Pink Dragons, Shipwrecks and Freebie!

We've had a crisis in the family this week. Ashley, the Mother of my 4 year old granddaughter, Payton, called in a panic. She said there had been a sad mishap while driving on the freeway. The car window was down and Payton, who was in the back in her carseat, was playing with her pink dragon, Lonnie, when it suddenly dawned on her that Lonnie might want to be set free. Lonnie is one of those mystical dragons with the tiny, little wings on her back. Makes sense, I suppose, that if those giant bumblebees can carry the load, a mystical, pink dragon could as well? Payton gives Lonnie a good hoist. Out the window she goes with Payton squealing, "Fly free Lonnie!" It didn't take her more than two seconds to realize the consequence of that move and that's when the world fell apart. She was inconsolable. "Lonnie is my best friend." "I miss Lonnie." "I want Lonnie back."

Payton is by no means a spoiled, temperamental child. She's really very sweet and loving. A little bossy now and then but she's a good soul so we all try to accommodate her. Unfortunately, Lonnie is a 2008 Webkinz release meaning you won't find a replacement in the stores. Grandma to the rescue! I found one on Amazon and had it shipped pronto. To soothe the broken heart in the meantime, we told Payton that Lonnie had flown to my house all the way to Michigan and she was very tired. She would come home after a few days rest. All is well. For now anyway.

Moving on... The Captain and I took a little day trip earlier this week to the upper peninsula. We went to the Tahquemenon Falls and Whitefish Point. It wasn't raining when we left but as soon as we arrived at the T. Falls parking lot, the skies opened up and really let us have it. Don't you just love those little glove-box sized umbrellas? We were prepared with one a piece so our day was not to be spoiled by wet, sticky clothes.

After the Falls and a little lunch, we headed to the Point. This area has the sad misfortune of having the most shipwrecks of any other point. It's said to be haunted. We concluded our tour in the boathouse where a gentleman from the Arther M. Anderson was answering questions. The A.M.A. was 7 miles behind the Edmund Fitzgerald when it went down in the '60s. He said the waves were 30' high. We're talking Lake Superior here folks, not the ocean. Imagine! Anyway, the boats were in radio contact with each other because the E. Fitzgerald had reported some problems and they were taking on water. The last transmission from the E. Fitzgerald was the Captain saying, "We're holding our own." Two minutes later, it dropped off the A.M.A.s radar. Ten minutes later the storm broke and the waves settled. The A.M.A. never saw any signs of the E. Fitzgerald.

Just as the gentleman was wrapping up his story, the fog horn started to blow. I thought this must be for affect but the fog had actually rolled in and you could no longer see the water. Have you ever heard a fog horn in real life? It's a sad, eerie sound. If anything could pull ghosts from the water, that sound could for sure. It was an interesting day.

Now on to lighter fare... I have a wordart freebie for you (as seen in the photo)! Click on the title of this post to go to my 4shared account to download. Photo was taken at the Tahquemenon Falls Park when the rain had slowed down a bit. Enjoy!

Happy Sails!

Las Vegas, Raspberries and a Bittersweet Farewell

Friends & Mateys!
I have so much to tell you. Grab a drink and a little snack because we have some serious catchin' up to do. The rain finally quit and that's when the real fun began. Here's a summary...

First of all, I noticed a fantastic deal on the internet for The Bellagio in Las Vegas. $90.00 a night. If you're at all familiar with this 5 star luxury hotel/casino, then you know this deal is phenomenal. Too good to pass up. So me and my friend, Jenifer, promptly booked a two night stay. (Going with a friend, of course, means half price, right?! Woot!)

We flew out of Salt Lake City on the 28th of June. When we arrived at The Bellagio, the check-in lines seemed to be a bit long. So we decided to check our bags with the bellhop and run around for a bit and do some gambling. Six hours later we finally drag ourselves back to the registration desk. Well, this turned out to be a very good move because they had apparently filled all the rooms they had blocked for the $90 rate. Can you say "Free Upgrade"? We got a $500/night suite with a foyer, living room, 3 baths, 4 large flat screen TV's. It even had a doorbell and buttons on the wall to open/close the curtains. Fun! And you don't just get the typical soap/shampoos/conditioners. They also give you hairspray, bath gel, toothbrushes, razors, loofahs, slippers, box of chocolates, etc. It was "suite" indeed! I slept like a queen- the beds were "mmmm mm". Next day we had spa appointments. An hour massage and then four hours spent lounging in the saunas and pools. Fruits and drinks complimentary. It was delightful. So relaxing. We didn't win much as far as the gambling goes but felt we hit the jackpot regardless. Had such a great time.

I spent the entire month of July boating, swimming and golfing with family and friends. I had my granddaughter two different times for 5 days each (sans her parents). She was such a joy- kept the Captain pretty busy! He's her "favorite Grandpa" but he reminds me he works very hard to earn that title. LOL! They're so cute together.

I did a lot of baking too. Our neighbors knocked on our door as they were leaving town and told us to help ourselves to their raspberry bushes. They wouldn't be back for two weeks and the birds and deer would just eat them. We went over for five straight days and loaded up. These were gorgeous, large berries! I baked 3 raspberry coffee cakes and 2 pies. I also made raspberry vinegar, syrup and pancakes; sent a few quarts home with family; and had enough leftover to freeze about 3 quarts. I hope they invite us over again next year! :) Or did we make pigs of ourselves?

End of July and it was time to pack up and head for Michigan. Always bittersweet. We hate to leave our family and friends. Very hard to do. But, at the same time, our little MI cabin in the woods is in such a beautiful location. The hubs has been spending his summers here since he was 14 so it's a very sentimental spot to him. This is where we really unwind and relax. It's much cooler here though. The end of summer will come more quickly for sure. We've done a few fun things so far but I'll post those adventures in my next blog. I don't want to overwhelm you. ;)

Happy Sails!

(P.S. I tried to add more pictures but it's a very slow connection day. I'll make up for it next time.)

Shoe House, Golf and Wordart Freebie!

Hey Mates!

We had another beautiful day of sunshine. It's been glorious. I know you could probably care less what my weather is here but after 18 days of rain (one day the exception), it's hard for me to supress the news. If I had champagne on hand, I'd be poppin' the cork! We had a 50% chance of showers so we lucked out. And to make the best of it, we played a round of golf and took the dogs to the beach so they could run off some steam.

The golf game wasn't overly impressive although I did par one hole. That tickled me! I don't take my golf too seriously... I'm mostly out there for the scenery and to hear the birds singing. It is a pretty little course (only 9 holes). And just a half a block from our cabin here so it's easy access. I always feel bad that I didn't lug my camera along for some pretty picture-taking. I'll have to do that one of these times so you can get a feel for the beauty. The course is on the moutainside and overlooks the lake so- tres jolie!

The dogs had a blast on the beach. They run around like maniacs sniffing, chasing, tormenting whatever they can find in the weeds. The cutest thing? They are smiling the whole time. I did take my camera to the beach so I'll share those photos with you in the next few days.

We took a drive around the lake last week and I wanted to share a photo of a little house that's been tucked away in the trees for, well, for as long as I can remember. When the kids were young, it was about the only thing we could entice them with to go for a drive around the lake. "We'll show you the Shoe House!" Kids aren't much into scenery otherwise. I remember our road trip to California one summer passing through the Grand Canyon. We could not for the life of us get our two youngest out of the car to take a look because they were playing video games. It's the Grand Canyon for pete's sake! They did finally press pause, run to the edge of the lookout and take one quick peek but they weren't all that impressed. "Huh, nice." Kids! Anyway, here's the Shoe House....



Don't you just want to go in and have some milk and cookies?

So, of course, seeing the Shoe House made me think of my kids which, in turn, makes me think of home and, well, after a bit of reminiscing... waa la, the inspiration for today's wordart freebie.

Click on the title of this post to go to my 4shared file to download. PU and CU okay. No terms for use.

Happy Sails!

Happy Life

Okay, I couldn't resist doing this one. Heehee. It pretty much sums it up. I don't know who the original author is but a wise soul indeed! To download, click the title of this post and go to my 4shared file.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Happy Sails!

Have a Little Fun

Well, it's an historic day in America. A couple of iconic events took place. The saddest being GM declaring bankruptcy. One woman interviewed on the news said it best when she emotionally declared, "The Heartbeat of America has stopped." Wow! Powerful words- and a lot of people are going to be affected by this turn of events. I wish them all the best.

The second event is definitely on a lighter note. Conan O'Brien takes over the Tonight Show. Seventeen years of Leno and we move on to our 4th host (or is it the 5th?). Big shoes to fill (even though I still miss Johnny). It should be a fun and interesting show. Conan is a big goofball (I have to laugh just looking at him) and I'm hoping it turns out fantastic. Hard to go wrong when your guest is Will Farrell. I'll be tuning in. :)

The weather today... yuck. It's been off and on rain most of the day- thunder right now- so I've not done much. Played on Facebook, had a nap, watched TV. I caught the Ellen Show today. I love Ellen but I try not to make a habit of sitting down to watch everyday. I thoroughly enjoy her but I don't want my schedule to revolve around her. She's good for a giggle though, isn't she? Her lighthearted spirit and sense of humor always makes me smile. So, of course, she was the inspiration for my freebie wordart today. This should fit appropriately on a number of your photos. Feel free to resize, recolor, throw splotches on, whatever. CU and PU okay. Click on the title of this post to go to my 4shared file and download.

Happy Sails!

Signs of Our Times

Hi guys!

I have to admit that I haven't been feeling very creative in the Wordart field lately. Too much playing on Facebook and reading other people's blogs. And the weather has been beautiful so the Captain and I have been golfing and boating. (BUT, considering the download numbers on my 4shared account, my Wordart isn't the big draw here. LOL!)

Instead I'll try to be entertaining by other means. :) So I decided to post some photos of signs that I've seen recently in my travels. They need no explanation really. But just in case you're dying for more info, I'll provide brief details.

Sign #1- This was taken in the rain forest on St. Croix in 2008. And, trust me, the road was in bad shape! The people who live there obviously were trying to make a point to get it fixed and I'm happy to report that when we went back this year, the road was in much better shape. So, it worked!

Sign #2- Obviously taken just outside Roswell, NM. Unfortunately, we didn't spend any time in Roswell nor did we drive out to the UFO Crash Site. We were tired of being in the car and just wanted to get to our destination- which happened to be Carlsbad, NM where we toured the cave. (Side note- the cave is amazingly huge! You have to see it to believe it. Very interesting- but there's not much else out there to see so take a minute and enjoy Roswell when you pass through.)

Sign #3- Yes, this is an actual event that takes place annually in the small town of Woodruff, UT. Every small town around here has some sort of festival. Brigham City has Peach Days. Garden City has Raspberry Days. Tremonton has Wheat and Beet Days. Pleasant View has Founder's Day... and so on and so on. But Woodruff's is by far the most interesting. They actually have a booth where you can buy Rocky Mountain Oysters to munch on. Um, I'm not brave enough to try these little delicacies but my hubby says they're quite tastey. Okay. I'll trust him on that one. Question- did they spell it right? I thought it was ...cal. Hmm.

Well, I'm off tomorrow to the big city to have dinner with my girlfriends which I haven't seen since I arrived here on 4 May. They've just been so busy. I'm embarrassed for them that they haven't found time for me! So I'm looking forward to sipping a 'grita and catching up on all the dirt. It will literally take hours. I'm so excited! Hehehe!

Until next time,

Happy Sails!

A Really Good Day

Summer doesn't "officially" kickoff until the latter part of June. But the season here is so short that this holiday weekend is official enough for us. We got the boat in the water today and I'm happy to report, she started up like a champ! We only saw maybe 5 other boats out there. The water was calm and smooth. No wind. The temperature wasn't that warm (only upper 60's) but it felt so much warmer. It was one of those near perfect days. My hubby tried to do a little fishing but nothing was biting. So we were content to float awhile, sipping sodas and eating crackers and beef jerky. ; )

It was so beautiful that we were a little tempted to put the wakeboard in and try to improve our skills. But the water temperature is only near 50 degrees right now so we'll wait on that. There were swimmers on the beach though. Are they crazy? Maybe they're out of state'rs and won't have another opportunity. Brave souls indeed! The water is such a beautiful blue that it kind of calls out to you to "come on in". It's easy to lose your senses. LOL!

So, with my declaration of the beginning of summer, I came up with two fun summery word art pic's that you can use for your 'fun in the sun' photos. Hope you can use them. And, remember, no terms of use. Change as you wish. Also, if you'd like the "Life's a Beach" minus the lobster, let me know. I can take him off real quick for you and send it via e-mail. Click on the title of this post to go to my 4shared folder to download the goods.

Also, I've been experimenting with my camera so check back. I hope to have some nice photos ready to post soon that you might enjoy! Thanks for hoppin' aboard today!

Happy Sails!

Big Dreams

Have you all been enjoying the beautiful weather the past several days? Wow! Lovin' it! It's cooler and breezy today but yesterday the hubs planted a bunch of posies for me in the garden. We got some new interesting plants that we haven't tried before. Can't remember the names of them but I hope they are happy in their new home and choose to flourish. :) We also got some fun favorites like hostas, rununculas and petunias. The colors are gorgeous! If they get established and do well, I'll post a picture.

After he finished up with that we decided to go golfing. This was only my second time this year and I have to say... I didn't do too bad. I'm not an avid golfer by any means. I don't go to the driving range. I only play 9 holes. I don't usually go more than twice a week and I don't seek out new and challenging courses. I've been "golfing" per se for the past 3+ years. But I still scored a 44. How about that? I was pretty pleased. I even parred a couple of holes. So maybe I have a natural knack? Nah, I'm back to the "luck" thing. But, amazingly enough, I got a hole in one last year. LOL! Totally a freak accident for sure. Here's the layout I did for that special, once in a lifetime event. (Word art by Bethany Harty.)

It was crazy. My ball hit the edge of the green and then just rolled about 12 feet straight to the hole. My eyes are so bad that it looked like it rolled off the other side to me but the Captain said, "Oh my gosh, you just got a hole in one." I didn't believe him until I saw my ball laying there in the cup. We bought rounds in the watering hole after we finished our game. Everyone was very happy for me (but probably happier about their free drink). Heehee.
I had time during American Idol last night to work on some wordart. But first, who are you voting for... Chris or Adam? I can't decide. They are both terrific and I'm sure will be big in the music industry no matter who wins. It was a fantastic season this year! Lots of winners in my book. Sorry to see it end.
Anywho- here's my freebie. Click on the title of this post to go to my account and download it. Leave me some love too, purdy please. :)

Well, thanks for climbin' aboard and catchin' the Wave today. Hope to see you again soon.

Happy Sails!

Give Me Sugar

I've just spent the past two and half days with Payton, best granddaughter ever, and we had the most terrific time. She wasn't feeling the best but she was a trooper and still wanted to swing, jump on the "jump-o-line", and go pretty much non-stop until nightfall. She ran the Captain ragged. :) Then, by dusk, she got snuggly and sat contentedly next to me (which I love) and watched TV. She even went to bed without a fight. What a sweetheart. She's the best girl.

After she left this afternoon (needed to bribe her with a present so she wouldn't cry (LOL), I saw her little hand prints on my sliding glass door and had to smile. They'll stay there for a few more days. Naturally, I had her on my mind when I turned on my computer. You might not have the perfect picture for today's word art freebie, but I did. If you can use it, click on the title of this post to download. And remember, I don't have any terms so recolor, resize, PU and CU okay. I'd love to see your layout if you do use it though. :) Here's the page I did for my digital scrapbook.

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Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Sails

Company and a Freebie

Well now, don't you just love it when you get unexpected company first thing in the morning? My honey went to let the dogs out this morning and our mighty protector, Tanner, who feels it's his responsibility to keep us and our property safe from any kind of intruders, took off running after something- barking up a storm. When Drew got out the door to see what was up, Tanner was about 3 feet from this guy who wasn't about to take any lip from some half pint lab. The moose (which was much larger than it appears to be in this photo) turned and charged the dog and chased him back a few yards. Drew got the dogs back inside and we spent the next hour on the deck watching this mangy giant stroll around the yard. The best part of this story is that some woman in a mini van came down the road and saw him standing in the field. She pulls over, gets out of her car and starts walking toward him, sweet talking him all the while, like she was going to befriend him and take him home for tea and crumpets. Has this woman not seen those videos of moose stomping the living daylights out of people? Luckily, he wasn't too interested in her and started walking the other direction across our yard. She continued her pursuit though by getting back in her van and following him- basically pushing him up the hill and out of our sight. I hope for her sake he never got aggravated. These things will go after locomotives if pushed to the edge. Anyway, it was an exciting morning. I always love to see moose but prefer to have my pups safely contained and keeping their distance. We'll be sure to check the yard from now on before cutting the dogs loose.

I'm doing this post during the commercials for The Biggest Loser. Holy Moly, don't the contestants look fantastic? I'm rooting for Tara but all three finalists look fantastic. Good for them!! So, I need to hurry and post the freebie and get back to the TV! Hope you like it! Click on the title of this post to download.

And, as always....
Happy Sails!