Seven Friends

Here we all are on the Stairs to Nowhere at the top of the garden:  Nonna (me), Tigger, Kitty (being held close), Emily (my granddaughter), Pooh and Piglet.  This is why we save everything!  The cement creatures came into our lives many years ago, long before a grandchild was even a twinkle.  And when replacing a deck with stairs, we could not possibly discard the stairs, but instead installed them in the hillside and built a garden below and beside them.   Voila!  A place to visit with friends!
Oh, and the seventh friend is Eeyore, sitting off by himself in the ferns out of camera-range.

While Waiting for Summer.....

I have been visiting estate sales in obscure places.   Yesterday while following signs to a sale down gravelly roads, I stopped to take photos of this stately old house and barn.  Makes me wonder what the story is... someone is tending the lawns beautifully.   And the lilacs.... aren't they gorgeous?  Even though the foundation is falling into the basement under the house, the building is still square as can be.   Just a few of the old asphalt siding shingles are still clinging to the upper exterior.   

A Perfect Event!

 We had the pleasure of hearing Sebastian Junger speak the other night.  If you will remember the movie with George Clooney:  "The Perfect Storm," Junger is the author.  He has written other true life thrillers including the just-out-in-paperback:  "War."  He also co-created the movie "Restrepo" now out on DVD.   We are so fortunate to have the National Writers Series here in our town:   http://nationalwritersseries.org/ 
 Lots of talent here and lots of talented visitors.

Mobile Farm Market

Returning from an estate sale today I spotted this truck/farm market alongside the road.   The truck is a 1946 Ford.  Note the attached "greenhouse."  The vendor had split dry firewood, huge pots of gladioli, well-established blueberry plants.... all for sale including the truck.... but not the dog.   I carry a box of

dog treats under my car seat for just such occasions and made a new friend.

Coast Guard and Culinary School

We have a wonderful community college here.  It includes a fine Culinary School which serves lunches to the public in a fabulous facility overlooking West Grand Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan.  I had lunch here this past week with six lady-friends.... wonderful food and conversation.  Thought you'd like to see the gleaming kitchen in plain view of the patrons as well as the Coast Guard cutter docked out front.

This is a beautiful place to eat and view the expansive fresh water if you are ever in the area!

We are Pretending it's Spring

My neighbor baked a lovely summery strawberry cake today and shared it with us.  Delicious.
And I continue to sew clothes pin bags for my Etsy shoppe.  Had to wait for the all-day-pouring
rain to stop around suppertime so I could hang it on the clothesline for a snapshot!
Such a damp chill in the air called for a crock pot full of beef vegetable stew.... it saved the day!
Hope it's warmer where you live.

Like Snow Off a Duck's Back.....

Wait, isn't it supposed to be "like water off a duck's back?"  Mr. and Mrs. Mallard have been hanging around in the snow under our bird feeder.  After on-again off-again spring, we had a good 6" of snow dumped on us here over night complete with power outages.  Hopefully this late spring storm will be the last.   Only our hound-mix, Reggie, gets it right.... have a good nap somewhere comfy!