Saturday, September 27, 2014

Ordinary

In order to maintain a certain amount of excitement engendered by Judy's son's Colorado Trail hike, I should be able to record some equally fantastic feat.  I can't.  It's not that I've been doing nothing, it's that I've been doing ordinary things.  I would like to campaign for ordinary.  Five cheers for ordinary here.

(Perhaps ordinary means extra-ordinary.  Sometimes.  If one is extremely grateful for ordinary.)
Julie

If you're ordinary you can smell the flowers.

If you're ordinary you can paint your kitchen green.

If you're ordinary you can tackle your pile of books.

If you're ordinary you can eat a piece of pie.

If you're ordinary your children can come visit you, AND you can take them to see Rosie the tarantula.
Hazel wanted to hold Rosie, Emory did not.
Back to North Carolina they went.  Sadness here.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

First Car, Last State

If you've read our book, you know that I (Judy) have visited every state in the union with the exception of one.  Michigan!  This summer we drove the complete Lake Michigan Circle Tour...900 miles plus from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, up through Green Bay, over to Sault Ste. Marie, down to Mackinac Island, on to Traverse City, then to Holland and Chicago and back to Milwaukee.  I took pictures galore, of lighthouses (Michigan has more than any other state), Sleeping Bear Dunes and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (painted by God with eons, not brushes), and a covered bridge.  We visited a shopping center/restaurant/condo village that we found later to be the old state insane asylum.  We felt the ice cold water of several lakes, breathed in the uniqueness of a place where no cars, only bicycles and horse drawn carriages are allowed, and drove through rainstorms so furious even the windshield wipers couldn't keep up!  (The loudest clap of thunder and flash of lightning was when I was in a little wooden outhouse!) But would you believe my favorite picture of all was that of these wonderfully rusted, has-been Renault Dauphines?  My first car!  How I loved that car.  And do you know what?  Those cars reminded me of ME!  Just plain old with defective parts, unrecognizable chassis, dimming headlights and seat cushion stuffing nearly gone, yet to me, a beautiful car still.  We may not always be who we were, but we'll always be who we are.
Just like me

Painted Rocks...the copper in the rock same color as the water


Former insane asylum


The Holland Harbor Light, known as Big Red
A beautiful home on Macinac Island