Why, Oh Why, Does A Girl Have To Grow Up?

Recently my husband and I took a trip to our cottage in northern Michigan, which also happens to be in the heart of Amish country. Amish workmanship is outstanding...we always shop at the local Amish grocery and hardware stores while in the area. Occasionally we stop to see a hardworking family which has provided wonderful services for us in the past, such as the building of storage barns and quilting. As we drove by their large old farm house this time, I fell in love! This precious, hand built play house was sitting in the meadow - for sale! I may be a grandmother but I want it for my very own! Just look at at the lovely white trim and that sweet little swing on the front porch! And take a look at the inside - a loft! I could just picture myself painting it all pink and filling it with miniature furniture, planning tea parties with my little granddaughters. Oh why, oh why, does a girl have to grow up?

I'm ok now - I think I can go on even though the play house is not to be in my future! Even though I'm not a huge Halloween girl, since it is Halloween today I thought I would close with some pictures even grown ups can enjoy!

While we waited to load on the ferry to Mackinac Island, we enjoyed the pumpkin display on the dock.

If you know anything about Detroit Lion football you know why this guy is frowning!

Is this hand painted pumpkin face cool or what?!

Well, yes, of course the University of Michigan Wolverines would be honored ANYWHERE!

Wolverines vs. Spartans...GO WOLVERINES!!!

Weight watchers before and after pumpkins!

How cute is this little guy?

While in town near our cottage we had dinner at local lodge. They went out for Halloween in a big way!

This creepy guy met us at the door...

...his book of spells rested on the desk nearby.

Last weekend Hubby and I went to Greenfield Village with out kids and granddaughters. They have a cute Halloween walk throughout the village, with lots of carved pumpkins and stops for the kids to get treats.

Of course, the Detroit Tigers were represented - still in a love affair with Detroit, even though they let us down this season!

Piles, stacks, and pyramids of carved lighted pumpkins were everywhere!

Mimi and Papa were in the company of the cutest Tigger and Tinker Bell at the village!

To see more wonderful Show & Tell posts go to Kelli's House.

"O"

Pam at Gray Like Snuffie is hosting 'The A B C's of the Word'. Bloggers post a Bible verse beginning with the next letter of the alphabet each Thursday. Today's letter is "O".

"O give thanks to the Lord: for He is good."

Psalm 118:1

Boo!

You've been boo-ed! Your treat is this cute boo-ward for your side bar!

Here is how the Blogging Boo will go. Go to as many friends as you want and tell them they've been "Boo-ed". Have them link back to your blog to pick up their Halloween Treat (picture) and tell them to Boo their friends. (Then put the pic in your side bar so everyone knows that you've already been Boo-ed and to send the pic to someone else.

Boo! You're it!

A Rustic Vintage Table Scape

CeeKay has been visiting my husband and I for most of October. We've had a blast and we've had the opportunity to do a wide variety of things together. Last week we all drove to Mackinac Island in northern Michigan and we stopped on our way home for a couple of nights at our cottage. Now, even though the cottage is extremely rustic, we had great fun (much to the amusement of my husband) creating a table scape. We used whatever we could find, which included natural elements from the woods (since our cottage sits on 163 acres of wooded land) like leaves and logs from the wood pile, combined with an old screen door, vintage kitchen towels, an oil burning lamp, iron skillets, and letters from a vintage Scrabble game! I hope you enjoy seeing some pictures of the end result. At least we had fun and laughed as we created until about 2:00 a.m.! CeeKay has a Table Scape Tuesday post of her own using some different pictures of our efforts at the cottage. Please visit her too!

As you can see, we used iron skillets for our plates, a log and pine boughs for a centerpiece, and leaf and twine napkin rings.

Place cards were in order...what could be better than vintage wooden Scrabble letters to spell out our names?

Vintage aluminum cups for drinks, please!

A log from the wood pile, some pine branches, colored Autumn leaves, and pine cones made a fine centerpiece.

Looking through an old screen door we used as a backdrop, you can see the vintage towel and oil lamp.

You can see the old wood burning cook stove - yes, I cook on it even though we do have an electric model hidden away behind it! The wood burning stove also heats the cottage, even though we also have a furnace.

Thank you for visiting Mimi's Garden today! I hope you will visit again soon. Table scape Tuesday is hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Visit Susan to see many more wonderful entries.

An Unexpected Pleasure

Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I received a message from Cindy of Yapping Cat Studio telling me I had won her blue bird of happiness give away! I was especially thrilled because I happen to collect blue birds. I had the most delightful time opening the box when it arrived, finding each sweet piece of the gift. Beautiful bindings, stick pins, buttons, vintage washers, the gorgeous hand written tags, banners, stickers, the music sheet, the bird nests, and of course, the precious blue bird image - all so wonderful! And the cup. That sweet little gold and white cup is just so beautiful I can hardly stand it...I'm in love with it! So, Cindy, thank you again for giving me one of those lovely, unexpected joy filled moments in life that are such a treat. I've posted some pictures of the winnings below. If you haven't visiting Yapping Cat Studio, by all means do! She has many lovely things to enjoy.

Strange & Weird, Plus An Award For You!

My sweet friend Sharon, at Techno Nana, has tagged me to tell you 7 Strange or Weird things about myself (and by the way, if you haven't stopped in to meet Sharon, do so. She has a lovely faith based blog). My family tells me that 7 isn't nearly enough to cover weirdness for me - aren't they just hilarious?! Oh well, here we go...

1. I sleep with a fan and an electric blanket year round - in the summer, add air conditioning!

2. I can almost always accurately predict the sex of a baby after 6 months.

3. I really do have an uncanny sense of character in people.

4. I sleep about 3 or 4 hours a night, whether I need it or not!

5. I never, ever dream.

6. I met my husband when I was 15, became engaged at 16, and married him at 17 - between my junior and senior year of high school. Maybe even weirder, we've been happily married now for 38 years!

7. My best friend is also my sister-in-law - some people think that's weird!

I'm passing this tag along to anyone who would like to participate. If you choose to, please copy Mimi's Friendship Blog Award for your side bar, from me to you!

Generations

I have been feeling a bit sentimental lately so I thought I would share four generations of family wedding days for Show & Tell this week.

My paternal grandparents, John and Tiny Violet, married 1920.


My maternal grandparents, William and Mary Ethel, married 1921.


My parents, Kenneth and Bonnie Jo, married 1948.


My husband's parents, Harry and Lorraine, married 1943.


My husband, Sandy and I, married 1970.


Our daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Mark, married 2001.


The next wedding day in our family, our son Jacob and his fiance Jenni. Their wedding day will be June 20, 2009.


To see more Show and Tell Friday posts go to Kelli's House.