“This is what happened when I told Ken to get rid of his junk”

OR

“But officer, I only left the kids home alone for an hour!”

Can anyone come up with any more good captions????

(Ken saw this while on his bike ride yesterday—-evidently they didn’t finish the job on Friday, and had to put the CAT somewhere!!)

I have changed my profile picture.

Remember this picture, Vex???

I call it “Wisconsin sunbathing”

It is pretty appropriate, considering our weather this summer.  Because Lake Michigan is so much cooler this year, our town is cooler, too, since we jut out into the lake.

This morning I had to go out early for my annual “mammary mash”, and I had to wear a jacket.  It is now 4 p.m., and after the clouds and rain, it is now waaaaay up to 70. 

We have not even brought up our portable air conditioner.  We are just using our ceiling fans, and portable fans when we need it, which is very seldom.

I was looking at pictures I took a year ago of our plants and shrubs.  This year they are at anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks behind last year.  Last year my day lilies were all in bloom.  They are just in small buds now, and a couple haven’t even put up their flower stalks yet.  Lost 3 or 4 perennials from our severe winter, too.

I have been spending some time outside, but not as much as I would like to.  The mosquitos are horrendous this year.  No matter where I walk or sit, they find me.  Normally, sitting in the sun would keep them away, but not this year.  I think everybody in the midwest has the same problem because of all the rain we have had.  And I hate using mosquito repellent!!

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Several of you mentioned that you like Greg’s Christmas tree.  I found a bigger picture of it.

I just ordered a new floor lamp from Penneys.  Will take a picture of it when it gets here.  I don’t think Ken likes it, but it fits into my living room very well.  And, surprise, it is NOT another tiffany style lamp, even though it is made  by the Dale Tiffany company.  (I can just hear my kids and grands groaning, lol)

For those of you concerned about our new windshield.  It is just fine.  There really is nothing wrong with it.  Think it just has to do with the curve of the window at the side.

 

 

Have a wonderful, patriotic 4th of July!!

The above picture is of our local son’s Christmas tree.  They usually do a patriotic tree.  Different and meaningful.  You have heard the saying “Christmas in July”???  This is “July in Christmas”!

 

The new windshield was installed yesterday, Thursday.  Ken drove the car last evening and said he thinks there is a distortion in the glass.  We will go for a ride a little later so I can see it.  It is where the windshiel curves around to the side on the passenger side.  He said that while driving along the lake, the lake looked “wavy” on that side.  So, I will see if I notice it.  If we feel it is bad enough, we will contact the insurance and glass company.  There is a warranty for it regarding workmanship.  So, we will see.

UPDATE

We went for our ride, and I don’t think it is bad enough to do anything about.  The driver sees it through the passenger side, and the passenger sees it by the drivers side.  I couldn’t see it on my own side at all.  Don’t know if I would even notice it if I hadn’t been looking for it.

Our town is set for the 4th of July celebrations.

Downtown, with the park ready for a band concert.

We also drove by the beach.  A few people were there, taking possession of the picnic tables across from the beach, but nobody was on the beach yet—-just the seagulls.

A few fishing boats were out on the lake.  It was very calm.  It was also cool.  We might take a ride down there later this afternoon.  Last year it was jammed!!  Maybe the cooler temps will keep the crowd down, but I doubt it.  The beach is just a few blocks from the fireworks tonight, so a lot of people hang around the beach to watch them.

Hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend!!

Ken just called the insurance company.  They, in turn, immediately called a company they deal with up in Green Bay.  Five minutes later the company called us.  They will be here on Thursday to replace the windshield on the van.  They come right to the house.  Insurance will cover it all.  Hallelujah! 

We have dealt with our local State Farm agent for almost 40 yrs.  We have our  2 autos and renters inurances with them.  When Ken was in business, his business insurance was with them, too.  We have never had a problem with them, and they have always given us prompt, courteous service, without any hassles whatsoever!! I hope Bob never retires!!!!  I have read about customer dissatisfaction with State Farm, but we certainly have never experienced it!

A few years ago, my sis in AZ wanted to change insurance cos. for their vehicles.  They felt their rates had gone up too high.  Went with a different nationally known company, whose rates were much lower.  But, now are kind of sorry they did.  Because, although they got great initial rates, the rates started climbing the following year, and now are as high or higher than their old company was.

After talking to the insurance co., Ken left to go strawberry picking.  Saw on the farm’s website that today is the first day of picking.  Ken likes to get there right away, before the field is picked over, and the plumpest, juiciest ones are still there.  Three guesses what is for dessert tonight!

BITZ & PIECES

Not much going on here.  It has been a quiet week. 

Ken is very happy, though.  He can now ride his bike again.  He really missed going for his early morning ride to the beach every day!

I am doing fine.  Pedaling my butt down in the basement on my recumbent bike!  I go to my main dr. on Tuesday for my annual physical.  I have been doing small projects around the house, too, and helping Ken with some of his.  Trying to keep more active!

One good bit of news we heard was that my only sis’s only granddaughter gave birth to a baby boy on Thursday.  Dana’s mom, Karen, is MY only niece–and my goddaughter, too. (Got that straight??).  I remember when Karen was born, I was a sophomore in high school, and was so excited to be her godmother!!  Now my goddaughter is a gramma!!!  Now I REALLY feel old!! lol  My sis is now great-gramma.  She must feel ANCIENT!!!  lol  But, then I realize about 6 of my grands are old enough to have babies,  and I know I am ALMOST there, too.

The good news is offset by not-so-good news.  Ken talked to his older brother the other day.  Warren had been having health problems for quite a while, but always managed to overcome them.  He had pancreatic cancer a few years back, with successful surgery.  This winter he developed a BAD staph infection, and was in intensive care for 16 days.  They didn’t know if he would make it.  But he did!!  Just recently, though, one of his lungs collapsed, and they discovered cancer.  He is now undergoing chemo.  He says he has seen 18 drs. in the last month alone, and has had enough.  He says he is ready to go “Home”.  He is such a wonderful Christian man.  After he retired, he and his wife would travel around the country with our church’s “Builders for Christ” program, helping our churches with their building projects.  He loved this mission.  Our son, Jeff, (the traveler), even came across their pictures in one of the churches he visited this winter.  Warren and wife, Doris, live 5 hrs. from here.  When we go to visit Jeff and family in LaCrosse in August, we will go and see Warren on our way home.  Hopefully, he will last that long.  It is too far a trip for Ken to take right now.

Back to a lighter note!  The weather is finally warming up.  We have had one “perfect” day, where I was able to take my morning coffee outside and sit on the patio.  Otherwise, it is still a bit too cool in the mornings.  I can keep the windows open now, but haven’t even brought up our portable air conditioner yet.  No need for it so far.  Another Xangan, MarmeeAnne, who live N. of Chicago said that Lake Michigan is 12 degrees cooler this year than this time last year.  Our lake breezes are keeping us cooler this year.  It is 74 right now—-perfect!!

Just thought of one more thing—not so good!  This morning Ken needed to go to the lumber yard for a 12′ length of 1×4 wood, to replace a rotted section of fence in the back of our yard.  We took the van to get it.  He threaded the piece of lumber through the back of the van up to the front windshield, and decided to turn it on end.  He accidently wedged it between the dash and front windshield, and broke the front windshield.  It looks like a stone hit it right in the center!  So, we have to get that big windshield replaced!  He felt so badly about it that I couldn’t get upset with him.  He certainly didn’t do it on purpose.  This picture was taken in the garage, from inside the van. 

I hope the rest of the weekend goes better than this morning did!!

YIPPEE!!!!!

I walked into rehab on Wednesday, my last day, and instead of Darcy and Becky being there, there was a young good-looking fella named Todd.  I stopped in my tracks and announced—”Wouldn’t you know it!!!  My last day, and  NOW they finally bring in a good-looking hunk!!!”   Nice kid.  He probably is only a couple years older than my oldest grandson.  But had to keep teasing him.  He is just there for a week and a half, while the other two gals are on vacation.

At the end of each rehab session, we have to just sit in a chair and rest for a few minutes before they take our blood pressure.  Then we can remove the heart monitor leads from our chests.  I guess I was in a hurry, and not thinking, and I started to take a lead off before they checked my BP.  Jillian quickly reminded me I needed my BP first.  Todd came over, chuckling, and said “Is this just your first session???” (Knowing very well it was my last).  I looked up at him with a sweet smile and said “Smarta**”!  That got everybody laughing.  Yeah, we have fun at the exercise sessions.  I will miss the friends I have made there! 

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A while back I showed pictures of the fireplace Ken built back in the 50′s.  I mentioned that the concrete mantle needed replacing.  Ken made that his project last week.  Will show the old pics, and then the new ones.  Forgot to take a pic of it when he had it all formed up to pour the concrete, though.  Looks so nice now.

Mid 50′s, when he built it. (Before I even knew him).

What it looked like in April.

Last week, after taking off the old mantle.  You can see the new metal lintel he put in.  What was left of the old one is circled in the picture.  It was almost all rusted away, with just a small piece on each side left.

All put back together again.  He made the mantle thicker this time.

This was before he cleaned the smeared mortar off the stones he replaced back into the fireplace.

Good as new, Honey!!

I have received messages from a couple of you wondering if we were affected by all the devastation here in Wisconsin.

Thank God we are fine.

Our town juts out into Lake Michigan, and it has a very sandy soil.  Water drains very well here.  Our two rivers are running pretty well right now though, after all the rain we have had. 

 DIL, Lori, stopped in with some of the grands a little while ago.  They had been west of town, near a small dam.  Took the following picture:

I hope you can make out the boat stuck up against the top edge of the dam. It is a little hard to see through the mist of the water.  It, and part of it’s dock, broke loose upriver, and lodged at the edge of the dam.  I hope the owner is able to rescue the boat before it goes over the dam and possibly breaks apart.

The next town south had a few roads flooded for a while, and a couple trees fell on homes.  They have more of a clay soil down there. 

I was planning on going to church last night, but saw all the storms coming, and told Ken I was staying home.  He went alone.  We go to church in the town to the south of us. Our newer pastor did the service, and the city sirens went off during the service, and he didn’t know what to do.  He is a young man from California.  He called the other pastor, who was watching the radar on TV at home.  Said he would call the new pastor if he saw anything threatening nearby.  Everyone could go down into the basement if anything had been threatening.  Ken had to take an alternate route home because of some streets closed due to flooding.   All our local TV channels were doing weather all the time during the storms.  We had some good downpours, and lightning and thunder, but a lot less than just 40 miles to the west.  Oshkosh got over 6″ in a short period of time, and their high school was flooded.  Lost lots of sporting equipment and computers.

I really feel sorry for the southern and southwestern areas of WI, which were really devastated by all the rain and flooding.  This is one time I am happy to be living where we live!  The only thing I worried about was a tree coming down onto the house—we have a lot of old trees on our lot

Thanks for your concern!

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I only have two more sessions of cardiac rehab.  I will miss it.  I enjoy all the people there—–we are all in the same boat, and most of us even have the same cardiologist.  Most of the others have had bypass surgeries, a couple of us have had stents inserted.  Fun to compare notes!  I mentioned that when I started I was the only woman in my time slot.  All the men have “graduated”, and now the group is all women with only one man!!

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Saturday we have two graduation parties to go to in the afternoon and early evening.  One is a former pastor’s grandchild, and the other is our next-door neighbor’s son.  Of course there are isolated thunderstorms in the forecast!!!  At least we won’t have far to go if it rains next door!!  lol

 

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

This weeks subject is suggested by Stixandstonz

What’s on your head?

 

This morning:

 

Some old favorites:

My favorite picture of our two oldest grandsons, Jordan and Jacob, who are now almost 23 and 25.

Oldest grandson, Jacob, back in ’92:

Grandson, Kenny, in 2002, in my old wig and an antique hat.  He makes a cute girl!

Oldest son, Jeff, who loves Johnny Cash—-The Man in Black!! (sorry it is a little blurry) in 2003.

Sister-in-law, Karen’s, 60th birthday—-”When I am Old I Shall Wear Purple”.

A great-niece and myself, being silly back in 2003, putting washcloths on our heads.

 

Ken and I at Halloween–2004

Ken and I at Christmas, 2004

Youngest son, Greg, Christmas 2004

 

I have lots more, but won’t bore you with them all!!!

You are very welcome!!  lol

 

 

 

 For those of you who couldn’t see the feet in the kaleidoscope picture, the link below will take you to the pic in Photobucket.  It is bigger there.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/mimiwi/feet.jpg

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE