Texas Y'all

After much speculation, gossip, and innuendo, Jim's company today announced that his position will be relocated to Houston, Texas after the first of next year. We have been anticipating this news, and, with the economy being the way it is, are very happy that they want to keep Jim in their employment, as many of his coworkers are simply being "transitioned out." His company offers wonderful benefits, and since he has been with them for almost 30 years, he has accrued lots of vacation time as well. It wasn't a very difficult decision, therefore, to accept the job transfer, and we are actually even becoming a little excited. Jim's plan is to rent an apartment in Houston, and Jacob and I will split our time between Michigan and Texas. Adam will do his own thing, but I'm sure he will want to visit the Lone Star State as often as possible. We intend to get a two or three bedroom place down there, so hopefully friends and family will feel free to drop in anytime and stay a spell.

I Hate Rabbits

Our neighborhood rabbits are on the warpath again this summer. They have eaten approximately 100 of my lovely quartz blue verbena annuals. The flowers were growing in the bed right next to our front porch, and had recently started to fill out and bloom beautifully. One day they were gorgeous. The next day they were gone. Oddly, the evil creatures ate only the purple-y blue blossoms off the top of the verbenas, leaving the rest of the foliage untouched. Instead of using my old standby rabbit repellents of cayenne pepper, baby powder, beer, or mothballs, I went all out this time. I purchased some pricey rabbit-be-gone spray that gives the yard the essence of an Italian restaurant because it has a rather pungent garlic odor. After spraying liberally for a week now, it is hard to tell if the critters have moved on or not since it will most likely take a while for any new flowers to bloom again. At least the neighbors might think that I am doing some cooking around here, anyway, since a garlic scent is often wafting near the front of the house. If the flowers ever do grow back, I will snap some pictures to post, because all I have now are photos of sad green stems and leaves.

Forty Years Ago

On July 20, 1969, I was on vacation with my family in Michigan's upper peninsula. We had gathered with some other relatives at my Aunt Mary's house to watch a special report on television. Some little news story about two Apollo 11 astronauts walking on the moon. I was quite impressed with our country's accomplishment, and proud that we had beat the Russians to the lunar surface. That was a big deal back then. I remember some company holding a contest, too, where people tried to guess what Neil Armstrong's first words would be as he stepped onto the moon. I recall much hoopla and excitement that night, and over the next few weeks.

One of the most comical things that resulted from the Apollo moon landings was a saying that became very popular over the years. Whenever something went mechanically wrong with almost any item, someone would inevitably say, "Geez, we can put a man on the moon, but we can't make a fill-in-the-blank that works." I have heard these words uttered continuously over the past four decades, and I have even found myself using the catchy phrase from time to time when something has broken down. Apparently rocket science leads not only to great universal discoveries, but to witty expressions as well.

The Blue Angels

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team is in town for an air show this weekend. The F-18s have been practicing their maneuvers over our house all week, and I have been loving every minute of it! Each time I hear one of the jets go screeching past I run outside to have a look. I have taken, or rather attempted to take, about 20 pictures of the speedy planes, but have not had much luck. They are simply too fast and disappear out of the frame before I can snap the photo. I do have a lot of lovely pictures of plain, old blue sky! Here are a few shots where I actually got a Blue Angel or two in the picture.

Here is one jet zipping over our neighbor's house.

Two F-18s in the bottom of the pic flying over our backyard.
I snapped this photo in the nick of time!

Mini Netbook

I recently became the proud owner of a brand new mini netbook computer. Lately, I have been increasingly envious of people using their iPhones and Blackberry phones and iTouch-type devices to access the internet almost anywhere. I knew that Jim would never want me to spring for anything that required monthly payments, though, especially because our current cell phone plan is so reasonable. (Cheap) Then, I saw a commercial on television for a mini netbook. Sold! Mine weighs a bit over 2 pounds and has a 10-inch screen on which I can actually see things. Or, at times when type is unusually small, I can easily enlarge the website. The netbook came complete with a wireless card, so I can connect to the internet anywhere there is a wireless signal. It is advertised that you can carry it around in your purse, but, really, I would have to empty everything out of mine to fit the computer inside. I love the size, though. It is the perfect cross between an iPhone and a laptop.

Horsing Around

On Saturday, Jacob attended a four-hour "Equestrian Camp" sponsored by our community's leisure services program. Who knew that there was a riding stable tucked off a rural road only 10 minutes from our house? The camp promised to teach students how to groom, handle, saddle, and ride horses. As I suspected, "handling" included grabbing a pitchfork and cleaning poop out of the stalls in the barn. Much to my surprise, Jacob claimed that tossing horse feces into a wagon wasn't nearly as gross as he had anticipated. During their actual lesson, the teacher initially guided the horses around with a rope before letting the students ride on their own. Apparently, Jacob caught on quickly, and was able to "trot" his mare, which, for some reason, impressed and excited the instructor. When we picked him up after class, Jacob raved about how much he looooved everything having to do with horseback riding. This could prove to be an even pricier gig than his fleeting interest in guitar, tae kwon do, drama, and swimming combined. I will have to be cautious about what classes I sign him up for in the future.

Keweenaw in Pictures

We arrived back home yesterday evening after a stop at the Soo Locks and an uneventful drive down I-75. Here are some pictures from our trek to "The Copper Country."

Richie, Jacob, and Jim decked out for the mine tour.

We had fun digging holes at the beach. Richie actually climbed into his creation.

Jacob and Jim at the Keweenaw County snow-mometer.

The boys found a nice waterfall.

Jacob and I at the top of Brockway Mountain Drive.
(It was very windy and I didn't want my hair to get messed up.)

Jacob and Richie climbed up "Jacob's Falls" near Eagle River.

I think Jake enjoyed the BBQ ribs at the Michigan House restaurant.

The Upper Peninsula

Our trip to the U.P. has been nice and relaxing after the frantic-ness of last week. We toured a copper mine, hung out at the beach, ate pasties, and visited numerous northern Michigan tourist attractions. If nothing else, our travels over the past few days have shown us that many people in the upper peninsula lead much slower-paced lives than we do - particularly the people that work in restaurants up here. I'm not saying that the waitresses we have encountered haven't been friendly and knowledgeable, but, wow, service has often been excruciatingly slow! I kind of envy folks who take the time to smell the roses, though.

Unfortunately, I do not have any of my camera cords with me, so I will have to wait until we arrive home to download my pictures. We are heading south tomorrow, so I will go through my trip photos and post some of them soon!

On the Road Again

Bev's funeral on Tuesday went quite well. Family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors stopped by the funeral home in droves, and many joined us after the service for hors d'oeuvres and drinks. My niece, Pattye, and her 13-year-old daughter, Jenna, stayed with us the entire day. I cannot begin to tell you how much Jacob appreciated having his cousin by his side during such a difficult ordeal. Jenna - you are awesome!

On Wednesday, we went to the funeral home to pick up flowers, pictures, and paperwork. Jim spoke to people at the bank regarding Bev's accounts, and then made numerous other necessary phone calls. We spent the rest of the day madly doing laundry and packing our suitcases, as we left this morning on our previously-planned trip to the upper peninsula.

Jim, Jacob, Irma, Richie, and I drove to St. Ignace today, and are spending the night at the Kewadin Casino Hotel. We will continue on to Calumet tomorrow, where we plan to frolic on our little piece of Lake Superior property, play tourist, and, eventually catch up with my cousin Dave who is visiting there from California. The weather has been just frightful in the Keweenaw peninsula recently - highs in the 50s, rain, and wind. Luckily for us, the precipitation is supposed to stop and the temperatures are predicted to rise close to 70 degrees. I will try to post some pictures as we travel along.