kitchen remodel

It's been quite some time since I posted....fb is just so easy!

Had my kitchen remodeled....looks much the same, but

new cabinets mean no more sawdust in my baking dishes.

The old 1950's cabinets, tho okay, had drawers that were

wood on wood.....

The passthrough began like this....


....and this was created. Eventually I'll have a bartop
here, but I just burned out on making decisions!

....during construction the passthough looked like this

from the kitchen side.....this remained for about 3 weeks!

...and this is what went bye bye. Cute, but love the openness of it now!

Summer Fun

Just returned from our annual cousins reunion...

Above are all but one of the Call grandkids with their

grandmother - my Aunt Marjorie

Niece Samantha had her hands full with the newest members

of our family Kailyn (LeeAnnes youngest) and Lydia Edvena

(Jessica's newest and Edvena was our grandmother!)

Earlier in the summer Emma had a friend come over after their

last day of school. A picnic on the deck with lots of fun that followed.




A moment in my front garden - there's a
small green bicycle planter under all those
flowers!








Something new this year - Morning Glories growing up a
trellis on the shed. Love the colors!
A summer that's gone quickly once again, but
have to say I'm ready for the cooler temps!!!

Spring....catch-up

How time flies!

Facebook has replaced my time on

blogging it seems.....

that or taking photos of all the snow

this winter just didn't seem interesting!

But...spring came bringing with it

the beautiful tulips and other assorted

blooms....

...with spring has come T-Ball.

That would be Emma actually ready to catch

the ball should it come her way....

....and the birth of Lincoln, seen here

with my friend Maryanke. He was only

3 days old...

....this was Lincolns first foray into the outside world.

Tentative at first, he soon was running round the

paddock, under the watchful eye of mother Regina.

What a treat is was to watch him!!

Hopefully it won't be so long between updates, but

only time will tell.......

December Fun

Been awhile since I last posted....I blame facebook

which makes sharing so easy!

December brought many occassions to spend time with

family and friends. Above are my "girls" celebrating

at our Christmas party. Wish all could have been there!

Of course there was Christmas Day...

Fancy Nancy came dressed in all her finery

(notice her mama's high heels)

Santa brought her jewels and grandpa chose the dress!

The best gift for all of us was Meg being able to join us from

Savannah! Emma was sooo surprised - ran and jumped into

her arms... Oh how she loves her "Megatron"!

Earlier in the month we celebrated Aunt Norma's 98th birthday.

She is an amazing woman! Still spry - hard to keep up with her when

she starts walking! A fun afternoon with my brothers and cousins.

What more will this month bring....today no school so I'll have

Miss Emma for the day.....surely there'll be stories to tell!

Fall Beginnings

The beginning to a beautiful day in Frankfort on the shores

of Lake Michigan.....
...was a little chilly out, but the sun made up for it!

Across the street was Betsy Lake....I'd forgotten how charming

this little town is....

Many of my cousins gathered for the wedding

of Becca - cousin Susie's & husband Leo's daughter.

Here are the 3 Call "boys" (Susie's brothers) and

DJ Dan, who spun the tunes for the event.

Michael, Dan and Rick bonding???

Dear Aunt Mary and Michael's wife Nancy. Notice the rows of seats

in the background......

.....the nuptials and reception were held at an old

movie theatre! Very charming and unique!!

The bride and groom browsing the concessions.....

.....Becca & Kris, Mr & Mrs Smith.

A wonderful wedding and good time

celebrating with family!

More Summer Fun

Last week-end we had our 31st Sinclair cousins party

in Benzonia. Lot's of dancing!
Fun times on the Crystal Lake beach - Emma's 1st time
being buried in the sand....ok if Aunt Meg did it too!

3 of our younger crowd exploring the woods....

....the week before was brother Brian's 60th birthday!

Celebrated with a surprise party thanks to Samantha!!

...and of course time with my sweetpea. She selected the glass

(it's applejuice btw), but frighteningly the pose is her own.

I swear she's never seen me drink out of one of these glasses...

A fun summer, but I must say something I never thought I'd say,

I'm ready for cooler temps!!!

Summer Happenings

Been awhile since I've posted....very frustrated trying to

figure out the new configurations...like my title foto which

is cropped to 1/4 of the foto....

Anyway it's been a fun summer with lot's of time with

Emma. We spend an hour together every morning before

she goes to PEAK...although quite often she convinces me

to let her spend the whole day with me!

Did some shopping at TJ Max one afternoon and guess

who got the new clothes - she loves her new dresses!

Cousin Libby came down for a week-end and we went to visit 97 years young Aunt Norma in Lansing - she is simply amazing!

Another week-end was my 40th class reunion in Caseville. How can it be 40 years??? It was such a good time and wonderful to reconnect with so many friends.

Over the 4th I spent a couple days with Jim & Cheryl at their cottage on Wixom Lake. They were very much in the spirit of the day! All in all a great summer so far and more to come!

The Wedding

Brandon and Samantha were married over the week-end!

Mama Samantha and flower girl Emma pre-wedding....

daddy Brian and the Bride on their way down the "aisle"...

...a merged photo of the bridal party before and after...

what a difference a day makes!
Mr and Mrs Wheeler just after saying "I do" !

.....the cake sharing....

...and a before and after of the sisters

Meg and Samantha. The day was beautiful, we are

so happy that Brandon is now officially part of our family!

It was also special to have our Meg home for the week-end.

I am so blessed to have these girls in my life!!!

More photos to come at another time....

May Happenings

May has been a busy social month. It began with

a Kentucky Derby Party hosted at the beautiful home

of Doc & Jayne. "Chic Dress & Derby Hats required", read

the invite and everyone looked the part! Our hosts are shown

above...

Next came a bridal shower for neice Samantha given by her future

mother-in-law! Shown here Peggy (mother-in-law holding one of her

grandkids), 3 of the bridesmaids and one of their kids. Meg is the Maid

of Honor, but living in Savannah, she couldn't make it.

Bride to be Samantha and (of course) Emma, who decided

they needed flowers in their hair.


A beautiful cake and sherbet punch topped off the afternoon.

....and today....Guri has found a comfy spot to laze in the

rainy weather....thunder is booming in the distance, so

guess I'd better shut this down....

Treasures

The past week I have worked at one estate sale, shopped at another one

(today) and visited our church's Treasure Sale with the Yaya's.

These 3 pieces I picked up at the church sale - I just couldn't resist them!

The water color on the bottom shelf I purchased at the

estate sale last week for $12.50! It is perfect for my newly

redecorated office (which is where all these treasures are

sitting at the moment)

The table, lamp, message board and adorable bunny candleholder

I picked up at todays sale.

Now for those of you who know how much "stuff" I already have - rest

assured I donated 6 boxes of it to the church sale! Of course then

Libby ended up buying 2 of our aunts things I'd donated..... ah well,

all for a good cause!

Spring Happenings

With Emma on spring break, we got to spend the day together

on Tuesday. Miss "no fear" turned the cat tree into her own personal

mountain and about gave Nana a heart attack!

My neighbors Henry and Polly came to play too...
...Henry and Emma making their first attempts to climb, with
Henry's dad Jason ready to help....

Sarah and I adorned the altar at our church yesterday - all ready for Easter Sunday

services......

...and last night we celebrated friend Sue's birthday. A few

of the women (and Nolan) watching Sue open her gifts.

The amazing aspect of this is that we were outside at

7:00pm on April 2nd in Michigan, and as you can

tell by the attire, it was warm outside!

The yummy birthday cake...

and because Sue and I have an agreement with each

other to post only the most flattering photos of each other

and my inability last night to capture the perfect photo....

you'll just have to trust me that she was in fact at her own party!