Bonus Day in February

LH called this morning with some suggestions for activities for NCW's last full day here.  They were the kinds of things that our morning walking group often does when given both free time and free rein.  I had promised NCW a winter hike, and though we've done a fair amount of walking, none of it could honestly be called hiking.  (My theory is that the difference between walking and hiking is mostly the presence or absence of a paved surface.  You may have a different theory.)  Thus we found ourselves at Hemlock Crossing Park, hiking the trails behind the nature center, mostly along the Pigeon River.

The beavers had been busy back along the river, with several small trees having been recently felled.  Or gnawed.  The woods look very different in the winter without their leaves, and the amount of deadfall in the forest is much more obvious this time of year.  It was also a pretty windy day, with trees that had partially fallen, then gotten hung up in other trees, making eerie moaning sounds that sounded quite monster/ghost like.

From Hemlock Crossing we headed north, stopping at an antique mall to do a little browsing.  NCW ran across a casserole dish in the same pattern as a set of dishes that she has, and I took a photo of it for her so that, when she gets home, she can check to see if she has that piece.

 Eventually we drove into Grand Haven for lunch at Snug Harbor, a restaurant along the channel with a view that includes a little bit of the big Lake.  We took the scenic route along the lakeshore on our return trip, stopping only to pick up a few provisions for supper.  NCW made a turkey meat loaf with feta cheese and sun dried tomatoes, a very tasty dish that she and TT discovered a while back.  We had some roasted potatoes, green beans and crusty multi grain rolls with it.  This is the second meal since she's been here where she's been the primary cook.  I love it, since she's a very good cook and there's the added bonus of trying out some new foods.  This one will definitely show up on our table again.  It's been really nice to have her here.  The time has just flown by.

Who Visits Michigan in February?

We had a winter storm warning on Wednesday night and Thursday this past week.  Some places near here got close to a foot of snow.  NCW is a brave soul, though -- and declared that if the pilot was willing to fly to Michigan, so was she.  As it turned out, the roads between here and the airport were clear and dry by the time I left to pick her up, and the weather was just not an issue.  (Though there is another winter storm warning for the day that she leaves, so Mother Nature will bat last on this one, still.)

We've been having a quiet good time, for the most part.  There is a project that we have been working on -- you'll have to visit us to see the final result, but this photo gives you a pretty good idea of what we've been doing these past few days.

The upstairs guest room (AKA TJ's room) has never had anything hung on the walls in the four plus years it has existed.  The idea was to find frames for some of TT's photographic art that had previously been used on greeting cards, and to hang these on one of those walls.  This isn't the exact configuration that we ended up with, but it's close enough for blogging purposes.  We are both quite happy with the results.

 
In an unusual turn of events, my grandchildren were here this weekend, and I took no photos of them.  They did take a couple of walks with us, as did OSLO -- but the only photo I took was this morning when NCW and I were the only two walkers.  It was brisk, bordering on chilly when I took this photo.  The Grands were excellent company for the weekend and OSLO had stories to tell of her recent trip to Mexico.  (See her FB page for more details.)  OSLO and the Grands headed back to their regular lives after an early dinner this evening, and quiet has once again settled in around us.

There was a baby shower on Sunday, January 31.

It was a family event, as these things are.  Wireless and EMSA are expecting a baby girl shortly, and members of their families arrived to shower them with gifts for her.  Friends from high school and college joined in with the many branches of their families, and a good time was had by all.  Others had cameras, so most of my photos are of the Miller side.

Here is the guest of honor and showeree, my niece.  We were awaiting the arrival of guests at this point.

My niece's mother-in-law and two of my sisters-in-law (including my niece's Mom) doing pre-party prep.

My niece again, looking cute and very pregnant.  Reasonably enough.  I think she was taking a few photos of her own at this point.

Just a few of the gifts --- more tables were soon filled.

The photo above shows more preparation by the hostesses, pre-party.  Pictured are my niece (AKA The Prairie Princess), a high school friend of Emmy's, my sister-in-law (Emmy's Mom), and the woman with the coffee urn who is also an aunt of Emmy's.

From Emily's point of view, this is a photo of an aunt and a mother-in-law.  They are preparing mimosas and momosas for the guests.

The guest of honor with an old friend, who was also one of the hostesses.

Emmy and an old college friend (?) -- I think.

Two of my nieces, PP and YY.  YY is a very new Mom herself, of a beautiful baby girl that I got to meet for the first time just the day before the shower.  (Emmy in the background.)

My niece YY, my niece Beth, and my sisters/sisters-in-law, Tula and NCW.  The food was pretty tasty.

One of the real high points of the party was that Emmy's grandma Opal could attend.  I got a chance to talk to her for a while and she stated that she was 91, and that "getting old is not for sissies."  The shower was held in the building where she and Emily's grandpa Bud live.  It was a really nice room for this kind of event.

Shower games were played, some while we ate, onesies were decorated and judged, prizes were awarded, gifts were opened and the Mommy-to-be made it a point to talk to everyone and thank them all. It was not just a baby shower, it was a family event.

Winter Woods

My morning walking group has (temporarily) regrouped, with the return of Jill for a mid winter visit.  Yesterday we hiked one of our favorite spots, the trails from Pine Bend to Hemlock Crossing Park, along the Pigeon River.  It's a round trip of about 3 miles, with a stop at the Nature Center in Hemlock Crossing to do some bird watching at the turn around spot.  (I now can identify both genders of hairy woodpeckers and red bellied woodpeckers.)

It's good to have friends who like to do the same things I like to do, and hiking in the woods in the snow is one of those.  (Not that there's much snow left here -- that big snowstorm that hit St. Paul this week was all rain here.)

(I have some photos from my recent trip to Minnesota that I want to "archive" here, and plan to do so soon.  Many of them are on Facebook, but I like to keep a record of family events here on my blog.)

Here is a bonus photo of the sunset tonight from our deck.