leder legends

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2016 be happy and exciting! (or at least not boring...right R??)

We had a rain storm last week with lots of wind gusts. The poor old back fence did not appprove. The fence is ok but the fence posts snapped...perhaps 8 of the 12...and the fence is leaning. Arie propped it up and Joe and went for supplies. $300  later....and that's only the supplies!! Prices certainly have jumped of late. Even DIY projects can break the bank!! Pictures later.

I hate to admit it but I really like getting those Christmas cards that have just pictures on them. It's fun seeing relatives...especially the 'greats'! They stay on the fridge for a year. I also have to admit that I rarely send any of us out. Arie decided to write one of 'those' Christmas letters ...last year and the year before. Easy to send to all those relatives all over the world via email.  They got the same response as I give to the ones that I get.  It's not that I don't enjoy reading them and finding out what is happening etc it's just I don't respond...not sure why.  Last year a niece challenged me to send out a picture card...so I did / I have.  It really is quite painless to do that.   My problem is this...finding addresses. I have asked a brother directly  ...no response except an e-card/ no response from in-laws for addresses of their children/ messages via email and facebook messenger...no response.  Question...

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It rained last night and most of the morning!  The sound of rain on the roof is strangely comforting probably because being inside is staying dry and warm. Blessings abound!

We have decided that there are two breweries left on our list. After that we'll need to find a new "project". We headed out for a GNO last night.  First stop was the Oakhill Cemetery in order to take pictures of the incredible blues and pinks in the evening sky. All three of us have been out of town etc but now we're back. So we are back at it. First stop ELKS Brewery.  We had a flight of 5 -some with interesting names like Rowsters coffee dark and some with boring names like Porter and Red ale. Only one had a great aroma ...the coffee one. The others had no fragrance or bouquet at all.  Can you use the word bouquet with beer? Who cares?  It was fun! We then headed to Brewery Vivant for beer and food. We've been there before but they always have new beer to try. We had another flight and we were NOT impressed. But they all tasted better as they warmed up but not enough to say that we liked them.  The food was great!   My daughters ...

60 degrees today?? I love it! although it does seem odd to be putting up a Christmas tree.

Oh, to have the energy of a 7 year old. I watched from the window. SAVING/RESCUING MY ROSEMARY PLANT! and then it was "Oma, where is the Christmas stuff?  Can I set up the nativity sets?" There are nativity sets all over the front room set up with her particular sense of order...

My friend R and I went to the yard waste dump today. You must know that people who do that regularly have lots of yard waste and are too cheap to buy the city bags for $2.50 each.  So when we go, we look to see if anyone has dumped their CITY leaf bags at the dump ...perhaps because they don't want to wait for the city trucks to come. We do find one or two occasionally. Today we hit the jackpot!! 24 bags!! That's $60 worth of bags! We each have 12 drying in our garage ...because not only were they filled with leaves but there was also snow to contend with! Ten minutes of work and frost bitten fingers for R. To celebrate we went to the Dutch store (on the way home) and got a bite to eat at Smash Burger,,,not a bad place.

Even at my age it's great to be able to do something fun and unexpected! Grateful for crazy friends! Piano smashing has been on the to do list all summer!

Thankful for a friend who filled a bag or two while waiting for me! Too bad I didn't get a snapshot of her doing it!!

Thankful for the sunshine...can't get enough of it.  Imagine the almost unimaginable: November 16, in MI, the sun is shining and it's 67 degrees in the shade!

WAVES AND WIND TREMENDOUSLY POWERFUL WIND AND WAVES My friend and I decided to see all the action for ourselves and drove out to Grand Haven pier. It's a 45 min drive and we were expecting to be tossed about as we got closer and closer but it was wet but relatively calm on the highway. There were no great gusts of wind to knock us off the road which made us curious about the accuracy of the forecast. There was a lineup of cars going into and out of the parking lot but we easily found a parking spot. We put on our extra clothes, tied up our hair, adjusted our cameras and headed out. BAM! the wind grabbed us and we headed into it with gusto along with a stream of others also in search of the big waves. Thankfully the rain had stopped. The closer we got to the water the stronger the wind so we leaned forward determined not to be blown off course. There were lots and lots of cameras set up on tripods...why did I leave mine at home?  ...

So thankful that we can worship God without fear. It was a great service this morning!

I wrote this a long time ago. In Feb I think. After we got back from Arizona perhaps. K left on her own. Hooray. Showed the apartment to three people and they all wanted it and they all were eligible. The first guy took it. He moves in tonight. Joe painted almost the entire place. He changed the shower faucet but ruined the first one so it cost me extra. Carpets are shampooed. fridge, stove and microwave cleaned.. floors washed and waxed. Back stairs and hallway painted by Aaron. new mini blind in bedroom. New lamp shade in bedroom. new batteries in smoke detectors. Damage noted on linoleum in eating area. bath curtains maybe I'll look for some. I charged her some but not enough and sent a check. No complaints.

July 17 - 29, 2015 Arie had an SBL conference to attend and I went along. It started out cold and slowly warmed up. We could have used heavier jackets! Cafe con leche and media lunas!

Leaves Nice fall weather Wind FUN with Ava.

Heat! Without it how would we survive? We had to get a furnace fixed today. That's never a straight forward  job. BUT it did get done and my tenant is warm today. Thankful for a reliable repairman and the heat.

I am in a continual battle with the deer that come to visit and dine in my front yard. A few years ago I heard that they don't eat nor like to walk through ornamental grasses. So I planted some foraged baby plants and waited for them to grow. They have grown considerably. I scared two deer that were nibbling on something (not sure what) at about 1:00 in the morning. It was comical watching them try find a way out that did not involve running through the grasses. I guess it works! I am disappointed in the quality of the photos taken with my phone. This post was also posted from my phone.  The things we can do with our phones!! amazing! This one is the shortest variety. This is the first year I have seen it plume. The front flowerbed in it's autumn glory. 

NOVEMBER 4, 2015  Walking outdoors this morning (instead of the mall) without a jacket at 7:30 AM. Marvellous!

GRATITUDE IN GREAT SPOTS A friend of mine is going to post one spot of Gratitude every day in November. She said I was welcome to borrow her Idea. So here goes. I'll start with a few days in one post since I'm starting a bit late. Nov 1, 2015 Thankful for a safe trip back from Brampton , Ontario and especially for the wonderful 87 yr. old aunt that we visited. Nov 2, 2015 Would you believe it was 74 degrees and sunny today. So thankful for a wonderful fall that is unusually warm. I have mixed feelings about this ... Ava and her newborn half-sister Cadence Grateful that Ava is happy to be a big sister. Nov 3, 2015 So grateful for the telephone and the computer. I won't post a picture but I sat here for a LONG time solving problems today and all from the comforts of home!! and the weather once again...it's 5:30 and it's November!!!