Hello Friend!

July 6, 2026 Hello Friend! I've always been a list maker. I love how lists keep me focused and moving forward. At the beginning of every day I grab my notepad and list all the things I want to get done, including the small stuff. There's just something so satisfying about checking off an item, feeling that sense of progress and accomplishment. And yep, I'm one of those people who will add an item to the list if it was a spontaneous task I hadn't originally included, just so I can CHECK IT OFF. I know, I know, kinda silly....

June 29, 2026 Hello Friend! I'll bet you didn't know I have a superpower. Yep, I can do a thing without really having to try hard, it's just a natural skill I possess. Wanna know what it is?? Drum roll... I can cut a straight line around any photo border without having to use a paper cutter. AND as an additional bit, I know when a hanging frame is even and properly spaced around other items without having to check with a measuring tape or level. Pretty impressive, yeah? I hear you laughing. Let me explain. Years ago I worked...

June 22, 2026 Hello Friend! So this summer my grandson Logan has experienced the joy of a jungle gym. I consider the building of a play structure in the backyard something of a parental rite of passage. Jon and I did this for the girls when they were in elementary school, but it was a much simpler affair. Two swings and a slide, and the whole thing had an uncomfortable habit of bumping up off the ground if they got too enthusiastic with the swings. But they loved it. Anyway, Logan's dad spent several days slogging through 100 pages of...

June 15, 2026 Hello Friend! I currently live on a large country lot that backs up to a farm field, and because of this I see a lot of interesting wildlife out my window. This past year I've seen coyote, deer (of course), lots of bunnies and a little red fox that regularly dashes across my view to get from here to there. And now it's that time of year when we see the turkeys. When we first moved into the house in July almost two years ago, we really enjoyed watching the mama turkeys parade their babies across the...

June 8, 2026 Hello Friend! We had to say good-bye to our old girl a couple of weeks ago and I'm still feeling a little sad. Nope, not a pet, but a very old and faithful pickup truck. Weird, I know, but she had served us well for so many years that I considered her part of the family. We bought Big Red in the summer of 2004 in the used car lot. At the time I was building big gardens and needed a full sized bed for hauling compost and mulch. I wanted something I didn't have to baby,...

May 18, 2026 Hello Friend! Here in Michigan you have to be both clever and brave to buy your summer annuals and veggie plants. If you purchase too early, you'll suffer the inevitable nail biting as our weather guys predict those last few overnight frost attacks. Yep, we've all had to run out to cover our newly bought pots of impatients and tomato plants. By this time of year, however, we're all pretty desperate to see flowers and get into our gardens again, so it can be really hard to wait... But this week was THE week! Local gardeners were...