Hello Friend!

May 11, 2026 Hello Friend! My poor lemon tree. I looked at it this morning and realized I felt the same way it did after being stuck inside over a long Michigan winter: wilting, a little frayed around the edges and desperate for some sunshine and toasty temps. Lemon trees aren't made for cold and snow, so every fall I've lugged it into my house and tucked it into the sunniest corner I could find. To be honest, "sunny" and "winter" aren't exactly two words we use together very much here in Michigan, so I've always had to plug in...

May 4, 2026 Hello Friend! It finally happened. Our old red Jeep finally gave it up and we had to replace her. To be fair, she was 19 faithful years old and we'd saved a whole lot of money on car payments. But then in the grocery store parking lot a chunk of her undersides fell out and we knew it was time. Our scramble for a quick replacement ended in the purchase of a 2025 hybrid Ford Maverick, which is perfect for us. But it also meant that I'd need to make one of those dreaded trips to the...

April 27, 2026 Hello Friend! On Saturday my youngest daughter celebrated a birthday. She's all grown up now with a family of her own, so I didn't spend any time buying little party hats and poppers, but I did watch Logan for a few hours while she and Josh enjoyed drinks with friends downtown. Amanda has always been a wonderful daughter, and now she's an amazing wife and momma. I'm so proud of her. The interesting thing is, on that Saturday morning I did what I always do when one of my girls celebrates a birthday. I remembered. There's something...

April 20, 2026 Hello Friend! I apologize if this week's entry is a little disorganized, but I traveled this past weekend and frankly I just haven't caught up. My flight came in very late because of a delay, and I wasn't in bed until the wee hours of the morning and my brain just isn't functioning that well (What's my name again?) Ha! Anyway, here are my thoughts for the day. Traveling by plane is a wonderful, terrible thing. Obviously you can go from point A to point B in an amazingly short time, which is the wonderful part. For...

April 13, 2026 Hello Friend! It's been a crazy weather week. Spring here is often a long process and can definitely be a roller coaster adventure. For those of you who've ever lived in the Midwest, you know just what I mean. For example, last Monday night it snowed. On Tuesday morning we all woke up to bitter temps and white on the ground...again. I had to grab my heavy winter coat and grumbled all day as I ran errands. Then yesterday, Sunday, we had summer weather with highs hitting 80 degrees. Sigh. I had to rummage around in my...

April 6, 2026 Hello Friend! Happy Monday, I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend! On Saturday Jon and I hosted both the girls and their families to celebrate Auston's 4th birthday and we included a little bit of Easter egg fun as well. We sat around the table eating Spiderman cake and ice cream on paper plates with pics of heroes and villains, and the boys ran all over the house having a wonderful time. It was great. I did, however, do the cooking for our dinner party, which brings me to my topic for the day. Just...