Saturday-Sunday

A fun couple of days.  I joined MaryJane and Mary on a trip into Alpena to go see the Art on the Bay.  We all found cute things to buy... My purchase was for an upcoming birthday, so I can't tell what it was yet!  Home for lunch and a nap, and then Brad and I joined "the gang" for burgers, wings, and beer night at the Eagles, followed by a couple of wild Wizard games at Mary Jane and Steve's.  Today we went to our old church... Got to see some people we didn't see a couple of weeks ago and do a little catching up.  We met Marilyn and Dick at Monarch Golf Course, which is just around the corner from the church, afterwards, and enjoyed a game with them.  Now we've just been hanging out at "home", listening to the rain this afternoon.

We've got about a week left here, and a few things we're still wanting to do yet, so I hope the weather cooperates!  

Next week we'll start heading south and west.  We've really enjoyed being back up here with our friends, but I'm getting excited to see this little guy... Not so little anymore!  He's almost full grown!!  Not too big to wear his Mickey hat, though!

Wednesday-Thursday-Friday

A quiet few days around here. 

Wednesday, I went into Alpena with Mary Jane to take their dog to the vet while the guys golfed, and then we were going to the Stone Bar for dinner (I still haven't been there since they reopened) but they were packed, so it was back to the Wagon Wheel, which was fine, because their pizza is pretty awesome.

 Thursday we went over to Mary Jane and Steve's to get the boat we had stored in their shed, and move it to Brad's folks' place.  Brad went back over later to do some clean-up on the boat, and I just lazied-around.  

Today has been more lazying around, with Brad fiddling with his new recording toys, and me just... Being lazy.  But my ear has just about completely opened up again... I'd say about 85-90%, so that's good, because my medicine runs out tomorrow.

It's been pretty cool today... I decided with this weather, it had to be a spaghetti night.  It says a high of 66, but it didn't reach that, I'm pretty sure!

We've even had the fireplace going, with the heat blowing!

Tonight will be a baseball night again, finally!  And we both get to listen to our game, because the Royals are playing in Detroit.  

Sunday-Monday-Tuesday

Sunday and Monday were pretty much "lie around the RV and try to get better" days.  You just gotta do that sometimes.  Monday night we joined friends at trivia... Missed out on 1st place by 2 points.  This morning I golfed with the ladies.  Lynne, Mary Jane, Carol, and I got to golf together, so that was fun!  Brad and I decided to go hang out at the beach this afternoon, since we hit about 90 degrees.  Such a calming, cooling thing to do. We just park our chairs at the edge of the water and watch the horizon.

I think we have the only lab in the world that doesn't especially enjoy playing in the water, but Budger will venture out when Brad calls him.

Toes in the water, toes in the sand....

Even the seagulls were hot, and just wanted to float around.

Finished off the evening with some Koegels.  We need to stock up on those, and some Vernors, before we leave Michigan!

And now, I'm settling down to watch the All Star Game... So excited to actually be able to watch, and not just listen!  And I'm going to try to ignore the ugly Padres colors they have to wear.  So sad for the San Diego fans that have to see that yellow and brown all the time!

Friday-Saturday

Friday was a pretty laid-back day.  Brad and I went into Alpena in the morning to stock up the fridge and pantry again.  Last night we went over to Peggy and Ed's to enjoy their fire pit and visit with their grandkids who were staying with them this week.  Beautiful setting beside Hubbard Lake.

The kids are so fun, and kept us entertained.  Here are the football player, the gymnast, and the cheerleader trying to stack themselves 3-high.

Made it, briefly, with a little help from dad!

We had a strong storm go through earlier in the day... Got really dark at about 3:00 and then poured.

Yeah, that's 3:00 p.m.!

Everything cleared off quickly.

Tiny little bit of a rainbow.

Just a few miles from us, they got lots of hail.  This is down by our old house.

Today, Brad and I were lazy this morning, just doing a few things around the RV.  This afternoon, we met Dick and Marilyn at the Monarch Golf Course for a little best-ball competition.  It was a perfect day and lots of fun, and it's hard to beat the $5.00 price!

Brad is going to a graduation party for a former neighbor tonight.  I'm going to stay here with the critters and take my meds and hope my ear opens up... Ugh.

Wednesday-Thursday

Yesterday was the guys' turn to golf, and Brad and the guys made a full day of it.  He got home just in time to take me to catch a ride with Mary Jane for dinner and the theater in Alpena with 8 other awesome ladies from Hubbard Lake. We had a lot of fun, dinner was yummy, and the play was great.  It was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  The story was all the same, but the play was done with very minimal scenery, and the actors wore current-style clothing.  The singers were awesome!  The "Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" was a tie-dyed zip-up hoodie, with some extra bling added.

Today I finally bit the bullet and made an appointment to see the doctor for this crud I've been trying to kick forever.  I'd think I had it under control, and then it would spring up again.  I haven't felt 100% in quite awhile, but it had migrated to my ear this week, and my hearing was all fuzzy, and yesterday really started hurting.  So yep, ear infection, with a sinus infection thrown in.  Got some medicine, so I should be all better soon.  At least I was able to go to our old doctor's office, and didn't have to fill out miles of paperwork as a new patient!

That's been all the excitement here today, besides picking up Brad's iPad from where he left it at a friend's last night, on our way home.  A day of rest is a good thing.

Tuesday Golf, Beach, Roast-smoking

This morning was ladies' golf league again.  Mary Jane and I ended up just golfing in a twosome, which was fun.  I was doing all right, nothing great, although I was finally putting good again... Ended up with 13 putts on 9 holes... Pretty sure that was a record for me, and would have won the putting pot if I was an actual member of the league still, and not a drop-in guest.  I had messed up on the first two par-3's, and on the 3rd one, I hit it straight into the bunker beside the green.  Rats!  But then, somehow, I chipped it right out of the sand, and it rolled right into the hole!!  So a chip-in from the sand, and my first ever birdie to boot!!  Very exciting!!

After golf, Brad and I, and Mary Jane and Steve, and Budger went to the beach on Lake Huron.  It was supposed to be low-90's today, but I'm not sure if it actually hit that with the unexpected cloud cover, but it felt really nice sitting beside the lake with our toes in the water.

Budger thought Mary Jane and Steve might need help with their sandwiches.

Such a peaceful view!

We enjoyed watching the kayakers, paddle-boarder, and boaters out in the water.

Brad is smoking up a couple of pork.roasts for dinner.  I love when he does that, because the hickory smells coming inside are amazing!

In progress:

And done!

And Mary Jane and Steve shared this amazing apple pie with us!

You can always count on Bo to find a new bag or box...

A fun day!

Saturday-Sunday-Monday

Lots of holiday activities around here for the 4th of July weekend.  Saturday we went over to Dick and Marilyn's to enjoy the lake view and visit with Natalie and Larry, who are up for their annual golf outing.  I though all us girls looked pretty festive!

The guys were really relaxed.

Our calming lake view

There were fireworks from the shore, viewable from your boat out in the middle of the lake.  Brad and I decided to skip that part, and play cards with Mary Jane and Steve after burgers and wings at the Eagles, while we made sure Budger and Missy weren't bothered by all the noise.  I don't think Budger minded the fireworks.  He made himself at home, curling up and snoring in one of the bedrooms.

Sunday we drove down to Gladwin to the Murphy family get-together.  It was a beautiful day for sitting outside and watching the kids run around and catch the yummy smells coming from the grill.  Fajitas with homemade tortillas were on the menu... Yum!

Brad took a ride in this awesome vehicle!

This is how Budger decided to "relax" for most of the ride down there.  Goofy dog!

Today (Monday) Brad golfed with his dad, uncle, and cousin, while I relaxed with the critters here at the RV.  I met them all over at Dick and Marilyn's this afternoon.  The boys had caught a bunch of crawdads that were being cooked up when I arrived.

I said my usual "no thanks" when offered some, but after Jasmine took the time to peel a bunch, I decided to give it a try... Tasted a bit like crab, actually.  I don't know that I'll ever order it still, but it was pretty good.

There was also a mess of corn, and some yummy burgers.

We finished up the evening playing trivia with Rod and Jasmine and a couple of the boys. The young guys came up with some pretty good answers!  A fun day all the way around!