Stormy weather!

We had some big storms go through here last week.  I had to drive about 30 minutes away to get blood work done the next morning and these are some of the things I saw along the way.

This poor house really got hit hard.  That tree went right through the roof and when I went by a few days later, there is tarp covering a lot of the roof.

This is a friend from church.  They also have roof repair to do.

This is on my BIL's hunting property.  A huge maple tree went down and this is the root ball.  His grandson who is 6'2" is standing next to it, so you can see how huge it was.

We were fortunate to have no major damage.  Just lots of sticks and leaves on the ground which Bob spent lots of time cleaning up!

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

A few of you asked if I could share the punch recipe from the bridal shower we had last week, so here it is.  It's really good, a fruity, slushy punch that's very refreshing.  A bonus is that it's made ahead and frozen, so when you need it, you just take it out of the freezer and pour a bottle of 7-Up over it!

Strawberry Pineapple Slush Punch

6 cups water
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 ounce package strawberry jello mix
46 ounces pineapple juice
2/3 cup lemon juice
1 quart orange juice
2 (2 liter) bottle 7-Up

Stir water, sugar and powdered jello mix together in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
Boil for 3 minutes, then stir in the pineapple juice, lemon juice and orange juice.
Divide mixture into 4 containers and freeze.
When ready to serve, allow mix to thaw slightly.  Put half of mix into punch bowl and pour one bottle of 7-Up over it.  Stir until slushy.
Repeat with remaining mix and 7-Up when needed.
This makes 2 punch bowls full.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Summer Garden

I think most of you have been dealing with some pretty hot weather lately.  We've been having a heat wave in Michigan too, but so far the gardens are doing ok although Bob's been working to keep them watered.
Here's how things are looking in our yard at the moment.

On the side of the house, by the gate, things are growing like crazy!  The big bush on the right is an oak leaf hydrangea.

This is one of the flowers on it.  We have several of these plants  and they like the shade.  The flowers last all summer.

Here's the other side of the house.

These lilies are blooming in that bed.  Bob ordered them quite a few years ago.  They were supposed to be red, low growing lilies.  Instead we got these pink and white lilies, growing 2 feet tall! We think that was a happy mistake.

Here's the back yard

In the back is this rose bush that starts a fairly deep yellow.

As it gets older it turns a cream color and when it's about done, it gets these pink edges.

Also in the back, the tomatoes are growing!

And so is the basil.

The little woods area on the side yard is full of hosta and ferns.

It's such a fun time of year, seems there is something new blooming all the time. I look at all the varieties of plants, some flower, others don't, but they are all beautiful in their own way.  I look at them and think what an amazing Creator to fill the earth with so many different types of beauty!

Busy, Fun Weekend

This past weekend was a busy one for us.  Our small group from church was coming over on Sunday, so that meant I was busy getting the house and food ready on Saturday.

On Saturday at 4 we had a wedding to attend. A young couple from our church was getting married.

It was held at this old furniture factory which has been renovated and is now a venue space.

The ceremony was in the upper level, which was beautiful with the beams and exposed bricks.  Both the bride and groom grew up in our church, so lots of people we knew were there.

The reception was held on the main floor of that building.  Here people are starting to gather after the ceremony.
We had a wonderful meal, and lots of fun!

Sunday we had church in the morning, then our small group friends came for lunch. We hurried home after church to get lunch ready. There are 10 of us in the group and we take turns going to each others houses.  I meant to get a picture of the group and in the busyness, I forgot.
We always have a good time of discussion and fellowship.  They left around 3.
Then we headed back to church.  There was an ice cream social going on.

Tables were set up on the lawn and under the drop off.  There were ice cream sundaes, banana splits and root beer float.
It was such a nice day after a week of very high temps.  It was 84 with a nice breeze and everyone was enjoying sitting around and chatting.

Here's Bob helping clean up when it was all done.  It was time to go home, have supper and relax after 2 busy days!

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

Todays recipe is an appetizer I made for the bridal shower we had last week.  The hardest thing in making these is coring out the tomatoes, the rest is quick and easy.  These look nice and were very good!

BLT Bites

20-30 cherry tomatoes
6 ounces fried, crumbled bacon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

Cut a thin slice off the top of the cherry tomatoes. Scoop out the pulp and place upside down on paper towels to drain excess juice.
Stir together the bacon, mayonnaise, green onions and parmesan cheese.
Place in large plastic bag, cut a small corner off to form an opening at the tip and pipe into the cherry tomatoes.
Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Squirrel Acrobatics

I've shared with you before some pictures of wildlife outside our windows at work.  In the last few weeks we've had groundhogs, bunnies, orioles, deer - and squirrels!

We have a few bird feeders and recently the squirrels discovered them and I got some funny pictures of one of them getting a little meal.

"Are you looking at me?"

Shower Time!

My youngest niece, Shaelyn who is my sister Terri's daughter, is getting married this Fall. We had a family bridal shower for her on Saturday at our house.

Shaelyn's fiance's name is Jonny, he and his family live in Indiana.  His mom, 3 sisters and 2 grandma's drove up here for the shower.
We had the shower in the family room in our basement.  Here's a few photos from that evening.

Here's a little decoration on the gift table.

Here's our food table with a big balloon arch over it.  My daughter Laura did the balloons and they really looked cute.
We had chicken salad croissants, chips, spinach salad, stuffed tomatoes, chocolate dipped strawberries, punch and cake.  It was all good!

Here's the whole gang!

My sister Cheri planned a fun game involving cake testing. She got these different flavored cupcakes, split our group into teams and put blindfolds on everyone. They tried to come up with the flavor of the cake which our guests said was not easy when you didn't see the cake.  The team with the most right won.  Our flavors were german chocolate, key lime, apple crisp, peanut butter cup, cookie dough and strawberry cheesecake.

Time to open gifts!  Here's our bride-to-be with her sister Kaitlyn.

And here's Shaelyn with the cake.

We had a fun evening and enjoyed getting to know Jonny's family.

Friday Funny

 

Cooking Thursday

Here's another new recipe I think you will like.  It a crock pot recipe, that you just dump the ingredients in and let it cook.
You can serve this over tortilla chips or rice.  We had it both ways, but it was definitely easier to eat over rice.  It was tasty both ways though!

Fiesta Chicken

3 chicken breasts
1 packet ranch seasoning
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon minced onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Rotel
1 can corn, not drained
8 ounces cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Place all ingredients except the cheddar cheese in the crockpot.  Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours.  Shred chicken and stir in cheddar cheese.
Serve over rice or tortilla chips.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Celebrate!

Sunday was Bob's birthday, so Laura, Heather and families came over and we also celebrated Father's Day.

We started with a yummy supper of sliders, mac and cheese, veggies and strawberries.

I thought Alaina and Laura looked cute sitting together so I snapped this Mother/Daughter shot.

Then there were some gifts to open.  This t-shirt says:
"Grandpa - Here to help my grandchildren get into mischief they haven't thought of yet".   So true!

Look at these cards - handmade by Alaina and Ruby.  Those cards are the best!

They agreed to come out for some photos.  They say Grandma is always taking pictures!

We got one of Grandpa and the grands too.

After some playing outside, some playing inside and enjoying cheesecake made by Laura, the girls decided to hang out on the porch.

Soon it was time for them to go home. 
Bob said he had the perfect birthday!

A foggy drive

One day last week, it was quite foggy as I left for work.  I snapped a few pictures along the way because there is just something about a foggy morning!

On the corner of our street

The fog continues as I drive down some dirt roads.

No one else seemed to be out that morning.

Then, just like that it was nearly gone, with just a little showing in the sun shining through the trees.

How about you? Do you like a foggy morning as much as I do?