We Wish You A Merry Christmas...

And hope that you had a Wonderful Christmas Day with your family and friends.

We sure did!
As I mentioned earlier, we ended up cancelling our Christmas Eve Dinner because of the drizzle and freezing rain. Well, something that sealed the deal that we made the right decision, a little after 6 pm on Christmas Eve, just as we were wrapping Christmas gifts, the power went out.
So, we enjoyed the better part of Christmas Eve by candlelight.

Yep, there's a first time for everything - and this year it was wrapping gifts by firelight & candlelight. Something about candlelight that seems to make everything a bit more magical!

Glen and I exchanged gifts Christmas morning - We'll be taking a cooking class at a neat new store up the street from where we live this winter. We're both looking forward to a neat new meal. We stopped at Glen's mom & dad's to celebrate with them and Glen's brother Rick who came into town from Indy yesterday morning. From there we went to my mom & dad's for dinner with them, my cousin Eric, John and my Great Aunt and Uncle. Lastly we stopped at Glen's Uncle Stash & Aunt Mary's house to do a bit of 'entire' family celebrating.
We were so spoiled by our families and each other - so blessed that we were able to share the holiday with our family and friends.
We did both have to laugh when we got home about 1:20 this morning. Each year the 'kids' get a cardboard picking post that includes CATNIP. This year was no different, and we both joked before leaving home yesterday morning that this year's box would need to be used with adult supervision only. But we gave the kids the benefit of the doubt, but knew ultimately what the outcome would be.....a picking post separated from the box it was supposed to be in and Catnip all over the carpet. You guessed it - we came home to two VERY HAPPY kitties and living room carpet that had been showered with catnip. Even this morning, they're both STILL rubbing & rolling all over the carpet.

We hope that you all enjoyed your holiday like we did.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and all the blessings & prosperity of the New Year!
Min & Glen

And the Snow keeps coming......

Wow, I can't remember the last time we've had THIS MUCH SNOW!!!
This was a photo from Sunday . . . . . . . . .
And it started snowing again today about 10 am. We're due for 8-12 inches between tonight and tomorrow. By the time all is said and done, that will be about 2 1/2 feet of snow in less than a week. Holy WOW!
The Christmas shopping is just about wrapped up and we've decided to call off our annual Christmas Eve Dinner because of the weather.
We're hoping that everyone can get into town and get together on Christmas Day!
I'm sure Santa is LOVIN' this this weather!!!
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday!
Stay turned for more snow photos and a few Christmas photos too.
Min & Glen

HOLY SNOW BATMAN!!

This is what we were looking at at 9:26 this morning - can you say HOLY SNOW?! Looks like we're going to have a white Christmas this year!!

I think we ended up with about a foot of snow. We'll take more photos tomorrow - this was NOTHING compared to what we're seeing out on the deck now (and what we shoveled out of the front walks!)

More on the way tomorrow night/Sunday.

Let it Snow!

Let it Snow!

Let it Snow!

Hope you are all safe, sound and tucked in a warm place tonight!

Min & Glen

Happy Birthday!

To my Favorite Cuz' Eric!!

Wishing you A Fantabulous Birthday!!

And here's a birthday beverage, for ya too - you can use it as a fire extinguisher in case you can't blow out all those candles (Just kidding :o)!

Love Min & Glen

What a lovely weekend

We had this weekend! We always look forward to getting together with family and friends. This weekend was no exception!

Today marked our fourth annual holiday cookie exchange. Today was a perfect day for a holiday gathering other than it was 18 degrees....BRRRRR! The kitchen smelled holiday yummy-it was filled with the smells of a yummy brunch. We enjoyed a Broccoli Swiss Quiche, French Toast Casserole, a fantastic veggie salad that my mom makes and chicken salad on croissants. No photos of those - and I had the best intentions of taking photos of the brunch display......BUT, on to the IMPORTANT part of the cookie exchange.....Wow, talk about a wide variety of cookies to choose from! YUMM-O is all I can say!

Thanks to my Mom, Mrs. M, Amy, Sue, Mrs. Dettloff and Debbie for coming and enjoying a nice holiday afternoon! Oh, and we can't forget Colin!

Dad came and kept Glen company today too!

And now for a photo - How can you NOT want one or two of these??

And I have to show you the cutest thing table runner my mom made for Glen and I - It's four little gingerbread people. My mom creates some of the neatest projects! She is super woman! Isn't it adorable?! She embridered 'The Kwiatkowski's'. This will spend time on our dinner table well into the new year!

We hope you all had a wonderful weekend, stayed bundled up after the snow and cold that had blown in.

Keep warm!

Min & Glen

Happy December!

Wow, can you believe that the Holiday season moving full steam ahead??

I can hardly believe that Christmas is only 24 days away!! Where has the year gone?

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving and were able to spend time with family and friends! We had a wonderful Turkey Day After Dinner with our folks, Glen's brother Rick and cousins Eric & John. Glen and Rick deep fried another fantastic turkey and we had a boatload of other yummy items to go with it.

I always say I'm going to take more photos, but of course, as usual it didn't happen. This particular Turkey Day, the only time the camera came out was when my dad asked us to pass the butter and I passed it to my cousin Eric and it ended up in the middle of his plate in his mashed potatoes. Always a good laugh (and sport too!!!)

We were also able to get our Christmas decorations up over the long weekend, with the exception of Our Tree which I think we'll do this week.

Here's a photo of Our Christmas Village. Photos of the outside lights to come now that we've got a bit of snow!

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season. I promise not to be such a blog slacker. Hopefully I can take a few photos of the snow we got yesterday and today and post tomorrow. It looks beautiful!

Happy Holidays!

Min & Glen

Signs.......

We're tinkering away with Christmas Cards, Christmas decorations and just all around holiday stuff around our house right now.
But, I thought I'd share a silly sign for the day, because we could ALL use a chuckle (and I'm sure SOME of us can relate to this.......).

Happy Snow shoveling!
Min & Glen

Our Favorite Toddler

This evening, Uncle Glen and Aunt Min got to spend some time with Colin. Amy had choir practice while Andy was out of town and asked us if we would mind a visitor.

Of course not! We love the chance to spend time with our favorite toddler!

Over the summer my mom picked up a 2 step wooden step stool (mostly to keep me from crawling on the counters to get items from the top shelf of the cupboards.....a short person super human ability). Needless to say, my step-stool is Colin's 'help to cook' stool when he comes to visit Aunt Min & Uncle Glen.

Tonight was no exception!

We made Santa Fe Chicken Tortellini for dinner (one of my favorite pasta dishes). He's such a good helper. He helped crunch up the tortilla chips on top. Watch out Bobby Flay!

Here's the recipe I thought I'd share - just in case you want to give it a try!

Santa Fe Chicken Tortellini Casserole

Recipe as is makes 8 servings (or so they say)

9 oz. Cheese Tortellini

1 TBSP Olive Oil

2 c. Broccoli Flowerets

1/2 c. Onion, chopped

1 c. Red Bell Pepper

3 TBSP Flour

2 TBSP Olive Oil

3/4 c. Chicken Broth

3/4 c. Milk

1 tea. Ground Cumin

1/4 tea. Cayenne pepper

4 c. Cooked chicken, cut up

(I've used canned chicken a few times as well if you don't want to mess around w/cooking chicken)

3/4 c. Monetary Jack Cheese, shredded

1/2 c. Colby Cheese, shredded

1/2 c. Tortilla chips, crushed

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cook & Drain tortellini as directed on the package. While tortellini is cooking, grease 3 quart casserole dish. Heat 1 TBSP of oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook broccoli, onion & bell pepper in oil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender. Remove Broccoli mixture from skillet. Cook flour and 2 TBSP oil in same skillet over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Stir in milk, broth & cumin. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Stir in chicken, monetary Jack Cheese & the tortellini & broccoli mixture. Spoon tortellini mixture into casserole dish. Bake uncovered 25 to 35 minutes or until bubbly. During the last 5 minutes of baking, sprinkle Cayenne pepper, Colby cheese and tortilla chips over the top. Bake until cheese is melted. Left overs are AWESOME and this freezes GREAT!!!

We also got to do some finger painting for a special project! I think we're looking at the next Picasso if he decides to not give Bobby Flay & the Iron Chefs a run for their money
This is the piece of artwork that went home for mommy & daddy!

And of course, we had to play in the neat-o tent that Grandma Linda picked up for Colin. Of course, I couldn't get a great pic as he didn't want to have his photo taken while he was out in his tent!! We had too much fun! You'd never believe just how much STUFF you can get inside one of these little tents - 7 pillows, Uno Attack, blocks, a flash light, a pot, wooden spoon, Colin and 1/2 of Aunt Min!

Well, off to move some furniture and other items around as we have the furnace man coming early tomorrow morning to clean the furnace and duct work and the carpet cleaners coming after the furnace man to clean all the carpets and upholstery of the couch, love seat and recliner.

Hmmm, may have to move the Wii to the basement as that maybe where we spend tomorrow evening waiting for the furniture and carpets to dry.

Thank goodness it's almost the weekend!!!

Min & Glen

WHAT THE?! A Continuation of yesterday

What the heck was the situation this morning?! So when we went to bed last night, we didn't think anything of the LIGHT dusting of the white stuff. It was on the deck and the cars, just a little bit. There was no mention of 'WELCOME TO MONDAY MORNING crummy roads' on the news last night.

So imagine our surprise when we turned the news on this morning and there were about 18 accidents on the Traffic report, including south bound 75 being closed before Square Lake. UGH!

We are SO NOT READY for winter!!!

Tis' the Season!

Bundle Up as it's supposed to be 24 or less tonight!

Min & Glen

WHAT?!?!

SNOW?!

Yep, it's stickin (and I thought the weather forecasters said it wasn't supposed to STICK?!)

This was our first 'down' weekend in about a month and it was so nice to get stuff around here done!

I spent the better part of Saturday working on a new chipboard album for a scrapbook class I'm teaching either this month or next month in Oxford. Originally, the class was going to be November 22, but it may be rescheduled for December 13. So, working on the assumption that it was the November date, I ended up crankin' thru 12 album pages on Saturday.

Fastest I've ever finished one of these albums!

Isn't he cute?

You can check out the rest of him on my crafting site (didn't want to bore you with all the photos if you didn't want to see them. :o)

This weekend was also the perfect weekend for CHILI! We'd been looking forward to a good pot of Chili for quite sometime, so this weekend was the weekend for a BIG crock pot of chili! It was YUMMY!! We're looking forward to finishing it off tomorrow!

And to wrap up the weekend - we spent today doing some spring cleaning (yah, I know, a few months late for that.....).

Because we're having Turkey Day After Dinner, a Cookie Exchange and Christmas Eve Dinner here, we're getting ready for our month of entertaining.

Well, we're wrapping up a nice productive weekend - even after another Lions loss and a Pistons loss.

Wishing you all a productive Monday!

Drive safely if you've got the white stuff in your area!

Min & Glen

All Dressed Up.....

And boy did we have fun!

Just a few photos from Our 3rd Birthday Celebration in honor of Chef Colin.

Chef Colin with his P'za Birthday Cake

The P'za Birthday Cake

Believe it or not, this WAS a cake MADE by my talented friend Amy to resemble a Pizza.

Way to Go Amy!

Proud Parents of the Chef

Amy & Andy, er, Mr. Hot Sauce & Ms. Roni Cheese

Proud Aunt & Uncle of The Chef

The Herb Man (3 time costume winner) & Menu Min

Proud Aunt of The Chef

Suz - Ms. Pineapple

Happy Birthday Colin!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY COLIN!
We hope you have a WONDERFULLY SPOOKY Birthday!!

Hugs & Love -

Aunt Min & Uncle Glen

(AKA: Granny with the missin' dog and The Hot Dog Man!)

(This was Glen and I for Colin's 1st HOWL-ween Birthday PAW-ty!)

Where did October go?!

With Halloween just a few short days away, take this quiz -

What kind of Halloween Treat are You?

You Are Candy Corn

Your Halloween personality is whimsical, colorful, and creative. You see Halloween as a time to get your creative juices flowing. Each year, Halloween can't start soon enough for you. You tend to go all out for Halloween. You decorate like crazy and always dress up.

What Halloween Treat Are You?

It's all about the MAIZE & BLUE tomorrow!

Hail! to the Victors valiant

Hail! to the Conqu'ring Heroes

Hail, Hail to Michigan

the leaders and the Best!

Hail! to the victors valiant

Hail! to the conqu'ring heroes

Hail! Hail! to Michigan,

the Champions of the West!

GO BLUE!

And while we had to give up our 35 yard line, 40 rows off the field seats,

we'll still be rooting for the boys in Maize & Blue tomorrow!

Min & Glen

Entertainment for WHO?

So, I've been working on a few knitted Christmas gifts over the course of the past few weeks. And NORMALLY, Giz & Tucker could careless about balls of yarn in frosted plastic bags, unlike stories you hear about cats in general.

However, Sunday was an abnormal day in our house . . . . no, I'm not talking about the fact that the Lions were down by 21 at half time - that's pretty normal this season.

As I was knitting (while we watched the Lions game), Gizmo decided he was going to assist me in the knitting of the felted slippers for my dad (no worries I didn't let the cat out of the bag....ha ha, this is a Christmas gift I make for my dad every year. The surprise is the color!) Anyway, as I was unwinding some of the yarn (I keep it in the bag so I don't have three balls of yarn running around the living room getting tangled up) Gizmo decided I needed assistance so the yarn didn't get away!

Not sure who was more entertained....Glen & I or Gizmo.

Ah, nothing like a Sunday afternoon of 'football'.

Min & Glen

Hours of Entertainment....

Go ahead, ask Glen or I why we think these two photos are so funny!

You see, we have two little 'people' that we share our house with - many of you know Gizmo & Tucker, our four legged furbabies that guard the house while we are away at work - who are we kidding, they sleep on the couch, get on the table and counters and constantly feed their faces when their eyes aren't closed.

Well, Friday night, as our Michigan friends know, it got darned cold. It's this time of the year that we put the throw rugs back on the floors in the hallway, kitchen and by the back door.

Well, Tucker is VERY good at letting us know just HOW much she appreciates what she believes is an act of necessity, and just how much she appreciates her kitchen 'dining' rug. The above photo is of her 'in action'. Gizmo, he could care less where the bowl is, just as long as he can have a snack. Funny though that he chooses to eat out of the 'dining' rug bowl--because I'm sure it was MUCH closer than walking to the other bowl that hadn't been moved (by a whole 2 steps......).

See the location where said food dish started? And location where food dish ended up?

We have to laugh when we hear the food dish being drug across the floor. If it wasn't for the four legged furballs, we'd think it was a Halloween ghost!

Other exciting news from this weekend - our backyard deer friends seem to have returned from last winter. We hope you all had a nice weekend!

Min & Glen

Now this is OUR kind of weekend!

That's what the caption of this photo would be if these two could talk!

This is how they spent much of the day Saturday - as big lumps randomly placed around the house.

This photo was last night - while we were grilling some YUMMY Blackened Cajun Chicken.....how Yummy does this look? Mmmmmmmm!

And while Saturday was only a good Spartan's football day, we ended the evening with a nice relaxing Bon-fire in the backyard with some friends!

Hope you had a chance to enjoy the great weather this weekend!

Happy Weekend!

Min & Glen

World's Most Dangerous......

Cake that is!
A little sweet 'after-dinner' treat since tonight is not only SURVIVOR night (Glen and I are Survivor fans), but tonight is also the season premier of CSI.

We've been waiting since the spring for the follow up to the cliffhanger they left us with!

This recipe is courtsey of Mrs. Kovacs, my friend Sue's mom.
I have all the stuff in the cabinet and think tonight's the night!!!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE AKA
"WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS CAKE*"
4 tablespoons cake flour or all purpose (plain, no self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips(optional)
A small dash of vanilla flavoring
1 coffee mug
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix wellAdd the egg and mix thoroughly.Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla flavoring, and mix again.Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

*And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!
Happy Bakin'!

Photo to hopefully follow tomorrow, if I can snap one before we dive in!!
:o) Min & Glen

Cooking Invites & A New Recipe

So last night, Amy came over to cut and assemble Colin's 3rd Birthday invitations. The theme this year is cooking (I may have already told you all that....). So, my wonderfully Creative friend has come up with the cutest birthday invitations. Of course, I didn't take a photo, but will post once I get one. THANK GOD for the cricut!!!

Sue was going to join us too but with the crummy weather and TERRIBLE traffic, we let her go home instead of getting to the Kantina at midnight. Poor Sue! We missed you!!!

So, with the crafty evening, we tried a new recipe. Chicken & Dumplings - with a few Kantia modifications of course.....

4 Chicken Breasts

2-10.75 Cans of Cream of 'something' soup (I used a Cream of Chicken and Cream of Potato - Cream of Onion soup would be AWESOME too!)

2 TBSP Butter

1 Bag of Frozen Veggies (I used 3/4 of a family size frozen veggie combo)

Pepper & Garlic Powder to season chicken breasts

2-10 oz. packages of biscuit dough, torn into pieces

Mix Butter, Cream soups and a little water in bottom of crock. Add Frozen Veggies, mix with soup & butter. Last, add chicken breats on top. Add more water to cover all contents in crock.

Drop into Crock Pot and cook on high for 5-6 hours. 30 or 45 minutes before dinner should be done, toss the torn pieces of biscuit dough into the crock pot. Cover and cook until done. Salt & Pepper to taste.

Thanks to Ash for this yummy recipe!

It was so good, we're bothing having 'tovers for lunch today! YUMM-O!!

Let's Go Blue!

Min & Glen

Over the Moon -

How happy is this guy with his birthday gift?

How Happy are these kids with this guy's birthday gift wrapping paper & box?!
It was a day enjoyed by all!
Happy Day!
Min & Glen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Today is a Very Special Day!

We're Celebrating Glen's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Honey!

Love Me

????????

What happens when Cat meets Scissors?

Someone gets a hair cut and has a cranky look on his face for the entire rest of the weekend.

So, Saturday while watching the Michigan game (and WOW, what a game), I decided that Gizmo needed a 'little trim'. We've been dealing with furballs galore lately so, SOMEONE got a new hair 'style'.

The last time we tried to trim him, we used mom & dad's electric clippers, and seems someone is ticklish (we still have scars from that hairapy attempt). So, this time, we opted for scissors. An hour later, several piles of fur & two pair of scissors, we ended up with this......

It's not pretty, but it has a LOT less hair. Glen's new nickname for him is Sponge Boy. I can't help but laugh every time we look at him. If he could talk, I'm sure he be saying 'zackly who gave you your barber license? I look like I got in a fight and lost to the lawn mower'.

We both had to chuckle this morning as he was our morning entertainment. Seems he's intrigued by this choppy looking thing that is following him around (aka his tail).

He's still our big loveable dude!

It was a weekend of productivity for us--I'll post some photos of the Halloween decorations we put up yesterday.

We hope you all had a great weekend!!

Min, Glen, Sponge Boy & Tucker :o)

HAPPY FALL!

Wishing you all a Happy Fall!

So, what is your FAVORITE thing about Fall??

Happy Fall!

Min & Glen

TIGER WOODS....

He HAS been defeted by both the Kwiatkoski home residents this weekend!!!!!

And let me tell you, we were BOTH doing the HAPPY DANCE after our Wins!!!

Happy Sunday!

Min & Glen

Happy Birthday Mrs. Dettloff!!

Wishing my Dear Friend Susan

A Happy First Birthday as a Mrs!!!
Here's wishing you a fabulous birthday!

Your GO BLUE Friends!

Min & Glen

More Ugly Football.....

I don't know how you can classify this weekends football, other than UGLY!

Kind of mirrors the weekends weather.

And to top it off - poor Glen had to deal with not only the FUGLY Football-two days in a row, but two crazy ADD women making Peach Freezer Jam for the first time, new kittens for mom & dad's house & a partridge in a pear tree.....okay, no partridge, no pear tree but close enough!

What a guy!!! He sure is a good sport!!

But, we've got some of the best lookin' Peach Freezer Jam anyone could want!

Don't you agree? Jars aren't gift ready yet, and a bit frosty as it's 'FREEZER' Jam, but they'll be gift ready soon!

And how cute are mom & dad's newest additions? They remain nameless currently, but are both absolute sweethearts and will fit right in at mom & dad's. (You can read the story of both the Freezer Jam AND the kittens on the Kaymin Kreations Blog).

We hope everyone has dried out and is no worse for wear after the weekend Monsoon here in Michigan.

Min & Glen

Welcome Back NewlyWeds!

WELCOME BACK SUE & KRIS!

We hope you had a terrific time in Hawaii!!

Can't wait to see the photos!

Min & Glen

Happy Birthday to a VERY SPECIAL MOM!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I won't sing here, you'll get that wonderful rendition tonight from both Glen and I!

We wish you a special day filled with Sunflowers and Love!!

We LoveYou!

Min & Glen & Giz & Tuck too!

Snuggly Night....

How can you NOT want to snuggle with these two?

Mr. Gizmo is a snuggler, until he gets hot, or the recepient of the snuggle finds that the snuggler gets too heavy to have on said body part.

Tucker is a snuggler in the winter, when she's cold. She is capable of finding the most uncomfortable crick of the human body to snuggle in, provided there are NO RUFFLES (this is her begging for Glen's Ruffles Potato Chips).

No these two aren't spoiled, are they?

Right now Gizmo is jockeying for his spot in Glen's recliner....either that, or he's trying to get Glen to take off his comfy slippers so he can lay on them (he has a shoe/slipper fetish - we're still trying to figure it out).

I can hear Tucker in the kitchen, dropping her dry food on the floor (because she doesn't like to eat OUT OF the dish, she likes to eat NEXT TO the dish.....)

Some days we wonder about these two.

But isn't it funny how our pets are such a large part of our lives?

How they meet you when you come home, turn up in the darndest places (on the lid of the closed toilet when you get out of the shower), in the middle of he living room, feet up in the air, begging for the fan.

And even funnier yet, the personalities they have. Both of our 'kids' know when it's the weekend - if the alarm clock doesn't go off, they KNOW it's a day for their 'good' stuff (aka moist food), and how Tucker will chatter until she gets her good stuf. Or how she sings to us when we go out on the deck because she KNOWS her kitty weed is out there (aka catnip). Or how about the second she hears the Ruffles bag open, she is immediately sitting in front of Glen (regardless of where she is in the house), begging for her chips.

Yes, those are are quirky kids. How can you not love them?

I don't care what anyone says, but I think having a pet is the icing on the cake!

Have you snuggled with yours today? If not, it's supposed to get cold tonight!

Stay Warm and Happy Hump Day!

Min & Glen

Happy Birthday To My Special Friend Amy!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday - Happy Happy Birthday to my Dear Friend Amy!

Happy Birthday to you!!

Here's wishing you a wonderfully enjoyable Birthday!

Your 'Ski friends!

Min & Glen

Football. . . The Good, The Ugly & The Lions!

What an ugly football weekend!!!! While MSU won, it was good (even though they spanked our EMU Eagles), U of M won, but it was ugly, and then there's the Lions. What can you say about the Lions? Same ole' Lions from last season?

We sure hope not!! Glen and Andy have a little wager on the Lions making it INTO the playoffs (Glen says YES!!!!, Andy says NO WAY!).

Yesterday sure wasn't a confidence builder for the YESS'.......

At least the football food was good.....

It was such a beautiful weekend - while we're STILL trying to beat Tiger Woods (DOH, no luck yet....), we enjoyed a Saturday evening/late night bonfire with some friends - and the beauty of it all was that NONE of those friends included Mosquitoes!!!!

Sunday was a R&R day. I got up early (something about a 25 pound cat sitting on a full bladder will do that to you, every time!) to finish up some projects for the class I'll be teaching on Saturday September 20th from 1-3 at the Live, Laugh, Love Scrap store in Oxford.

Thank goodness for 'tovers, as that's what was for dinner last night as neither one of us felt much like cooking (or bundling up in fall clothes to go out on the deck to grill).

We're still not ready for fall, but there was something about putting on a pair of blue jeans and a fleece to watch football (even the Lions) that can't help but make you smile.

And sitting here, listening to the rain falling outside with the Minnesota/Green Bay game on, seeing one of the trees in the backyard already changing color, makes me realise - Yep, Fall is knocking at the door....

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Happy Monday - We Made It!

Min & Glen

TGIF - WE MADE IT!

Is it just me or does it seem like the weeks that are short take the longest to get through? This week was a killer! Don't think I could have made it through another day!

We're also trying to figure out WHERE the summer went.......it seems like just yesterday we were planting our veggies in the garden and picking out flowers at the greenhouse. And now, the Michigan Tourist Bureau is already running radio ads about

'Checking out the colors of Michigan's Fall'. I saw a tree whose leaves are already changing color today on the way to work....

We are NOT ready for Fall yet (Stamping my feet!!!).

Yes it's true College football began last weekend (hopefully this weekend's out come is better than last weekend or it's going to be one LONNNNNNNNNNNNG season).

LET'S GO BLUE!

And Pro Football kicked off last night (Glen & I both picked the Giants to win last night in our season long football pool - check it out, it's free and you can join. Go to: http://micentral.profootball.upickem.net/profootball/registration/login.asp)

We're still not ready for the weather to start changing.

I'm sure many of you have been like Glen and I, every time we turn the TV or Radio on, we're seeing/hearing clips of this City of Detroit/Mayor Mess. Well, I'm not sure about you, but I was relieved yesterday that the situation that has been dragging the city down for the last 8 months has finally come to a close. Now the city & state can get back to business and fix the whole mess of problems we're currently facing! Okay, getting down off that soap box....

A highlight to our week this week (other than getting to listen to the rain at 3:30 this morning...), we got a 2 page letter from Dara, the solider that we 'adopted' in March. This is the third soldier we've adopted over the last few years. She is an assistant chaplain for her battalion that is currently stationed in Iraq. We are always so grateful to receive mail from her to know that she is okay. We never expect to receive notes and letters (that's one thing the foundation we went through told us ' don't expect correspondence since they're there doing a job and stay quite busy', but it is nice to hear from her when we do. We continue to send care packages every few weeks to her which she shares with the troops in her battalion, the troops there are always so happy to receive 'stuff' from home.

Another exciting event - my cousin's son, Anthony, who just graduated from high school this past May, had a safe trip to Lackland Texas and has started his Air Force Basic Training. We are so proud of him and the choice he has made to defend our country if he is called upon.

We are so thankful for all the soldiers in our armed forces that have made a choice to defend this wonderful country we call home and the freedoms we have.

Well, Tiger Woods is calling - we are BOTH on a mission to beat him.

Have a Great weekend and GO BLUE!!!

Min & Glen

Nothing like a Good Thunderstorm!

How we enjoyed the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightening and the pitter-patter of rain last night. We always look forward to a good rainstorm - especially RIGHT before bed. There's just something about falling asleep to the pitter patter and the rumbling.

And while we love this wonder of nature, Gizmo does not. He's our little four legged, furry weather kitty. Move over local TV weather folks!!!

It could be a beautifully sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, but if you see him low-crawling (and the vacuum is not being used), wait a few minutes and the storm will arrive. Depending on the severity of the storm, there are many places he goes - usually all of them in the vicinity of the basement - on the steps, the further down the steps he is, the more severe the storm will be. If he's among the gagets & gizmos under the table in my studio, it's going to be pretty good and if he's tucked in under the steps flattened like a pancake among the unpacked boxes, hold onto your knickers, it's going to be a doozie!

Apparently last night it wasn't too bad - second step down and he was able to get some shut eye.

This is Tucker looking at me saying in 'kitty', "What a duface, his fat little body is going to roll right down those steps!"

And when he realizes I'm standing at the top of the stairs with the camera, ready to start snapping photos - "Uh, Mum, you takin' a picture of me?"

And when he realizes that the 'flashes' aren't lightening, but rather the camera flash, "Please, no photos right now, I'm not feeling very photogenic!"

(And yes, we have conversations with our 'kids'. You never know what's going to come out of those little mouths!)

We both, like Tucker were SURE he was going to roll down the stairs, but he didn't, our 'little' super balancing weather kitty freak of nature!

Hope you and your plants enjoyed the rain like we did!

Happy Days! It's almost Friday!

Min & Glen

A few of our FAVORITE photos....

So, we're back in action after a busy holiday weekend. Judging by traffic today, the kids are all back to school and their parents are back to work after a fast passing summer! Not sure about you all, but what is it about going back to work after a long weekend. Sure was doing a bit of dragging today. Can you believe it's September 2nd already??
Things are relatively back to normal now after the whirl wind month we've had with BBQ's, Vacations, Weddings and that thing called work.
I thought I'd share a few more photos from this weekend now that I've had a chance to look through all the ones that we took.
This is a photo that's been added to my favorite "US" photos

Not to be vain (because I HATE having my picture taken!), but I LOVE this photo (We all loved the dresses, flowers & jewelry Sue picked out....and I love the hairstyle!) She actualy made our jewelry - the necklaces and earrings. They were super FUN! Hmmm, maybe since I got Sue addicted to Scrapbooking & Knitting, I might have to take a jewelry lesson or two from her......
And here are the four paintings that made it into frames that we picked up this weekend. Aren't they awesome? The first one is the largest of the four paintings. Brings us back to the beach we spent so much time on. . . . .Uh, oh, back to sniffing the salt shaker in an attempt to reinact the beach experience......

This one will go in our bedroom.....sigh......Hopefully we'll have a chance to get them on the wall this weekend so we can really enjoy them.

Well friends, Happy Tuesday, off to water & check the veggies & flowers, I'm sure they're all thirsty after today's 90 degree heat.....Summer's not goin' out THAT EASY! in & Glen