Aug. 4-10, 2019 Visiting "L" family, Eagle Creek Park, Migraines, Wood Flooring

Aug. 4-10, 2019 

Visiting "L" family, Eagle Creek Park, Migraines, Wood Flooring

One of the highlights of our visit, James played his bagpipe for us!  So cool!

Hello, Friends!

Our visit to the "L" family's home continued.  We arrived on Friday and stayed until Tuesday morning; a bit over four days.  



We went to the Indiana State Fair together on Saturday.  On Sunday we had our first-ever visit to their church!  



It was so very interesting to see how a different denomination holds a Sunday service.  The one hardship was that a migraine started on Saturday night and didn't go away until late Monday.  I woke up a few hours before church and had to take another Maxalt.  I had such a desire to go to their church I went with my head splitting. Heather made a new scone recipe that used coconut oil instead of heavy whipping cream because the cream doesn't sit well with my digestion and it turned out awesome!  

Heather taking pix at Eagle Creek Park

After church, we had a big lunch at Heather's.  Her mother went to an early service at her church then came over to cook for everyone.  We had a wonderful chicken meal! Chicken with rosemary and sliced oranges on top with jasmine rice, corn on the cob, and a mix of carrots and butternut squash that was delicious.  

At Heather's Flower Shop

  Heather's MIL was also part of the group and it was so very special for me to get to chat with three women without having to rush off anywhere. 

Heather making one of the two arrangements she needed to make on Monday at her flower shop.

 I had been wanting to discuss bible study ideas and ironically Heather's mom attends the very one I was interested in and recommended it highly (Bible Study Fellowship).  I don't usually get the opportunity to chat with many women in the 'mentor' category and this was a real treat! 

At Heather's shop they sold various things.  Here are three paintings her mom painted, for sale.

I just loved this apple painting.

After the meal, I got to play cards with Laura!  We had so much fun!  She taught me quite a few different card games that I had never heard of.

Sunday evening we went back to their church for a singing night followed by a pitch-in meal.  There are a few GF people at their church so I had options, such a bonus from most pitch-in's I've attended.  My migraine was really bad at church but I think I was able to look normal...at least till I got to bed.  I went straight to bed when we got home.

Monday:

Heather had planned to take Monday off, but some unexpected work came in and so she invited Dd and me to go with her to her shop.  First stop was a Wholesale Flower Shop! 



Wholesale Flower Warehouse

Wholesale Flower Warehouse

 What a treat!  It was great getting to see all the many flowers that I've never seen before and many that I had.  

Wholesale Flower Warehouse

After she picked out all the flowers she wanted they wrapped them up and we headed to her little shop so she could build the two flower arrangements.  

After she completed her work we stopped by the market that sells her arrangements; owned by her sister and her husband.  

Wholesale Flower Warehouse, Heather in brown coat and Dd in gray fleece.  It was around 30 degrees in there.

The market is called Wildwood Market.  I found a few treats to bring home to Dh---some 'Blackstrap Molasses,' two jars of Molasses, one jar of fig/orange jam, and a Michigan Cherry jam.  

Wholesale Flower Warehouse

 Heather picked out two little veg things for our picnic that she planned for that night.

Monday night we went to Eagle Creek Park for a paddle ride out to a little island for our dinner picnic.  

We made it to Eagle Creek Park two days in a row!!

David, Laura, James, Heather, Dd and I were the group that made the trip.  It was really very fun! 

A Black Cormorant 

 

We didn't see as many birds this year as last year, but it was still great! 

White Egret 

 We arrived back around 9 pm. Heather, Laura, and I used the canoe and the rest were on boards. 

Blue Heron

 It was nice to have a day not plagued by a migraine.

Tuesday:

Before we drove home, Heather invited us to take a hike at Eagle Creek Park that would take us around the lake.  It was a wonderful hike and took us a bit over an hour.

Mallard Ducks

  I was thankful for getting a hike in before having to sit so long on our drive home.  All three of us were taking pictures while we walked.  Dd was telling Heather how much she is enjoying photography and to my disbelief, Heather offered her a very expensive camera to Dd to try out for a little while. 

Heather had to rush off to her work, so we packed up our car without her and headed home.  It was such a great visit.  I can't verbalize just how appreciative I am to have found a kindred spirit that is 'family' to me.  Our drive home was uneventful.

Garden: 

I was right!  Our garden did look worse when we returned.  Dh did a great job watering it and taking care, but the squash bugs arrived and heavily assaulted my vines and production.  Things are still doing really well, it's just not as pretty and healthy-looking.

These two adorable Silkie Roosters have actually been ambushing me and biting me!  They are SO cute and fluffy...and aggressive!

Chickens:

The Silkies are still clumping together and not mixing with the other chickens.  Radagast will be bold and venture out a little bit.  He seems to be feeling the most comfortable with the hens.  The other two, more 'fluffy' Silkie roosters have been getting more and more snippy with me.  First, it was just Gandalf the White, but now Gandalf the Gray is also attacking and biting me.  The worst part is that when these guys bite me they don't just do one peck; no, they bite down and don't let go!  More of a clampdown, to be honest.

Tuesday: Woods and Failure:

I *tried* to make the coconut oil scones Heather had made, but mine came out flatter than a pancake! Complete flop!  It was nice to be back to walking Henry in our own woods.  I like Eagle Creek Park, but there is something to knowing your own woods and appreciating every detail.

 Straw:

  Tuesday night Dh and I were finally able to buy straw bales after waiting months for our farmer to finally be able to harvest straw.  The farmers sure have had it rough in these parts.  I used my last straw before I left.

Dd: Camera

Unlike Dd's last visit, this time she had Heather's borrowed camera to give her something new and exciting to do on her first day without the "L" family.  She jumped right on figuring out the camera and spent hours with it during the week.  She is SO excited.  

Migraines:

After having migraines at Heather's house I still had them this week---Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Sunday I was exhausted from being in pain for so many hours/days.  It really takes its toll.



Migraines/ Emgality:

Friday I went to my doctor's at the "Migraine Specialists" and they prescribed Emgality for me to try.  It is a new medication that works in your brain to prevent the migraine from starting.  It blocks the receptors that would enable the migraine.  I gave myself two shots in my stomach and was told how I will now be giving myself shots each month at home.  It didn't hurt and wasn't a big deal.  I am so hopeful that perhaps this new medication might help me.  I sure hope it won't hurt my brain; that is the last thing I need.

Flooring:

So, our "spring" or "early summer" job was going to be that we put down new hardwood flooring in our living room and dining room.  I must have forgotten how thorough my Dh is about research!!!  



We did eventually pick a specific brand and type and ordered it from Lowe's.  Then we waited for the phone call to come to pick it up.  Then the bill came and I paid for it.  I called Lowe's and the assured me they would call me when it came in.  I waited a few more weeks and called them back again and heard once more how they would call me when it was ready.  

Dickens and Honeysuckle loved having new spots to sleep on!

Finally, Dh and I drove to the store to ask about it and were told our salesperson had gone on personal leave and someone *should* have taken over his orders.  Someone *should* have called us and told us that our wood choice had been discontinued!  Oi. Oi. Ugh.  We looked at the other choices they had for about an hour before deciding to take a chance and drive over to Lumber Liquidators.  Long story short, we found a great oak with a simple natural sealer and bought it.  It literally cost twice what Lowe's cost, but it was such nice option.  

Thursday, after work, Dh went by and picked up our order.  It only took a little over two weeks for the wood to come in!  It took a solid thirty minutes for Dh and me to carry in all the boxes of flooring!  Then I had to unpack each box and stack the boards in a way that allows air to flow through the stacks and the wood can adjust to our houses humidity.  It took days for me to do it, but within the next seven days, I did get it all unpacked--phew! 

Sander:

Dh has been trying to get all the tools and equipment we might need ready to do the flooring.  This week he built a stand for his big belt sander and then put wheels on it so we can move it around easier.  He spent hours and hours on it and it looks great.

Squeaks: Floor

Dh has been screwing down our particle board to remove any squeaks now before the new flooring is added.  He is one of those people that notice every little squeak and has taken great effort to find and eradicate each one.

Ms. Lemon, my Bantam Hen...so sweet!

Dd's Activity This Week:

Math:

Dd met with her math tutor and went over the quizzes she had assigned to Dd.



Photography:
Dd is loving taking photos.

Heather's Flower Shop

Work: Pizza Shop:

Tuesday, her first day back home, and she had to hustle right back to work!  She is still loving working.

Wholesale Flower Warehouse

Back Problems:

I don't want to share too much, but Dd has been having a bad problem.  We've been going to doctors and will soon have her get a MRI to confirm.  She will have PT I'm assuming to help her.

Wholesale Flower Warehouse

Hair:

This has surely been the summer for Dd to experiment with her hair.  It looked really odd during our trip to Indy.  She has twice dyed it after her trial with lemon juice, but no matter what it keeps looking odd.  Saturday she went to a real hair place and spent a whole week's wages to get it fixed.  It looks much better now.

Wholesale Flower Warehouse

Next Week:

Hopefully, Dd will get back to her science once again!

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July 28-Aug 3, 2019 "L" Family Visit, IN. State Fair, Blanching and Freezing Greens

July 28-Aug 3, 2019 

Blanching and Freezing Greens, Water Keifer, "L" Family Visit, IN. State Fair

Hello Friends!
It's that time of year again....the Indiana State Fair time!  The "L" family was kind enough to invite us to stay with them for a visit and share the fair with us again this year.  Words just don't express how much I enjoy having a friend to chat with.  I know that for Dd her empty hole for having 'family' is filled whenever we are there; for me too.  She really thinks of the "L" kids as her adopted siblings.  They (the "L" kids) have each other and probably don't have the same appreciation for us as we have for them!!!!  They are so special to us!  I can share this here because Heather always apologizes for not having time to read my blog, so I'm probably safe sharing my heart!!

We didn't leave until Friday morning, so we had the whole week to get ready for our trip.  No matter how much time I have to prep I still put off packing until the day before! I had been sick Saturday and Sunday (fever and run-over) so I had to mentally overcome my physical limitations to motivate.  I have endless chores and trying to 'get ahead' is practically impossible.  I did get lots of things like: mowing, laundry, cleaned the chicken coop, garden harvest (blanching LOTS of greens and freezing), shopping and I attempted to water my garden for the next week too!  I watered twice a day before we left!  I tried to tidy the house extra too since Hailee was going to be stopping by each day to let Henry, our dog, out when Dh was at work.






I meant to have nice little gifts for the kids and Heather, but somehow never found the 'right' gifts.  Heather always has such thoughtful little gifts and I sheepishly smile and bring maple syrup, Nutella, and various practical things.  One of these days I will think of a good gift!




Garden:
This week the garden was spectacular!  I always wait and try to decide when the garden has it's "peak week" and this was it.  (as I type this another week has gone by and I was right!  the squash bugs arrived while we were in Indiana and they took a major hit.)  The flowers I planted are blooming among the veg and it just looks so awesome.  This year's garden has really been a delight.  Normally I fight something major, but the bugs have really taken the year off and I'm ever so thankful!






Painting Deck:
I'm still working on painting the deck that I spent weeks spray washing.  It's a slow and steady job.





Water Keifer:
The friend who gave me the Silkies also gave me some water keifer.  I've been enjoying it but wonder about all the sugar I am drinking now... I can't decide if I want to keep this up or not.  It is tasty.



Travel Prep:
  I felt bad for Dh having to do all the dog, cat, chicken, and garden chores each morning and evening around his work schedule.  He didn't get much else done while we were gone.




Greens: Main Chore of the Week! 
Blanching and Freezing
This week, my focus was blanching and freezing as many greens as I could.  I did load after load!  I tried to have a balance of the following greens:
Swiss Chard, Dinosaur Kale, Russian Kale, Turnip Greens. and beet greens.  This took up most of my time this week, it is so time-consuming, but will be so healthy throughout the cold Michigan winters.





Silkies: Chickens
This week was a big transition for the Silkies.  They started out in the chicken tractor beside the run during the days and in another tractor, in the garage, during the nights.  During the day I take an hour or more to bring them into the run and stay there and babysit their time with the hens.  Wednesday they stayed with the hens for hours without me. By Thursday they were spending the night inside the inner coop.  I have to carry them up each morning and then down each evening...they don't seem interested in learning how to climb the ramp!  I had to get them out of the tractors before our visit since I didn't want Dh to have more work than necessary.  






Regular Chickens:
Dh and I took the chickens for a romp in the woods on Sunday.  They sure do love to get out of their pens and scratch, scratch, scratch!  I wish I could take them every day, but they are so hard to round up in the end.



Botox: Migraines
This is my last session of Botox...for now.  I've talked with my MIL and we decided to go ahead and try a new product on the market, a new one.  If the new product doesn't work I might consider using the Botox again; even though it didn't cut down the number of migraines, only the pain levels.





Vacation: "L" family First Days of Trip to "L" family (Indianapolis, Indiana):
Dinner: shishkabobs were grilled for our dinner and boy, were they delicious!  After dinner, the kids played Glow-in-the-Dark Batmitton and watched Captain Marvel.




IN State Fair:
Saturday we had pancakes for breakfast.  Dd and the kids (D, L, J) played video games while we prepared for our big day.  Eventually, we all packed our lunches (except David, who decided Larkin could make his sandwich for him! funny!) and filled our water bottles and headed downtown.  



We went to the building with the giant cheese sculpture first and talked to the ladies making it.  Then we went over and bought honey sticks at the honey place that Dd used to get honey ice cream from.  The stacked can goods sculptures had been moved out to another building this year.  In its place were lots of 4H displays, including lots of Christmas evergreen trees.  Heather found that some of her flowers at home would have received a blue ribbon if she had only brought them in as some of the flowers in the competition were very small and underdeveloped.  It is always interesting to see other people's flowers and varieties.  

Then we went to the art exhibits for 4H in another building.  Dd wanted to look at the photography entries.  She has wanted to exhibit her photographs for years but after years of trying to get accepted into 4H and failing I have given up on that dream.  4H seems to a pretty inclusive organization; you really have to have a connection or grow up in it with your mom or day having also grown up in it as well.  But, we all had a great time looking at all the various things people made and showed.



The circus was next on our agenda, so we walked to that exhibit, waited in line, and eventually were granted seats.  We enjoyed our lunch and watched the tent fill up with hundreds of people while we ate.  Bello Nock, a circus clown, was back again this year.  His first trick was putting his head in a balloon.  It looked like his goal was going to be to fit his entire body in the balloon, but the balloon popped and he ran off the stage...quite a letdown!  All-in-all, it didn't quite match up to last year's circus events.  There were a few moments, here and there, that was interesting, but after such a great show last year, it was a bit of a disappointment.  Regardless, it was nice to take my Dd to a circus!  I remember my dad taking me to see the Ringling Brothers and Barney Bailey Circus in the 1970's and had always hoped to take my child too.  Although, when we went there were men snapping whips at elephants, tigers, lions, and dogs!  I prefer humans doing the work!  Glad we went again.



After the circus was Pioneer Village; my favorite!  We tasted maple syrup and creamed maple syrup!  Oi! is that spectacular!  We went into the big building with the old log cabin inside.  We stopped and looked at this year's display of rug weaving.  Heather bought some bee's wax candles like she did last year.  The kids bought penny candy from the little store beside the old fashioned working kitchen.  Everything in the building is a treat to the eyes!  I just love that building!  The mini-stage was going to have a hymn singing later in the evening that I would have loved to attend.




Then we went to the very smelly swine barn and sheep barn before we went to the place where the kids always get their ice cream.  As they sat eating their ice cream together I went and bought my annual elephant ear and Heather bought a Lemon Shake-up for the kids to share.  I am GF except for this one treat each year as it is worth it for a walk down memory lane.  Then Andrew (the eldest son) arrived from work and walked with us to see the rabbits and chickens.  There were only around 10 chickens again this year.  I'm thinking they must arrive later in the week and this day must have been reserved for the bunnies.  David especially loved the bunnies!  It is so great seeing kids when they really are interested in something.  It was a treat to walk around and hear his comments on which rabbits he liked and why.



The kids wanted to ride the trolley (pulled by tractors) around the fairgrounds.  It only costs $1.00 each, so we went ahead and agreed on it.  The hardest part is trying to fit T, H, L, J, D, L, R, and A on all at the same time!  We couldn't find enough spaces when the first trolley arrived, but we managed to squeeze on the second one.  After the ride, we decided it was time to head home.  I had had too much fun and my migraine was brewing.  I had to go right to bed and was feeling awful.  I wish my brain wasn't such a pain and an inconvenience.  I could have had hours more of talking with Heather that evening if I wouldn't have had a migraine.

  

That ends Saturday and the rest of our visit with the "L" family will be continued on next week's post!



Dd's Activity:



Work:
Dd still loving working at the pizza shop.  Dd bought a fresh pizza to take to Indiana to share.  She wanted them to taste how good the pizzas are where she works.




Babysitting:
Dd spent most of Thursday babysitting the "S" family kids.  Boy, she loves those two!  



Church:
Dd went to Sunday School at our old church this week.  I was sick Saturday and Sunday so I didn't go to church. On Saturday, the day before, Dd had done face painting at our old church for their "Carnival Day."  They had a big bouncy house that was so much fun that Dd went back Sunday late-afternoon to bounce some more with Hailee.  I'm glad her friends from our old church are staying friends with her even though we've stopped going there.

Next Week:
At the "L" house until Tuesday!

......