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So I am back in Arizona, it is always nice to go away but there is no place like home! After three days on the road I was more than a little happy to get home, except for all the strange things that greeted me. When you go away for more than a few day you turn stuff off and unplug every thing because in Arizona you can be sure of one thing, the power will go off or lighting will hit your antenna like two years ago and blow up your television ( which I forgot to unplug, won’t do that again). Sometimes things happen for the best, after all I did want a new wide screen television, so you can bet that when I go away now I unplug my $……… television. So anyway I am home and unload everything, to tired to put it all away so I will watch television, after plugging everything back in guess what my new wide screen television is now my new not so wide screen TV. Saying I was upset would be putting it nicely, now this is the second summer I have been away and when I returned last summer I had a wide screen TV, so what happened? Well apparently on the remote for the TV there is something called a menu and if you go into menu there is a place that decides what size your screen should be, now I didn’t know this, so who did? Who changed my screen size?  Could it be the same thing or person that broke my toilet seat, wasn’t broke when I left, maybe a very large person decided to watch my TV (changed my screen size), use my bathroom (brake my seat) or maybe my husband decided to pay me a visit. Only problem I have with this theory is I didn’t think Ghosts weighed anything, well not enough to brake my toilet seat anyway.  I can only hope that the surprises are over but who knows what tomorrow might bring. On a brighter note the weather is beautiful and I am happy to be home. I miss my son and my grand kids and the rest of my family but it is nice to see my Arizona friends again and there is always next summer, I just have to figure out how to keep all those strange things from happening again. So how was your summer?

OK, so the gravestone was better but still not just right, so I added the tree and leaves. What do you think now? Myself I think it is finished now, I got out my good camera to take the picture but the batteries are dead so back to my point and shoot, so once again the picture sucks but I am pleased about the finished card. Tomorrow is my last day in Michigan, so as you may have guessed I am packing, I hate to pack. Love to travel but the packing crap sucks,but you do what you got to do, so I am off to finish packing.

Today was a wonderful day in my world, I spent the afternoon with a bunch of my friends and family learning to make something called a Zetti Artist Trading Card. As you know my sister Connie has my whole family hooked on making Artist Trading Cards, so today my friend JoAnn and I drove down to Allen Park to my sister in law Gwen’s place of business. Gwen had invited us to her day care center (Teddy Bear Day Care) for lunch and my sister Connie was going to teach us how to make these new kind of cards called Zetti, now I have still not figured out what that means but needless to say I had fun. Now I have never known my friend JoAnn to be on time in the twenty six years I have known and she didn’t let me down today ( but I still love her to death) so we were about 45 minutes late. Remember Gwen own a day care center, so when we walked in, all these adults are setting at tables in these tinny little chairs. You talk about a sight, I still have to grin when I think about all those grown up little kids having all that fun with all that paper and glue and stuff. We all had a blast, Connie is a great teacher and I know we all appreciated her bringing all her stuff and letting us use what ever we needed, thanks Sis. JoAnn and I topped off the evening by having dinner with a couple of old friends at Applebees, good food and good friends. Thanks to all who my this a special day for me, I will miss you all very much but I will be back next summer and JoAnn I will see you in Arizona. Below is my cards I made today, the cowboy one I just was not happy with something just did not set right with me so I changed the Pumpkin to the grave stone what do you think, better?

Excuse the quality of the photos my little point and shoot sometimes lets me down.

Wednesday was my Grandson Billy’s birthday, well not really his birthday, that is in November but the celebration with Grandma before she leaves for Arizona.  Thinking about a birthday present for him has not been an easy task but after much thought I decided on money, now I know some people frown on giving money for birthdays but trust me everything I thought about buying him he already had. So a wallet and money it was with some other  stuff tossed in for fun. After school my son picked him and his sister up and off we went to Billy’s favorite place to eat The Japanese Stake House, now those of you that know me know that I can not stand Oriental food in any form but still it is his birthday so what could I do. We had a blast they cook the food right at your table, I almost lost my eyelashes to the flames and you had to watch out for the flying knives and stuff but the kids loved it. Below are pictures of Billy opening his presents from me, my favorite one is the one of him finding the $100.00 Bill in the wallet.

There is a new dog in my world, and her name is Rooster! I know that is a very strange name for a dog and I ask my son why he named her Rooster. His answer, because she wakes me up just like clock work, so she is just like a Rooster. Works I guess. Now I must tell you that this has got to be the cutest dog I have seen in a very long time, she is half Yorkie and half Shihtz known as a Scorkie and trust me she is to cute.  My son has already told me in no uncertain terms that he can’t handle five dogs but like I always say “Whats one more”. She is 10 weeks old and she understands the going outside thing already and I find that amazing,  has to be the Shihtz in her because it sure can’t be the Yorkie, trust me I know I am the owner of my third Yorkie. Great dogs but wow, they don’t get the whole house breaking thing. So I am thinking my next dog is going to be a Scorkie, but I guess my son is right, two dogs and  two birds is enough for now.

Today is my Granddaughters Birthday and believe you me it has been special in many ways. This is my sons weekend for the kids and since Sarah’s birthday was today, the day had to be split with both Mom and Dad, so bright and early today Bill takes Sarah to spend her time with her Mom and off we go birthday shopping. Now my Granddaughter is interested in Art and loves to draw and is really into Artist Trading Cards and has been making them with me and using all my supplies so I figure if I get her a bunch of supplies she can make her own cards with her own stuff when I go back to Arizona.   So I head for Michales and start filling up the cart when I see the Art Table, now I already have all this stuff in my cart but still I think what a great gift and I know the my son has already bought her gifts but I think it don’t hurt to point out this wonderful gift to him. Well needless to say he can’t say no to such a splendid gift, so we bring it home. Now I forgot to tell you that it has to be assembled but not to worry my son has help, my 11 year old Grandson will help he says. Two hours later it is all togeather but wait something is not right, oh gee it is backwards, so apart it comes but not to worry they know how to put it together this time, 45 minutes later we have a Artist Table and Stool. Very nice Mom, my son says but don’t ask me to take you shopping again. Gee, go figure. Sarah loved it and has even used it already. All and all the day turned out to be fun, Sarah had a great day we went to Game Works, her cousins came to be with her and they won lots of really cool junk and when you are 10, junk can be really cool.

Sarah ready for her Birthday Party at Game Works.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

It is that time again, when the leaves turn wonderful shades of red and gold and there is a light nip in the air and we all hope that the Tigers can just pull it off and maybe go all the way this time. We all put on our Tiger shirts and sometimes like my son and his friend we drive down town to watch them lose. Now we don’t go down town expecting them to lose but it just seams to me that every time I go to one of their games they lose. I use to think that it was just my bad luck rubbing off on them but I am older and wiser now and I know that it is just coincidence that they lose every time I go to a game but I do think they lose a lot more than they should. Don’t you agree? You know tho no matter how much they lose there is just something about being a Tiger fan that only a Tiger fan can understand, no matter how much they lose or how many mistake they make we still keep coming back for more. So go get em Tigers, because pretty soon the beautiful leaves will be gone, winter will be creeping up on us and we will hardly be able to wait to see The Boys Of Summer playing ball again.  So good luck Tigers, hope to see you in the World Series, but just in case you don’t make it, well, we will see you again next summer.

It is Wednesday night and that means my Grandchildren are spending the night with my son and I and as always it is chaotic and crazy but always fun!  Sloppy Joes were on the menu tonight and they were very good, they must of been outstanding because my grand son ate 4 of them, I am always astounded at the amount of food that young man can consume and not get fat. Some place back in the dark recesses of my memory I remember a skinny little girl who could eat like that and still remain a tooth pick but alas that was many years ago and I will never again be called Skinny Minnie, so watch out little Bill, like Grandma you may not always be so lucky! Then came homework and then the goofing around that seams to happen when my son and his kids get together, don’t know who is the bigger kid him or them. You can judge yourself be these crazy photos

Still up in St. Helen and who can be near Houghton Lake and not go to Arnies. Arnies has to be the biggest and best craft store in the United States and every year when I come to Michigan for the summer I spend a lot of time and need I say a fair amount of money at Arnies.  Unfortunately this summer I have not been able to stay up north by myself, so therefor I am sure that every one today was very glad to see me and my sister in law when we walked in and started filling our baskets. Needles to say that after two hours or so of shopping we were more than ready to craft the day away, and we did. I figured that all my stamping buddies in Meadview are getting tired of waiting for the home made cards I promised I would send them, so that was my project for the day. After five or six hours and $………I have 4 Cards, now I know that the logic of card making might be lost on some people and I agree for $10.00 or $12.00 I could have bought them all at the store but it is just not the same, ask any card maker and they will all tell you the same. There is nothing like a card that your friend spent all this time and money making for you, so if you have not had the pleasure of receiving one I hope some day you will. There is one problem tho, you can’t bring yourself to throw them away so if you have a lot of friends you have a lot of cards piling up kind of like those magazines you can’t make your self throw away. Below is a photo of Gwen working on Artist Trading Cards and as you might have guessed this Artist Trading Card thing is addictive and so to all my stamping buddies out west, I want you to know it took all my powers to make cards for you and watch her do those little tiny works of art.

What a beautiful fall day in my Michigan Neighborhood! Just a perfect day, will not for everybody. My son went fishing today, he loves to fish, and his truck broke down. Now he probably could of survived that, but he had to leave his boat by the side of the road! Now for those of you who don’t know my son, well this is an earth shattering experience.  About 12:00 noon the phone rings and it is Bill, truck broke down, tow truck on the way for his truck but can’t tow boat. Being the good Mother that I am I say I’ll bring the other truck up and get you where are the keys, in my pocket says he. Call Janet and Linel says he, OK will do. Now he is about an hour and half away at a place called Avery Lake, sure they say. Now They have a very nice car, a very nice little car, so off we go. Beautiful day, beautiful drive and we arrive to find him standing forlornly by his boat,( his shinny beautiful Ranger Bass Boat) and you can almost see the panic in his face at the thought of leaving his boat by the side of the road, or maybe it was the thought of him trying to squeeze his 6′ 5″ body into the front seat of that very nice, very little car and as he squeezes himself into the front seat he turns to our friend of 35 years and says boy what a nice little car you have.  Linel looks at him and says yea I like it. Linel never cracks a smile and off we go with Bills knees against his nose! Tuned out to be a fun day and we all had a nice lunch at guess who’s expense.  Anyway I am back home and he is off to Avery Lake in hopes of finding his boat still by the side of the road. On the bright side of the whole thing I had my camera with me and snapped a few nice photos of a beautiful fall day in Michigan, the colors are just starting but still very nice. Enjoy

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