hot hot hot

its thursday.. and unusally warm and humid for this time of year.

the good news is.. we actually got the swimming pool full of water :D the bad news.. the heater needed work.. but that was done today.. so although the kids swam yesterday (55 degrees F) brrrrrr today the water should be in the mid 70s ... much more civilized

this morning alex was getting ready for school.. and just fainted. very strange. he had another episode about 2 weeks ago where something similar happened.. although then he did not actually hit the floor. today he was standing at the sink one minute.. and laying on the floor the next.

i was very worried.. but after he rested a bit.. he felt fine. i took him to the hospital today for testing, and the doctor can find nothing at all wrong with him which is such a huge relief. i have low blood pressure and always have to be careful of standing up too quickly.

the doctor explained that sometimes, especially when your body has changed a lot in a short period of time, that your veins may just not respond quick enough to get the proper blood flow when you change positions... ie sitting to standing.. bending over and standing straight up. alex had his head in the sink getting a drink of water from the faucet...(i hate when he does that) instead of using a glass like normal people. when he stood up, that's when he fainted.

alex has grown another 4 inches since november, and actually has lost about 10lbs. he is still very sturdy ;) but his body has definitely been thru a lot of changes just recently.

for now i'm not going to be like a mother hen. and worry over every little thing.... i promise.

teaching tonight, and tomorrow i'll walk the paint creek trail again. this weekend i have a wedding party to attend. but nothing else exciting planned. i'm ready for summer to be here (school to be out)

the kids get so stir crazy this time of year.... just wanting school to be out. i'd love to not wake up at 5:45 everyday to get them up.

working on camping reservations in colorado, wyoming and maybe even the dakotas this summer... i'll keep you updated!

paint creek trail

as i've said in the past.. i've been walking a lot lately. in the new town where i live there is a beautiful trail called the paint creek trail. it used to be a railroad line, but now the tracks have been removed and its a beautiful walking trail. you can bike, walk or take your horse on it. since i don't have a horse.... i like to walk on it.

the trail actually begins in my town and ends in a town 10 miles away. one day it will be my goal to walk the entire thing. i'll probably bike it first.. cuz biking 20 miles doesn't seem quite as severe as walking it.

i walk with a friend most days.. and we've talked about parking a car at one end.. so that we only have to walk one way.

anyway.... yesterday morning was pretty stressful. grumpy people in my house, and arguments.. make for perfect fuel for walking. the grumpy people in my family (bill and hannah) actually came with me to the walking trail. they aren't accustomed to walking as far or as fast as i do.. so we actually walked separately.

i took my camera this time.. i rarely do. its hard enough to keep pace without gear hanging off my back. anyway.. the pictures here aren't great.. just snap shots as i walked the trail.

this time of the year the trail is gorgeous.. if you had any doubts that spring had arrived.. a quick walk on the paint creek trail will dispel those doubts.

i saw every spring wild flower you can imagine.. wild geraniums, honey suckle, violets, may apples, ferns, and a billion tiny purple flowers that i must look up one day.

i saw baby geese, baby ducks, and baby deer. all of the baby animals seemed very used to people..

the smells of fresh foliage and sweet flowers fill the air and my lungs as i walked. i walked a total of 2 hours yesterday, not sure exactly how far i went. but i know that when i returned the grumpiness had left my body... (probably with the buckets of sweat)

bill and hannah walked a slower pace, but it also seemed to get rid of most of their grumpiness.

even though a lot of bad things seem to have happened since i've moved to rochester.. i still love this community. i just always have to remind myself as much as it looks like a pleasant peaceful little town.. it is actually a suburb of detroit. being a suburb of detroit (a city that is in financial ruins) and the economy being the way it is.. and times just being so hard .... some people do stupid and desperate things. its sad.. the state of the world.. but a nice walk thru the woods seems to help me remember there are more things to life than just the troubles that are just completely overwhelming at times.

i promise to take a shorter walk on the trail this week.. with my camera in tow... and take some pictures that will convey the peaceful beauty that is there.

new page element

ok.. i'm trying something new on this blog... i've been taught how to add all kinds of different page elements to my blog... links to friends blogs, polls, even pictures and things.

i'm starting slow :P i did create a poll, and add a couple of links to blogs. i'd like to link more of my friends blogs here.. but wanted to make sure it was ok with them before i did it.

this week has been a roller coaster. starting one week ago when my purse was stolen and my car broken into.. then recollecting myself, and dealing with the fears and worries that come along with being robbed.

on wednesday i hit a new fitness goal i've been working for... i'm not giving numbers anymore.. cuz they really aren't mile markers that i'm working towards. my goal is not to be a certain size or see a certain number on a scale, but those things are indicators to my success so that are very tangible.

one thing i've realized thru this whole process is that each and every day the changes are so minor that they are easy to over look. losing a pound, walking an extra mile, going to a certain number on the scale... all along my body is adjusting, so it just doesn't feel that significant. through my eyes, i look very much the same as i did 8 months ago... until someone shows me a picture and i can put it directly next to a picture taken recently.

well on thursday of last week i walked 8 miles... in just under 2 hours. typically 3 miles an hour is a pretty good clip.. gets my heart pounding and keeps the sweat trickling down my face. i have a friend who does a 15 minute mile.. while walking (i don't jog or run) so she kept the pace and we had a blast.

to some people this may not sound like anything remarkable, but then again...you have no idea how much of a change this is in my life.

on thursday after the walk, i had a chance to get away. i do love my family... they are everything to me.. even if i want to shoot my kids to the moon sometimes... BUT it feels SOOOOOOOO GOOOD to get away without them sometimes. i spent thursday doing things that i love, and being with people who i wanted to be with.... friday we did a bit more.. and then were able to have dinner together one last night before everyone had to return home.

so after a wonderful few days away.... i came home to a phone call that one of my dearest friends is very ill. her husband recently passed away, as did her mother and her sister.. and now she is left to deal with this illness... she is one of the most wonderful people i've ever met. she has a very positive attitude and with the love and support of her friends will hopefully overcome this.

on to the roller coaster again.. this morning i had a music thing.. and after playing... my only thought was... this is the feeling that led me to become a musician. knowing i've played well.. and that people who heard me felt something..... because of the music.. its just an indescribable feeling.

now its sunday afternoon... i'm about to head to the gym... yes the same place at the same time where i was robbed last week. i haven't been back to the gym since then. i almost went several times this week, but i got weirded out and ended up walking, or riding my bike instead.

enough is enough...

swimming is one of the very best ways i've stayed on my fitness program and i'm not letting some asshole crooks take that away too.. so... i'm off to the gym ;)

wednesday night

well.. i haven't blogged much this week because i've been sitting in various government offices trying to re create my documented life. what a hassle. if i would not have had my passport in my purse things would have been MUCH easier.

the driver's license office wanted picture id to prove who i was.. but since all my id was stolen they accepted a birth certificate, and a marriage certificate to verify my name change. now i have a paper license until the picture one comes in the mail (anywhere from 7-30 days)

the passport office has forms.. lots and lots of forms to be filled out. the first form was to report a stolen, but valid passport. when you submit that form you also have to - a: apply for a new passport, or b: be terminated in the system.

being terminated in a government system is NEVER EVER a good thing.. unless you are dead.

so.. i filled out the two forms... report stolen, and apply for new. they wanted a valid picture id.. of course i had the same issue as at the drivers license office... no picture id yet. the passport office wouldn't accept a birth certificate or marriage license as proof of who i am. they weren't interested in seeing my paper (temp) drivers license either. they said to come back after i get a valid government issued picture id.

here is the problem.. you can not fill out a stolen passport application without filling out one of the other two forms (termination or renew) what a mess. i DO NOT want to be terminated in the system.. something tells me that would be hard if not impossible to correct.

so at this moment whoever robbed me also has all my valid identification.... they can prove they are me better than i can prove i'm me :(

i HATE government bureaucracy.

hopefully the picture id wont take 30 days to arrive.. and i can clear up this mess before an even bigger mess is made.

tomorrow i'm going out of town for a couple of days. the trip was planned before all this happened and i really really need a break right now anyway.. so it turned out to be good timing.

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS

you didn't think i'd let the crooks ruin everything did ya????

i've been working on getting a small chamber group together to play a few jobs this summer. i really love playing in a small ensemble... especially a woodwind ensemble. but i wanted something a bit unique and i wanted to work with people who i knew were excellent musicians and who wouldn't be so uptight about how much we were getting paid.

well..i have a friend who i've worked with in the past. she plays flute, but also has a bass flute. her daughter just graduated from college with a degree in music, and also plays the flute.

now a flute trio isn't terribly unique although you rarely hear one playing. but... a flute trio using 2 C flutes and one bass flutes is far less common.

we got together for the first time today just to see how we sounded. we sight read for a while.. talked about what kind of jobs we were willing to take, and came up with a plan.

i have to say... and i don't mean to brag.. but we really sounded good together. i'm playing first flute, carolbeth is playing second flute, and jill is playing bass flute.

there isn't a lot of music (maybe none) written for that instrumentation so we'll have to do some arranging and we can also use some flute trios just lowering the 3rd part and playing it on the bass.

carolbeth is getting married june 23rd (i'm shooting her wedding) and then at the end of the summer she will be moving about 6 hours away with her new husband. so.. we have this summer to work together.

i've already booked us one job on july 8th ;)

carolbeth said that she will be willing to keep practicing and come back for jobs throughout the year.. but she also said if we needed to find another flute player to replace her she would understand. i'm not sure what we're going to do yet.. i guess it depend on how much work i can book for us.

so... now i need to come up with a unique and great name for our little trio. any suggestions????

its late... and i have a huge day tomorrow and a big one on friday too, so i better go to sleep. i just wanted to let everyone know that i'm slowly getting my world put back together after the robbery.

bb4n

shitty day

today didn't start out shitty.. it actually started nice. the weather sucked, but that was ok cuz i had a lot of work to do inside anyway.

we went to breakfast... i even made good choices and stayed healthy.. went by the fruit market and bought the foods i need for the first part of the week.. rushed home, iron my dress for my concert and made my call time of 1:50pm

i sat thru rehearsal.. and because i was just one of the people on the the concert for today... i only got 5 minutes to warm up and do a sound check. the concert started at 4pm so i sat there for 2:05 listening to people waste time...

so.. the concert begin it went fine. nothing really exciting. it was a concert series for a big cathedral in detroit and i had 2 numbers on it. when i finished playing.. i didn't even stay to hear the rest of the musicians.. i just left to come home.

i was rushing home because my daughter hannah had really wanted to go to the gym with me today, but i knew that i'd be exhausted if we didn't get there until after dinner.

i decided that arriving at the gym before dinner would be a great idea... its still light, most people are home fixing dinner, 5pm is rarely busy at the gym on sundays.

when i got ready to go to the gym.. hannah told me she was too tired to go... so i nearly decided not to go myself, but thought.... what the hell...i'll just swim for 45 minutes and get it over with.

when i got to the gym i locked my purse in my trunk because the gym had posted a note in the locker rooms not to leave anything valuable in your locker. i figured my trunk is secure.. especially since i parked not 50 feet away from the front door of the gym and it was still daylight.

i swam.. showered and was finished in less than an hour.

i went to my car.. opened my trunk... and my purse was gone.

i went to the drivers door and found the door ripped up... the locked removed.. and the window smashed

my passport, license, money, credit cards, pictures, phone... medicine .. my wallet, my purse.. everything i need to live my life day by day.. gone

i went to the gym.. to have them call the police.. and found out there had been 3 other break ins just between yesterday and today.. and probably 40 or more in the last 6 months. no one at the gym bothered to warn people to not lock things in their trunk.

the gym idiot didn't even want to put a sign up on the front door warning people after it happened to my car.. so i made a big stink.. a really big stink.

as i was waiting for the police to come.. i made sure to stand by the front door of the gym and warn people to not leave ANYTHING in their car... everyone i told turned back around and got something from their car..... everyone was in the habit of doing what i did.. because of the locker situation.

i hold the gym responsible for not warning people that this has been going on... but.. blaming them doesn't get my pictures of my kids back.. or my passport back.. or make my life any easier.

i don't have a cell phone now... or a purse, or wallet. my insurance will cover the damage to the car, less 1000 which is my deductible... the damange estimate is proably right around 1000 :| so i'll just have to pay it out of pocket.

i'm pissed and i hate everyone right now.

bill has zero compassion.. the kids are annoyed with me because i can't buy gas, because i can't get money out of the bank because i had to cancel my debit card, and my credit cards.

bill is traveling tomorrow.. and needs his car.. i'm stuck either driving him 65 miles thru traffic at 5am to the airport.. or going without a car for the next several days or even a week. oh..he needs to be there at 5am that means leaving here at 4 :(

i wish i didn't give a damn about things.. but i do..

i will probably loose my gym membership now.. because the gym is very angry that i stood there and warned people not to leave valuables in their car.

i think the gym should have security in the parking lot.. especially if they KNOW this has been an ongoing problem.
fuck.. i'm angry

pistons move ahead!

my basketball team, the pistons have won this round of the playoffs and now we move up to the eastern conference finals! we don't know if we will play new york or cleveland.. but either way it will be a good series.

our hockey team is doing well too... hopefully we will finally put the mighty ducks in their place.. and head to the stanley cup :P

tomorrow will be spent working in my garden.. its supposed to be sunny and warm. so of course there will be more pictures coming soon!

hannah is doing well on her new fitness program.. but she is finding the challenges to be more difficult that she thought. apparently she thought i made it look easy :P i'm still working very hard.. but.. it just has to be the way i live my life now.. i can't think of it as something i'm doing "For now"

i have a concert this sunday, i don't know how well it will be attended... with the weather turning so beautiful even i don't want to be stuck inside listening to music on a sunday afternoon. i'm glad things are winding down.

oh.... i nearly forgot.. my youngest, sam went to his first dance today... and even danced with a girl. apparently she is very sweet on him. how quickly they grow up.. its like it was just yesterday when he was falling down and scrapping his knee crying.......... WAIT!!!! that was yesterday ;)

have a great weekend!

thursday 17th

i know.. i've missed a couple of days.. things just get so crazy this time of year.

awards nights, band concerts.. end of the year events..

i had my annual meeting with one of my performance groups on monday. i'm in charge of marketing and publicity for this group and when i took over this job the promotion of the group had hit an all time low. i should explain :|

i was in this group for 4 years.. then i moved to kansas. the 4 years i was in the group, i was just part of the publicity committee, so the entire task didn't fall on my shoulders. we were always very well booked throughout the concert season. the only thing i did was take pictures and put together press releases.

the year i was in kansas.. the job was handed over to someone that just wasn't very interested in doing it.. and thats all it took. one year of low visiblity and the group was struggling for jobs. i'd say the musicality of the group wasn't were it should have been either when i returned, but by christmas time we were playing as well as we ever have.

so.. it has been a huge task to take over publicity. we usually are booked several months.. or even a year in advance, so the concerts that should be in the fall are usually booked the fall before.

on monday i had to present a marketing plan to the committee that does a lot of our funding. i think it went well.

now.. i'm off to watch the pistons game, we are still ahead in the series 3 games to 2, but we need to win one more to advance to the next round.

i'll keep you updated on our progress!

mothers day +1

mother's day was yesterday.. and it turned out to be just a beautiful day. i had tea and berries in bed.. thanks to my kids and i got a new lens for my camera :D

the lens isn't an expensive one.. but.. its fun. 50mm 1.8

i took a few shots while eating my berries and drinking my tea... this picture is of tally.... one of the twin kitties i have.

she likes to burrow under the covers.

i spent the day at an art fair.. and didn't buy much. there were tons of photographers showing work, some of it was really wonderful. the weather was nice, so it was very very crowded.

after the art fair we ate at one of my favorite restaurants... its really just a family diner. nothing fancy at all, but they make the BEST greek salad.

after dinner we went to my mother in laws. most everyone was there.. lots of kids, and grand kids. it turned out fine. they haven't seen me much since i started working out. they had lots of cakes and sweets.. but i was good.. well, mostly good.. i did enjoy a glass of wine.

hannah had a hard time avoiding all the sweets, but she managed to make some good choices and realizes now how much you have to plan ahead when you go to a party like that. (unless you want to eat brownies, cookies, 2 different cakes, and chips and candy)

we got home rather late, and then i had to be up early to go to my annual meeting for one of my performance groups. since i'm in charge of publicity and marketing.. i had to present a report that talked about what we did this past year.. and what we hope to accomplish.. and how we will accomplish it for next year. it was a lot of work... but my presentation went fine.

i'm meeting with joseph.. the other guy on my committee tomorrow over lunch to work on some of the things we talked about. we have 7 concerts set up for next concert season. but we really need 15-20 to make things very comfortable. booking another 10 concerts will be a huge task.

still saturday

took hannah and her friend alex to the concert tonight.. the band was hello goodby... i hate to sound so old, but i've never heard of them. i did listen to some of their music before hannah bought the tickets... thats when i decided i'd rather be doing anything tonight other than hearing that band ;)

dropped the kids off and then drove around detroit for a while... i should explain how this city is. detroit is the major city in the area, but around it the suburbs have grown to massive proportions... nearly everybody lives in a suburb, there are a very few nice areas in the actual city limits of detroit, and the rest of the city is in horrible disrepair and actually quite dangerous. its poverty stricken, and such a shame.

in the 1960s there were some riots on detroit.. riots between the races.. black/white... and the city has never really recovered. we've had corrupt politicians.. and many companies have moved out of the actual city. i have some photography books that show detroit back before the riots.. when henry ford was first making cars, and then some more images from the 50s. there was wonderful public transportation, and parks.. and people really loved living in the city back then.

i have a friend who really enjoys taking pictures of the "death and destruction" in detroit.. i think he likes photographing it so much because he remembers what it was like before things got so bad there.

even in the early 80s there were still lots of neighborhoods where you could raise a family in detroit.. i went to college with several people who lived in the city.

i have a lot of images from detroit that show just how bad things have become there.. this blog has reminded me of them. i promise to put a folder on my flickr site to show some of the more telling images of my poor city.

but.. back to tonight...the picture above is of hannah and her friend alex.. at the concert theater.. and then on the way home from the concert we saw a little fair that was set up close to my own city (in the suburbs) so.. you get another picture of me and hannah, at the fair. the weather actually turned colder tonight so we didn't stay at the fair long.. (just long enough to take a few pictures :P)

saturday afternoon

ok.. its saturday afternoon.. so sunny outside that it seems to be a sin to sit in. i've spent the morning in a class with my daughter. :| she decided she really wanted to get fit and start an eating plan (inspired by her mom :P) and the class for teens has the orientation on saturday mornings...

she will meet with the nutritionist on her own.. and then also have her own exercise program. i'm so proud of her for making this choice.. but i know how hard its going to be. the peer pressure at school will be hard. its the end of the year.. there are pizza parties, receptions full of cookies, bbqs with hamburgers and chips... so many things to have to plan for. i know she can do it.. she needs to plan ahead. anyway... thats where we spent the morning.. inside on this glorious gorgeous day!

now.. hannah has a concert to go to this afternoon.. in downtown detroit ..... she is just too young to go to a rock concert on her own (even with friends) but... i really really really don't wanna see this particular band. i've seen several of her bands with her and her friends... i can't do it today :|

this concert has 3 bands... and its in a theater that will be very well secured.. soooooo i'm dropping her and a friend off at the theater, and then we'll hang out in downtown detroit for a few hours before picking them back up. i mean.. she is nearly 17 :| i shouldn't hover so much.

here' the problem.. there really isn't a lot to do in downtown detroit.. its a dying city. very industrial, and not many places to hang out (unless you want to sit in a bar)

i'm gonna take my cameras... see if there is anything to shoot.. but its not even safe enough to walk around with my cameras, so i'll have to drive and shoot out of the window... or stop for a short bit and then right back in the car.

there are some casinos in detroit.... i've never even once been in one.. that probably wont change today. if i had money to throw away.. i'd be throwing it away in someplace other than the casino.

ok... time to go....

tomorrow is mother's day ;)

b

lazy day

i'm supposed to be working.... i have a picture order that needs to be at the lab.. yesterday. its wasn't a great job.. i was just hired to shoot this even for a local music event (a convention).. so the shots are candids, and less than exciting.

the sun is shining and i'd rather be outside getting dirty in my garden..

i was just asked to play at least 2 more times this summer at Christ Church Cranbrook. yay! its a very prestigious venue... one of the oldest cathedrals in our area.

i agreed to play.. (of course) but also suggested that instead of just hearing me as a soloist.. that they might enjoy a chamber group.. duet or trio.. or maybe even a quartet.

the music director was excited by that idea.. even offered to pay us each separately instead of my usual fee being split among a group.

i called my friend Jill (another flute player/teacher) and she suggested doing a trio using 2 flutes, and a bass flute. (jill plays bass flute as well) we'll have to get together a few mornings in the next couple of weeks to work out some repertoire.

just when i thought my performing schedule was coming to an end for the summer.. i got this :) and this is really cool. i mean i'm ready for a break from my normal rehearsal schedule.. but this is totally different. 3 of us (who really enjoy each other's company) actually making a little money together... i could get used to this :P

ok.. back to my picture order, then out to the garden to play in the dirt :D

beautiful tuesday

it was a glorious day... the weather was ideal.

i got up early, drove the two older kids to school and then had to take sam to the dentist. we arrived at the dentist office a little early (8:10 for a 8:30 appt.) and sat in the car with the windows down for a few minutes to wait for the office to open. it was already warm.. probably 70ish.. and there was a slight breeze... the breeze brought with it the aroma of lilacs. its the first time i've smelled it this year.. and the scent filled the car.

i did buy 2 lilac bushes for my new garden, but they are only saplings... i don't know how many years it will take before they flower enough to fill the backdeck with that sweet smell.

i dropped sam at school and headed for the gym. it was kinda annoying at the gym today. i just wanted to swim my laps and get on with my day. it started out just fine... only a few little kids in the lesson pool and the lap pool was completely empty :D

i started swimming and it didn't take long before a VERY annoying man showed up. he chose the lane directly next to me. when i swim laps.. i don't go fast, just a steady pace, and my goal is to swim between 30-50 minutes.. depending on how much time i have. Mr. annoying showed up after i had already been swimming for 15 minutes and my pace was already set. the first annoying thing he did was stop me when i got to the end of my lane to turn around.. :| so there went my pace.. and then he asked me "how long is one lap in this pool?" clearly annoyed i said "i don't know... i swim according to time, not how many laps i go..."

i then tried to regain my pace... get my heart rate to a steady 140 or so.. and continue... when all of a sudden Mr annoying decided to attempt somesort of butterfly stroke.... and with all of his flailing about he ended up spalshing me right in the face as i turned to take a breath..... ugh. i inhailed the water (that never feels good) and had to stop again to cough up the water

there was still several lanes free.. so i decided to move down and try to continue my workout. about 30 minutes into my swim... another guy jumped into the pool.. of course he chose a lane directly next to mine. when i got to the end of the lane... this guy would start swimming.. really fast.. like we were racing :| and then when he would get to the other end of the pool before me, he would just sit and wait until i got there.. and i would turn... and he would do it again. i've experienced this same thing in the pool before.. always with men... they like to feel like we are racing.. and they are always winning :| it usually lasts about 10 minutes then they get tired and leave. guys do the same thing on the freeway i've noticed.. if you pull up next to them.. they just can't stand it.. they have to go faster than you. ok.. i'm not bashing guys.. just making an observation ;)

i stopped at the garden shop and bought a few things for my yard... i still don't know what is already planted here, things are just starting to bud and pop up out of the ground. i'm fairly sure there isn't a single thing planted in the flower bed that borders my back fence, so i'm going to make that into a vegetable garden.

i also got 2 planters to put on the railing of my back deck.... i think i'll enjoy this house a lot more once i get some beatiful things growing in the back garden.

i called a pool company to come and do some minor repairs and open the swimming pool for the season but they can't get here until the last week in may. i don't think it will be warm enough to swim before then anyway.. but i'm having a party on june4 (end of the year party for one of my music groups) i hope the pool is ready by then.

bills traveling again.. new york city this time.. i swear he travels 2 or 3 days each week, and most of the time he is flying somewhere for a one hour meeting.. seems like a waste of money to me. with phone conferencing and video conferencing.. i would think flying across the country to have a one hour meeting would be a thing of the past.

although.. i have to say.. i wouldn't my flying to manhattan for a day ;)

tomorrow i have class... and then if the weather holds up.. i'll be in the garden again

bye for now!

home again

i'm home from my camping trip. it ended up being me, sam and hannah. hannah has only been camping a few times... even she had a good time. Sam and i often go by ourselves, so he is a pro ;)

we got a late start on thursday, so we ended up getting there after dark. as we headed north from here the temperature started dropped dramatically. by the time we were 20 miles from our destination it was about 40 degrees. Thats when sam informed me he only brought shorts :|

we took a detour and found a shop with sweatpants and sweat shirts... only $6 each (deep discount end of the season sale) i bought him a set.. shirt and pants, and decided the price was so great that i couldn't pass it up and i bought me a set and hannah a set too. then we were on our way again.


we got to the camp at about 10:30pm... pitch black. the camp ranger had gone home for the night and there was NOBODY in sight. only a sign telling us to leave our name and payment and slip the envelope in the door.

we then drove around the park road searching for a campsite in total darkness. we heard the lake, and hannah found a small clearing. it wasn't far from the bath house so we decided to set up there.

hannah was surprised at how fast we got the tent up.. especially with only the headlights from the car. we were all ffffrrrrreeezing. so we put on our new sweats..after we all got into our new sweats.. we realized they looked like prison issued clothing.. :| we then climbed into sleeping bags.. and went to sleep by the sound of the lake waves hitting the shore.

in the morning i woke up early.. the sky was turning pink and the sun was going to rise soon.. and the moon was setting .. it was a beautiful full moon.

i took a couple of shots.. i haven't looked thru them all, but here is one of the moon setting on our first morning.

it was so peaceful and quiet.. and cold.. i crawled back into my sleeping bag and we slept for several more hours. waking later to the sound of some canadian geese honking as they swam in the lake.

we cooked over the campfire.. biscuits, hamburgers, baked potatoes, baked apples, corn, hotdogs, roasted veggies, even cinnamon rolls ;)... i'm pretty creative when it comes to cooking over the campfire.

we hiked a little... the days warmed up nicely, but in the evenings it cooled to the lower 30s again. actually once i figured out that i actually could put every single item of clothing i brought with me.. on at the same time.. i was warm at night :)

on the second day we took a short drive to a light house, and on the third day we had to pack up and come home. i had a music thing this morning that i had to be back for.



this is a sunset from the 2nd day.... i know there is some glare, but just wanted you to see.

i love camping.

tomorrow i'll be in the recording studio all day, it might end up being a very long session. i just got an email telling me there are 3 more pieces that we haven't even seen yet.

i'm going to take pictures in the studio so you can see the inside of the recording booth.

now.. i have a mountain of laundry to do from camping..

camping...

well.. i'm finally packed up and we are heading out camping. alex isn't going, cuz he doesn't feel well... its ok, he can stay home and watch the dog. bill will travel tomorrow.. so alex wont have to stay home alone tonight.

i'll have pictures when i get back! be home saturday afternoon :)

backyard before

ok... most everyone knows i moved from michigan, to kansas and back to michigan all within the last year. each time selling a home, and buying a new one... what a huge hassle.

i should give a little history.. i've moved about 8 billion times since i've been born.. so moving itself isn't new to me. but some moves have definitely been better than others. i almost always find cool and interesting things about the new places i live.. but no matter how many times i move, michigan and south carolina seem like my two homes. i went to high school and college in michigan. i was born in south carolina, and for every summer i can remember i've visited there.. my parents have retired there.

the last 3 moves went like this. we lived in michigan for a few years.. bought a house that was nice with a huge yard and garden. before living in that house, i had never really had a chance to work on a garden and get it the way i wanted it .. before we moved again. that garden was gorgeous. i had an apple tree, several lilac bushes and created a large shade perennial garden as well as a vegetable garden.

we moved to kansas..... flat.. desolate... empty. but.... i decided that since i got so much enjoyment from my garden in michigan that i would make that a priority in my new house in kansas. so after the home was finished being built.. i hired a landscape architect to help me design a nice garden and yard... and a lot of time and expense went into making the yard an oasis in the middle of the prairie. if i would have stayed in kansas like originally planned, i have no doubt that i would have enjoyed that garden.

now... jump to the present... down sized our home..., and our garden. also bought an older neglected home... with a sorely neglected garden. :( when we decided to buy this home the yard was already dormant for the winter.. so i had no idea what, if anything was alive out there.

now its spring... everyones grass in this neighborhood was turning green... not ours :| everyones spring flowers blooming... not ours. everyones sprinklers starting up... mine needs repair. even the shrubs and trees in this yard look like they have lived a hard life.

there is a swimming pool here... it is in need to total renovations.. but there just isn't money for that this year.. luckily i know it does work.. even if it isn't beautiful.... someone will come out and take the cover off and fill it in the next few weeks.


There is good news in all of this....... its like having a clean slate to start with. there is very little planted on our little plot of land. even the grass needs to be reseeded. so, its like i'm starting from square 1.

the pictures here show just what kind of shape out garden is in... these will be the before images... later in the summer after i've got some things planted and there is life back there.. i'll show the after images.

also.. there is a picture of my dinner from last night :P over the last 6 months.... i've totally changed the way i eat. i now eat mostly fruits and vegetables. last night was a typical meal for us. i grilled skinless chicken with fajita spices, peppers and onions.. and then also grilled a bunch of asparagus after putting a little lemon juice and some oil on them. the kids put all the veggies and meat into tortillas with a bit of cheese... i think just about everything tastes better when its cooked on a grill. :)
this picture is of all the seeds we planted about a month ago... these are summer annual flowers.. everything from sunflowers to morning glories. i also have some beautiful azalea bushes that i'll plant as soon as the danger of frost is over.

you can see.. even though the backyard is pretty sorry looking now.. i still love it :) i would rather cook out there than in a kitchen anyday.. and i'll make sure that my outside kitchen looks like paradise before this summer is over ;)

ducks

This morning after getting everyone out the door... i got a phone call. it was bill and the kids in the car telling me to go outside and see our new neighbors.... i didn't know someone had moved in, and i was still in my jammies.. so i just peeked outside and saw a family of ducks that has decided to set up camp at the edge of the road.

this isn't a quiet spot.. cars drive past here all day long.. 25mph and they are just inches from the road. i watched them for a few minutes.. and even as cars went by they didn't budge.. one even tucked his head behind his wing for a nap.

there are lots of quiet, cozy places near here where these ducks could enjoy a rest, or build a nest. there are several ponds, and lakes just blocks away.

my theory is... they are waiting for me to take the cover off my swimming pool :|

they are either extremely stubborn, or not very smart.

its wednesday... i have class today. i haven't had the best week... i was feeling yucky for most of it.. and didn't get to the gym on my usual schedule. it seems to be a cycle tho.. when i don't feel well, i don't exercise, and when i don't exercise, i don't feel well.

i'm not running a fever.. this bug just seems to be hanging on and sucking the life out of me.

i'm starting back on my regular schedule today.. so i'll swim my laps after my class and hopefully things will get back to normal.

bill got home from chicago late last night.. but will leave again tomorrow to travel somewhere (i'm not sure where) the kids don't have school on friday.. and i really wanted to take a few days to go camping.. now i'm not sure that i can do it. :(

i suppose i could just take the dog with me.. since it wont be hot.. he can stay in the car if we need to drive anywhere... i usually avoid taking kip with us when we camp because he thinks that its his job to chase every squirrel within a 10 mile radius. that gets really annoying.

the lakes are still too cold for swimming.. so we will just hike, and cook, and hang out... so maybe i wont cancel the trip after all :)

i do need to think about a destination tho.. and see if i can make a campsite reservation tonight. its about 3 hours to lake michigan..thats the west side of my state. maybe i'll stay a bit closer to home this time, and just take a drive up the eastern side of the state to the tip of the thumb area. my state, michigan, is shaped like a huge mitten. we tend to hold up our hands and point out places where we have been.. or intend to go... :P its like having a map all the time.

on the map below.. the closet city listed to where i live is Pontiac. the tip of the thumb area is really beautiful. there wont be many boats in the lakes yet.. i believe there are probably still chunks of ice in the northern lakes. but there will be light houses, and forests to explore.



ok... i'm off to get ready for my class. wish me luck, i'm not as prepared as i usually am.