50 Things I Love

Maybe this blog post will help you get to know me or you might learn something new about me.  Here we go.....

1. Road trips.  I'm like a dog...put me in the Jeep, take me down country dirt roads and let me hang my head out the window.

2. The mountains. 

3. Nature/the outdoors.

4. Tea, hot or iced.  Currently my favorite is loose leaf coconut pineapple. YUM!

5. Cool fall weather.

6. Kombucha! In case you don't know what Kombucha is it's fermented tea. 

7. Camping, tent or travel trailer. Rediscovered my love of tent camping this past summer.

9. My Grand Dog Winnie.

10. Having lunch or coffee in quaint little cafe's. 

11. Spending time along.... yes, I'm an introvert. 

12.  A walk in the woods.  Give me the woods over the beach any day!

13. Trees!!  It's a wonder I don't drive off the road the way I gawk at trees constantly.

14. Circle B Bar... one of my favorite places on earth (nature preserve in Florida).

15. National Parks.... what treasures they are!

16. State Parks.... just as precious as the national parks.

17. Photography.

18. Children's books....  You should see my collection of children's books!

19. Kayaking.  Haven't touched my kayak in the past two years.... I'm ashamed to say.

20. Birds.... Oh how I love birds. 

21. The USA.  I've never had the urge to travel the world but boy do I yearn to explore more of this beautiful country we live in. 

22. Hiking/Exploring. 

23. Lavender.  I don't just love it, it's an obsession.  The smell, the taste, the feel, the color, the bees buzzing around it.  Oh yes, please!

24. Free Little Libraries.  It's on my bucket list to set my own up one day.  I will do it!

25. Grapefruit and turkey bacon (my favorite breakfast).

26. Dimaggio's Pizza.  I request it every year for my birthday.

27. Rain.

28. Blogging. 

29. PJ's.... if I could live in my pj's I would.  I'm all about comfort.

30. Flip flops.

31. Oil of Olay Regenerist Serum... it's the only beauty product I can't live without.

32. Homemade soaps.

33. Farmer's Markets.... Can't wait for them to start in the summer and I'm always sad when the season is over. 

34. Flea Market's.  Wish we had some good ones around us.

35.  Thrift stores.... I'm a thrifting junkie.  I will frequently go on all day thrifting excursions. It's the trill of the hunt!

36. Mowing the lawn.

37. Big Bang... Sheldon, Amy and the whole gang make me laugh.

38. True war movies. 

39. Lighthouses. 

40. Veggies.... I don't think there's a veggie I don't love.

41. Aldi's... why would anyone grocery shop anywhere else?  $$$

42. Wildflowers.

43. Old barns... I can hardly pass an old huge historic barn without stopping to photograph it.

44. Biggby Pomegranate Tea Latte's.  Good thing I no longer drive by Biggby's on my way to work anymore. 

45. Cooking... Love to cook but baking is not my thing.

46. Instagram.... Makes me so much happier than Facebook.

47. Warm fuzzy socks.... I once paid $35 for a pair of homemade alpaca wool socks from a farmer's market.  And if you know how cheap I am that should  tell you how much I love those socks!

48. True crime shows, like Dateline and 48 hours... this is much to my husbands displeasure  :-)

49. Rainbows... they are magical.

50. Sunsets, especially at Silver Lake.

Christmas 2016

For weeks Craig has been asking me what I wanted for Christmas.  I really wanted a new laptop MacBook.  My MacBook is about 10 years old and the operating system is so old that it will no longer accept updates and as a result I cannot open google or blog from it.  :-(   I even made a trip to the apple store to check out the new MacBook's.  I left there drooling over the new ones but feeling defeated after seeing the $2,000 price tag.  That was not going to happen.  We've worked too hard at simplifying our lives to allow that to happen.  So then I started researching pc laptops as an alternative.  UGH!  How could I EVER go back to a pc????  We are a Mac family all the way.  But the $300 price tags were so tempting.  So long story short.... here I am a few days after Christmas blogging on my new pc laptop.  Craig got me a Lenovo for under $300.  It's going to do the job and I'm thrilled to have it.  Yes, I still wish I had a MacBook.  This pc is cheap to the touch, the trackpad feels so suboptimal, the screen doesn't do my photos justice.  But I'm hanging in there and as each day goes by I'm learning to like it.  Good points.... I can travel with it, I can upload photos to it, I CAN BLOG with it.  I'm slowly personalizing it and setting it up to fit my needs.  Thank you to my wonderful hubby for wanting me to have things that make me happy.  I'm certainly happy to be blogging from the comfort of my lazy chair. 

And the kids got me a sewing machine for Christmas.  I was feeling the love!  I was shocked when I opened it.  I never asked for it or had a clue.  How did they know that I've been thinking about sewing again lately?  They know me well.  Let the creative juices flow!

But the best gift of all I get to receive every single day of the year..... This family!

Dog Day of Summer

It's July 11th and we are in the full swing of summer and drinking in every ounce we can get.  

Evening backyard fires are the best.  

 

I am still getting used to my new life not having to get up and hit the road at 7:30 AM and drag myself home at 6:00 PM only to start preparing for the next day to do it all over again.  Not a day goes by that I am not thankful with my whole being.  And each season of this new life brings new joy.  Summer is amazing!  The colors, the sights, the sounds are different with each one.  Summer is all about green, my favorite color.  I sit on the front porch in the mornings drinking my tea and I still can't get over how green the trees and the grass are.  I'm not taking anything for granted.  

 

Summer is obsessing about food!  And even more so for me that I'm trying to lose weight in anticipation of a trip to visit the national parks out west this fall.  I want to be physically fit to be able to do some hiking.  I joined Weight Watchers in June and am loving the results.  I'm down 15 pounds and going strong.  It takes time, a lot of planning, shopping and cooking to make this work.  Again, I'm so grateful to have to time to devote to this commitment I've made.  I picked a good time of year to do this with the bounty of awesome food that's available at farmer markets.  I hit the market on Saturday and Tuesdays.  I'm in love with farmer markets! 

 Father's Day weekend we were able to spend a few days at Silver Lake and all the kids joined us.  We were very happy they could be with us.  

Craig on Father's Day with his pride and joys.  

No camping trip to silver lake is complete without a visit to see Jeffery at Lewis Farm Market in New Era.  

We try to catch as many summer sunsets as possible.  This was 4th of July weekend at our cottage.  

What is it about toads?  He wasn't very happy about posing for a photo.  I couldn't resist.  

My newest summer obsession is lavender.  I can't get enough of it.  This was at Lavender Hill Farm in Niles Michigan.  I waited all year to visit when the lavender was in bloom.  

This was my pickings from the day.  I have it hanging in the shed drying.  I bought a few live plants and will be giving it a try at growing my own next year. 

 

Hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are.   I have a visit from Jordan to look forward to this week.  

I get it now Mom

One of my Mother's many beautiful gardens

I had a bucket list of sorts when I left my nursing job last November and one of the things on that list was gardening.  I half heartily put it on my list.  Mostly because of my lack of enthusiasm with gardening my whole life.  I was almost afraid to put it on the list because I didn't really know if I truly had it in me to love gardening.  Was I just fooling myself all these years wishing I had time and energy to garden or was it just not in my blood?  I've always had a love and appreciation of beautiful gardens, especially my Mother's, but year after year I never lived up to the expectations I put on myself.  I'd end up feeling like a failure at the end of summer when my container gardens were all dried up, the few tomato plants I planted only produced one tomato, weeds would be taking over, the flat of flowers I bought ended up in the trash after 2 months of sitting there waiting to be planted (yes, I'm ashamed to admit that I really did that more than once).   And being the offspring of a gardener whose gardens look like something out of Better Homes and Gardens made me feel especially inadequate.  

Mom never judged me.  I think she looked on me with pity sometimes knowing that I yearned to be able to do what she did and God knows she tried to help me.  Bless her heart, she'd buy me plants and trees and bring them over to my house and even plant my planters some years.  She knew that my life was full with other life's priorities and she tried her best to help me to have a yard of pretty things.  She encouraged me the best she could never making me feel bad about the state of my gardens.  This has gone on for years.  

So here we are, my first official "spring" gardening season with my new found freedom and time to garden.  Do I have it in me?  Turns out there's a spark there that has turned into a flame and I'm even finding a full blown blaze is on the horizon.   I'm asking myself, "Where did this come from?".   

I've taken 3 different Jeep loads full of plants I've dug and split up from my Mom's gardens and brought them home and planted them where I've needed new things.  The greatest thing about having a  Mother who gardens, besides the fact that I get to enjoy her gardens, is the fact that I can go get pretty much whatever I want for FREE.  It's like having my own personal nursery all for the taking.  And as an added bonus it gives my Mom a lot of pleasure to share with me.  She loves being able to give me plants.  

More of my Mother's gardens 

Things I've never had tolerance for I'm actually finding pleasure in.   For instance, getting up in the morning and dousing myself with bug spray, throwing my hair back, putting on my mud boots, getting out there before the dew is gone and getting my pants wet and muddy, getting overheated and hungry but not wanting to stop to rest and eat, and having to strip myself naked in the laundry room and run up to the shower before I can even think of sitting down.  Who is this woman and where did she come from?  

And for no reason at all, except for the simple fact that it gives me pleasure, I find myself walking through my yard and gardens to see my progress and making plans for what's next. 

I will never have the gardens that my Mother has and they will always pale in comparison but it's a start and it's making me very happy.  Mom, I want you to know how thankful I am to you for passing along this gene, for gently encouraging me all these years. 

Mom in her garden 

My Mother has a stepping stone in her garden that reads "A garden is where the soul feels at home".  I get it now Mom......      

Earth Day 2016

Silver Lake, Mears MI 4/16/16

Today is Earth Day 2016.  I celebrate Earth Day everyday of the year.  And each year it has more meaning to me.  I often think back to my childhood and wish that I would have seen the world through my adult eyes and have had an appreciation of our big beautiful earth then like I do today.  There was always little parts of me that appreciated natural beauty but nothing like my adult self.  I can't remember yearning to see the first blooms on the cherry trees in spring, the first new fallen snow of winter, experiencing excitement of fall colors, or sunsets in summer when I was a child or young adult.  But oh my!  It is in my soul now.

For example.....  I was middle school age when my parents allowed me to fly to Washington State to visit my Uncle Dallas one summer for a few weeks.  I was over the top excited to be going on my first plane ride, to see my Uncle and Aunt and spend time with my cousins but it never dawned on me to be excited about visiting a part of the country I've never seen before.  I was going to be seeing the rocky mountains for the first time in my life (and I haven't seen them since) but it was all so taken for granted.  It will be so different today.  I'll be seeing those mountains this fall and I cannot tell you how excited I am or how highly anticipated that trip is, so different from my 12 year old mind.   

Spring blossoms Michigan 4-18-16

We are in full blown spring now.  I can't drive anywhere without gawking at all the trees and flowers. I'm waiting for road side stands and farmers markets to start any day now.  

Asparagus should be showing up about a week or so.  And morel mushroom should be popping up any minute.  And I'll be hanging my hummingbird feeders this weekend!  Yes, bring it on!  

Happy International Children's Book Day (a day late)

Happy International Children's book day!  I didn't know there was such a thing until I saw a reference to it on FB this morning.  And if you are aware of my obsession with children's books you know this is a day I must celebrate.  I googled it and found out that there really is such a thing and evidently it was yesterday and I missed it.  But regardless, it gave me the idea for a blog post.  

I've never really been one to say I collect certain things.  I never set out to be a collector of children's books.  I don't even consider it a collection.... lets just call it my LOVE of children's books.  It started when I was a child myself.  My favorite children's book was "Ferdinand The Bull".  Oh how I loved that bull.  He was just like me.  He wasn't like the other bulls, he loved to lounge in beautiful fields and smell the pretty flowers.  He had my heart.... like so many other children's book characters.  And so it began.

Books were a big part of my own children's lives.  We didn't have a large collection of children's books due to the expense of purchasing them.  But we had the classics and we belonged to several book clubs and of course we took advantage of the library.  Every night was story time and the kids picked out what books they wanted read to them.  "Where The Wild Things Are" was Caleb's favorite.  We read it so many times that Caleb could recite it word for word long before he could read.       

After the kids were grown I discovered this thing called thrifting.  And low and behold, thrifting was a wonderful way to get children's books.  Books that I would drool over in the book stores that cost $15 each I could get at thrift stores for 50 cents and one dollar!  At first I would only buy one here and there.  I felt foolish buying children's books when my kids where grown and there was no grandchildren in sight for a long time.  I'd sneak them in the house for fear of being laughed at and I'd hide them in the book case.  But then I realized I wasn't buying those books for my future grandchildren (although, that certainly is a perk), I was buying them for myself!  Why should I be embarrassed of my love of children's books?  And beside, before long there was no way I could keep hiding them, they were taking over the book shelves.

I don't know how many children's books I now have.  I have two book shelves completely full.  I counted them at one time and it was over 200 but that was some time ago.  I do occasionally go through them when I have no more room on the shelves and I weed them down to my most special ones.  I have certain criteria that the books must meet to find a home on my shelves.  

First they must be hard back and in good condition.  At thrift stores I find many books with inscriptions inside the front covers "To So and So from Grandma".  Sometimes these inscriptions go on to tell a little story about how this book reminds them of them, or how they hope the special meaning behind this story will touch them.  At first I would pass up those books but now I buy them anyway.  I believe it gives the book a little more meaning to know a little of it's history and what it may have meant to a child, even if I only have the child's first name.  Kind of cool, huh?    

Second is the artwork.  I am so drawn to the beautiful illustrations in the books.  The colors, the expressions, the scenery, the characters.  The artwork in a children's book is as important as the story.  

And third is the story of course.  I started out with nature themed stories but soon branched out into many other areas because they are too many good children's books to stick to only one theme.  Here are some of my categories: 

  

The classic's of course.  I find that classic's are harder to find at thrift stores.  Maybe people like to hang on to them.  What is your favorite classic children's book?  I absolutely LOVE "The Giving Tree".  

Children's book about my home state of Michigan!  I discovered these at quaint little book stores and state parks and fell in love with them but always walked away because of the cost.  Wouldn't you know it!  I've slowly found them at thrift stores.  Happy happy joy joy!  This girl loves her beautiful Michigan as much as she loves children's books.  And the two together make me very happy.

Photography children's books.  My love of photography has drawn me to these books.  Instead of illustrations they use real photography.  So beautiful!  And these books I found with the author and photographers signatures in them.... BONUS!

Silly books.  For the longest time I passed on these books.  But what child doesn't need some imagination in their stories?  They've grown on me.

Children's books about history/art.  These are some of my favorites.  I will actually read them over several times.  These usually sit on my coffee table until I read them before they make their way to the book shelf.  I learn a thing or two myself from these books.  
Christmas books!  Wow, talk about beautiful illustrations in books.  I'm very choosy about what Christmas books I buy and I have an incredible bunch of them.  Last fall I decided I had too many so I went through them with the intention of taking some to the shop to sell them during the holiday season.  You should have seen me trying to part with some of them.  I could barely let go of any of them.

And of course my beloved nature themed children's books.  Well, they just make me happy......

There are many more.... Dr. Seuss, Christian themes, poems, etc.  I have slowed down buying them (OK, maybe I did buy 3 more last week) and I tend to be a little more choosy now that my space is running out.  And someday my future grandchildren will have amazing books, but for now I have them just because I like them.   

Circle B Bar

I get to spend just a few days here each year.  It's such a magical place to me.  I sometimes wonder if I had access to this place on a daily basis would it still be as magical to me.  Somehow I think it would.  I belong to a FB group where people post happenings and photos from Circle B all year long.  Everyday I ooh and ah over those postings.  Finally last week it was my turn to be there in person for 5 days straight.  This was my sight each morning as I arrived at 7:30 AM.  The sun would just be coming up and I would be out there to witness it in all it's glory.  

I've never been on an African safari or a trip through the rain forest or the Alaskan bush (maybe someday),  so for me this is the most natural "wild" environment I've ever been to. The place is just teeming with wildlife.  And the landscape.... Did I mention the landscape?   It just amazes me that everywhere you look there's something beautiful to see.  Circle B Bar is a county owned park in Lakeland Florida.  It is approximately 1,300 acres.  I don't know the exact details of it's history but from what I understand it was a cattle ranch for many years.  Somewhere along the way the county obtained the land and turned it into a nature reserve.  It is free of charge to go there.  Photographers, bird watchers, fitness enthusiasts (you can even ride your bike there), families, young and old.... you name it, love this place. 

The two photos above show an Anhinga and a Blue Heron with fish they have caught.  The first few times I witnessed this I couldn't believe that they could gulp down such big fish.  And they do it over and over all day long.  I don't know where they put it.  It's quite entertaining to watch.  As with all the wildlife out there, they are excellent hunters.  I do not believe anything goes hungry out there.  

In addition to the wildlife and landscape, I really enjoy the people at Circle B as well.  Everyone is just as excited to be there as you are.  They stop along the trails and tell you something wonderful they just witnessed, or they ask you questions.  I met an Australian family walking in as I was walking out.  It was their first visit...  "Will we see Alligators???!!!".  I informed them that "Yes, they most definitely would".  You should have seen how they light up with excitement.  I smiled all the way back to the parking lot.  I would have missed this photo above has it not been for a nice lady pointing him out to me.  I walked right past him with my head down looking for alligators.  On my last morning there I had the pleasure of walking down one of the trails with a gentlemen who told me his favorite stories of Circle B over his many years of coming there.  People just love to share.  

 

This is a Wilson's Snipe.  I have to admit, I had never even heard of a Wilson's Snipe but evidently he's a big deal.  Again, it was the kindness of a stranger there that turned me onto him.  And word spread quickly as I saw quite a few birders anxious to get to him.  It's just so much fun to get wrapped up in the excitement there.  

  

You can hardly go a few feet along any water edge without seeing an alligator.  They don't do much but sun themselves.  About the most action I saw out of an alligator was one swimming along.  I have seen others post photos of huge alligators waddling across the trails but I didn't get lucky enough to witness that.  I came across this baby alligator on the trail edge.  He was out of the water and as soon as I approached him he scurried back into the water.  He was so dang cute, about a foot long.... I just wanted to kiss him, really I did!  From what I was told it's almost mating season for the alligators so large males are fighting for territories and mating rights.  I did hear a huge commotion in the water followed by two alligators bellowing.  Talk about an erie sound!  If I didn't know better I would have sworn it was lions roaring.  

Great White Egret's are so beautiful but a little more shy than the Great Blue Herron.  This was the best shot I got of him.  

Craig joined me for the first and second day at Circle B.  Craig gets the credit for pointing out this little Green Anole to me.  

I have to laugh when I look at this photo.  A couple stopped me on the trail and told me there was a huge snapper laying eggs along the side of the trail.  I tried to get details as to where she was.  All I got from them was "She's not very far on the left side".  So, I'm thinking a few hundred feet.  I'm searching everywhere for her.  After about a half mile I give up and think I must have missed her.  Finally, I came across her about a MILE down the trail.  I guess "not very far" meant a mile to them... LOL.  

I love Pileated Woodpeckers.  We have them here is Michigan too and I do see them occasionally but I've never been lucky enough to get a decent photo.  Although this is only his head I was thrilled to get this shot.  

Red Shouldered Hawk.....  I had a gentlemen come up to me and tell me he just got a great shot of an owl.  He showed me the photo and I politely informed him that he had a Red Shouldered Hawk, not an owl.  He blamed it on his eyes  :-)  

This was the very first bird Craig and I saw.  I knew there was a Barred Owl family with two owlets from seeing all the postings on FB prior to our arrival.  This owl family has created quite the buzz out there.  Photographers are flocking there with their $10,000 lenses.  The park has the tree taped off but surprisingly you can get pretty close to them.  The owls were there in the same tree every day I was there.  By far, this was the most majestic thing to witness.  There's just something about owls.  

These Black Vultures were at a boat landing just outside the entrance to the park.  The fishermen clean their fish and these vultures are always there to clean up the scraps.  There is a sign at the waters edge "Buzzard Beach".  Don't think I'll be swimming there.

I'm so grateful for these few days each year to experience some Florida sunshine, visit with my in-laws, and spend time at Circle B Bar.  Happy Happy Joy Joy!!!