August 2012

Yes, I know It's been a while...  I could make promises about blogging more but my history speaks for itself... 

Anyway, I wanted to share a little about what's new in our lives and tell you about my new toy (this is mostly going to be about my new toy...). 

Another summer has come and (almost) gone.  There are a few days left but it has started getting cool at night (last night it was in the 50's) and it's still nice during the day.  Perfect fall nights. 

The lake was a lot of fun this year.  I had some great birds at the feeders and around the cottage including a nesting pair of Eastern Bluebirds!  However, someone entered their home and stole their eggs so they left.  I am going to put a lock on the lid so that next year we can try again.  I also saw a Cooper's hawk, pied billed Grebes and a pileated woodpecker among the many other species of great Michigan birds. 

The last week of July I finally made my big purchase- a Big Green Egg!  We were in need of a new grill (I had no temperature control because it would catch on fire every time I tried to use it) and every time I walked into DC Meats, our local butcher shop, the Egg displays were staring me in the face.  I researched several types of grills and smokers and I found that the Egg was superior to everything else on the market.  I finally took the plunge and I am totally in LOVE! Yes, it's a grill, and a smoker but it's so much more than that.  My greatest examples of how wonderful it is: I made cookies for dessert one night- Oh...My...Goodness...  They were FANTASTIC!!! And the next morning I made pancakes on the "grill."  There was no "grill" taste or smokiness in the pancakes- everyone was amazed!  You would not believe how great it is! 

This past week I grilled some steaks, a very normal grilling activity.  (I would consider myself a good cook.  I enjoy cooking and grilling and Bobby has always commented how he enjoys my food.)  When we were done eating, Bobby said, "That was the best steak I have ever eaten.  I could eat another one it was so good."  Everything I have made on the Egg has turned out amazing!  The chicken was moist, the burgers didn't shrink up and dry out and the steaks....  WOW!  This has been the best purchase I've made in a long time.

So really, nothing is new in our lives.  We are still working hard and enjoying our off time and trying to hang on to summer as long as possible.  Life is good!

November!

I can't believe this year is almost over! Last night we went to a friends wedding and my husbands cousin reminded me that I hadn't blogged in a while- thanks Paula! So, here's the update:

Bobby's doing well at work and is glad to be back. He's on the ambo and surviving but ready to go back to the engine.

We held our annual Pumpkin Carving Party and it went well. I was really behind this year; I didn't send out invitations and ended up having to send out a mass text a few weeks before. I was so unprepared for the party (funny since I set the date and time and Halloween comes at the same time every year) that I didn't have any of my fall/Halloween decorations out until the day before.

Saturday (11-5), my mom and I went to the Indiana Dunes to see the South Bend Elkhart Audubon Society's private presentation of Saw-whet Owl banding. The Saw-whet Owl is a very small owl that travels through Indiana on it's migration to warmer climates. This presentation was very interesting and we were even able to pet the owl- she was very soft!

A few days ago Bobby and I took a trip to our favorite Indiana getaway- Nashville (Brown County), Indiana. We rented a beautiful "cabin" that was on 10 acres and had a small fishing pond. We went down on Sunday and started our vacation by visiting the Indiana Raptor Center located in Nashville. Lori and Patty were great! We learned so much and got to see the most beautiful birds. We saw a Kestrel, owls, vultures, falcons, hawks and the most beautiful Bald Eagles. That was SO amazing! We toured the facility, watched the birds eat and were offered knowledge of the birds and what the facility does to teach the public and rehab/release injured animals back to the wild. These ladies were amazing!

Monday morning we were eating breakfast on the front porch and had a wonderful show. We saw so many birds- I was in bird overload! I didn't know where to look and just when I thought I saw something in the tree I would hear another bird and look in that direction. It was great! If this place was so busy in the fall I wonder what it's like in the Spring when the migrating birds are headed north. We've already started talking about our Spring trip to Nashville.

On Tuesday we packed up and thought we would toss a line one last time into the pond to try and catch something. The previous day was unsuccessful and we both wanted to leave having caught something. So we fished for about 25 minutes on our way out and NOTHING! Not even a bite! but just as Bobby shut his door a fish jumped in the pond, kinda like a big HA HA from the fish. Bobby was not too happy. After we turned in our key we went to the Brown County State Park and decided to do a trail before we left. The park is beautiful and a must see! There is so much to do: hiking, horseback riding, camping, a swimming pool (summer) and the lodge in the park has an indoor water park. I think we will try to stay in the park on our next trip.

Even though we had a great time and we are already planning our next trip to Nashville, it was nice to be home. I missed the "kids" and there's nothing like your own bed. Now, I just have to get used to this silly Eastern time change. I HATE that it gets dark so early in the winter.

Blogging is so Hard to do

I'm not sure why I find it so difficult to keep this blog updated. Whenever I think about posting I always get distracted- stupid Facebook! Anyway, here's the short, very short, version of our lives since April.

The first part of May Bobby and I took a holiday in Chicago. We stayed at this beautiful B&B, The Villa D'Cita and had dinner at Geja's, a fondue restaurant that was WONDERFUL! Then on our way home we stopped in Portage and saw Thor on the 3D IMAX. It was a nice little get-away.

We have been spending a lot of time at the lake. I have seen a lot of interesting birds, a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, a Redheaded Woodpecker and we even saw a Bald Eagle fly overhead last week. I start my vacation tomorrow and am looking forward to many hot days at the lake.

Bobby saw the doctor last week and has been officially released to begin strength training. I know he is ready to start back to work and is looking forward to a change in his daily routine.

My partner and his wife sold their house and are in the buying mode, which has become contagious. I have been looking at houses and am ready to get out of Mishawaka. I made a list (I love lists) of things I would like to do to the house to get it ready to put on the market and started we cleaning out yesterday. We have so much stuff! I am almost overwhelmed with all the boxes and things that need to go to storage (or the trash) before we can even think about a realtor. And as I'm "cleaning" I seem to be making a bigger mess because now I have several piles on the basement floor- Goodwill, garage sale, library donation, Better World Books donation, trash, save... Holy cow! I just need to stay positive and not become discouraged.

So, that's us in a nutshell. Yes, we have boring lives, which could be good- I'm not complaining. As I have said many times before, I hope to start blogging more, but you can see how that has gone.

That Time Again

It's that time again!!! LAKE season! Wednesday, Bobby and I went up to the lake so I could do a little work (he's not much help with one arm but he tries). All I wanted to do was hang my bird feeders and pull out some Day Lilly's because I want to plant a Hummingbird/Butterfly flower mix.

My mom once said that if there was a statement that described Bobby it would be, "Bobby rigged a system," or, "Bobby rigged it up" and for anyone that knows him knows how true this is. And he came through with his "systems" when it came to hanging my feeders. He set up a pulley system for my feeders by the house so it is easier for me to fill them. He told me how to hang them and I got up on the ladder and he supervised/directed.

Then, when I was hanging my new feeder, using a similar method as the others, I didn't secure the wire enough to the tree and when the ring took the weight of the feeder (it held 6.3 pounds of food!) the wire gave way from the tree and my feeder crashed to the ground, breaking into several pieces. Very sad, but my own fault. I was not thinking when I was twisting the wire to the tree and didn't secure it enough.

So, my feeders were hung, at least some of them, but I only got about 1/3 of the Lilly's pulled out. As far as I can determine they have been there forever! The bulbs are deep and there are so many! The plan is to try again tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will be nice and I can work in the yard.

While we were there I could hear some of the birds have already returned. I could hear Purple Martins but didn't see any and none had taken residence in the Martin house that we put up last year. I can't wait to see if we have any new birds!

Fun February? Not So Much...

February has been an interesting month. Bobby and I were looking forward to his return to work but it turns out that he is going to need another surgery. He had been experiencing some sharp pain in his shoulder and I thought it was just the healing process but when he went in for his final check up the doctor thought differently. After some poking around, he discovered that Bobby's bicep tendon was extremely inflamed and when it did not reduce with a cortisone shot- to surgery he goes. So Dr. Ratigan is going to do some sub scapular repair and a bicep tenotomy which means (at least) another three months out of work... Bobby has an MRI on Monday to see if the surgery can be done orthoscopically or if the doctor needs to open his shoulder up to do the repairs.

You know you've been in the cold too long when you walk outside and think, "Hey, it's kinda warm out here!" and when you look at the thermometer in the car it reads 22 degrees. I am really ready for the spring. We visited a store the other day and were looking at their bird feeders, houses and seed- I'm ready to feed my birds again! Hopefully it will get warmer soon so we can at least clean out the Martin house and start feeding the Orioles. Summer, summer, summertime!

I will post when we know anything about Bobby's next surgery. I'm sure it will be out patient and I know it will be a long recovery. Just when he was ready to get back to work too...

My Great Husband

For Christmas, Bobby said he wanted to make me a bird feeder to put up at the lake in the summer. Last night he presented me with a beautiful feeder that he made. I am so lucky- he is such a thoughtful guy!

I love it! I think it's so cute! I can't wait to hang it up at the lake in the spring.