a brief break

It's a wonderful weekend, Easter weekend.  For us, it's a time of reflection and renewal.  It's also a time to take a break.  A break from work.  A break from stuff.  A break from the ear debacle. 

So we drove east, then north, then east again, then north again.  Then east into our driveway. 

We had a gorgeous sunrise.  This beauty was taken with my phone.



We walked the beach and the changes are wild.  We have added another 40-50 ft of beach.  The low levels of the lake concern me.



I am standing at water's edge, looking at the cottages. 



Standing at my seawall, buried under piles of sand, you can see how far away the water is ...



I am hopeful but not holding my breath that we will have enough rain before the summer to raise the water levels.  It's still beautiful even with the water levels this low.

Happy Easter. 

Easter dinner

We headed up to EOTE on Good Friday.  While we love the Handsome One dearly, there are times when, well, it would be nice to sleep in past 5:30 in the morning.  He does not have a weekend setting.

So it was a vacation for him of sorts.  Rebecca, our bff and general manager of Whiskers, called us on our drive to tell us that Samson was standing at the top of the play ramps, barking at all the other dogs, not sharing the play space.  It sounded just like him – his own king of the castle.

We never worry about him there.

It was a serene drive for the most part.  We stopped in Tawas to grab lunch, discovering that our favorite restaurant was closed from 12-3 in observance of Good Friday.  We grabbed a quick lunch at another place, unpacked and headed back to Tawas to restock the barren shelves.

We stopped in Klenows, a great local shop to pick up some chicken for dinner.  That’s where it first started.  A guy, a patron, looking like any mid-Michigan guy stopping to pick up groceries, asks the guy behind the counter for frog legs.

My stomach turns a little.  They are all out, he says.

Oh gross, I think.  Someone actually bought frog legs.

The guy sort of loses it.  It was ruined his meal.  His Easter.  Whatever will he do?

Seriously.  He is DESPONDENT.  All I can think is OH MY GOSH WHO IN THE WORLD EATS FROG LEGS?

Apparently, a lot of people in Tawas.  Thank goodness we had chicken and the Easter Buffet at Wiltses.

I miss my little piece of heaven.  And it's good to be back.

Risen

From 2011-07-13

Happy Easter Sunday.

Good Friday

The moon looks down on us.  We look up to the moon.

From 2012-03-08

Relax, reflect, and renew this Good Friday.  

Easter Sunday

Sometimes, a beautiful sunrise is all I need to remember what's important.

From 2011-04-24

From 2011-04-24

From 2011-04-24

From 2011-04-24

Risen.  That will do it, just east of the equator.  Happy Easter.

Holy Saturday

Rest is underrated.  It becomes apparent to me when I don't rest for a long time and then do.

From 2011-04-22

From 2011-04-22

From 2011-04-22

From 2011-04-22

On Good Friday, after clean up, errands, some quiet time of reflection and friends at the V, Paul made a delicious marinated shrimp dinner.  Oh, and the quiet time followed by friends at the V is about as juxtaposed as one can get.  (just sayin')

From 2011-04-22

Enjoy your day, however you spend it.

A week and a day!

Well, it's good to be back from DC.  I sure had a blast talking about HR and Social Media @DUG2010.  Had the perfect combination of geeky tech, good friends, excellent food and the perfect roomie.  So fabulous.  But glad to be back.

I took Thursday off to extend my time out of the office and give us a long weekend.  I had Friday off and we had a gloriously quiet Easter weekend.  Our friend, Ann Marie, came to stay with us for the weekend.  She and Paul had a great time cooking scallops Friday night, mint and basil pesto with rack of lamb on Saturday night and saffron-infused grilled chicken on Sunday night.  We are all in a food coma and have don't have to cook for another week, at least.  The recipes should be posted shortly.  

The weather this weekend was nothing short of glorious.  The sun, the warm sweet spring breezes, the dancing trees - all of it was so wonderful.  We spent time sitting with our coffee in the morning and time in the evening with our wine, enjoying it all.  Samson enjoyed it most, chasing frisbees, rolling on his back and chewing his sticks.

Tomorrow, we are back at it.  I don't have any travel on the books for at least a month.  I hope to get back to regularly scheduled reading, writing and picture taking!  

No writing, just pictures.

I can't write anything that is remotely as wonderful as the pictures my camera takes. And I don't even know what I am doing yet! So my fingers take a break and my camera takes over. Writing will return shortly. Or not. It may just be pictures.

You know, life is beautiful. Whatever ugliness exists, it can be tempered with the beauty and wonder of God's gifts. And I think His Handsomeness is one handsome looking gift.

Happy Easter.

Recovering

It has been a quiet weekend. I have spent the majority of my time sitting on my duff, with my foot elevated and ice on top. The procedure went smoothly on Friday morning. Paul and I arrived shortly before 9:00 AM and start to finish, we walked out at 9:40. Paul stayed the entire time, to keep me company and take pictures. :) I had a couple of big shots to put my foot to sleep and then the good podiatrist stuck a large instrument into my foot to freeze the nerve giving me all the problems. Paul wisely decide not to take pictures during the actual work ...there are a little too much blood for my taste and the G rating on the blog. I am feeling much, much better, no additional bleeding, just a big nasty bruise. :( When I am all better, I am treating myself to a very nice pedicure.
Seems sort of sick to switch to food after posting awful pictures and commentary on surgical procedures but my podiatrist insisted that the best road to recovery included a good Pinot or Cabernet. So we had to oblige with a couple of nice meals this weekend including tenderloin deluxe. Today, Paul is making a pot of chicken stew. We have some carrots and celery that need to be used and soon. Plus it's pretty darn cold in Michigan so a good stew sounds terrific. With snow on the ground, ice on my foot and comfort food on the stove, we are watching baseball. And it's Easter Sunday. Nothing fits - I feel like I am lost in some weird Twilight Zone episode.

Samson is enjoying his day, doing what he does best. Here is thinking good warm thoughts and rejoicing on this Easter Sunday.