Men...Gone Forever

Ro got his dream boat yesterday. The Fish Master is now officially part of the family. As soon as we learned China was out of the picture, Ro and Jackson decided they wanted to spend a good part of the summer fishing. They sold Paul the small green boat they used to have and bought the new one. Yesterday was the inaugural journey. Rick and Trevor came down from Milford and Jackson, Denzel and Ro captained the ship. They ran the boat and the motor through the testing phase all along the River. I guess they got as far as Trenton. It is a gorgeous day today (Saturday was kind of rainy) and they're looking forward to a big day of fishing.

New Neighbors

After sitting empty for two years, the house next door is finally seeing life again! Sean and Amber closed on Mary Lou's house and are in the final stages of getting ready to move in. Since we share a driveway with this new duo, it is really important that we get along with them. So far, so good. They seem very flexible and a lot of fun. Ro and I keep saying they remind us of ourselves 16 years ago. Totally naive about how much work lies ahead! They want to get married in the house this September. I hope they can put up with all of our weirdness, including our mutt Java. (We originally potty trained Java to use their lawn. :) Hope we've cured her of that.)


Our pond and garden is on the Indian Village home and garden tour next weekend. It is supposed to be a rainy Memorial Weekend so everything should be nice and green by next weekend's tour. There will be 3-5,000 people in the neighborhood. (Let's hope Java doesn't take the plants out!)

Punctured

I got a flat tire today. I came out of the Bridge office's in Warren ready to sprint to my next meeting in Dearborn...but alas, it wasn't to be. There's nothing worse than having to play the damsel in distress card. I took three years of auto mechanics in high school (to meet guys) and I still don't know where to put the jack or anything.

After all of those years where my Dad (the world's best AAA agent) made us buy AAA memberships so he could win contests, I had let my membership lapse after he retired. Luckily, I reached out to Ro who was in a Thai restaurant with his GM pals, and he told me to push the OnStar button. OnStar connected me to GM roadside assistance and within 40 minutes, a nice guy came out to rescue me. (My wonderful husband also came over as the guy was pulling up.) No charge either. Very cool.

Being the road warrior that I am, I took the punctured tire to the Tire Center and got it repaired. There was a piece of steel in it. Felt pretty damn proud of myself too that I got it fixed without relying on Ro to do it. Sure glad it didn't pop this weekend on our way to or from Chicago.

One Hell of A Weekend

We did the "L" architecture tour. We went to Bubba Shrimp at Navy Pier and relived Forrest Gump. (I bought Jackson a "My Momma thinks I'm special" shirt. I'm sure he'll wear it everywhere.) We walked and we walked until we all had blisters. We had our photo taken with weird painted men with guns. We did tea at the Pennisula. We watched a guy pull tiny rings down his body. We saw Wicked and bought $35 (!) t-shirts. We shopped at Macy's and bought $7 designer t-shirts. We had brunch and bloody Mary's (the Moms, not the girls) at the Grand Luxe Cafe. It was a lot of fun....but man am I tired today.

Off to the Windy City

Put together three Moms, four 13-year old girls, one aging Envoy, one room with two beds and Wicked tickets for all (OK, maybe a bottle or wine or two tucked away!) The end result: a fun weekend ahead. Wish us luck!

A Walk Down A Recycled Path

On Saturday, I got to enter the heads of the next generation. I walked through the student show at CCS. First, a bedspread made entirely of sponges....

Two awesome dresses, one made from Wonder bread wrappers and the other from caution tape

Mollie entering a porta potty woven from Costco's largest bag of toilet paper (the inside was lined with candy dots to keep you busy while you were inside)



A piece woven from Capri Sun juice containers ....

And then they have the nod to the aging population....I mean continuing ed. (We're recycled, not the art in this case!) Jenny and I were so proud to get our pieces in the show too. Her's was a gorgeous boucle wrap and I put my bumpy scarf in. You'll be happy to know that the bumpy scarf is moving to Colorado after the show (you have great taste Corinne!).

After the show, Bev took her rep piece of the loom so in celebration, I thought I would show it off. (She'll have to put it in the show next year!) Bev is the one standing in the back going "I'm so glad to get that damn thing off the loom."

Mother's Day in Cleveland

On Sunday, we sprinted down to Cleveland to help my niece Paige make her first confirmation. (I'm sure she could have made it without us, but hey it makes us feel good.) Six kids made their confirmation in a very nice ceremony. Paige even played the clarinet. They had a tasty lunch for all of us family types in the basement afterward. A few years back, Dave painted a Keith Haring-like mural on all four walls of their church basement that is way cool.

Yesterday, Dan went to DC and I went to NY so Mom was a savior once again and got two kids shuttled back and forth from games. NY is the coolest place....too bad I was locked in a conference room all day.

Tomorrow, I'll post all the great shots I took of the CCS student show. Would you believe there was a dress made from Wonder Bread wrappers and a porta-potty woven out of toilet paper?

Bye Ms. Norwood

I'm selling my Norwood loom on EBay. I hate to part with the old gal but I don't really have room for it. There is a new Mighty Wolf in my life (which I bought to take to China....grrrrr!) so I have to say goodbye to the cherry Norwood. The auction ends on Sunday and there is already a bid or two on it. Sure hope someone local wins so I don't have to take it apart to ship. That would be a pain! It is 50 inches wide.


Hey, my bumpy scarf was accepted in the CCS show. This is a crummy photo but the piece turned out well. I made it from a kit my Mom bought me at Convergence. The purple wool shrinks and bumps the cotton up. Very fun.

Fishing Mania

Ro and Jackson have been bit. And bit bad. Their sole purpose in life these days is fishing. If they are not putting line on, they are at Bass Pro or Gander Mountain buying more tackle. This is a shot from last weekend on the Detroit River. The fish is a "catch and release" muskie that Jackson parted ways with right after the photo. They did catch a lot of walleye that morning. They've been rehabbing one of the ugliest fishing boats on the planet most of the winter. Hannah has nicknamed it "a piece of pooh." They just got back from a Sunday morning outing today and the gas line broke.

Which all the more validates Dan's decision yesterday. He bought a new Starcraft Fishmaster. Poor guy, he's been researching and stressing about whether or not to do it all week. Jackson and Ro are both so pumped. It should arrive in a week or two. Hannah and I have already resolved that we've lost them until it snows.

Military Man

My little boy just left for his first high school dance. He is going to the Military Ball tonight that Cass Tech hosts for the ROTC. He took Melani, his friend from his days at St. Clare. She looked beautiful. I love my son....but he forgot his shoes at school and didn't try his shirt on until the last minute and then realized it was too big. Ro sprinted up to Men's Wearhouse for a new white shirt and loaned him a pair of shoes. The best part was when Jackson opened Melani's door and helped her in...and then looked at Dan like, "do I sit in the front or the back?" I'm sure Jackson won't fill us in on all the details, but I bet Melani will!