Our trek to Harbor Island

While Ichabod and I are staying closer to the Michigan lakeshore we decided we would visit a place we've always enjoyed, Harbor Island. Longer ago than I can remember it was the city dump. Right on the river, no less. There was a lot of wild field out there where they dumped the dredgings from the river, too. The end part, which is now the Municipal launching ramp, used to be where teenagers went to partake in illicit drugs and premarital sex. None of that anymore. Big redo here. Loads of local and tourist boaters.

It's still pretty even though they did turn the field into soccer fields. The water has gone down dramatically in recent years, too. There are plenty of places one can walk that used to be covered in water. Here's one of them.



Instead of water when you look down you see things like this.



Here's one of the decks they built out to what used to be water when they did the big redo.



There is a railroad track going through the edge of Harbor Island to Grand Haven that had to go over the water. Ichabod and I used to walk over the tracks to get over there. I was always scared to go over the water part of it. It made me feel really brave when I could make it across. Well, recently, they added a walkway on the side. All that money for a bunch of wusses. This picture turned out to be a weird blue color, I don't know why. I'll try posting it anyway. Looks like the picture is too small. If you're truly curious you'll need to click on the picture and go to my Flickr account.



There is some beautiful wildlife here, too.



And we've seen deer tracks here but never one standing right there. Remember, this is in the city.



But this was the most fun of all. When the water went down this showed up. People were in a panic that there had been a cemetary here. Turns out when the company making the headstones made a mistake they just dumped them in the water.



Anyway, it was a fun trip. If you ever get to Grand Haven, MI, you might want to check it out.

Michigan? I thought I was in the state of Bliss

Well, we got to Ichabod's folks' house on Saturday morning. It is so quiet here. The temperatures have been up to around 90 lately which is warmer than normal for this time of year. Luckily, the house is covered by tall shade trees and is very comfortable.


This is their house from the driveway.

Here's the backside of the house. At least, I consider it the back. This is a very old house that has been added to in a piecemeal fashion over the years. Anyway this is the porch that leads to the big yard.



Here are some shots of the yard. It is beautiful but this year has been drier than most. I don't think the pictures really show how dried out the grass is, but there should be way more flowers.









Here's a weird angle shot in the living room of the bay window. It used to have a window seat that Cassie, the beloved Afghan, used as her very own. She's been a bit miffed since they remodeled.



There were some Catalpa trees in the back that were still in bloom, too.


I still haven't gotten any shots of Cassie that I can use. I tried to take them in the house but it's been too dark. Anyway, there will be Cassie pictures and pictures from Harbor Island over in Grand Haven coming up.

Wherein we get the hell out of Dodge

I had something else I was going to post but I can't find it. So, instead, you get to hear my plans for the next few days. Ichabod and I are going to stay in Fruitport from Saturday until Thursday. We'll be house/dog-sitting for his parents. I have to get him to bring his digital camera so I can show you pictures of the place and the dog.

I'm really looking forward to this. With the warm weather, the people in the large apartment building next door like to hang around outside until, oh, 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. And they're not quiet. They woke me up last night. The woman's voice would go right through you even though you couldn't understand what she was saying. But the guy was readily understandable. He kept saying "Shut the f*** up!" over and over again. I think he meant it like, "Get outta here" but who cares. They sounded like they were shouting from a block apart. I finally opened the window and told them to shut the hell up. They mocked me for a little while, but did shut up after a bit. Then somebody played a rap CD loudly for a while.

Well, Ichabod's parents' house is in the country with a large, beautiful yard. It should be quiet and so nice. I just love their Afghan, Cassie, too. Can't wait to hang out with her. I'll let you all know how it goes. In the meantime, one more night this week for the loud neighbors.

My Favorite Teacher

Mrtl's Monday writing assignments are interesting. I did the one on love and now this one is on one's favorite teacher. I saw it first on Susie's site.

My favorite teacher was Joyce Haggard. She was my sophomore English teacher. She encouraged my writing habits and I thank her for that. She was no more than five feet tall at the most but she had so much energy. I believe she was from the Boston area. I loved her accent.

We read interesting books in her class and did much writing. My favorite was when I could write short stories. I did book reports and biography reports as necessary but fiction was my favorite.

She also told us about the ghosts in her house in Boston; unsettling but they were also very fun. She taught us self-hypnosis, too. The two subjects she chose were losing weight and getting to sleep. I had no weight problem back then at all but I did have trouble going to sleep. I still use that technique even though I'm not as practiced at it as I was.

Mrs. Haggard had a lovely home in the same town as my school. She would have her students over the day of exams for coffee and doughnuts. There were no other teachers that I ever had that were like her.

I took every class she taught. I couldn't get enough of her. Then my father was considering taking a job in New Jersey just before my senior year. The Haggards offered to allow me to live there so I could still graduate from that school. The job didn't pan out and both Mrs. Haggard and I felt a little let down that I didn't get to stay there.

Then about five or six years after I graduated my mother read in the paper that Mr. Haggard, Mrs. Haggard, their son and daughter and their son's friend were going on a trip together. A drunk driver crossed center line and killed everyone except the son's friend. Some kind of family karma going there, I guess. I cried. Then I prayed for them. At least they were still together as a family.

Thank you, Mrs. Haggard. I hope you're enjoying yourself where ever you are.

Everybody's got something to hide except me and my monkey

I need to keep practicing posting photos so I don't forget how to. Bucky dared me to show my monkey so here it is.



I happen to like this particular photo.

This is Squirl

This is me, Squirl.




This is a picture that Bucky took with her Kodak CX7530 Easyshare. She is teaching me how to post pictures.

The Frog Song

This is an instant-message collaboration between Ichabod and me.

The Frog Song

Squirl The flibberdegibbet did sit down and ribbet; so singing her little frog song

Ichabod She couldn't ad lib it and never could fib it; so she followed her script all along

Ichabod Her little frog song--and you may sing along--is full of regret and despair. The words are so sad you would swear she was mad as they melt and they stick in her hair.

Squirl In her despair and regret she did nothing but set the tone for the rest of her life. She sang the frog song till a frog came along and she decided she would be his wife.

Ichabod A few warts down the road he became a real toad, which is usually par for the course. She got her a lawyer and re-joined the choir and had a resplendent divorce

I Am From

I got this from Susie's site. You can check at the bottom of hers to see where she got it. And I did my best not to copy Bucky's, though hers was wonderful.

I am From

I am from paper dolls, carefully cut out and tended; from Koolaid and Space Food Sticks.

I am from the brick house, smaller than I remembered, yet happy, with vivid memories that I can still feel to this day.

I am from the sycamore tree that made the yard a mess for at least three seasons, the climbing yellow rose bush that my mom loved.

I am from making music and not confronting the negatives, from Mary Margaret and Fr. Bob and Leo.

I am from the tendency to make a joke whenever possible and always hoping it will be a great pun.

I am from "look both ways before you cross the street", and "ladies don’t use the s word".

I am from a base of Catholicism. No one in the immediate family attends anymore.

I am from Kentucky and Ireland and Germany and Switzerland. From chili with spaghetti in it, and cream cheese with Miracle Whip on toast sandwiches.

I am from the man who loved the woman who would be my grandmother so much that he tried to keep her innocent. The same man who, when they hit a bump in the road and my grandmother hit her head on the roof of the car, had to keep a straight face when she said, “You knocked me up!” and their daughter who had the lively sense of humor and great musical talent who allowed me the privilege of being her daughter.

I am from all of the wonderful photographs, some recent, some definitely not, that link me to the past and the family that will always be there, if not physically, then in spirit.

I don't want your woodchuck anyway

I was out on a country road looking for wildlife on a Sunday afternoon. I wasn't disappointed. There were blue herons and swans out on the river. There were beautiful yellow flag irises growing amid the lush green up from the bank. But the most interesting sight of all was in the middle of that road.

When I headed down the road there was something large and dark there. I realized it was a turkey vulture. Here's a picture of one in flight. These birds are big. And you certainly can't miss seeing it in the middle of the road. They have six foot wingspan.

Anyway, coming down the road it was just sitting there, right in the middle. It was guarding a dead woodchuck. It wasn't eating, just guarding. It didn't move until a car got really close. Then it would circle around and come back.

I went down to the water and saw the other things that I mentioned before. Coming back up the road, there it was. It was still guarding, looking very menacing, but not eating. The only thing that was weird was that the bloody woodchuck carcass was facing the opposite direction. I assume it eventually had lunch.

Granola Recipe

This is for Susie. She loves to ask for recipes.

I got this recipe from Ichabod's mother. It has evolved, for us, over time. We dropped the honey and the oil just to cut calories. When you make it that way you only need about 10 minutes baking time. I'm going to give this to you in its original form, though. Modify as you wish.

Granola

1 large box of Quick-cooking Oats
3 cups Sesame seeds
3 cups Sunflower seeds
1 cup Almonds ( or any nut that sounds good)
1 cup Wheat germ
1 cup Honey
1 cup Oil (we use light Olive oil when we use oil)

Put in shallow baking pans and bake at about 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring and checking periodically. Watch that the edges don't start to burn or you'll smell granola in your house for days.

After baking you can add any dried fruit. We usually use a couple of cups of raisins. We've also used dried bananas and cranberries. Before baking you can add flaked coconut. It's really just what works for your taste. We use pumpkin seeds and flax seeds, too.

The main thing is that it doesn't all fit back in the one oatmeal container. We've been doing this for over ten years so I've learned to keep an extra couple of oatmeal containers. Tupperware would work as well, but we like to recycle. :-)

Have fun. If you try it and come up with other cool things to add let me know.

Check out this kid

I was listening to NPR this morning and heard an interview with a 13 year-old boy who is a concert pianist. His name is Kit Armstrong. Not only does he play phenomenally, his speech is almost unbelievable for a person this age. He also writes modern classical music. Please take a listen.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4698061

This is because of Bucky's influence (That oughta scare ya!)

1 I am blogging because of Bucky.
2 I love animals even though I don’t have any pets.
3 I like to go out looking for birds, deer, any local wild critters.
4 I am the second of 5 kids in my family.
5 Like Bucky, I, too, am a four-eyes and have been since the age of 8.
6 I do get headaches, but not as bad as she does.
7 I like to do funny voices and wish I’d gotten into voice-overs for animation.
8 When I’m not doing funny voices I sing.
9 Sometimes I sing in my own voice, sometimes I imitate others.
10 I love thunderstorms.
11 I love humor, why else would I be so into blogland?
12 Some things that are important to me in a relationship are that my guy has intelligence, humor and is a good conversationalist.
13 He also must put up with my singing.
14 Everything reminds me of a song.
15 I have yet to do an audioblog, but I feel one coming up.
16 I like Mexican food.
17 I like junk food.
18 I like going on road trips with Ichabod.
19 I love to read books.
20 Harry Potter books are among my favorites.
21 I love to read blogs.
22 Mows is my favorite blogger.
23 I love to take long soaks in the tub with candles and a book.
24 My favorite colors are yellow and green.
25 Along with those two, I also wear a lot of reds and oranges.
26 My work desk is always messy.
27 I have quite a few personal things on my work desk.
28 I met Ichabod at work over 12 years ago.
29 I have a digital piano that I play more often than my other instruments.
30 My other instruments are an electric guitar, electric bass, acoustic guitar and a couple of cheap harmonicas.
31 I’m not really good at any of them.
32 I played string bass in the orchestra.
33 I had enough credits to graduate at the end of the first semester of my senior year in high school.
34 I was talked into staying for the second semester because, at that time, I was the only bass player in the orchestra.
35 That was the only class I took all semester so I could sleep in and goof off.
36 I’m the kind of person who can, and does, strike up conversations with strangers on a regular basis.
37 I am, though, a little scared of some of the homeless strangers in my neighborHOOD.
38 Unlike Susie, I color my hair.
39 It used to be that Bucky was the (natural) blond and I was the brunette.
40 I’ve had my red VW Golf for five years now and I’ve grown to like it quite well.
41 I no longer owe any money on that car.
42 My car usually is just a bit less messy than my desk.
43 I have a stuffed squirrel that I put on my dashboard.
44 When I learn to post pictures I will put that out here.
45 I always wonder if people get bored and quit reading these at this point.
46 I sometimes have more curiosity than is good for me.
47 My trouble, at times, in making decisions is why I’m called Squirl.
48 I like to watch movies.
49 Musicals are among my favorites.
50 Just about anything by Kevin Smith (think Mallrats) is good by me.
51 Nobody calls me sir.
52 I had to wear a uniform to school the first five years of my school life.
53 It was white and navy blue (see #25), which are NOT my colors.
54 It included a beanie as we had to go to church every morning, too.
55 I had enough of Catholicism as a child.
56 I believe in a Universal Spiritual Creator, but won’t follow any organized religion.
57 I was born in a large city in Kentucky.
58 When I was eleven we moved to a small town in Michigan.
59 I laughed when someone here tried to call me a hick because I was from the South.
60 I’ve met more people who qualify as Redneck (not a bad thing) in Michigan than I ever did in that large city in Kentucky.
61 I have to wear a watch even though there’s a clock on my desk, one on my computer, one on my phone and one on my pager.
62 I also have five calendars in my office.
63 I love to watch the Weather Channel.
64 That’s the main reason I won’t get rid of my cable.
65 I’ve always lived close to both a large body of water and train tracks.
66 I once lived in a house where the train tracks cut diagonally through the yard and about 20’ from the bedroom.
67 I learned to sleep through the middle-of-the-night train.
68 Even though I’m not a techy I like to work in the IT department.
69 Some of the weirder books that I’ve read (Geek Love and Perfume) were suggested by Ichabod.
70 I drink a lot of water even though people tease me about it.
71 If I don’t drink my water I don’t feel well.
72 I push water on other people, just ask Bucky.
73 I take quite a few vitamins and supplements.
74 I hate going to the doctor’s office.
75 I get impatient when the light turns green and the car ahead of me doesn’t move.
76 I like learning new things, even if I can’t remember them all.
77 I always rinse out pop cans and beer bottles when I’m done with them.
78 I try to do a weekly backup on the hard drive of my laptop.
79 I think fluorescent lights suck.
80 I like halogen lights.
81 All of my cars have had names.
82 The first one was a ’67 Chevy Impala that was a cream color that I called the Cream Machine.
83 My current car is red and kinda pudgey. Its name is Rosie.
84 I almost bought a manual transmission this time but they gave me too good of a deal on this automatic.
85 I’ve had my car vandalized once and stolen from twice since I’ve lived in my current apartment.
86 There are 33 stairs and no elevator where I live.
87 I’m in pretty lousy shape, but those stairs are good for my butt.
88 I have a bachelor’s degree.
89 I don’t feel like studying hard enough now for my master’s.
90 Sometimes I like to drink tea.
91 Other days I drink coffee.
92 I make homemade granola.
93 I like modern, leather furniture.
94 I have more music CDs than I ever listen to.
95 I’m proud of the fact that I graduated 16th in my high school class of about 360 students.
96 I’m kind of nitpicky about spelling and grammar.
97 If I didn’t have to work and had more money than I knew what to do with I’d probably go back for a master’s degree in English.
98 My political leanings are more left than right, but no one is correct all the time.
99 I am so happy that Ichabod doesn’t care to watch sports.

100 I am glad I got into this blog-group because everyone is so cool.

Working on a better post

Since Bucky posted her list of 100 things I figured it was time for me to do it too. I'm working on it right now. So far I'm up to 45 things. That hasn't been too hard yet. We'll see how the other 55 go.

Just wanted to let you know that I'm not purposely ignoring my posting duties. I'll be back.

I'm kinda TIRED of this

Ichabod just instant messaged me. He wanted to know if I have a tire gauge. He had a flat last week and was able to get it fixed. In the meantime he's been riding around on the spare. That's one nice thing about Volkswagens. They include a full-sized spare tire. Ichabod has a Jetta, I have a Golf.

Last night he decided to put the fixed one back on and rotate the tires. He realized it didn't handle quite as well as it should. I should have known what he was going to say next. The tire place probably overinflated the tire.

There are no tire places that ever check out what pressure is supposed to be in VW tires. They are supposed to be 26 lbs all around unless you're carrying a very heavy load. I have had bad luck with getting flat tires. Every single time I have to tell them that the tires need to be 26 lbs.

I don't know if they forget or if they think "dumb female." One time a guy even looked it up on the computer just ready to show the "little lady" that he was right. Ha ha. He had to have the mechanic go out and let air out of every tire.

Guys, I've had this car for five years now. I know what the crap I'm talking about.

Monday's Writing Assignment

I was at Susie's site today when she mentioned that Mrtl likes to give out Monday writing assignments. I don't usually do these but figured I'd put out a few thoughts on the topic of the week, Love.

Most people think of love as the chemical/sexual feeling between two people. But it's a MUCH larger concept than that. I love my family. I love Ichabod. I love the pets in my life.

There's a kind of love that I feel when see a blue heron soaring overhead, or hear a mourning dove's soft coo. There's the kind of feeling that fills me when I see a beautiful cloud bank. The same when I see a gorgeous sunset or a lush green field with bright yellow flag irises.

There's the love that is so strong among the bloggers with whom I converse on a daily basis. The love abounds here. Any time anyone is in trouble or hurting, the love just pours out from everyone's comments. The laughter that's shared is part of the love, too.

Okay, this was a mushy subject and that's all I'm going to do with it now. Thanks.

After this food it may be Festival of the Farts

Well, it's the first weekend in June in Grand Rapids, MI, which means Festival of the Arts. Of course, to me, it means food booths and some music.

I went down tonight and got a chicken tika from the Pakistani/Indian booth. Then Ichabod and I went over to listen to some R&B/Motown. When that was done I went over to the United Methodist Church booth and got a waffle cone with my FAVORITE ice cream, mint chocolate chip.

Now I'm sitting here, nice and full, trying to catch up on my blogging. Maybe I'll grab a beer. Tomorrow I will be going back for more food. Life can be so blissful sometimes.