On Sabbath, we went to the Eau Claire church - and I saw Brooks, who was the co-pilot on our trip to Russia. He and his wife are getting ready to head to Papua New Guinea as missionaries, where he'll maintain the mission's aircraft....I got royally trounced at bowling, and had fun learning how to play a cooking game on Gabe's Wii (way too addictive! but aren't you glad I unlocked so many recipies???). And Lora and I even indulged in a little house-hunting expedition. Some may wonder why we were looking at a $575,000 Craftsman-style home, but that's just because we aim high. :) Oh, and I also had another job interview while I was there...
On Friday, Lora took me to Stovers, a u-pick apple farm. And even though the mosquitos were large and abundant enough to suck half of your blood supply in a single sitting, we braved the elements and picked some delicious Honeycrisp apples. Apparently, there are apple snobs in the area who consider that variety a "tourist apple." I say they need to have their taste buds examined. :)
On Friday, Lora took me to Stovers, a u-pick apple farm. And even though the mosquitos were large and abundant enough to suck half of your blood supply in a single sitting, we braved the elements and picked some delicious Honeycrisp apples. Apparently, there are apple snobs in the area who consider that variety a "tourist apple." I say they need to have their taste buds examined. :)
On Monday afternoon, before heading out of town, I stopped by again to grab some more of those delicious Honeycrisp apples off the tree....Next stop: Calhoun, Georgia! (With a little overnight stay in Kentucky...)
Miles driven to Michigan: 629
Miles driven in Michigan: 26
Length of stay: 5 days
States my tires touched the ground in: Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan
Total miles driven: 1,702
Cora is too funny - the first few days I was there, Heidi was working. So the girls left for Grandma's house with their dad before I came out in the morning. The second morning, I think Cora was pretty sure her parents were telling her a tall tale about their visitor. I heard her announce quite firmly, while standing outside my door, "I'm going in there." But dad said no. To which Cora replied, "But Daddy, if I don't go in there now, I'm never, EVER going to see Kristine!"
Matthew is a pretty quiet little guy at first, but I knew I'd made an impression when he asked him mom "Is auntie coming over again today? She's taking FOREVER..." Kudos to you Wendy, for raising such a wonderful family!
(And just in case any of you are wondering when I'm going to grow up and get a job, I DID talk to two organizations out in California about positions they have available...)
See the plastic container in the front? There's a church member that makes some kind of salsa for potluck every week, with extra for Dad to take home. And I think it's really a game called "Try to Make the Gringo Cry." Because this stuff is potent, people. A few weeks ago, I was going through line at potlock and saw some tabouleh. Now, I love tabouleh. So I put a couple spoonfuls on my plate...and then realized that the little specks I THOUGHT were bulgur wheat were actually jalepeno seeds. Which means there were a LOT of seeds in that pico de gallo!
In another life, I think I would have liked to be an opera singer. (And by other life, I mean one in which I had a trust fund to sustain me while I labored in obscurity in some European chorus for decades while waiting for my big break.) So, in real life I majored in business and sang for fun, attaining the heights of fame at Union College in the octet, Witness. Here we are, at the 3ABN studios in the spring of (gasp!) 1996:
But I digress....so, in closing a gratuitous nature shot: a New Mexican dragonfly with an inordinate amount of interest in the car antennae.
