Happy Birthday Mike!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!!!!!!

To one of the greatest guys I know, I wish you the happiest of birthdays! 

Have a great birthday celebration with your family!
Love from your sister Babs!

Take Me Out to the Ole' Ball Game

Jessie invited us to a White Caps Game in Grand Rapids.  The Kids Food Basket in Grand Rapids was one of the sponsors.  Jessie had organized a birthday food drive for them during the month of July.

We haven't been to a baseball game in a long time. It was a pleasant evening and we really enjoy it.

I love the green grass on a baseball field with all those lines.  I wonder how they do that.

Jessie enjoying her $2.00 per night.  And also can't get by without a hug with Uncle Richie.

And I met Jessie's BFF, Kim.  She is such a sweetheart~

It was a delightful evening even though the White Caps lost!

I'm amazed by how many children this program feeds.  The hunger in Grand Rapids is stunning.
Have a great weekend.  Steamy prediction here!
Babs~

Perfect Beach Day

I took a drive down to the beach today and what a gorgeous day.  There were whitecaps on the water as it was a bit breezy.

But it was even more gorgeous as I rounded the corner.

Much to my surprise, there were 13 kite surfers in the water at one time!

All those dots in the distance are kite surfers.  As I sat and admired the color and speed and awesomeness of the kites, along comes another wind surfer......

So much beauty at the beach...I ask myself, "Why don't I take it in more often?"  It's only two miles from home.

If tomorrow is anything like today, I'm off with beach chair, book and cooler in hand!
Surf's Up!
Babs~

Blueberries

My friend, Lynne, gifted me with some Michigan Blueberries.  So, besides eating them fresh I decided to try out a blueberry streusel bread.  It received a thumbs up!

Another gorgeous day here!  Temperatures are tolerable and gentle breezes~
Babs ~

First Harvest

Fresh picked lavendar!  Ready to start drying!  It is so fragrant!  Heavenly!
Enjoy this beautiful day!
Babs ~

What Is With Me?

This is the second weekend in a row, my husband and I took a little day road trip and I didn't bring my camera.
I can't believe it.

Last weekend, it was to Saugatuck and Douglas.  This weekend we went up to Manistee to an estate sale.  It was suppose to be really lots of good stuff.  However, we went on day two!  WARNING!  The good stuff is gone.  They had some nice furniture but depending on what you are looking for, the little cool stuff I like  (i.e. vases, sewing notions, fabric, decorative bits.....all of the type of things I had seen listed we long gone.  It was a nice day anyway.  We ventured to the Farmer's Market in Manistee.  It's a nice, clean community...lots of huge old homes around the the downtown area.

We then took the back roads to Ludington.  We snarled around Hamlin Lake.  We did discover two vintage campers.  Richard knocked on doors....one man had no interest in selling...the other no answer.  We did find a phone number to call.

We then stopped at one of our favorite places to eat, Chef John's European Deli and Bakery.  Everything they serve is homemade.  We had Stuffed Baked Potatoe soup and split a huge sandwich.  Grilled roast beef on rye with Chipolte Mayo and Red Pepper Aoili.  It was very good.  We passed on dessert.  Though, the carrot cake was mighty tempting.

I made a quick stop into the Nautical Yarn Shop.  They had lots of yummy things.

Then we made our way home.....grilled out later in the evening and just worked on keeping cool!
It's another hot one today.  Richard mowed the grass early this a.m. but it's stuffy, steamy outside now.

Keep cool.  I'll try to remember my camera next time...promise.
Babs~

Report on the Royal Visit

Breath taking!

The Royals

left to right: The Princess and the Pea and Queen Mother

The Duke of Muskegon with the Pea

The Duchess of Muskegon and the Pea

The Prince and the Pea

and last but not least!

Lady Babs!

It was a whirlwind visit however, we accomplished what we set out to do!  Meet Her Highness....Joslyn Candace (Margaret) Bywater.  Welcome to our world, JoJo!  We loved meeting you!

On a side note, it was hot in the city (100 degrees), we had a nice side trip to the Polish Market, traffic wasn't too bad getting out or coming in.  It was great to see Jackie and Joffrey too!

Babs~

Official Royal Visit

 Jojo get ready to meet Auntie Barb, Auntie Maggie, Uncle Phil and Great Grandma Ruth.  Cousin Leah may be with us too.  Chicago here we come!!!!  Get lots of rest tonight....we'll see you in the morning pumpkin!  I get to hold you first!  Well, maybe I'll let Grandma Ruth!.  We're so excited~

Question for You

My answer:  Open a cute little Coffee Shop where I served espresso drinks and sweet treats.
#2:  Move to a cute little beach town and open a little boutique.

What about you?  I'd love to hear your answers.

Enjoy the steamy weekend ahead!
Babs~

Wonder

A receive a lot of questions from people regarding what I do all day now that I am retired.  It's hard to summarize.  The one thing I do know is the days go by so quickly.

Today I thought I would let you follow me a bit to get an idea of what a day is like.  It is already 12:30pm so half the day is gone.

I usually am up by 7:15 a.m.  Coffee is ready thanks to the timer on the coffee pot.  We sit and watch Good Morning America and get up on the local news and weather.  By 8:30 a.m., we've had our coffee and TV fix.  We fix a little breakfast and then get showered and dressed for the day. Oh...and make the bed.

This morning, I threw in a few loads of laundry then took a stroll around the yard.  Surprise!  My first dahlias.

 I picked a few other things that are popping....

I found a recipe on Pinterest for Lemon Crinkle Cookies.  They are first place cookies in a cookie contest so I thought I would give them a try.  I thought maybe Carl would eat a few.

Pretty tasty I may say!  My Mom stopped over to drop a few things off.  Sent her home with some cookies after she admired the bibs I made for Joslyn.

And then we had to admire Joslyn's latest photos on my iPad.

spennerphotography.blogspot.com

 

 

So, chatted with Mother a bit.  Now it's time to blog, check a few emails, have a little lunch out on the deck.  It's a gorgeous day today.  I will probably fold the laundry, hang a few things on the line to dry.

I will work on a sewing project this afternoon  and then get ready for dinner at Lynne's this evening.
Girls Night Out!  Yippee!
I do keep busy!  Promise!.
Babs~

The Road Trip

Last Friday, Lynne and I attended the French Market at Horton's in Tipton, Indiana.
It was small.  It was unique....after all, a French Market in a hardware store!  It was a nice little venue.
They had some creative items for sale and some really nice displays.

Some creative ideas to copy!

I had to buy this pumpkin to use as a template.  She also had birds, and makes christmas trees.  These are made from paperback books.  Richard has the right idea....cut on a bandsaw.

I just happen to have linen, vintage hankies, and vintage buttons.  I'm really liking these pillows.

Here's Lynne!  My road trip partner.  We had a nice, relaxing time.  We were going to meet up with my blogging buddy, Penny but the show was small and we were finished up...Penny and her husband had another two hours ahead of them on the road.  We headed back north, stopped at a nice fabric store in Marion, IN, had lunch and continued back home.

It was nice getting away for a day.  Good times, good conversation, good for the soul!
Babs ~

Nice Sunday Breakfast

My brother Phil shamed me into hosting breakfast this morning.  Ginny (my sister) came up for a visit yesterday and Phil thought it would be fitting for me to have brunch.  My niece Jessie came up from Holland too.

It ended up being six of us.  It was actually very nice and relaxing!  We were able to sit outside on the deck and enjoy the morning sun and a few summer breezes.

I made a new recipe (as usual).  They were egg nests (I'll include recipe below).  I would definitely make again.  Easy, quick, delicious and I bet they would freeze well for later use.

Phil made Dorie Greenspan's Lemon Poppyseed Muffins....always delicious!

Add fresh fruit and fresh, hot coffee.  Perfect brunch.

Nice family time with Grandma! Oh and Simon too!
Recipe for Eggs Nests
24 oz. frozen shredded potatoes, thawed
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. oil
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mix and place in oiled muffin tins.  Make well in center of each.  Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Mix eight eggs and a small amount of milk for scrambled eggs.  Place in well of each muffin cup after baked.
Top with crisp bacon pieces, small amount of cheddar cheese and parsley.
Lower over to 350 degrees and bake for 13 minutes.  Done!  You could add spinach to egg mixture.  The original recipe suggested crack an egg into well of potatoes and top with cheese and bacon.  Give them a try.

We're taking a road trip!

Lynne and I are off to Tipton, Indiana.  Ever heard of it?  It's just a tad north of Indianapolis.

I'm very excited.  We will be meeting up with my good blogging friend from the Chicago area, Penny. www.athomeinenglishvalley.blogspot.com  We hope to meet a few new bloggers that are vendors at the event.

I'll take pictures for you and tell you all about it!

See you soon.
Babs

The Garden

Though we have had a cooler summer and the plants and flowers had a late start, I think they are looking pretty good!  I want to share with you some of my favorites.

I purchased this bare root rosebush from David Austin Roses.  When they say bare root, they mean it.  It was just a dead stick when it arrived.  Taa-dah~  I'm thrilled to show off my first rose of the season:

The first of the day lillies are making their show also:

And the Annabelle hydrangeas are spectacular:

And my pots I planted by the garage are happy, happy, happy!

I harvested some lavender also.  I found a sweet white pitcher and will photograph for you a little later.
Enjoy the sights and smells of summer~
Babs

Happy Fourth of July!

USA!  Land of the Free~~~

Wasn't Worth the Effort

Yesterday, for our Saturday morning coffee with Mother, I made Paula Deen's Gorilla Bread.  The recipe had over 600 reviews and almost all of them were positive.  That was a good sign.

Just sayin', it wasn't worth the effort!

It's pretty similar to Monkey Bread, but each biscuit has a dab of cream cheese in the middle.  Personally this was over the top and everyone agreed, we all prefer good ole' fashion monkey bread.

Win a few; lose a few.!