Lake Erie lights

Petey and I just returned from a trip out east to visit with family.  Along the way we took in some lighthouses on the shore of Lake Erie.  This one is in Port Clinton, OH.

Marblehead

Cedar Point

Huron

Vermilion

This is as close as we could get to the Lakeview Park light

Even further for this one so you'll need to squint a bit.  Conneaut - Lakeville

The last light (I missed one somewhere along the way) is the Barnegat Lighthouse on Long Beach Island, NJ

Petey got to go up two of the lights so he was a happy camper.  I stayed below and let the wind blow my hair about.  

Cell phones

Petey and I got into cell phones quite a while ago.  Tracfones, to be specific.  Never needed any of those fancy ones - the ones that cost an arm and a leg back in the day.

Nope.  Plain Jane flip phones were fine for us.  We really just needed to be able to call 911 if we got into trouble.

Then we took a step up and got the new Tracfone "Smart phone."
This was after other incarnations of Tracfones came and went.

My sister, Lisa, kept bugging me in a nice sisterly way:  Jesus, will ya get with the program and get an iphone.  Nice sisterly.

Finally a while back she upgraded and gave me her old iphone 4.
OOOOOOOOOOH, baby.  I was in love.

I gave my old Tracfone to Petey because his (exactly like mine) was acting weird.

That lasted until my old/his new (sorta) phone started dying.

What's a gal to do?  I bought a new iphone 5se and gave Petey my/Lisa's old 4.

Now we're both in love.  Truth be told, he is a bit envious of the things the 5 will do that the 4 can't.

Do you smell a new 5 comin' Petey's way?

Remember the "arm and leg" reference up top? hahaha, laughing at myself.  Oh, well.  Gotta stay current or the kids are going to run right over us.

Dinner Club

Our merry band of nut jobs got together again Saturday evening. I've been noticing how our start time has changed a bit over the last few years.  We were to show up at 6p and I'm sure that's because Hunters were praying we'd be gone by 9ish.  Haha, we fooled them; we stayed until 10!

Rosie Hunter is a vegetarian and has always been a good sport about eating around whichever type of meat the rest of us always serve when it's our turn. I might also add that she's never left meat out of her selections in past years either but this time she went veggie all the way!

The rest of us followed suit and no one missed beef/chicken/pork. We all left with full tummies after toasting the hosts numerous times and making lip smacking noises.

Melissa brought these yummy appetizers.

Joy made a wonderful salad.

Besides the entree (lasagna), which I didn't get a picture of, Rosie turned out a fantastic loaf of bread.

The table looked beautiful.

The geranium plates added a colorful splash of spring.

Mother Nature, as you can see, apparently didn't want us on the deck this year.  Notice the darling potting shed in the background?  There was some discussion about what kind of "pot" went on back there.

I had to snap a pic of this wonderful piece of art on the wall.

I never got a picture of Rosie.  I think she was out in the potting shed but there's Tom on the far left.  I'm so glad I captured him doing "all the work."

Melissa, Jim (in the middle) and the "other" Tom.

Joy (the tall one) and Becky (the short one.)

Becky made a wonderful strawberry shortcake and I was so swept away I never even thought of taking a picture.

Oh . . . were you wondering about my contribution?  I got off really, really easy - green beans!

I'm also very sorry I didn't get a shot of the hostess with the mostest because she pulled off the whole gig with a post surgical "boot" on. What a trouper.

Art in the Garden, 2016

For several years now our arts council has been putting on an "arty face" called Art in the Garden.

For me it's always been a reminder of how rich this area is with creativity.

Here's a good sampling of what was on display (and for sale) yesterday.

It took place at the Silo here in town and it was a windy day so, hence, a crappy shot of the sign.

My apologies to the artists.  I didn't take notes so most of these pics won't be labeled.  Remember, I'm the "lazy blogger." 

As I mentioned, it was windy day but a sunny one.  It was difficult to get decent shots of art behind glass.  GLARE!

Can you see yourself in this coolio chair sitting in the shade?

These garden posts were very cool and very tall.  I wanted to snap them in all their tallness but then I would have missed some details and I love me some details.

This would look great in someone's window.  It put me in mind of Frank Lloyd Wright.

I happen to know this artist well.  Alexa Birkam makes the most wonderful pottery. She'll be at my open house May 7th in case you missed her yesterday.

I can easily see this beautiful piece in a yard among the posies.

Swirly glass.

What's a garden without a bug?

Love these colors.

Another pal of mine - Alva Morgan.  Her photos are outstanding and she'll frame anything.  I mean anything.

At the end of the day I hope people went home with something pretty and the artists went home with a lighter load.

Florida, 2016

We're back up here in the frozen north after a month in Florida.
We've been going down for the month of March for several years now and have enjoyed everything except the long, damn drive.

Now for the "flower" portion of this blog.

After four long months of "no color no where," these were a welcome sight.

Now to the food section:

Yes.  They really do serve them.  Our second trip back we saw this guy getting ready to chow down.  When I asked if I could take a picture of his meal, a very proud look came over his face.

This was what I ordered.  A delicate burger with some killer fries.

Miscellaneous pics:

Our friend Kathi helped us celebrate 9 years since my breast cancer diagnosis.

Getting our Florida on.  This is in front of the Chihuly museum.  We spent most evenings strolling downtown with the rich folk.

These guys fascinate me.

A one-shot definition of Florida.

Our last morning in St.Pete.

Welcome home?

A not-so-unusual April sight in south west Michigan.

 It's nice to be home, even with the snow and cooler temps.