Time sure waits for no man. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since I received the title of “Grandma”. What a blessing it has been and continues to be.We truly are the Lucky ones!

I, call it “altering”. “L” calls it being a “kitchen rebel”. Either case, changing up recipes or cooking items a little differently than normal is something that I often do. This weekend was no exception.

Leonard has been scowering the hills and dales for the elusive morel mushroom. Finally, he has run across a few. He wanted to have morel mushroom, sausage and pepper pizza. I tried to accommodate.

Today, I tried a rhubarb custard cake with slivered almonds. The almonds were a nice touch. I didn’t take a pic of this, but it was really yummy even without a dollop of Cool Whip.

If you know Leonard, you know that he doesn’t get too attached to people–just a select few. One of those few was Jon. He was always eager to help Leonard with welding or wiring or any bit of repair for the many vehicles, snowplow blades, boats, ect. Leonard enjoyed Jon’s company and was so impressed with his mechanical skills. Although, not knowing him well, I still enjoyed Jon the brief moments that I saw him. He was just a pleasant man. I’m so saddened for Leonard that he lost his good friend. Yes, he was Lucky to have him for a friend. Rest in peace, Jon.

As Sunday is Mother’s Day, it causes me to ponder my own mother, my mother-in-law and so many other mothers that have made an impact on my life. For myself, motherhood was the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ve so enjoyed being a mother and have felt so blessed that God gave me easy and enjoyable kids in my life. They were and continue to be a joy in my life. The song by Mark Harris “Find Your Wings” has been a song that has described how I’ve felt for my kids when they were first leaving the nest and also now. As life has moved on and I have prayed these things for my kids, I have seen them manifest in their lives. I’ve witnessed them have courage and dare to do great things, and moments that have made life so sweet. I’ve seen them reach for the sky. They truly are living and I thank God for the answer to that prayer. I hope that they know that as I had tears so many times as I’ve seen seen them take off and I’ve been on the sidelines cheering them on. I’ve been so proud of the places their flights have taken them. I pray that they have felt my love and cheers!

Our nephew, Carl recently wrote a book called “The Silent Majority” “Freedom in His Great Name”.

My sister-in-law drove to our house to drop it off for “L” to read. He started reading it at about 5 p.m. could not put it down until 3:00 a.m. I have never witnessed him to be so engrossed in a book! He got up the next day, started reading again at 9:30 a.m. continuing until he completed it. He suggested that I read it also.

I do read a lot, although my taste is mostly for Christian non-fiction or self-improvement books. Not that I haven’t, but I rarely read fiction. So, I wasn’t super excited to read it, other than the fact that I try to be encouraging/supportive to those I know.

I started reading and I also was captivated by his style of writing. I hope that he is able to publish it so that others can read it as well. I guess that it is the first book in a trilogy. “L” characterized it as “spellbinding”. It was not what I expected, but it WAS very good!

1st Day:

We took a drive up the Lelanaw Peninsula. Leland, Fish town, Northport, Lelanaw State Park, Sutton’s Bay, Traverse City were some of our spots. Even with quite a breeze, it was quite a fun day.

2nd Day of our Anniversary weekend. Just headed out traveled up M-27 stopping at Wolverine, Indian River, Topinabee, having a picnic lunch in Cheboygan. After lunch, we took M-123 up to Paradise, checked out the Upper and Lower falls of Tahquamenon, came back through Newberry and then took “2” back to the bridge. It was a lot of driving, but a very fun day.

3rd day of our Anniversary weekend: Maxine and Cliff came over and played “Scrabble and Yahtzee”. Video chatted with Andy, Luke and Brian.

4th day of our Anniversary weekend and our actual Anniversary. To celebrate today, we went to the “Iron Pig Smokehouse” in Gaylord. It was a nice lunch. Lucky that he still chooses me after 41 years. 🙂

We were able to spend a day with our grandson, Isaac. He loves the out of doors, so we visited a few places. Our first stop was “Flowing Well Trout Farm” site. We walked out and saw the beaver dam.

Next up, a yard sale! Isaac got a small compass.

We decided to go to Pinney Bridge, which is part of the Jordan Valley Pathway.

We spent quite some time at this spot. It was a beautiful and fun time!

It was a great day!