Thanksgiving 2008

We were invited to my niece's house for Thanksgiving this year. Kate is the oldest daughter of my brother Steve and is married to Bryan. They have a daughter, Emily, who is 3 years old and just adorable. They live in Holt, Michigan which is a suburb of Lansing. About an hour or so drive from our house in Ortonville.

This was Kate and Bryan's first Thanksgiving dinner at their house. They set up the dining room with a row of tables that extended into part of the living room and made the most wonderful turkey dinner for 13 people. At first Kate appeared a little nervous but both her and Bryan did a great job and everything turned out perfect.

Bryan's first Turkey !!!

Kate and Mari making final preparations for dinner.

My brother Steve and sister-in-law Mari along with Kate's In-Laws, the Tringals were also there, Tom, Vicki and their daughter Julie. Dan and Kelly ( one of Kate's brothers ) were there, but Steve and Lisa ( another brother ) could not make it. My Dad was also there and we all had a great time.

Dad patiently waiting for dinner.

This was the first holiday we have had since my Mom died in July. We talked about her and laughed at what she would have done had she been there. Kate, you can be assured that she is very proud of you for inviting everyone for dinner and handling it so well.

Kate, Emily and Bryan.

Thank You Kate and Bryan it was the perfect Thanksgiving.

Tradition - Making Sticky Buns for Thanksgiving

When Judy and I got married I was introduced to her family tradition of making "Sticky Buns" for Thanksgiving. This wonderful tradition starts the night before Thanksgiving and includes putting together these delicious cinnamon buns so the next morning you can eat them hot from the oven.

On Thanksgiving morning Hudson's Department Store ( now Macy's ) have their annual Thanksgiving parade in downtown Detroit. You make hot chocolate, bundle up the kids, ( it is always cold and snowy for the parade ) and drive downtown to sit at the curb on Woodward Ave. and watch all the parade floats go by in front of you. You yell and wave as each float comes rolling past you. High school bands play the first Christmas music of the season and you sing Jingle Bells with everyone else around you. It is always worth the wait out in the cold as Santa and his reindeer, always the last float, finally arrives and goes past you. You hurry home because you know the sticky buns are waiting to be put in the oven. The smell that spreads throughout the house as they come out of oven is amazing. You add a hunk of butter to the top of the hot sticky bun and wash it all down with a glass of cold milk.

As the years have gone by and the kids got too old for believing in Santa, and too cold for the parents to sit outside, we bake the sticky buns early and now watch the parade on TV. This is a tradition we will always continue.

Mark, Polly, Bella and Grace are going out of town for Thanksgiving and Polly did not want to miss out on the making ( and eating ) of the sticky buns. So we made them on Sunday with Deanna, Mark, Polly and the girls in Ortonville.

This year Bella took a greater interest in actually making the sticky buns. I showed her how to roll out the dough and add sugar and cinnamon and how to roll and cut the buns into pieces. She was amazing !!! A real natural at the art of making sticky buns.

We all helped in some manner by creating an assembly line of sticky buns. Melting butter, spreading sugar and cinnamon, arranging into pans. We made about 8 big pans of sticky buns for everyone to take home.

The pan we made for after dinner turned out to one of the best ever because it was made entirely by Isabella. She was so proud of what she did and so are we !!!

The day was topped off by Judy making a fantastic pot-roast dinner with carrots and potatoes. It was delicious.

This turned out to be a very special day for Judy and I. It seems rare that we get a whole day at home with Deanna, Mark , Polly and the girls. I hope it is a start of a new tradition because it meant so much to Judy and I.

Thanks Guys.......

Winter comes to Michigan

Saturday night into Sunday it snowed for the first time and we have about 1 1/2 inches of the white stuff on the ground. Judy always welcomes the coming of snow because she likes to sit in front of our fireplace and keep toasty warm. I on the other hand do not welcome winter as readily since I am the one who carries in the logs to put in that fireplace. Secretly I enjoy the fire as much as her but I have to complain in order to maintain my image.



The real problem with the snow is I have been so lazy that I have yet to bring in the patio furniture from the deck.
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Friday the 14th was the birthday of a very good friend of ours Katie Sharp. Her husband Roger invited us and a few more of her friends to dinner in downtown Clarkston. The restaurant is called the Clarkston Union and is a converted church. Very trendy. Half of the seats are church pews and they have a large selection of beers to choose from. Food is terrific with several specialties including a Mac and Cheese dish with lobster. Yummy !!!



Katie and her Cosmo !!!!! Happy Birthday !!!!!

There was another birthday celebration at the table next to us. We noticed one of the gifts given to the young guy celebrating was a gag gift of a statue of two sailors with their arms locked together. For some reason our table just had to have the sailors and we set out to get it from them. First we offered them all of Katie's birthday gifts. When that didn't work we offered them money, just like deal or no deal. We all had a great laugh and they finally "sold" the statue for 10 bucks. Not quite sure what will be done with the sailors but we got it.



Katie and Liz... with sailor friends.


We all had a great time.

Bella Birthday Week

Judy went to visit her Aunt Gerry and Uncle Louie in Mancelona last Wednesday, while I had to stay home for a dentist appointment. Judy was able to golf for what appears to be the last time this year with her cousin John. Of course she shot the best score of the whole year. She can't wait till next spring !!!

Saturday November 8, 2008

Isabella's Birthday Party

Mark and Polly had a wonderful birthday party for Bella's 8th Birthday at their house. Dick and Nancy ( aka: Nonna and Poppy ) came in from Maryland for the party. Bella was so happy to have them here. We all were.

Nonna made the beautiful ( and delicious ) cake and also some special cookies just for Bella.

Those who attended included ... Chuck and Linda, Dick and Nancy, Dave and Judy, Deanna and Mike, Great Grandpa Bernard, Aunt Eileen and Jenny, Leo and Diane, Mom, Dad and Grace.

The highlight was the opening of the presents and Bella of course got help from Grace. They both had a great time.

We ate cake, ice cream and pizza into the night.

Tuesday November 11, 2008

Tuesday is the actual date of Bella's birthday and Polly made it very special by keeping Bella home from school and taking her shopping, to lunch, and getting a pedicure. Polly made dinner of cheez-it chicken and rice. She also made another cake for Bella. Judy and I were lucky to be invited for dinner.

During dinner Bella received phone calls from Aunt Sarah, Uncle Wes and Ella. They all sang Happy Birthday and it was wonderful to see Bella's reaction. As soon as she hung up Bella got another call from Grandpa Steve and he also sang Happy Birthday. You both need to know how special those calls were to Bella. She knows she has a very special family.

The cook.

Licking the candles is a tradition.

Judy and I teased Bella by telling her all she was getting for her birthday was socks. She was surprised and "somewhat happy" to get them.

Best Friends.

Way too much cake and ice cream !!!

Summer is almost over

Last summer Judy and I bought a pontoon boat as part of our retirement plan. We have enjoyed this boat more than we could have imagined. Judy's brother Leo lives on Deer Lake in Clarkston and has a dock on his lake. He allows us to keep our boat on his lake in return for using it whenever he wants. It is a great deal for us. Only 10 Minutes from the house.


This is the time of the year that we take the boat out of the water and store it for the winter. My brother Steve lets us keep the boat on his 5 acres of property for the winter. ( Thank God for relatives or we wouldn't be able to do anything. ) This year I decided to buy my own shrink wrapping gun and material and cover the boat myself. I have never done this before and have only seen videos on how to do it. With the help of my brother Steve, yesterday was the day it got done. I am pleased to report it was pretty easy to do and with no major injuries ( Steve only lost a small amount of arm hair in the process ) it turned out perfect.

You start with a boat.

Add the peanut gallery.

From the left ... Ted, A friend of my Dad's. My Dad. John, my brother's next door neighbor. Mari, my sister-in-law. and my brother Steve. Thanks to Judy for taking all the pictures.

Yes even popcorn and drinks were served.

Cover with shrink wrap material.

Using a propane blow torch, and trying not to burn the hair off your brother's arm, you heat the wrap until it melts and shrinks.

Heat the entire wrap until it is tight.

Before and...

After.

Thanks to all who helped.

Week-end at Camp Ortonville - Sunday

Isabella and Grace

With today being the last day of Camp Ortonville ( for this week anyway) the day started early ... or was it late? This morning was the changing of the clocks for daylight savings.

How does that go? Spring forward ... Fall asleep.

Whatever we got going with waffles for breakfast and then Grandma brought out the paper and pens, stamps and scissors and the girls were busy all morning.

Danger - Artists at Work !!!!

Of course they do...

After Grandma and Grace finished the puzzle it was time for Donuts and cider at Porter's cider mill in Goodrich.

Grace made sure the cider was sweet.

All Aboard !!!!!!

I want the shiny one.

We had a hard time getting Isabella to stop playing on the "Zip Line" Good thing Polly wasn't here this would have driven her crazy !

As it started to rain we went back to Ortonville for dinner and then packed up the girls to go home to their parents.

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Mark and Polly always thank us so much for watching the girls. They do not know how much it means to Judy and I to be able to have the girls stay here. Thank You.