And The Beat Goes On

 Our Plan B vacation came to an end on Sunday.  Well, the driving came to an end as we made it home safe and sound and decided to finish our last days off doing just a few things around the house.  I got my Halloween decor all up and Jack helped do a few things I needed help with...like putting up a new curtain rod, cleaning out the last of the garden veggies and using those long arms where I can't reach!  He'll head back to the office tomorrow and I'm going to be hanging around while our new tub and shower combo gets installed.  Our chimney's were suppose to be fixed on Saturday but the fixer dude moved us to Monday.  I will probably head back to a few days of work if the hospital needs me next week.  So I'm glad to have had a wonderful travel time and home time to get caught up.  Family will be visiting in a few weeks so I will continue to spruce things up and get ready for a Halloween gathering in October!  Here's a few pics...OK, maybe more than a few of our September happenings:

Donning my mosquito garb I picked all the apples from our tree and they got made into some really delish apple sauce and a couple of pies as well as freezing gallon bags for later.  Last year we had none on that little tree so I was very happy to have a good apple year here at the Pines!  

We went to a few of Rae's soccer games.  #43!  She's never played soccer in her whole 15yr life and decided to try it as a Freshman.  She didn't play a ton at first but as the season has gone on she's improved and even scored a goal last week! 

My son Phil and Rae.  She has highlights in her hair that give off a little "devil" vibe.

You can see them here in her not happy, folded arms like Dad look! Ha!  I'll finish up here with some vacation in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan pics.  

The front porch of the Grand Hotel. The largest covered porch in the world. 

The inside isn't too shabby either! Very elegant and I guess every room is done in a different decor.  Dinner there requires men to wear a suit and tie and women to wear dresses.  No Walmart attire allowed!

The flowers lining the Grand Hotel porch were stunning.

If we go back some day I would love to stay at this cute B&B!  The Grand would be lovely to stay at also but the $1000.00 a night is a bit pricey!

The horse drawn carriages were charming and even the work vehicles were charming! 

We headed back to the mainland on the ferry and bid a fond farewell to beautiful Mackinaw Island. Fun day! The rest of the trip was a delight and we saw:

Lighthouses

Sunny beaches

Tall bridges

Rocky shores

Lots of seagulls!

Nice sleeping accommodations on the lake shore.

More quaint towns like Frankenmuth and yes I did buy some Christmas ornaments at Bronner's!

And more horse drawn carriages in Frankenmuth.  That's another nice stop that you should go to for some fun!  

We said bye to Michigan and the colorful trees and hello to our Ohio.  It was nice to take in some places we've never been to and just enjoy our time together.  We didn't get the East Coast adventure we first were going to do but I'm glad we had this trip.  East Coast, we're heading your way next year in June! Watch out!  

Plan B

 This month is almost over and I've only posted once?  It's been a busy few weeks as we are finishing up projects and getting ready for family to come in October.  I finished painting the living room and I've gotten rid of at least 100 books!  I've donated many to the library and the church books have been taken to the church for others to enjoy.  It feels good to pare down and clean out.  I'll post living room pics when I get it all finalized.   But today Jack and I are on an adventure that was suppose to take us to Salem, Mass and Maine.  We decided to put it off until next year in June.  The storms that the East Coast has been having had us going to a plan B.  It's good to have a  plan B in most things and especially when traveling.  So where are we?  In the Upper Peninsula in Michigan.  We've been to different parts of Michigan when our kids were living there and for other things but never this far up. First we made a stop for lunch at a little diner called "Tony's".  The portions are a bit large:

Jack's BLT had a full pound of bacon on it. My Rueben probably had a full pound of corned beef on it. No we didn't eat the whole thing! Ha! We barely made it through half.  But it was a fun stop!  We stopped for the night in Gaylord, Michigan and then this morning we headed off to Mackinaw City and then to St. Ignes.  It was so foggy this morning that the drive across the huge bridge was a bit scary.  You could barely see the car in front of you and you couldn't see the water below at all.  That was probably a good thing since I have a little phobia about heights! But all went well and  We secured a hotel room in  St. Ignes before catching a ferry to Mackinaw Island.

A very foggy trip across the lake to the Island.

The ferry ride was fun even though the island was hidden for a bit!

Slowly Mackinaw Island came into view.  Once on the island the sun was shining and the temps were in the 60's and then the low 70's...perfect!

There are no cars allowed on the island.  Travel is either by horse, bike, or feet!  I guess even the undertaker goes by those rules! 

/The trees are starting to turn and we saw lots of lovely color.  My real reason for wanting to go to the island was to see the Grand Hotel.  So beautiful, so much history and one of my favorite chick flicks...Somewhere In Time...was filmed here.  I'm going to end the post for now and finish after our trip is over.  I have some lovely pics of this place that might encourage you to add this trip to your bucket list.  Bye for now!

 

It lived up to it's name of  GRAND!

30 Days Hath September

 Do you remember the 30 days poem? I used to say it when little so I could remember how many days in each month.  Now the days are flying by and the 30 days hath  September reminds me that it won't be long before November's 30 days will be upon us!   I do love this month as it ushers in Fall officially.  I seem to find projects galore this time of year.  Maybe it's the cooler temps that are trying to make it to us here in Ohio.  We've been blessed not to suffer the heat like many areas.  This past week was the hottest but that's not usual for this time of year.  Next week is looking more to my likes!  As I mentioned in my previous post I decided to paint the living room.  No biggie...or so I thought.  Turns out as I've grown a bit older, the painting isn't as quick and easy as in the past.   No worries though as it's almost done and soon I can get things back in order.  We joke that it's because we decided to get a bigger TV.  The old TV cabinet was given to a friend but then we had to buy another console to hold the big TV.  Jack had to assemble that. While doing that I decided to repaint.  Doing that had me rethinking debulking the book shelves...painting those too.  Well, my advice to everyone is never buy a big TV!   In the mean time, Jack has had his own projects.

When we had the sidewalk put in the porch steps had to go.  So Jack put in the new steps and will now get the railing on.  After each finished thing I always envision a big check mark...CHECK..another one done!   The garden is doing it's own project...growing, growing, grown!  I've been canning a bit and giving lots away. Along with working this summer and keeping up with the lawn and garden I've grown a bit overwhelmed.  I was hoping that next week the hospital wouldn't need me but I stupidly agreed to work 2 days.  That doesn't sound like a lot but it does dig into my time.  Oh well, I'll stop complaining and give you a little mystery I found.   I was taking Annabelle for a walk in our favorite place to stroll..the city cemetery.   I happened to look down as see this little headstone that I never noticed before:

It's hard to see in this pic but it says "ZOE".  That's it.  No date, nothing.  Is it the resting place of a child?  I don't think they bury pets here.  It's also pretty close to this tree.  The stone doesn't look new and tree is pretty old.  Anyway, it gives one cause to pause.  Any thoughts?  So as the 30 days hath September goes on I hope to complete my projects, go on a little trip in 2 weeks to the East coast, and just take some time to enjoy my favorite time of year.  I've been buying a few little items for our Halloween party in October and I couldn't resist this charming gentleman..

I'm in love!

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