I have spent the past two days planting a garden. This is a first time thing for me as HC Baker was the gardener with 10 green thumbs, and as everyone knows, I don't go outside. I was assured there would be no more frost but ALAS!!!! Not true!!!! I just finished covering my new beautiful garden with a drop cloth (only thing I could find to fit). If it all dies, I'm switching to hanging baskets!
Garrett's face is doing very well. He will get the stitches removed Friday. I'm still thanking God for sparing his eye.
Tomorrow I begin my 2-day job as the ballet dancer's chauffeur. Emily is tied up with a million other things and Brett is of course at the candy store, so it's my lucky "daze"! Performances Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Then it's over until the fall. I'm so glad I'm here and get to be a part of it all!
This morning I started flipping the winter clothes closet with the summer clothes closet. (Good thing I didn't finish. I'll need those sweaters in the morning.) Crammed in with the summer things, I found a shirt of HC's. It startled me. And the first thing I did was smell it and there he was. That was the last thing I did today. Is that instinctive? To hold clothing to your nose and try to find the memories? I don't know where the shirt came from or how it got into my summer things. I immediately put it on and am still wearing it. I don't want to wash it and wash "him" away and I want it to always smell just like him. I might wear it for a few days and see what happens. I've felt very good all day with it on yet there's a "lonely hole".
Miss all of you too!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
What's a Monday without a track meet OR Thank you God for reopening the ER in Cheboygan TODAY!!!!!
WOW! We are very busy here! The weather has "turned" and every day seems to be like the first day of spring, temps in the high 60's and low 70's. The exterior house painting is coming along very well. I'll photograph as soon as it's done. I have been planting flowers!!!! Me...planting flowers (wearing tennis shoes and knee sox, long sleeve shirt, long pants and gloves). I have never planted flowers before and I'm doing OK! Have completely planted the red geraniums, added English daisies, creeping phlox (one of my favorites), lots of lavender, hostas and those verigated green leafy things that I can't remember their name and other stuff. Have to do mulch tomorrow (not so looking forward to that).
TR Baker was on vacation last week and we had a good time. We went to Traverse City one day and I SHOPPED!!!!!!!! Downtown is so beautiful there plus they have a MALL!!!!!! I felt so much better after that trip.
Went to Gracie's last soccer games on Saturday in Charlevoix. She is nearly the youngest one on her team but is as aggressive as the older girls. It was a beautiful day but I sat in the car for the first game because it was so cold! And I was dressed for the cold! Glad that's over.
Had a wonderful Mother's Day! TR Baker took me to the Stafford Hotel in Petoskey for brunch. The hotel is a beautiful historic hotel right on Little Traverse Bay. Brunch was delicious with anything and everything you could possibly want. My two most favorite things were what they called tomato pudding (stewed tomatoes) and...ready for this?...chicken livers! I love them and never get to have them. They also had cold peach soup - YUM! and lox and bagels, another YUM! For dinner we went to Emily's for a cook-out. Loved every moment. Spoke to Libby on the phone and so wished she had been here. She'll be up at the end of July for a visit. Can't wait!
(I'm nearly to the "title" part of this story.)
This week's schedule is totally crazy! Gracie is very involved in ballet and this week there is a rehearsal every night because the recital is this weekend. But to start the week off there was a track meet for Garrett at Cheboygan High School (across the parking lot from Cheboygan Middle School where Emily teaches). My instructions were to pick-up Gracie at her school and bring her to the track meet. I did and we were walking toward the shot-put area when one of the teachers came up to me and said if I was looking for Emily, she probably wasn't back yet. Gracie and I looked at each other and said where did she go? There was a pause and another teacher said Garrett had an accident 6th period and she had taken him to the Emergency Room which just re-opened TODAY!!!!!! I asked what kind of accident. She said Garrett fell and cut his face. I looked at Gracie and asked her what she wanted to do (knowing the answer) and she said she wanted to go to the ER and see. So we headed back to the car and were stopped by the Asst Principal who told me to tell Emily he had talked to all the boys in the locker room at the time and they all said it was an accident. Garrett was jumping from one bench to the next on his way to his open-doored locker. He slipped on the second bench and his face landed on the edge of the locker door. Gracie started to cry and we continued on to the car. The hospital is just 2 minutes away from the school and we were there in short order. (I really am so grateful to God because the hospital ER had re-opened just today! Otherwise he would have needed to go to Petoskey 35 miles away. Isn't God great?) When we arrived Emily's car was parked in front of the ER and Brett's was right beside it. We walked in and asked for them and they said they would tell them we were there. We waited a few minutes and they walked out. Garrett had a bandage over his left eye/6 stitches and under his left eye/8 stitches and a gash below the bandage that traveled down to his jaw line. Oh my gosh! And a wonderful plastic surgeon just happened to be in the ER when they arrived. And Garrett said he wanted to get back to school and compete!!!!!!!!! I thought Emily was going to rip his head off!!!! (Here's where the grandmother gets to laugh!) So anyway, change of schedule. Emily is taking Garrett home, Brett is going back to the candy store, and Jo is taking Gracie to dinner and on to dance recital rehearsal. Aren't we all flexible?
So ends this Monday's track meet day! And if my sister Linda reads this and thinks I didn't tell her before sharing it with the world, I'm going to tell her to get her damn (sorry) phone fixed. It's been busy since 5pm and Bill isn't answering his cell phone! I did reach Mary (my other sister) and told her.
Sisters, Sisters... Also waiting for TR Baker to come home from work so I can tell him! Family's are special!!!!
And so you know, yes, the ER did re-open today. The rest of the hospital is expected to open by the end of the month. A company called McClaren bought the hospital and is working to get everything back to normal. It certainly is wonderful news especially for our family today. xxoo
TR Baker was on vacation last week and we had a good time. We went to Traverse City one day and I SHOPPED!!!!!!!! Downtown is so beautiful there plus they have a MALL!!!!!! I felt so much better after that trip.
Went to Gracie's last soccer games on Saturday in Charlevoix. She is nearly the youngest one on her team but is as aggressive as the older girls. It was a beautiful day but I sat in the car for the first game because it was so cold! And I was dressed for the cold! Glad that's over.
Had a wonderful Mother's Day! TR Baker took me to the Stafford Hotel in Petoskey for brunch. The hotel is a beautiful historic hotel right on Little Traverse Bay. Brunch was delicious with anything and everything you could possibly want. My two most favorite things were what they called tomato pudding (stewed tomatoes) and...ready for this?...chicken livers! I love them and never get to have them. They also had cold peach soup - YUM! and lox and bagels, another YUM! For dinner we went to Emily's for a cook-out. Loved every moment. Spoke to Libby on the phone and so wished she had been here. She'll be up at the end of July for a visit. Can't wait!
(I'm nearly to the "title" part of this story.)
This week's schedule is totally crazy! Gracie is very involved in ballet and this week there is a rehearsal every night because the recital is this weekend. But to start the week off there was a track meet for Garrett at Cheboygan High School (across the parking lot from Cheboygan Middle School where Emily teaches). My instructions were to pick-up Gracie at her school and bring her to the track meet. I did and we were walking toward the shot-put area when one of the teachers came up to me and said if I was looking for Emily, she probably wasn't back yet. Gracie and I looked at each other and said where did she go? There was a pause and another teacher said Garrett had an accident 6th period and she had taken him to the Emergency Room which just re-opened TODAY!!!!!! I asked what kind of accident. She said Garrett fell and cut his face. I looked at Gracie and asked her what she wanted to do (knowing the answer) and she said she wanted to go to the ER and see. So we headed back to the car and were stopped by the Asst Principal who told me to tell Emily he had talked to all the boys in the locker room at the time and they all said it was an accident. Garrett was jumping from one bench to the next on his way to his open-doored locker. He slipped on the second bench and his face landed on the edge of the locker door. Gracie started to cry and we continued on to the car. The hospital is just 2 minutes away from the school and we were there in short order. (I really am so grateful to God because the hospital ER had re-opened just today! Otherwise he would have needed to go to Petoskey 35 miles away. Isn't God great?) When we arrived Emily's car was parked in front of the ER and Brett's was right beside it. We walked in and asked for them and they said they would tell them we were there. We waited a few minutes and they walked out. Garrett had a bandage over his left eye/6 stitches and under his left eye/8 stitches and a gash below the bandage that traveled down to his jaw line. Oh my gosh! And a wonderful plastic surgeon just happened to be in the ER when they arrived. And Garrett said he wanted to get back to school and compete!!!!!!!!! I thought Emily was going to rip his head off!!!! (Here's where the grandmother gets to laugh!) So anyway, change of schedule. Emily is taking Garrett home, Brett is going back to the candy store, and Jo is taking Gracie to dinner and on to dance recital rehearsal. Aren't we all flexible?
So ends this Monday's track meet day! And if my sister Linda reads this and thinks I didn't tell her before sharing it with the world, I'm going to tell her to get her damn (sorry) phone fixed. It's been busy since 5pm and Bill isn't answering his cell phone! I did reach Mary (my other sister) and told her.
Sisters, Sisters... Also waiting for TR Baker to come home from work so I can tell him! Family's are special!!!!
And so you know, yes, the ER did re-open today. The rest of the hospital is expected to open by the end of the month. A company called McClaren bought the hospital and is working to get everything back to normal. It certainly is wonderful news especially for our family today. xxoo
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Did you vote today?
One of the things that worried me the most about changing my state of residency was voting. I have always voted in every election and have a pretty good understanding of Kentucky politics (for whatever that's worth!!!). So I was concerned about voting in Mullet Lake Township, MI (aka Topinabee). Today was an election day. I had studied those running for office so I took my voter registration card and headed to the town hall where I was told voting always takes place. The town hall is down my hill and across the corner right next to the fire department and the Topinabee Market. I got to the town hall and there was no sign of life. The door was locked and I thought...Hmmmmm? Wonder what's going on? The fire department is volunteer so there was no one there either. I walked over to the market. I went in and asked the young woman where do we vote? With that she looked out the window of the market and said it's usually at the town hall. I said I know but not today! She then said..."I didn't even know today was an election day. Is today the day we elect a new president?" (I swear!) I said no, no new president today. (And the liquor section of the market was not covered so I thought maybe they don't vote up here!!!!) A man walked in to the market and I asked him - where do we vote? With that he looked out the front window and said it's usually at the town hall. I tried to call Brett but he was off today and working in the woods and fields of their home. I sent a text message to Emily hoping she would check her phone during her lunch time. I walked over to the post office!!!!! Answer there was "I don't think we're voting on anything today." WHERE AM I????????? I'll check tomorrow's paper and let you all know if MI voted on anything today!
Haven't shared with you all about my Derby party! It was the first time TR Baker and I were premiering our "re-done" home (well most of it!). The weather was perfect. The sun was shining on our new Michigan home and the temperature was in the low 60's. I was serving hot brown casserole (Nancy B's recipe), shrimp & grits, country ham on black pepper biscuits, asparagus with benedictine dip, cheese straws (won't do them again - too much work), goat cheese torte with homemade crackers, my chocolate pecan pie and iced sugar cookies cut in shapes of the state of Kentucky and horses heads. I even had white, grey, 2 shades of brown and black iced horses heads to match the colors of the horses running!!! We had about 40 guests and only 4 had been to a Derby party before (mine last year!). I explained all about the food...the history, the ingredients, what are grits???? and so on. TR Baker was in charge of the mint juleps! I had made the simple syrup (another explanation) and he was doin' the pourin'!!!! The front porch looked "FAB" and the house was all clean. And I breathed a sigh of relief as everyone told me how beautiful the house looked and how delicious the food was!!!!!! That "ice" is finally broken and I'm glad.
Finally, I'll tell you the outside of the house is being painted this week. They started Monday morning and it was raining. They spent the day power washing the exterior. Then today they began on the porch painting the ceiling light blue (a color called "balmy" - I loved it!) and treating all the windows. The inside walls of the porch are cedar and there was some serious water marks on the windows. They bleached all that and will re-caulk all of them. After that is done, they will begin outside!!!!!! And for those of you wondering...I chose...after the painters had painted a small section outside of each color next to the brown...the...Mark Twain Grey!!!!!!! It looks fabulous. All the trim that is now dark green will be white. I already have red geraniums. I got them for the Derby party and placed them in the ground still in their pots (in case of another freeze). The red geraniums look fabulous against the grey too. So when you come to see me, look up on the hill for the grey house. It's the one that looks beautiful!!!!
I hope all of you had a happy Derby! I've been praying for many of you and challenges you are facing right now. I might be 600 miles north but believe me when I say I'm there in spirit with my arm around your shoulder whispering in your ear, I love you! xxoo
Haven't shared with you all about my Derby party! It was the first time TR Baker and I were premiering our "re-done" home (well most of it!). The weather was perfect. The sun was shining on our new Michigan home and the temperature was in the low 60's. I was serving hot brown casserole (Nancy B's recipe), shrimp & grits, country ham on black pepper biscuits, asparagus with benedictine dip, cheese straws (won't do them again - too much work), goat cheese torte with homemade crackers, my chocolate pecan pie and iced sugar cookies cut in shapes of the state of Kentucky and horses heads. I even had white, grey, 2 shades of brown and black iced horses heads to match the colors of the horses running!!! We had about 40 guests and only 4 had been to a Derby party before (mine last year!). I explained all about the food...the history, the ingredients, what are grits???? and so on. TR Baker was in charge of the mint juleps! I had made the simple syrup (another explanation) and he was doin' the pourin'!!!! The front porch looked "FAB" and the house was all clean. And I breathed a sigh of relief as everyone told me how beautiful the house looked and how delicious the food was!!!!!! That "ice" is finally broken and I'm glad.
Finally, I'll tell you the outside of the house is being painted this week. They started Monday morning and it was raining. They spent the day power washing the exterior. Then today they began on the porch painting the ceiling light blue (a color called "balmy" - I loved it!) and treating all the windows. The inside walls of the porch are cedar and there was some serious water marks on the windows. They bleached all that and will re-caulk all of them. After that is done, they will begin outside!!!!!! And for those of you wondering...I chose...after the painters had painted a small section outside of each color next to the brown...the...Mark Twain Grey!!!!!!! It looks fabulous. All the trim that is now dark green will be white. I already have red geraniums. I got them for the Derby party and placed them in the ground still in their pots (in case of another freeze). The red geraniums look fabulous against the grey too. So when you come to see me, look up on the hill for the grey house. It's the one that looks beautiful!!!!
I hope all of you had a happy Derby! I've been praying for many of you and challenges you are facing right now. I might be 600 miles north but believe me when I say I'm there in spirit with my arm around your shoulder whispering in your ear, I love you! xxoo
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