Monday......Monday.......

How's this face for a good day brightner!  ...just little Spencer at 5 weeks old!
   I had my day planned, but I had to go to "Plan B" to take Dom to the ER for a pulled groin.  He couldn't walk and was in so much pain that he begged me to take him to the ER.  He's doing much better because of the good drugs and a shot in his butt!

    So.....on with the day.....I'm going to go out and plant my garden......we'll see if anything comes up.......it's a basic, low scale operation!!!!  I'll let you all know how it goes.......

Sunday morning update.....

Good Morning.......it's Sunday, but NOT sunny outside!

Here are some pictures of Dom, putting in the new flooring......in the kitchen and the living room.....

      I am experimenting with colors for my text in my blogs......I am working on my computer skills this morning.......self-taught......kinda scary for all you folks reading the blogs :-)

     I'm thinking the black might be my best choice for relaying information to you, so I'll switch back and see how it looks......

  This is a different style of lettering and it may be easier for most of you to read....we'll check this one out too.....

     Well, I need to get busy with the house....I"m still sorting and putting things in place......the rooms are pretty much intact, but I still have a lot of work to do.  Here's some pictures of Dom, working on the flooring projects.......OOps....I still have to figure out how to rotate the picture for you, but you get an idea of the whole process.....it sure does look nice!

   Stay tuned.......and I need to get going on the house chores........Hugs to you all!

Saturday Reflection

Helloooo.........out there!  It's been a crazy day, back to a home front routine and the weather has been unpredictable!  It doesn't know whether it wants to rain or be sunny outside.

     I wanted to share a cute photo of Spencer and Stella, since many of you have asked for more kid pictures from this end of the world.  Thus, I liked this one......it looks like Stella is trying to blow down the rooster-like detail of Spencer's hair!  She's quite the cutie, at this stage of the game.

Dom has been outside most of the day,  power washing the sides of the house and the decks.  Those nasty caterpillars have found their way to the U.P. and are driving all of us crazy with the crap they leave behind on the outside walls, etc.  The leaves on the trees are being eaten up by this caterpillar crew!

  I think I know how to post pictures the regular way now......stay tuned for further updates!

TGIF.........

'just a quick note to tell you all that I am back in Marquette....and it's about 11:30 p.m. so I'll make this quick........

     I am a grandma again.....yehhhhh.......Mari had a baby boy yesterday (June 26th).......his name is Mateus and he weighs 7 lbs. 13 oz.  and is 20.5 inches long. Both mom and dad are beaming with pride over their bundle of joy!  The whole family is thrilled about the new addition......

Ragene and I had a great drive back home....we made some calculated stops along the way.......stay tuned for my next blog.....I'm heading to bed.  Good night!  Love to all of you.....XO

Uploading pictures

Hello again.....

   I'm playing with the blog site and figuring out how to post pictures.......you will see that I have figured out how to get the photos on the site, but I'm still trying to get them posted in a different place!  HA!  But......you can see our little Spencer.....he has grown so much in the last week!  Plus, we have a robin family, who is nesting in our grapevine wreath on the back deck!  I am surrounded by young ones, and I am loving it!  Have a great day, all of you!

Minnesota Quilt Show

Good morning......

   Ragene is taking a quick nap this morning, while she is inbetween appointments at the clinic. ................... So I am checking my email and working on the computer.  It's 81 degrees right now outside and very humid! She has two more appointments this afternoon, and then we may be going over to the Civic Center to check out the Quilt Show.......the show starts today and runs through the weekend!  Ragene will be one of the featured quilters in the Michigan show, which runs during the second week in September in Grand Rapids!  Awesome honor for her :-)

      Last night proved to be a fun night out at the baseball game.  We met up with Samantha for supper, and then we went on to the Honkers baseball game.  We met "Slider" during the game and watched him "work the crowd" of his adoring young fans!  He spent quite a bit of his time, autographing baseballs and T-shirts for the crowd.  After the Honkers won the game (9 - 4), we met the "real" Dan, Samantha's boyfriend. Dan has been performing as the team's mascot for the last 12+   years.  We had a nice evening with the two of them.

     All for now.....I hope all is well on the home fronts......hugs to all of you!

  

Mayo Clinic

Good Morning Everyone,

     I'm at the Mayo Clinic with Ragene.  She's off to the Gondo Building to do some more labs, while I have stayed back at the hotel to rest and catch up with my email, etc.  Several indications from the doctors have led us to believe that Ragene will be needing a procedure to help her liver and bile conduct normal functions.  We may have to stay another day and get a tube inserted into her bile duct to promote healthy functioning.  We'll know more later today.  She is still on the donor waiting list here for a liver and kidneys.  Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

     Meanwhile, we are going to go off to a baseball game tonight and meet up with Ragene's former student teacher here in Rochester.  Her name is Samantha and her boyfriend, Dan, is the mascot for the minor league baseball team.  This should be an adventure.

    We are also going to take in Rochester Fest.......a street festival in the city.  Plenty to eat, merchandise to view, and GREAT people watching!!!!

   Well, I must be off.........it's getting late this morning.....and I need to get with the routine! :-)  Hugs to all of you..............Mom  (also known as Grandma)   XXXOOO

First Day of Summer

Hello.......and happy thoughts to all of you, as the sunny day and warm weather has finally reached us here in the Upper Peninsula!  Thank goodness!

    Before I go off on some errands, I thought I'd drop all of you who read this blog a quick note.  My friend, Ann Chappel, thinks I'm getting really techie at this blogging......I encouraged her to do the same!  We "old dogs" need to keep up to the pace of this younger generation!  We're trying, but you, young folks, keep raising the bar on this technology! :-)

     I am on vacation tomorrow with my friend, Ragene Henry.  We are going to Rochester for her annual check-up, and we are making it a "girl trip"........I told her that she needs to make sure she gets "the plastic" card(s) from Bill before we hit the road in the morning!!!  We plan to stop by Katrina and Jon's house mid-afternoon for a quick visit, before we complete our journey to the Mayo Clinic.  I am making a mini pasty run this afternoon for the little guys.....Trina, get the freezer rearranged to receive the frozen Yooper delights!

    I cleaned and somewhat organized the basement this morning, but it still needs a lot of work.  However, I feel that I made some headway.  I'll need to go through the closets downstairs another time this summer to weed out the clothes and jackets!

    The kitchen trim and baseboards were finished off this morning as well.

     Last night we took a motorcycle ride and went out for dinner at the local corner bar/restaurant.  We noticed that they have homemade pizza and their very own potato chips that they make right there!  Hhhmmmm.....we'll have to give that a try soon too.

    Well.....I'm heading into town right now.  Do keep in touch..........I love hearing from you!  Love,  Grandma   

Home-front Project Update

Greetings everyone,

     Well, our house is completely upside down, and I am sitting here....taking a quick break!  The living room and dining room look great with the laminating flooring.  The kitchen floor had to be redone, as the dishwasher and the refrigerator leaked, which resulted in the tiles upheaving!!!!  Needless to say, we didn't need that!

    I have been busy sorting and throwing things that I have collected through the years......it's time!  I'm heading for the basement next........then take the load off to the Goodwill Store.  Well, that's all....'sorry that I'm not that interesting.......too busy cleaning!  HA!  

Home-front Project List

Hello there.......

   Well, we have finally finished putting the new flooring down on the main floor of the house:  the kitchen, the living room, and the dining room.  Whew!  It does look nice, but it was a lot of work too.  Hopefully, now I can put the rest of the house back in order now.  It will take me a few days to organize and get all the furniture, etc. in place.  

    The rainy weather has been good for the grass and the other plants.  I am hoping for a good berry season this summer.  Bring on the strawberries first!  Yummy!

     Tomorrow I have a three hour dentist appointment in the morning.....that's right.....I said THREE HOURS....Yikes!  I hope it goes okay, but I do need to get the bridge in on the upper right side of my mouth.  It's been tough chewing predominately on my right side all the time! :-)

    Well, I had better get to bed....it's going to be a long day tomorrow.  Good night....Love,  Grandma

Saturday's Chore List

Well, hello everybody!

      It's Saturday and another day on the home front........I am multi-tasking! I have about 5 major projects going at once!  HA!  We have the living room's laminated flooring half-way installed.......we will work on that tomorrow, so that we can finish up the living room, and go into the dining room with the wood floor. The kitchen tile turned out just beautiful!   Meanwhile, I am cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen cupboards.  I am going to take down the artificial greenery and wash them in the bathtub!  I will reevaluate putting them back up on top of the cupboards, or maybe hide them away for the time being........"We'll see"........

     Next....the laundry and go through my closets......get rid of some old clothes and organize the bedrooms upstairs.......maybe move some of the furniture around!

    Then later, we will take a ride up to Calumet to put the flowers out on Grandpa and Grandma's gravesite.  I created the cemetery boxes yesterday, and they did turn out quite nicely......if I do say so myself!   I used artificial flowers for two thirds of each box....I'll take a picture after I place them behind the headstones.  

We plan to go for a pizza at the Ambassador's for supper, before heading back to Marquette.

  



 Meanwhile, it's a nicer day than yesterday, so Dad is going to Daphne's rental house to paint the outside......a forest green this time!  The first attempt yielded many complaints against the "leprechaun" green color! Trust me......it was NOT going to fit in with the neighborhood! Sooooo........Daphne succumbed to the negative comments and went with the darker green (as Dad had suggested in the first place)!  Insurance money from that last hail storm, allows Daphne to re do that big house on Champion Street. Dad is doing this outside job to earn some extra $$$$$ in order to finance the house projects we are doing here at our house!

  Thus, here I am and I need to get going on my list.......I'll rest on the ride up to Calumet.....HA!  Keep blogging girls......I love to read the posts.  

Last day on my "new" job

Good morning everyone,

    Stella and I are watching the Disney channel, as Spencer is taking a quick morning nap.  Kirsti was so excited this morning, as she left the house for her last day at work!  She has most of her paperwork done for her students, but she will now turn her attention to packing away her classroom.  I told her that I would go in tomorrow morning with her to help her do the packing and moving of teaching supplies.  She will have to move her classroom contents to a smaller room in the school, due to a restructuring plan in the school district.  At least, she has her job locked down for the next school year, and she really enjoys working in the elementary school with the super staff in her building!

     I have been busy in the evenings at the homestead clearing out furniture and dishes from the rooms, due to the fact that we are changing the floors in the living room, dining room, and kitchen.  So everything has to be moved out to do these projects! We are putting down a wood laminate floor in the living and dining rooms.  Then we will put a tile system down in the kitchen.  It will certainly look so much better than what we have now!

    'have to end here......I am being summoned by the little guy, Spencer.  He's such a good baby.  Sandy K. was over yesterday afternoon for a visit, and she sure enjoyed helping me babysit Spencer.  He is growing and changing every day!

  Later......................  Mom (Grandma XO)

Last week on my new job assignment....

      It's a sunny Monday and both of the grandchildren are napping right now, so I have computer time for Grandma :-)  Stella and Spencer sure keep me busy.  They are so much fun!  

     Wednesday is the last day for me on this job assignment, but I'll volunteer for "temp work" if they need me on the home front here.  Then I will start tackling the chores at the house.  We are planning to take up the carpeting in the living room, and replacing it with wood laminate flooring.  This project will officially start on Thursday, as we move furniture out of the rooms and into the garage for storage.  Hopefully, we will be able to do this fast and efficiently.  Most people that I talk with about this type of work, comment how EASY it is.....well, as my dad would always say....."we'll see".........I'll keep you posted!

     The weather is sure unpredictable.....it started out raining, and now the sun is out for the afternoon.  I planted the flower boxes last night and the bugs got the better of me!  I didn't notice it until I was the house for the night.  My poor arms are all bit up by the "no-see-ums!" Yep...you guessed it.... I didn't see them! :-)

     

    

TGIF.........

      Hello there and TGIF.....as my children would say.........Kirsti made it through her first week back at school....she only has 3 days to put in for next week....and then she too, will be on summer vacation.  I continue to enjoy my "second job" here at the Brunet household.  The two grandchildren have been so good. It's been fun!

     We sure had a terrific wind blowing through the town all day long!  In fact, the meteorologist sent out a wind advisory to the area residents until 8 p.m.  

    Trina will help me post some pictures on my blog site soon.  I am anxious to share recent pictures with all of you who read my blog.  I had the camera snapping away today!  You will be smiling when you see the pictures.......in the meantime,  you'll just have to be satisfied with my words!

    

Tough job....but somebody's got to do it!

Hello there,

     As I sit here and watch Spencer napping in his bouncy seat, I can't help but reflect on how lucky I am to share this time with my children and grandchildren.  It's been a fun week, here at the Brunet household.  Stella is in daycare today, so that she can play with her peer group and I can have some 1:1 time with five week old Spencer.  Several of my friends have stopped by to visit, so that they can check out and hold the baby!  It's so much fun and he's such a good baby.  However, when his mama walks in the room at 4:00, he is very happy to see her.   AAhhhhhh.....she is the Dairy Queen and ready to serve up his favorite meal,  MOTHER'S MILK !

     The weather has been really dreary today.  In fact, it is foggy and threatening to rain this evening.  I hope we get some sunshine tomorrow.  I will plan to take the kids outside for some fresh air.  Stella would probably like to go to the P-A-R-K.   Yes, she does know what that spells!  The other night her daddy said that if they had time, they would go out for a walk and MAYBE go to the P-A-R-K.  We couldn't help but laugh, when she spouted out to us........"I want to go to the P-A-R-K too!"  She's such a smart cookie :-)

Different job title this week

Well, GOOD MORNING everyone!

   This is my first attempt at blogging.  I am definitely "moving up" with my techie skills!  I am sure everyone is going to flip out when reading this!  Enjoy that smile on your face :-)

   Right now I am at "my new job" for a couple of days.  You see, I am now Kirsti's nanny until she finishes up the school year at the Marquette schools.  Thus, I am babysitting Stella, who turned two years old on May 7th, and Spencer, who is now five weeks old.  Then I will officially start my "summer vacation" on June 11th :-)

    I am going to try to figure out how to publish pictures for everyone out there.  Then you can see my beautiful grandkids.  Morgan and Natalie live in the Twin Cities area with their mom and dad, Trina and Jon.  Trina keeps up with her family blog, so that is where I get this idea!  Well, we'll see how it goes.......

  I'll be back later....the little prince is calling out to me .....  from his morning nap!  Grandma