Michigan and Salt Lake City

I got to go to Michigan to visit with Kathy's family this summer (2013).  I had a wonderful time.  Kathy took us the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, Belle Island, and Walled Lake, to name a few places.  We went out to eat  and walked to the school playground, attended a music concert at a park, attended stake conference (with Kellen, Kathy couldn't go, after which we went for a walk--with Shade, a run--on a path through the forest behind the stake center), and I just generally enjoyed being around the kids--and grandkids ;)  I got to see my first real firefly, and chasing and trying to catch them (Kathy actually caught one) was almost my favorite part of the whole trip.  Kathy has probably better photos and information on her blogspot (kathyandkellen.blogspot.com).  On the way back I had a several hour layover in Salt Lake and got to see Teresa, Lily, and Richard.  They took me out to eat and go shopping, showed me around their home they are remodeling (I'm quite impressed), talked me into dancing (or something) with their video game set-up, and took me for a gelato (I think that's what it was called--something like an ice cream, very good!).  I quite enjoyed that visit also.

Riding on a carousel.

Filling for the Oscar Mayer Hotdog couch.

A dimaxion house built by Buckminster Fuller (my hero)!

Shade driving us in a Model T.

Shade showing off his "guns."

I think Kathy's paper airplane beat both my and Shade's airplanes.

Me, Kathy, Olive, Shade on the shore between the U.S. and Canada.

Olive getting her feet wet at the splash park.

Shade's T-ball trophy :)

Kathy and Kellen taking us out for dinner.

Getting a tour in an antique car.

Shade learned some old-fashioned games.

Kathy and Olive on the steam-engine train.

Shade really likes live things, from worms to ants to fire-flies.

Shade trying on a knight helmet I crocheted.

Olive trying on a toe-sandal I crocheted.

We got pretty close to the ducks.

It's so fun to hold a sleeping baby :)

Shade swimming in the lake (in the middle of the photo).

Attending a musical concert at a local park.

Some of the audience (!) dancing to the music.

Visiting with Teresa and Lily in Salt Lake on the way home.  Teresa braided Lily's hair--very nice!

Teresa and Lily introducing me to a "gelato" (sp?)

New house part 10--snow, garden

Icicles hanging from the roof above the clerestory windows--Feb, 2012.

This snowstorm dumped enough snow to go half-way up our clerestory windows.

Sometimes the snow gets so deep I end up parking at the bottom of the hill and walking up.

This is the view out our kitchen door.

We still haven't had time to put up a fenced-in garden plot to keep the deer out except for the small 8 x 16 foot one we had last year, so this year we only had enough room for some tomatoes and a few squash.  Next year it will be different . .

We got a lot of cherry tomatoes.

At least we got enough zuchinni for a taste.

Charles planted some radishes, beets, turnips, etc. to see if we can grow some things indoors when winter gets here.

New house part 9

Starting the framework for the bar behind the propane stove and fridge.

Panels halfway finished.  The pole is going to hold up a support beam for the loft.

Front of bar finished.

Starting on the cupboards above the bar/stove.

Finished shelves from the dining room side.  The pole and beams are up on the right.

The shelves are great for cups.  Starting on the pantry walls behind.

Shelves from the kitchen side.  They may eventually have ornamental doors.  We found a round mirror that we really liked and put it up by the front entry door, then added some grapes in a framework in front to make it not look so bare.

This is only a 15 watt light, but it works just fine powered by our solar panel/battery/inverter system.

We decided we liked grapes for a "theme" in our kitchen, and found some interesting "grape lights."

The "grape lights" at night.

This is the image of the lights in the mirror--I kind of like the effects.

New house part 8

Getting ready to start on the carpet.

My brother-in-law, Elroy, cut the corners for us.

My sisters, Gloria, Laura, and Lucy, helped spread the carpet out--it was late at night, hence the propane lighting.

New carpet, before the mop boards put down.

After the mop board edges screwed in.

The piano put in it's place--Yay!

I love to listen to Charles play the piano.

Nice and cozy with the rocket stove burning--drying out the last of the wood panels (brought in from outside where they were buried in the snow) so they can be planed, sanded and stained to use for our book shelves.

Bookshelves finished--books in the first two, puzzles and games in the one around the back of the stairs.

The top shelves can be accessed from the stairs.