Saturday, September 29, 2007



Today we are heading up north to Homecoming at CMU and for my granddaughter Riley's birthday party tomorrow. John is so great about spending time with my side of the family, which we do a lot of since they are closer to us, but with in the next couple of months we are looking forward to heading to Denver to spend some time with the bunch in the picture above. Sorry Dominic, the pictures on my computer are so small that I can't see them until they are uploaded onto the blog, I thought you were in this picture too. Dominic is the, not so little any more, baby of the clan.

Cindy did a post about dream houses which has inspired me to take my camera with me this weekend and take a few pictures of some of my favorite houses including my mom and dad's, and the in progress guest house adjacent to it, that I think you will enjoy. If my computer is fixed I'll post them sometime next week.

Hope everyone has a good time enjoying this beautiful fall weekend and thanks every one for your encouraging comments.

Go Chippewa's!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, September 28, 2007

Burleigh Pottery

This morning while googling images for English country style I ran across this line of pottery to share. They describe Burleigh Pottery as the epitome of the classic English country look. This look isn't for every one I know, but I just love the homey undecorated look of the English country style home where nothing is perfect, too new looking or pretentious, just well lived in spaces cluttered with the stuff of every day life.

You can click here to see more from Burleigh Pottery.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Our Home Four Years Ago

It is hard to believe that we have lived here for four years now. This was not our first choice for a house when we were house shopping. The house that we were about to close on after we had sold our house did not pass the builders inspection. Now, in the grand scheme of things I know that it is not the end of the world, but it took me a long time to get over the Mud House never the less.

I've been reading Melissa's blog about being authentic this morning and am feeling the need to be more authentic here on my blog in order to be known authentically.

John is my third husband............I know, I can hardly believe it either. My family has a large family business that provides for me very well. Did any body watch that awful show Dirty Sexy Money last night? Well, on a much smaller scale that could be my family. A few different story lines and take it out a few generations and there you have us.

My first husband and I were married shortly after high school. We had our three beautiful children over the course of several years. Thirteen years later we were divorced. To this day I regret it and would advise anyone with children to stay married to the father of your children unless you are dealing with one or all of the four A's, adultery, addiction, abuse, or abandonment. Even then there is hope through the grace of God, but none of these were the reason for my divorce, I was an idiot.........that was the reason for my divorce. Before I knew it he was remarried and had adopted a little boy. Through it all he remained a wonderful father to my children.

On March 16, 1986 I was saved and born again through the blood of Jesus Christ our savior. Five years later in 1991 I married a man fifteen years older than me. We were married for 10 years but after the first 5 years it began to become clear that our differences could not be overcome even though we both tried very hard and sought all kinds of outside help and kept trying probably longer than we should have, but I now know why that was........

Two years after my second divorce my first husband had an aneurysm burst in his brain at a meeting. He never recovered. I know that he had some brain function immediately after the incident because when I went into the ER room when he got to the hospital I leaned over him and told him that the children would be fine and that I would take care of them and a tear rolled down his cheek. It was the worst time in our lives and it continued for two more years until he went home to be with the Lord in the spring of 2004.

Shortly after my second divorce I met my husband John. We were married in 2003 at which time I sold my home and cottage to move from a small central Michigan town to Metro Detroit. He sold his house and we found the Mud House and were excited to start our life together down here. On one of our first dates we began reading the Bible through in one of those read through the Bible in one year Bible's. He had come out of a difficult marriage and had turned to the Lord to help him come to terms with his situation. We finished reading our Bible coincidentally the day we were married. This was not my first time through it but it was his. That Bible reading and many prayers together have gotten us through some very difficult times.

Two weeks after my first husband went home to be with the Lord John's mother fell and broke her hip. Within a couple of days she also went home to be with the Lord. She was a loving mother and we were heartbroken by her loss.

It has been almost a year now that my second husband also went home to be with the Lord. As I mentioned above I now know why we were together. Shortly before he passed he asked me to come over to his house where he was in the final stages of his battle with lung cancer and he thanked me for bringing him back to God. He had a peace about him that I could feel even though I knew he was in a great deal of pain. He died two weeks later.

So, you are now probably thinking, what a nut case, and maybe so, but I have loved and I have lost, I've been a sinner and a saint and through it all the Lord has been beside me holding me in His arms comforting and leading me bringing me back to Him.

Some time ago I erased much of my blog because I became the topic of debate among some of the Christian bloggers. At that time I couldn't even put into words my experiences of the last few years. I was called an isolator, a Jezebel and blasphemer of the Word of God. Hopefully, what they said is not true, but if it is I repent of it and will continue to have faith in God who forgives us and guides us.

Back to the topic of our home. I give God all the glory for all that I have. It is all his and only mine to be a good steward of so it is this house and not the Mud House and that is just fine with me. Could my computer be broken so that I would have to use this old one so that I can finally put the past few years into words......Thank you Jesus, thank you all who have listenend to me ramble.

Hope I haven't scared any one off. This is the first time in years that I have been able to sort through all this.

It is nice to meet you authentically.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Linens and Things

This morning I decided to organize my table linens and discovered that many of my tablecloths don't even have a table to cover in this house any more. Hum? Let's see, there is the round blue one that goes to the table that Dana has now, better save that for her. Then there is the plastic outdoor blue & white checked round one that went on the round outdoor table that is in the basement waiting to be resurrected at someones cottage one of these days.
Does this happen to any one else or have I really turned into a pack rat? You would think I would pass them on and I really do give away a lot of things that I don't use but for some reason there are categories of items that just stay with me.


Guess that needs some pondering. For now though my linens are nicely organized and accessible, ready to be put to good use. Have you organized your table linens lately?

Photos above are from Very Fine Linens & emsheart via google image search.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Karla's Party




Today over at Karla's Cottage she has invited us to share what we love about our home. She has posted about her darling cottage including a recent photo shoot from Romantic Country Homes magazine that showcases her eclectic kitchen as well as other past articles that show its many transformation. I really can't say which one I like best, they have all been so creative and I love them all. Visit her blog at http://karlascottage.typepad.com/ and join in the fun if you like.



Since my computer is still down I can't post any new pictures about what I love about our home but one of our favorite things about this house are our weekly Tiki Sunday parties. Every Sunday during the summer we host an open house sort of pool party where we never know exactly who will show up but on most sunny Sunday afternoons we have a pool full of family, friends or both. Every one brings food to share and helps with the clean up so it is a fun relatively easy way to entertain.

Stop by Karla's and join in the fun and read about other bloggers homes.



Monday, September 24, 2007

Arcadia Bluffs

It has been a busy week here. Jury Duty turned out to be no big deal once I found my way to the court house, in fact, I never got selected to serve on a case and met a couple of lovely ladies that I shared the beautiful sunny day with. We had an hour and a half lunch break so we walked around Mt. Clemens and had lunch at a charming restaurant that had outdoor dining. The rest of the day we spent swapping recipes and telling each other about our daily life. I got the address and phone number of one of the ladies because she does alterations, but unfortunately I didn't get the others information. She was a factory worker for General Motors and was telling us about her schedule of working 8 hours a day, 7 days a week. As you may have heard on the news General Motors today decided to go on strike. I so wish that I had gotten her name so I could contact her to offer her my wishes of a speedy resolution to the situation. This is a very difficult time here in south eastern Michigan for so many people.
On a more pleasant note, last weekend, as I mentioned before, we went up north to see our girl friends newly remodeled cottage. My computer crashed last week and is in the shop being fixed so I'm using my old computer that won't let me upload my pictures, but to my pleasant surprise Sheryl at http://friendshipcottage.blogspot.com/ has written a couple of posts about the weekend that tell the tale, well most of it any way ;) She graciously omitted some of the events.
Above is a picture of the club house at Arcadia Bluffs where we had dinner Saturday night. You have to see the picture that Sheryl took of the bagpipe player with the sun setting behind him, amazing.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Jury Duty


Today I'm off to Jury Duty. I was hoping that my number wouldn't come up but it did so off I go to do my duty as an American.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Consignment Shop Majolica


Last week Dana and I had to go up north to Petoskey to pick up the chairs that I bought for the guest house last summer. While we were up there we went to our favorite consignment shop and I found two majolica pictures to add to my collection, they are the ones in the bottom photo.
The one on the left has is pink on the inside, the one on the right has a bird on a branch of what looks like an apple tree in bloom. The smaller ones in front are reproductions that we carried at Chloe's.
If you are in the Petoskey area I recommend that you take a look at this consignment shop, that I can't remember the name of but if you are interested let me know and I'll give you directions. We were in there for about an hour and during that time there were no less than six ladies in there that looked like they were Interior Designers stopping by on their lunch hours making calls to what appeared to be clients describing certain pieces that they were spotting. This place is a treasure trove of everything from furniture to small items that the people from the resort communities in the area bring in to sell. The prices are unbelievably low and the selection is top notch. It is probably hit and miss but both times that I have been there it has been packed with inventory.
I happily snatched up these two majolica pieces and a blue and white cache pot with a drip plate under it but could have loaded up the car with more goodies for the guest house if we would have had room with all the chairs already in there. We are hoping that in December when we start to put together the GH that they will still have a good selection.
Hope every one had a good weekend. This week I have Jury Duty............but next weekend several of my friend and I are going to our girl friends newly remodeled cottage on Lake Michigan and we are all very excited to see the finished product and share some girl time.
Thanks for all the sweet comments. I'm off to visit some blogs.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Happy Birthday Aaron

Happy birthday Aaron! Thirty four years ago today Aaron was born. When he was born the name Aaron was very rare, now it is much more common but in 1973 it became popular. That was the year that Hank Aaron broke records in the game of baseball. His name was every where and apparently people liked it, at least his last name. Aaron was also the name of the articulate brother of Moses according to the holy Bible. With a name like that how could you go wrong.

Aaron has lived up to his name. He was a good baseball player but really excelled at the game of golf. His prep school days were during the time that Tiger Woods was also coming up in the game of golf, he was the guy to beat. He also played on the same prep school team as Doug LaBelle who is now a member of the PGA. Aaron was coming on strong in the golf world but after a summer of internship as an assistant golf professional while in college he decided to change his path.

Aaron now works for our family business and like his Biblical name sake is an articulate man of God. Since his father passed away in 2004 after a two year illness Aaron has become the family spokes man. He is a strong leader of his brothers and sister and a role model of Christian grace.

These last few years have been difficult for him on several fronts but he, by the grace of God, has survived and grown to further his testimony reflecting the Lords promise to be with us through it all. It blesses me to see a smile on his face once again and hear the laughter, that was for so long stifled by grief, reappear.

God bless you my son, the gift that God so generously bestowed on your Father and I to raise. May you continue to grown in your walk with the Lord. I love you with all my heart and wish you the happiest of birthdays and blessing through out your life.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Living Room Flowers

When we were up north for the wedding I had a few minutes to visit the cutest shop in Charlevoix and got this cache pot with pink roses on it and a lavender plant to put in it. I put it on a table in the other corner of the living room but it didn't photograph well there so I stuck it here where the light is better, still not the greatest picture but you get the idea.
This mosiac platter with roses on it has been with me for a very long time. It get's moved around a lot and makes a nice serving piece for desserts at Easter.
We have two of these white and pink Morning Glory vases on either side of the secretary sitting on very rickety wall brackets. There is no way I could put anything in them without toppling the whole thing, so we just enjoy their pretty presence from afar. An errant feather duster can send the whole thing crashing to the ground.

Well, most of the flowers are fading in the garden but the sedum seems to be coming in nicely and will soon furnish some color. We also planted a few dahlia bulbs this spring that are starting to produce nice pinkish red blossoms that will look nice in the kitchen and great room.

It is about time to clean out the planters and replace the geraniums with some fall colored mums and change the door wreath. The wreath that I have used for years is looking pretty tired so after I go to the gym this morning I'll try to find something a bit fresher.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying these first few crisp fall like days. The weather here in Michigan has been glorious.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments on the wedding. Things have settled down some and Kyle & Carrie seem to be enjoying their wedded bliss while working on the mounds of thank you notes for all the generosity they received.