Monday, October 29, 2007

Weekend Scrapping

Beth and I participated in a Scrapbooking Weekend. Normally, we trekked to Grayling for the Goosebump Patch Scrapbooking Weekend. At the Grayling event, there are usually several hundred women in attendance. This group did not offer a fall event this year, so scrappers from Sparrow created their own--much closer to home! We rented space at the Holiday Inn Express on Okemos Road. The hotel gave us great discounts on rooms. The banquet/meeting room was a perfect setup for the 25+ who attended. The hotel was much cleaner and more modern than the Grayling building and the hot tub, heated pool and free breakfast just made it perfect. On Sunday, it was a five minute drive home. I started by Christmas cards and worked on a retirement scrapbook for a colleague. Life is good.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Happy Birthday


Noel celebrated his 4th birthday last Saturday with a party at Mason Lanes. There were six children, 3 of them cousins, in attendance. It took at least 6 adults to manage the party and the bowling! Even using gutter bumpers and a launching ramp, the bowling balls were agonally slow in moving down the lanes! We were even blowing, hoping a little breeze would keep them going. They all seemed to have a great time. It doesn't seem possible that he's four years old already.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

The Software


My new sewing machine is an embroiderer. The computer screen on the front of the machine is about 6 in x 6 in. When Noel first saw the screen, he yelled, "Grammy, there's a TV on it!" The software, loaded on my computer, is used to create designs to download to the sewing machine for embroidering. It is the most protected software I have ever used. The software, after the first ten times of access, cannot be used unless the dongle is inserted in a USB port of the computer. Each software package has a dongle specific to that software package. The dongles are not interchangeable. No dongle, no software. If you loose it, no problem - just re-buy the software ($700 - $2100 depending on the options you choose.) If you travel across the country with your machine but forget your dongle, you'll have extra time on your hands. You won't be sewing using your software. So, why cave in and buy it in the first place? Because it's the best.
The sample redwork snow[wo]man is one of the simpler patterns. (The "F" stands for Frosty!)

Friday, October 19, 2007

Along the road


We found these cat-tails growing along the road near the cottage.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Husqvarna-Viking

This is my new Husqvarna Viking Sewing Machine! I've had my eye on it for about a year. It has taken time to weigh the expense of the machine and my "need" to have an embroidery machine. The has two USB ports on the left side. The compute screen on the front fascinated Noel who thought I had a TV on the sewing machine! The opportunities that nudged be into purchasing the dang thing were two design software packages--one to stitch beautiful Hummel designs and one for machine applique/embroidery of wildflowers. Mettler threads are used in the Hummel designs. It's remarkable how close the tones and colors are to the actual figurines.

I bought my machine through the local Viking dealer at Joann's Superstore. I purchased one used as a demonstrator at the Novi Sewing Expo. The machine had been used for a few hours but it allowed for a substantial discount. I really wanted to have the machine to take on our sewing retreat, but the machine needed to be shipped to Lansing from the Detroit area. We were leaving early Thursday morning and they thought it would probably be delivered mid-day on Thursday. On Monday, Beth called me at work to say that the software for my machine was ready to be picked up at Joann's in Lansing---but the machine was not there. I stopped into Joann's very late on Monday to pick it up, asking again if there might be a possibility the machine would be there by Wednesday afternoon. The sales clerk was very elusive about the delivery date, so much so that I was wondering if I should have purchased it somewhere else. She was evasive about the machine but very open about the software I was picking up.

I got home about 9:30pm to an empty house. Beth, Billy and Noel came home about 10pm. As they entered the house, Noel was yelling, "Grammy, you got a new TV!" They knew how much I wanted the machine for the weekend, so they piled in the Tahoe on Monday afternoon and drove to Allen Park, MI to pick it up for me. I was wonderfully surprised and grateful.

Tomorrow--the software!






Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Quiet & Serene

The view from the cottage was of the Lake Huron shoreline-very quiet and serene. It reminded me of the summers we spent with Grandpa Wood at Orpha's cottage in Grindstone City. I have interesting memories of that place. I remember the fireplace and the warm fires on cold evenings. I remember an old oak dining room table that had been cut down to create a huge coffee table. Once I had my own house, I looked a long time to find a similar round oak coffee table.







Tuesday, October 16, 2007

More About the Weekend Retreat


Three women, FIVE sewing machines and a kitty! Cyan, the kitty, was contraband. The only "rule" about the cottage for the weekend was "no pets." The kitty was well-behaved and potty-trained and too small to be left behind.

We set up our work area so that we had a great view of the lake. Carol drove her Chrysler Pacifica--and we were amazed that the equipment we hauled fit nicely into it. In addition to the tables required to hold the sewing machines and for work space, we hauled up an ironing board and iron, cutting boards and scads of fabric. Carol and Van each used two sewing machines-one for machine embroidery - which pretty much self-operates, and one for regular sewing. I took only one machine---but more about that tomorrow!




Monday, October 15, 2007

Up North

For four days, three of us enjoyed a sewing retreat weekend at a cottage near Oscoda, Michigan. The weather was very crisp at night but glorious during the day. We had a beautiful view of the lake and enjoyed the eagles, the deer and the squirrels. We planned the four hour drive (which took seven hours because of our itinerary) to be able to stop at quilt shops along the way. The best of the lot was the Cotton Patch Shop. For a smaller town, we were amazed at how well stocked the store was with a variety of fabrics and patterns. We learned from the owner that the bulk of her business is internet/mail order. It allows her to carry a larger variety. The day we were there, she had six women working in the store, cutting fabric for the quilts she supplies to quilters around the world. We spent more time talking than shopping. Tune in this week for more on the Sewing Weekend!


Sunday, October 07, 2007

Cooler Weather???

I noticed today I haven't added a blog since late August. I could argue that I was waiting for cooler weather ---! Who would believe that we would be complaining of high 80 degree temperatures and humidity in the middle of October--in the middle of Michigan.

The trees are starting to turn brilliantly beautiful. This one, along the west side of Hagadorn Road near Holt Road, is deeply into the fall color change.

Fall has brought some interesting new things to our household. Noel started pre-school. There was a lot of concern about him starting pre-school without being "potty-trained." Peer pressure must have been the key--he was wearing undies and using the toilet within four hours of starting pre-school. He loves his teacher, Miss Christy, and to the surprise of his mother, he's actually been behaving at school. (He saves his VERY best stuff for home.)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Nostalgia

In August 1968, I moved to Lansing as a 20-year old graduate nurse to work at Sparrow Hospital. Back then, it was not the usual for a 20-year old to live alone in an apartment. With the help of my relatives, I rented a room in this house on Eureka Street from Bea & Bernard Christy. Bea Christy provided child care for my cousin, Marc. She was a community activist, and did so much for the community in which she lived that they named an annual award in her honor. I worked evenings, came in after they were sleeping and essentially slept late every day. I only lived there about six months. It was a very restrictive environment.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Billy planted a small garden of tomato plants, cucumbers and zuccini squash. We had fresh tomatoes and cukes in our salad tonight. Noel said, "Grammy, it's dee-lish-ous!"

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Touring the Property


Great evening for drive...low 80's, low humidity, charged battery!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Sparrow Hospital

This is the new Sparrow Hospital--a view from the south through a second floor SPB window. The distant structure is the parking ramp on the corner of Michigan & Pennsylvania. The new west wing tower is to the right (east) of the ramp. The scaffolding is down in front of the Michigan Avenue entrance. The next major change will be the opening of the new Emergency Department.

Tavern on the Square

Sparrow is growing. With all of the new construction and remodeling, we have had to temporarily convert conference rooms to offices. Being the adaptable, innovative people that we are, we found space a few short blocks away for those late afternoon meetings. { :) } I would, in general, describe this place as good wine, great food, poor service. The "good" in that would be that you can carry on private conversations with very infrequent interruptions from the wait staff. It's normally a 3-5 minute drive from the parking ramp. With nearly every downtown Lansing street under construction, travel time and parking from Sparrow is about 30 minutes.

Tavern on the Square is not a big place. There is sitting upstairs for about 12-15. Downstairs has the usual bar seating and several seating areas: a grouping of lounging chairs, a grouping of ottoman type chairs and a couple of standard table & chair arrangements. There is some seating outside but it's too dang hot to appreciate that right now. We are supporting the lounging chair area.

With the growth of Cooley Law School in the area, there has been a reawakening of the downtown area eateries and watering holes. It's not the same as when Arbaugh's, Penney's and Knapp's had flagship stores in the pre-mall days. But never the less, it's good to see the activity and vacant store fronts in use.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

311 South Fairview

When we were young (i.e. before becoming teenagers), we spent some time each summer with Grandma & Granddad Hammond in Lansing. The neighborhood was older but very well kept-up. There was an empty lot to the south (right) of the house and Morphy's lived to the north. Ray Chase and his family lived behind on Magnolia. Granddad was very particular about his yard, his flowers and the general condition of the house. I drove by yesterday and was very sad to see this very shabby house in a now very shabby neighborhood. We used to sleep out on the front porch and listen for the sounds of trains, ambulances and police cars--all very foreign from our little farm community. One year when we were visiting, we wanted to see the capital. Grandma had Granddad drop us off and told us if we could make the walk back to Fairview, to tell the police we were lost and they would drive us back. We were about 12, 10 and 9 years old. It would be considered derelict in duty for grandparents to do this today. But we toured and were excited about our ride home in the police car! Ivanhoe 4-7038---wow, how did I remember a phone number from eons ago!

Note to Dorrie & Rich: The heart remembers most what it has loved the best. I love you both and send you love and hugs.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Batik Wildflower Quilt

On Saturday, Van, Carol and I packed up our gear and trekked to Battle Creek for a day of sewing at the Marshall House Quilt Shop. As with every "great" day trip, we started at Beaner's! This quilt is hanging in the quilt shop and it is one that I am currently working on. I have chosen different colors and will add some batik sashing around each of the blocks. I like the "prairie point" border but think it would be for striking as an outer border. At this point, I have the blocks and flower pieces cut out and the layout organized. I heard a lot of advise on Saturday about how to add the flowers to the background squares. Some thought I should glue the on, some thought I should pre-baste all of the flower pieces so I could easily hand applique them to the fabric. Others thought I should use a needle-turn technique to hand applique them. Someone suggested I machine applique all of it. The glue is out for sure--as is the machine applique. I am still evaluating the work involved in the other techniques. The batiks are beautiful and the colors so vibrant. It was difficult to pick from all of the wonderful choices.

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

The Test of True Friendship

This week's YaYa get-together was a little different than the usual Friday nights on Mitchell's patio! Carol offered her brother her house and yard for his wedding. While Carol and her family cut up a lot of the food, four YaYa's arrived at her house on Saturday, prepared to act like they belonged on the Food Network. We cut onions and cried, we melted chocolate for the chocolate fondue fountain (although we burnt the first batch--and no, Beth, I was not in charge of that!). We made a wonderful Michigan salad with Romaine lettuce, dried cranberries blue cheese, cherry tomatoes and walnuts. We created beautiful platters of Roma tomatoes and mozarella cheese dribbled with olive oil and fresh chopped basil. We prepared mountains of pasta salad amd fruit salad. We put out the wonderful smoked turkey, beef brisket and pork prepared and delivered by a caterer from Jackson. There was no traditional wedding cake but rather baklava and chocolate layer cake for dessert.

There were some very significant ah-ha moments during the nearly eight hours we were in attendance. We worked very hard, but we had SO much fun working together. The wine provided by the hostess helped! Carol truly experienced how deeply our YaYa friendship has developed--she just left it to us as we wanted her to and enjoyed herself. And, lastly, her family and family friends commented on Carol's catering company-----maybe we've come up with alternate employment options!

PS: About the picture: only a true friend would change your dog's diaper!

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Rose of Sharon

When we moved into our house in July 1976, there were three Rose of Sharon bushes on the property. They were in full bloom -- white, light lavender and dark lavender. For reasons long past remembering, all three of the shrubs were removed. Three years ago, I planted a light lavender bush near the deck on the south side of the house. It's had reasonable blooms for the past two years. Last fall, we cut the shrub back considerably. This year's blooms are not only many but there are many white blooms mixed with the light lavender. It's beautiful (and the bees like it, too!)

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Wally's Girls

These are Wally's Girls: Evie, Kathy, Dorrie and Barb. We don't spend enough time together!

Friday, August 03, 2007

In spite of unbelievable grief and sadness, my sister and brother-in-law welcomed family and friends into their home this weekend to remember and celebrate Noel Christopher Rogers. My sisters and I are all the mothers of "only children." Thanks to our parents, our children became like brothers and sister. My parents took all three kids on many road trips around the country, starting when they were only toddlers. Because Beth was born so prematurely (28 weeks gestation) and was in the hospital for so long, Mom and Dad would bring Kyle and Noel to the hospital to visit. Even though they were only pushing 4 years old, every time they came they would tell the nurses that they were 12 years old so they could visit. The nurses would wink and smile and welcome them and the boys would giggle, thinking they really got away with something big. Beth's pediatrician was Dr. Knickerbocker. The mere pronunciation of his name would send them into fits of laughter. As she grew and became interested in cabbage patch dolls, they would torment her by drawing "boobies" on her dolls. Beth looked up to Noel as her big brother and friend.

Godspeed, Noel.







Thursday, July 26, 2007

Noel Christopher Rogers

Noel Christopher Rogers, age 33, died tonight at Cape Coral Hospital following cardiac arrest. Noel, son of Dorrie & Rich Rogers, grandson of Barbara and the late Wallace Hammond, my nephew and a true sweetheart, is gone but will never be forgotten. Noel was a big guy with an even bigger heart. I can't even begin to understand the impact of this loss.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Let's Talk About the Weather

I I've had the last four days off work to spend time with my mom. I anticipated the weather to be horribly hot. To my surprise and enjoyment, it's been in the 70's with the hottest day being 82 degrees -- and sunny the whole time. We were able to sit outside under a shade tree on Sunday afternoon to read and relax.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Family

Mom and I met Kathy in Flint yesterday to spend the day together. One of the highlights was stopping in the see Kyle at work. We wandered through the Flint Farmer's Market, stopping for lunch and to listen to the music of James Brown via a trio of local musicians. It was a beautiful day for lunch and music outside

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Binder Park Zoo

I haven't taken a field trip to a zoo in a very long time. Yesterday, 12 children, 3 adults, one grandma and one great=grandma went to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek. It was the perfect day for a trip to the zoo -- about 74 degrees with a mild breeze. The sun was warm and the shade cool. The children, for the most part, were well-behaved. They loved the carousel, the train and tram. But most of all, like me, they liked the giraffes. They fed them special "crackers" purchased from the zoo. The observation deck was at the head level of the giraffes-great for feeding them but not so great for snapping good photos. Long, purple, sticky tongues just begging for crackers----made the kids squeal with delight and fright. Beth & Jamie brought lunch. Peanut butter and jelly never tasted so wonderful!

Friday, July 20, 2007

It's rather impressive

The new Sparrow West Wing tower is rather impressive. The crane left shortly after this picture was taken. The front scaffolding should come down in a few weeks. The Emergency Department and a couple of the nursing units will open in December. We will open our new six operating rooms in May 2008. I am very interested in comparing our OR construction to that of the University of California at San Francisco, Duke or Rush. Those organizations have created a hospital around surgical services to assure efficient workflow and patient satisfaction. We have had to adapt to a very specific footprint and continue to work near or be space-limited by construction. The new OR's themselves will be big, beautiful state of the art labs.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Noel's Quilt

I learned to sew from my Mom, Grandma Wood and 4-H a long time ago on a Singer sewing machine! I made many of my own clothes as a teenager. About 25 years ago, I took my first quilting class and loved it. Over the past 2-3 years, I have done very little sewing. Carol, Van and I have developed a pattern of sewing on Sundays. We sew, take turns bringing/fixing lunch and sometimes take field trips for fabrics. My new favorite quilt shop is Everlasting Stitches in Holt. Pam Henrys owns and operates the shop. It is very well stocked with beautiful moda's, wonderful batiks and a warm, friendly, helpful atmosphere.

This is Noel's quilt, finished. He picked out the fabrics and played with the fat quarters for weeks before I started the quilt.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Stella D'Ora Daylily

Northern exposure, beautiful color, very hardy, 3rd year blooming in this spot

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Day Lilies



Given the number of orange day lilies in bloom in mid-Michigan, one might think it is the State flower! It's been a beautiful summer--warm days, cool nights and just enough rain for the flowers. The day lilies are pretty much no-brainers for those of us pretending to be gardeners. I found a nursery in Portland that sells only lilies. I now have maroon, yellow, and of course the orange. The orange lilies arrived after a sundown drive around Alaiedon township with a shovel!

Sunday, July 08, 2007

There's nothing like a parade on the the 4th of July!


Noel rode his Tow-Mater bike in the parade on Wednesday. His friend rode her Lightening McQueen tricycle. Both trikes were decorated with red, white and blue crepe paper. Their little legs rode those trikes from the Mason High School, into town, around the court house square and back to the high school. It was a really nice home-town parade that included the high school band, politicians, right to lifers and about 3000 John Deere tractors.










































































































































































































































































































Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Team Building Retreat



We had a team-building retreat last week. The best part of it was this--all that remains from a colleagues orange.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Field Trip


On Saturday, the "girls" took a field trip to Jackson, Marshall, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo in search of quilt shoppes. Although we started out at our usual haunt, Country Stitches (only the Jackson version), our new favorite is the Marshall House in, well, Marshall, Michigan. The Marshall House is located in a former funeral home. There are many rooms, each with a fabric theme. At the Marshall House, they encouraged you to place the fabrics together to look at colors, to take it outside if you needed better light, and to look at "this." There was no pressure to buy, and once we brought our loaded carts to the cutting table, no complaints about the amount of stuff we wanted. I have just begun a new quilt through a Country Stitches class called Rambling Rose meets Jackson County. It's a pieced quilt with a variety of blocks in the colors of dusty rose, black and beige. Since I just invested in the fabric for this quilt last week, I tried to be frugal on Saturday! I did buy 15 beautiful batik fat quarters for a hand-appliqued wildflower quilt and six lovely moda's to border a Hummel embroidered block quilt.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Divine YaYa's

In the novel, Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells, the strong, lifelong bond among friends is explored. In this life, I do not think it possible to have too many true friends. This is our YaYa group. We don't wear funny hats, we don't blood-let. We do have a strong bond related to work and age. We are a support to one another and can create and "intervention" within a very short time if someone is in need. The intervention here is the news that one of the seven of us has accepted a new, exciting position. While we wish her the very best and know she won't be leaving town, we still worry that the group will change.

Our group started on the beach in Pensacola, Florida about two years ago. Several of us were attending the same conference. We were overwhelmed at how devastated Pensacola was from hurricane Charlie and how poorly the city was recovering. We were also very pumped from listening to Quint Studer talk about his successes in improving the experience for patients at the hospitals he has led.

I love you all, my YaYa sisters!


On another note: Our friends, John and Judy are doing well. Beth accompanied Judy on a wheelchair ride about the Ingham Medical parking lot Saturday and John was determined to attend the NASCAR race at MIS on Sunday!

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

My "Wildflower" Garden


This will be the latest edition to my perennial garden! It currently resides with a friend, waiting for it's new home to be constructed in the backyard. Billy is erecting a fence along the current farmer's fence at the back of our yard. The fence will block the view of the field weeds and allow a better view of the perennial flowers planted all along the edge of the fence.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Environment or Genes

What was once a shelving unit Billy was going to use in the pole barn is now a pile of boards and a handful of screws! How is it that a three-year old boy is so adept with a screwdriver?!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Grammy, I want Ice Cream



It was another rainy day in mid-Michigan. There was so much rain in so short a time this afternoon that many roads had 6-12 inches of standing water. On the side road to Leo's Outpost (I'll always remember it as DeMarco's!), a car sat in water up to the door handle. Since we couldn't cook outside, we went to Applebee's for supper. Guess what Noel had?

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Noel's Friend Clint

Noel refers to our neighbor across the street as "my friend Clint." Clint & Lynn are near his Grammy's age, but Clint has a John Deere Gator, and a tractor and bees! Noel and some of his friends from the daycare took a field trip to Clint's to "catch bugs." Notice the net and the bug box!

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Good Neighbors





We moved into our house during the bi-centennial celebration in 1976---31 years ago. For all of those years, Mr. & Mrs. Smith have been neighbors, good neighbors. Nicky and my dad planted a seedling in my front yard from a red bud tree in Smith's yard. Today, the tree towers over the house and is beautiful lavender in the early spring. Yesterday, I noticed this curious peony bud growing in the base of the tree.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Entranced through Technology


Beth and Billy bought a new Tahoe, complete with built-in DVD player. Once Noel had a Sponge-Bob dvd in place, he was entranced by the movie. It's a great device for long trips!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

It's hard to believe

Beth and I were sad today as we visited our friend, Judy Lay, at Ingham Regional Medical Center. Judy went into the ER with chest pain and had a cardiac cath on Monday. Since then, she's had several bypass procedures, is on life support and dialysis. Judy was Beth's care-giver from age 1 through 6. In most recent years, she has been a support to Beth in questions about day care centers and child development. Judy and John's three daughters, Trina, Dawn and Vickie were there when we went to show support for John. They have grown into very beautiful. strong women with ten children among them!

The front yard smells deeply of lilacs as our bushes grown into full bloom. They are really much more "lilac" than white as in this picture. I remember when we moved into this house in 1976, there were 3 mammoth deep purple lilac bushes in the back yard that were a selling point to the house. We had to have them removed not long after we moved in because their dramatic root system interferred with the drainage system.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Night at the Mueseum

With my grandson, I watched the commercials for the new Ben Stiller movie, "Night at the Museum." It looked good, I bought it when it came out on DVD, and we have watched it a trillion times! (Dumdum, I want gumgum!!) Anyway, Noel and I went to Best Buys to scout out new cameras (more about that later this week). There was a life-size poster display advertising the movie/DVD. When Noel saw it, he said, "Grammy, we've got to go to the museum! My first thoughts were h-m-m, it's four hours to Chicago, 2 hours to Detroit, we only have an hour and one-half, how are we going to do it?! Then I remembered the MSU Museum. Not sure if it was even open, we adventured on campus the day of MSU spring graduation. The Museum was open, free and with very few visitors. I don't know which of us had a better time. I was stunned at the impact the movie had on him that neither his parents nor I picked up at home. In each room we visited, he would hold up his hand and say, "Stop, Grammy. Be careful of the animals. " In the rooms with the big dinosaur and tiger exhibits, we skirted past the doorway--because he was afraid that they would walk. So, was the amusement of the video overshadowed by a new fear that all of these museum animals and people could come to life?

Monday, May 14, 2007

Great Lakes Mega Meet


For the second year in a row, Beth & I attended the Great Lakes Scrapbooking Mega-Meet at the Rock Financial Center in Novi, Michigan. It's awesome, sometimes tiring and overwhelming. The Mega-Meet allows one to buy supplies from over 400 in one location, take classes, learn techniques, meet friends and have fun! We left early Friday morning with the obligatory stop at Beaner's to get started. This year, we used Friday to focus on the vendors and spent Saturday in classes. It is amazing the number of people who scrapbook and the amount of money spent to mount photographs!

Sunday, May 13, 2007

It's An Addiction

The updates on my blog site came to an abrupt halt on January 23, 2007. That is the day, with directions from my sister Dorrie, that I signed on to Pogo.com! It started out innocently with "Poppit." Then it was "Lottso." Then "Hollywood Slots." Through it all, Noel has learned to play "Poppit" very well, using the mouse and right & left clicks. When I realized this morning that it's been almost four months, I decided to get a grip! My previous goal was to blog every day. My revised goal is to add a blog every week---or more often!

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Against all odds

This weed is thriving in the crack between cement blocks of a huge plaza. It is the only weed in site, has no visible source of water or nutrition, and has survived the many feet that traverse the area. Why can't I keep a simple house plant alive and well?

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Cape Harbour Marina


We had lunch today at The Joint, one of the restaurants and shops at the new Cape Harbour Marina on South Chiquita Boulevard, Cape Coral, Florida. It was an absolutely balmy 80 degree day for a walk around the marina. Lunch at The Joint was light, the service excellent. The bistro-type pizza (I had the tomato, basil & mozzarella) was a 12" personal pizza served like those we had in Italy. The crust was thin and crispy, the toppings generous but not heavy or overwhelming. I also had the house salad, a variety of greens with roma tomatoes, slices of bell pepper and small pieces of cuke drizzled with the an oil & vinegar vinagrette. The "house" reisling was excellent and a perfect accompaniment to the pizza and salad.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Sanibel Overpass

A major thoroughfare, Summerlin Road, is being widened. This roadway is the primary route to Sanibel and Captiva Islands. There is major traffic snarling during "season," and this improvement is intended to help with that ( and hurricane evacuation). It appears that the construction of this roadway will further distance "regular citizens" from access to the public areas enroute to Sanibel.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Crab Legs & Lobster Tails


Wow-what a meal. Dorrie & Rich invited us to their house for dinner. Crab legs & lobster tails, boiled potatoes & corn on the cob, carrots, and pina coladas. We sat on the lanai, enjoyed the beautiful balmy weather, the fantastic food and the fellowship of family.

Peaches Marie Rogers


The darling 2-year old daughter of Dorrie & Rich! Notice how she is sitting in the chair waiting for her dinner.