....Happy Holidays....

another year has passed us by . . . we missed one extended family Christmas this past Saturday...Ryan was wrestling at an individual tournament in Melvindale. He did not place at this event... one 1, lost 2.

I am sharing a few glimpses of the new, fresh paint colors in the house...
This is called 'craft paper'

...the color here is "urban legend"

...some vintage bulbs I found at a tag sale this past Summer...

My old standby for Christmas . . . the 3' Santa and a small lit tree...

....twig wreath has a new place and some more 'vintage bulbs'....

~~ Merry Christmas ~~

~S~

Check out #72 - this was a pic from September pregame vs Tecumseh.

Football season is over and now he is determined to push his body and try wrestling. He is a driven young man ~~ we're so proud of him.

Thanksgiving is a few days away - - keeping busy with work (love my new job) and all of life's other complexities... ooh, maybe snow flurries later this week.

Toodle Loo -
~S~

the end of a season

Seems I've been consumed by a new job (part time right now) and football. Season ended last Friday with a team win - - 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the league.

Enjoy Fall - -

-S-

Homecoming and family 2009

...this past weekend - - unfortunately, another loss in the football arena...Ryan only got in for 3 plays...can't figure out the logic of it but he continues to keep his heart in the game. Also, caught up with sister Kim who was in town with her hub ... Sunday brunch. Homecoming Parade views of the Varsity boys......

...bit of reverse order - - here he is between school and game time in his 'formal dress'

Off to TC with the other sister this week...weather is certainly Fall like...

Toodle-loo

-S-

Bzzzz

well - thank goodness - for once the weather today does not agree with the time of year -- warm and muggy.. perfect for picking raspberries and making pies and crostata's - -

Homecoming this week - - vs. Tecumseh. Pray for a win!
Team Meal on Thursday - Parade on Friday.

Toodle Loo - -

SUMMER ??? whateva....

MIA from the blog -- busy with football, job hunting (promising leads on the horizon); learning to fly fish - - - yes, finally!











Making some of these is on my list... so 'in-vogue' and 'so cool' - planning to use leftovers from canvas drop cloth I have left from Ryan's faux roman shades made earlier this summer. Canvas drop cloth is a cheap way to go for fabric.

Football has started - Ryan turned 16 - and Pete turned another year....went to TC with my mom, Aunt Jan; Cousin Julie - enjoyed the water, the wineries and the cherries....
Varsity OL this year....



















TC Cherries - ---

Sherry, Jan, Julie and Rita - Suttons Bay in July after we'd spent the morning waiting out the rain, then more rain, and even more rain!






Just turne 16 a few days ago and is holding his tickets to the U-M vs WMU game - - four of them to enjoy with friends.













Rachel graduated from HS - oops, she's not in the pic - just me and the sisters and mom...
Toodle loo - - enjoy what warmth may come our way in SE Michigan - - hard to comprehend that the high today was 64 and it's August 30th...we might have to dig out the gloves and mittens - ice skating on the horizon...
-S-

Golden Bones

He's in the news...click on the link to read all about Pete as written by Eric Sharp of the Detroit Free Press...


http://www.freep.com/article/20090709/SPORTS10/907090423

Wandering over the weekend...

Headed to Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Saturday morning to catch the East-West All Star High School football game.
WoW - I can't wait till football starts !! Varsity practices start August 3rd! First home game is on August 28th. But, as you know, football is a year round commitment - so he's been weighlifting and still doing PT 3x/week. We see the orthopedic surgeon on Friday of this week to get the final 'blessing' for full tilt on football. Appears that the bone has been healing and regenerating and that the surgery in February did 'it's thing'. . . .

Take a tour of my gardens around the house from the 'upside' of the camera....

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July....

Pic after Ryan and Pete went parasailing on East Bay this morning...

Getting ready to go up...

on the way up...
somewhere in between -- up or down -- 800 feet in the air...

Week three...

...lots going on...

Ryan officially has his driving permit (segment1) so I'm now the passenger and he's the driver!

Football skills camp was last week - other than strict instructions -no jumping, running or twisting- he enjoyed the two days. First day was rain, rain, rain - so they were inside for the first half and then outside for the balance. Friday was sunny and perfect weather for drills.

Week three for me - have some job opportunities unfolding.

Captain Kangaroo! -It's wild kingdom around here- momma and poppa robin decided to nest under the deck and now have 3 babies; the momma doe and her fawn come through the yard every day around 2'ish; I knocked down a softball size bald-faced hornet nest under the deck a week ago; and the chipmunks (more than 6(or 600) I'm certain) are enjoying chasing me from the front garden to the back garden. And they continue to work on destroying the retaining wall by burrowing all over and under - I've lost a number of plants due to disturbed roots. I can't understand why any of them want to be at the house when the wetlands are at their beck and call and about 40 yards away ??

Kisses and sunshine to the family...will summer weather actually stick around for more than a day at a time ?

....things I have been doing in the last few weeks...

Ran the 5K in this race for the second year in a row. Improved my time over last year !

What am I doing this week.... I'm in search of a new job ... and keeping busy with all the duties as treasurer of our football booster club ... and getting caught up on gardening and yard work!

Ryan continues to have positive physical therapy sessions for his knee. He's well on the way to starting a great football season - spending time weight building and strength training. And he's almost done with his driver training - that green permit is on the horizon.

Pete's on sabbatical - spending time in the TC area fly fishing for the "golden bones" on the shorelines. Unfortunately, since Friday the weather has been a bit chilly so the fish have been in deeper waters, reluctant to move inward to the flats for his fishing pleasure!

-S-

A fish or two...

...so I posted that "pete's on the river" but never posted the pics of the beauties he caught - - feast your eyes on these ...

...tight lines...

Pete's on the river...

....fishin' day for Pete....

Common Grill on Good Friday

Signs of SPRING - - We had a fabulous lunch today at Common Grill in Chelsea. We missed all the aunts and cousins that could not make it - - posting the pics I did take - you'll see Karen, Jan, Rita, Susie, Debi, Sherry and our beautiful Grandma!

Isn't this the best sign of SPRING - pansies outside of one of the downtown shops.

COMMON GRILL - our hangout for the meal - there is no place better than our local fav place to be sitting down for a meal!

Best spot in the house - - - front window - - - - -
Not the best pic - but here it is - Sherry and Debi - 2 sisters, missing our sister Kim who is in Pennsylvania.

(aunt) Jan, Rita (my mom) and (cousin) Susie...

(sister)Debi,(my) Grandma and (aunt)Karen ...

A few great birthday gifts from Debi - - here's the fabulous purse - can't wait to start using it!!

The wrapped box is paper that was handmade by my dear niece, Sasha. Inside the box a few new Cherie Dorie beads....

Nice Carp!
Pretty pansy potted in one of Debi's cast-off cup and saucers..added it to my foyer Easter fluffing... have some other great gifts that came from Kim - blue glass birds (handblown) to photo and add to my blog later this week...plus some ceramic eggs. Once I take down the Easter Fluffing, I'll get back to Spring Fluffing.