not there

I define life in here and there.  When we are not there, we are here.

Rather vague but to me, it's very clear.   I am happy here but I love it, and I do mean love to the depths of my core, there.

But this weekend, we are here.  We had sunshine despite promises of rain and thunder and lightening.  We took advantage of the nice weather and walked.  A lot.

And I finally remembered to grab my little point and shoot and take some happy snaps along the way.

The trees are looking fab.





Both days, we walked to Reeds Lake.  It's looking fine.





I love this dog.




I say this a lot.  And I do.  This weekend, we put on the heart worm drops and it must bother him.  He  follows us around, sulking and sad.  It's hard to explain that something so awful may very well just save his life.  So instead, we give him a Denta-stick.  We call that puppy crack.  He LOVES it.

We do not buy any treats from Purina, purchased in China.

Cheers from here until we once again there.

Backyard

The Japanese maple in our backyard is absolutely stunning! 

From 2012-10-19

From 2012-10-19

Fall is stunning in Michigan. Cheers to the weekend.  Soon. 

The rest of the story

Sometimes, it's just a step outside into the backyard to see divine beauty. 

From 2011-11-06

From 2011-11-06

From 2011-11-06

From 2011-11-06

I took these pictures during the wind.  This is my favorite. 

From 2011-11-06

Leaf-a-gedden

Those leaves.  They just keep falling.  Darn gravity.  The leaves have created a brown carpet on the still green grass.  And if you look up, you will see that we still have more to come.  Great.








Samson helped.  Well helped supervise.




Took a few minutes to enjoy the gorgeous red of the Japanese Maple.






There will be more pictures.  There are more leaves.  Lots and lots of leaves still hanging on the tree.  But now, it's time to rest.

Cheers from EGR.  Hope you are having a glorious weekend!

Happy weather

It has been such a wonderful fall. The temperatures have been warm, breezes gentle, and sun abundant. We took out our cameras to grab what's left of the leaves and a few of those braves souls still enjoying the water.

From 2011-10-23

From 2011-10-23

From 2011-10-23

From 2011-10-23

From 2011-10-23

It's the Friday Happy Dance. Looking forward to a wonderful weekend full of friends, food, and fotography. Cheers!

Fall

It's fall in our house.  That means leaves, cold weather, and crock pot.  Paul made a delicious crock pot on Sunday.  We posted the recipe over at our Foodie Blog.

Meat.

From 2011-10-16

Onions.

From 2011-10-16

Mix.

From 2011-10-16

The best part.

From 2011-10-16

I love fall.  I don't love fall when my six oak trees start dropping their leaves.  Oy.  More pictures coming soon.   Happy Monday.

Sunrise and such

I stood upon the hills, when heaven's wide arch
Was glorious with the sun's returning march,

From EotE

And woods were brightened, and soft gales
Went forth to kiss the sun-clad vales.

From EotE

I heard the distant waters dash,
I saw the current whirl and flash,

From EotE

And richly, by the blue lake's silver beach,
The woods were bending with a silent reach.

From EotE

If thou art worn and hard beset
With sorrows, that thou wouldst forget,

From EotE

If thou wouldst read a lesson, that will keep
Thy heart from fainting and thy soul from sleep,

From EotE

Go to the woods and hills! No tears
Dim the sweet look that Nature wears.

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Weekend wonders

Fall is the most beautiful time of the year in the Enchanted Mitten.  Friday, I had a chance to walk through the Ecosystem Preserve and take in some of the hi-def magnificence and splendor.

From Fall 2010

From Fall 2010

From Fall 2010

The colors are starting to peak here.  We go from Art Prize, created beauty to Fall, Creator beauty.  It's all so gorgeous.  Cheers.

Friday Happy Dance

Yesterday, I had some fun in the Ecosystem Preserve.   And while celebrating the end of a marvelous week, let me share some of the fall beauty.

From 2010-10-06

From 2010-10-06

From 2010-10-06

Happy Friday!

Another leafy Saturday

The leaves in November fall like rain. Only different. They are bigger and don't absorb into the ground. Rather they sit on our lawn and taunt us - ha ha, they say, I am going sit on your lawn all winter and be ugly. With possibly the biggest yard that I will ever own in my life, hauling leaves is no small feat, nor is it for the faint of heart. Fortunately for us, we have hand's down, the world's best neighbors and we do leaves together. They have six people, we have two, plus Mr Handsome who has to be smack dab in the middle of everything. And Paul has the weapon, the nuclear-powered leaf blower. It works. At 8:30 this morning, we were back at it (I imagine to the chagrin of other neighbors) and think that this is the last of the leafy Saturdays before winter. Amen.

I write a lot about Samson. I can see that it might get dull or boring, not too interesting after having him a year. The thing is, I don't get bored or tired of writing about him or taking his picture, or playing with him, or hunting with him or napping with him. He had a rough start somewhere and every time we go outside and he comes charging full speed home, it makes my heart feel good. There are so many dogs right now, sitting in shelters. So many dogs that will never make it out. I read about dogs for adoption on Petfinder and some of the reasons the dogs have been surrendered make me sick to my stomach. Reasons like the dog got too big (hello moron, you got a German shepherd and they get big DUH), or we didn't have any time for the dog, our family was too busy (wow, hope your kids don't throw you away when you are old and they are busy) and this was priceless, owner didn't like the coloring of the German shepherd. I don't have anything to say to that. Perhaps someone stops by my site and sees what a little exercise, discipline and affection will do for a beauty like him. Or any other dog. And maybe will save one of the nearly 3- 4 million (that's MILLION) animals that will be euthanized THIS YEAR ALONE. The cool thing about our neighbors, on both sides, and our good friend Deb and our good friend, Mary along with a host of others, all have dogs rescued from a shelter. This year, our Christmas dollars will go to the shelters that are desparate for supplies. I will write about that later.

We have a busy weekend with some fun errands and a couple of steaks on the grill. Head over to the Cafe this weekend. We are hosting the Chilipalooza with several neighbors bringing their favorite brand of chili to compete and share.

It's off to coif, afternoon pie with friends and a little shopping at our favorite store. Enjoy the day!

A sea of leaves

Well, it's going to be a busy weekend.   The weather has given a us a window of non-precipitation and we need to strike.  And fast.  

I will write more about the software engineer from Google who spoke for about an hour on what cool things Google is doing (that left me in awe and admiration - just a side bar - their Android phone has a UPC Scanner and you can compare prices while at the grocery store) and will write more about our dinner, guests and fun tonight with Paul making us Prime Rib.  

But now, I need to go help with hot, dirty, man work.  We are trying to get the leaves out before the snow.  

Enjoy your Saturday! 

What makes my heart sing

It has been a wonderful week off, even though I went into work a couple of days. Don't ask.

What has been most enjoyable, along with a wonderful Halloween, a fabulous kitchen warming party, friends coming for dinner and a some absolutely glorious naps, is the time that I have spent with Mr. Handsome, Samson the dog. We have napped, played in the leaves, chased small furry things, and just hung out. I could SO get used to this.

Another beautiful day

It is gorgeous here. We had lots of rain, wind and falling leaves. Big, full clouds are racing across the sky, leaves are flying and and our pine trees are swaying and dancing like crazy. (Lisa, you would LOVE this day).

I have been incredibly busy as we make great strides in the basement. Much of our old furniture and accessories have made their way to new, good homes. And that frees up space in the basement for what we had originally intended it to be - a library, an office , our workout room and Paul's work area. We are SO close. I lived for so long (in SoCal) without a basement and frankly was both mortified and embarrassed at how quickly ours became a junk pit. (There are a lot of reasons - two homes, etc but still, it was out of control... ) By the end of the winter, our goal is to have the basement in perfect shape.

So while I was in the basement cleaning groove, Paul came downstairs to pull me away from work to go out and have some fun. Go figure. He found a stunning tree around the block so he dragged me out to take pictures. Well, he was right and it was beautiful. While we were at it, we drove over the Reed's Lake to take pictures of the water before it turned icy. We live in a beautiful area and I think Grand Rapids is one of the best kept secrets in the midwest. More pictures are here.

Tomorrow, we are back it but it's a short work we for me. I have Friday off to get ready for Halloween and our kitchen warming party on Saturday! Enjoy the day.