this wasn't any magician, it was Cocoa! The plant didn't stay on the table! This is what it looked like.........
........and this is Cocoa after I was done scolding her.


As you can see, she wasn't terribly upset with the scolding she received. She promptly went to sleep and left me to clean up the damage! I hope this isn't going to be a "Marley and Me" type of happening. She doesn't seem to be catching on or at least she is leading me to think that she is not catching on! I really do think that she is highly intelligent and she is manipulating me! Prancer is taking an interest in her. Albeit, it may be an interest that is being forced upon her by Cocoa. Prancer plays with her now and shares her water bowl even though Cocoa thinks she needs to swim in it or wade through it. Prancer just looks at her as if to say "must you put your feet in here when I am trying to drink?"

I keep hoping that Prancer will help train this unruly pup! She has already let her know that she is the alpha female dog and Cocoa has been the recipient of several roll-overs and nips that have made her yipe. Mind you, she has deserved every chastising Prancer has doled out..........and many more that Prancer has let slide! She is learning........but I think she will be in the puppy stage for at least a year and a half no matter if she attains her full growth by then!

But she has captivated our hearts and we wouldn't give her up for anything.........unless.......NO, I mustn't think that way. Here is a photo of her from two nights ago..........see how big she is getting!

Geese flying

Geese flying
Originally uploaded by groovyholly

While driving to work the other morning, I spotted a formation of geese flying north. A sure sign that spring is on its way! As I travelled further down the road, I saw another group in the same 'v' formation heading in the same direction. There are other signs too. The maple trees in my backyard are beginning to bud. I haven't seen any growth of my flowers that come back every year, but I am sure they are just lying dormant, waiting for the mositure and sun to coax them into pointing their little heads up for all to see and rejoice in.

It has been a very long, hard winter in Michigan, as well as elsewhere, I'm sure. And I imagine that every one of you is as anxious for spring to arrive as I am. I even heard one of our local meteorlogists say that he was tired of winter and ready for spring!

It is beautiful outside today. The thermometer says it's only 43º out there but I was out sitting in just my jeans, shoes and sweater keeping an eye on Cocao and Prancer and it certainly felt warmer than that in the sun. In fact, I'm wondering what I am doing inside on such a nice day off? So I will end this and head back out to the great outdoors and enjoy it while I can!

Keeps me laughing.........

this new puppy of ours! She is so funny to watch. She finds so much fun in every day things. Playing with an empty tissue box, an empty paper bag or a door stop. You know, the ones on a spring that are behind the doors to keep them from hitting the wall when you open them.

And she found herself in a mirror this morning while I was getting ready for work and I stopped and watched her growl and jump at herself and begin to bark as if she were some huge ferocious beast! I couldn't help but laugh at her antics. She thought she was so tough. And all the while, you could tell that she was actually afraid of whatever she saw in the mirror.

Prancer still is not fond of her, but is growing more tolerant of her with each passing day and sometime while outside together she will even play for short periods of time with Cocoa.

Hopefully some day, Prancer will like her! Keeping my fingers crossed on this one!

Here Cocoa is in one of her quiet spells.............they don't last for very long!

Another 4 legged fur child!

Well, we've had a stretch of some warmer weather and sunshine and it spoiled us and made us want more. Mother Nature played a dirty trick and sent a cold snap and more snow to replace the snow that had basically all melted away. When we woke up this morning we had around 3 inches of snow on the ground, but a lot of that has compacted as it sat, so there is maybe 1 1/2 inches left. And that will soon melt away. I know that spring is just around the corner and everyone is anxious for it to arrive. It has been one long, cold and snowy winter!

Amber is here for the weekend. She came Thursday evening so I could take her to her orthodontist appointment yesterday morning. And when we came home, we called and Drew came and spent the night while his mommy and daddy had a night away with friends. They have since picked him up and Amber has gone with Bumpa to take our newest puppy back to her momma. She was over here for a visit to get acquainted with Prancer and the surroundings. It didn't go to badly. This was her second visit and Prancer actually played outside with this little pup for a short time.


These pics are of her on her first visit here last week just before all the snow melted. We are naming her Cocoa and she is 3/4 Lab and 1/4 Australian Shepard. We are hoping they will become companions and fast friends and enjoy one another! We know we will enjoy both of them. Cocoa has already caught on to which door she should go to when she needs to go 'potty'. She seems really smart and with Prancer's help, I'm hoping she will be as easy to train as Prancer was. Sometimes I wonder about the brilliance of getting a puppy while I am gone three full days a week, but she will be in a kennel in the house while we are gone until she can be trusted. Perhaps my judgement is getting worse as I get older! Ha-ha-ha!

And I almost forgot this, but my good blogging friend Smalltown RN presented me with this award. And she was given the award by 'Peppylady'. It's her "Encouragement Award" Whenever Peppylady visits a blog she ends her comments by saying "Coffee's on". Peppylady says this award represents the encouragement people provide her and that the coffee is on and are ready to listen, encourage and even advise. Thank you Smalltown RN for giving it to me. Now I must think of those that I will give it too. This is most difficult as there are many who are great listeners and really deserve this award. I will have to chose:

Pearl at Cameo and Lace

Lori at Thoughts of Laurel

Renee at FroggieMom

And it's not as if these are the only ones who have earned this award........there are many out there who have offered support and encouragement to many over the years. Now I leave it to these three to pass it on to those they find deserving.

One day closer to Spring!

As this is the last day of January and the end of the first month of 2009, the snow keeps piling up. The only thing, at this stage, that keeps me going is to awaken every morning thinking "we are one day closer to Spring"!

I think we have had more snow this 2008-2009 season than we have had in years. This could end up being one of the coldest and snowiest winters on record for the state. Not that I'm looking forward to setting any new records for that. As far as I'm concerned, the sooner the temps rise above the freezing mark(and they haven't at all this month)and this snow begins to melt I will be considerably happier!

Of course, by the time summer gets here with it's high humidity, we will be trying to cool the inside of the house down to a lower temp than we are trying to raise it to now! Seems like a crazy thing to do, doesn't it? If only we could channel some of this frigid air to use in the summertime.........ah, now that would be ideal!

I have discovered one good thing about winter though. The lack of bugs! No mosquitoes, no bees, no ants......well except for the occasional stray one that finds it's way onto my kitchen floor. Oh yes, and the spiders that somehow seem to survive as uninvited guests in my home. I feel the need to squash them both like.........well, like bugs!