Shelley, Greg & Scout go to a parade!

Part of the allure of the northern Michigan towns for me is the quaintness of the downtowns. I love all the events they have whether it be a Christmas tree lighting ceremony, a maple syrup festival or better yet - a parade! Last week we attended Gaylord's St. Patrick's day parade and we took Scout with us. The day was rainy and dreary but we still had fun.







I love Gaylord's downtown, it is styled in an Alpine Swiss theme. Its' sister city is Pontresina, Switzerland. There are so many cute shops here and great restaurants.







Can you guess who was Scout's favorite in the parade?





Hey - doesn't it look like Greg is choking Scout?!





Here comes the cops! Except I think they've been drinking some of that green beer...





Just kidding! Greg was adjusting Scout's collar as she got very excited at that Irish Setter boy in the parade. I told her she's too young to date. In fact, she's never allowed to date!





I think this guy needs a leash...


I am so looking forward to sunny days! Trying to decide what I'm going to grow in my garden this year. What will you be planting?

Log Cabin Updates

I was so happy I got to spend a few days at the cabin last week. It was nice to take a break from studying! The weather was okay but got rainy toward the end of the week.

We went on some nice hikes and also got to meet my blogger friend Joan of The Retirement Chronicles. (Go visit her blog to view some fantastic photography. I told Joan she's lucky our log cabins aren't close by each other cuz I would be bugging her everyday!)

The snow has started to melt. Our lake is still frozen but melting on the edges.




Here's Joan and I! Isn't she a cute lady? I look like a big monster next to her. (Note to self - start jogging more and drink less pepsi!)




Here's my little chickadee making new friends with my bird feeder. I had them eating out of my hands all week but of course Greg was never able to capture the moment on camera. I really need the paparazzi to start following me!


I took lots of photos at the cabin while we were there so I will be posting these in the next day or so. I feel like spring is here! Time to get new spring pj's so I can wave to my neighbors and impress them! Ha!

Getting all my ducks in a row!

We're leaving for the log cabin in the next hour or so. (I've been calling Greg at work every 30 minutes to tell him to please hurry up. Scout is getting upset and Marvin is ready to leave without him. Ha!)




Tomorrow, I am meeting a blogger friend from The Retirement Chronicles for lunch in Mackinaw City. This will make the fifth blogger friend I've met in person so far. Watch out - you could be next!

This past weekend we went to the Detroit Kennel Dog Club Show and Scout's brother won 2nd place in the Bernese Mountain dog puppy division! His name is Jet. (And at our last play date, he kept making out with Scout and I had to tell him to take it easy!) Here's a photo of Jet. Isn't he a handsome boy?






It was fun to see so many Bernese Mountain Dogs in one place.





I wanted to take this boy home with me but his owner said no.




I fell in love with this Anatolian Shepherd and decided I want one of these too! Greg dragged me away from the breeder, begging them not to answer my questions and to just ignore me. (I got their business card - ha!)








And finally, doesn't this sign crack you up?

A great day for the animals

Scout: I'm having a great day today! It's sunny and I've been playing in the backyard!






As long as I have my mommy, dirt to dig and toys to bury, I'm very happy!







Marvin: All I need is a patch of sunlight and for that dog to stay outside - and then it's a great day!

It's almost time....

My Loons should be back within the next 30 days. I'm so excited! I have to get ready. Get the kayak geared up. Another memory card for my camera. And a bull horn so I can yell at all those boaters and jet skiers who get too close to my Loon babies!



Here's a video so you can hear how beautiful the Loons sound.

Yoo hoo Mr. Ice Fishermen!

Okay, some of you already know how I'm always waving from the deck of my log cabin to my non-acknowledging neighbors across the lake. About half the time it's in the morning when I'm wearing my crazy pajama pants and now combined with my big fluffy ski coat. Looks great, I promise! (HA!)

Anyways, the ice fishermen fascinate me. I'm always checking them out with the binoculars to see if they've caught any fish. Imagine my surprise when I was looking at them and saw one of them looking back at me with their binoculars! I waved. And you know what.....he waved too! I'm making progress people.....

Quick Question!

Do you think I need to throw this bird feeder away?



Some updates: School is going well! I was recently inducted into Phi Theta Kappa which is an honors program for community colleges. Greg is joking now he's married to a sorority girl! Okay - then on spring break, he better take me to Florida!

Also, I've been volunteering at a local hospital and just love it. The highlight of my week last week is when this angry man was yelling and swearing at a fellow volunteer next to me because he felt like she gave him inadequate directions. When he left, I asked the woman "Who is that?" She replied "The pastor!" LOL!!!!

I miss all of you and will be around to visit. (I miss your humor Suz & Jen, I miss your stories and history Betsy, I miss your decorating Penny, I miss your comments Wendy a.k.a. little sis, I miss your projects Sandi, I miss all your interesting tidbits Mildred - and so much more!) Please let me know if I've missed anything!