I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Michi-Centric
Yesterday I went grocery shopping at our local store. I always feel such a delighted sense of freedom that I have the Xterra to use whenever I want. JJ had driven it to work, school, and his girlfriend’s for the last couple years so I had to plan errands around his busy schedule or I had to wait until EJ’s suburban was free. When EJ is home we like to be together so he usually went with me–we enjoy shopping together–but it helps to get shopping done so we can do other things together.
As soon as I regained use of the Xterra, I bought a GPS for it. I get lost easily so a GPS is a necessity. EJ has one for his suburban–not because he needs it for directions, but because the speedometer doesn’t work and the GPS displays the speed. We named his GPS VIKI after the murderous computer in the movie I, Robot. I thought and thought about what to name my GPS. If it had a male voice, I would have named it HAL after the murderous computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Actually, I wanted to name it Dave so I could quote, “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that” whenever I wanted to ignore the directions. However, EJ said that I had to name it after the computer and not the human. But that’s all a moot point because my GPS’ voice is female. I finally named it Ziva after the Israeli agent in NCIS. The name is interesting and I liked the character in the series. Plus, I don’t think Ziva ever got lost. Last weekend EJ attached Ziva to the dashboard where I wanted it–accessible, but out of the way.
Anyway, back to grocery shopping. In addition to the regular items on our list, I bought us some Moomer’s Ice Cream, which is made by a small family-owned creamery near Traverse City. I think it’s the best ice cream on the planet. They make 160 heavenly flavors. This time I chose Raspberry White Chocolate for me and Mocha Almond Fudge for EJ. If you ever get to Traverse City, you must try Moomer’s Ice Cream.
EJ has been wanting to get some pure Michigan maple syrup, so I bought us a bottle as another special treat. This maple syrup is made in Charlevoix, a charming town in Northern Michigan. The description on the back of the bottle says: “The Parsons family has been making pure maple syrup on the shores of Harwood Lake since the late 1800’s. Gathering sap from the same sugar maple trees as our ancestors, we’re still making it today after five generations on the Parson’s farm.”
EJ says that I am “Michi-centric” and I agree that I am totally Michi-centric. I was born, raised, and lived all my life in Michigan, as was EJ. I love Michigan’s beauty and uniqueness, and I have no desire to live elsewhere. We lived downstate until 2015 when we moved north. Northern Michigan is where both our hearts have always been. By the way, we bought the sign at the top of this post from Michigan in Metal. They have beautiful metal art, and I always drool when I browse through their site.
Today the US National Weather Service says our chance of rain has risen from 30% to 60% tonight and tomorrow. I really hope we get rain because it is so dry here. Our county and surrounding areas have issued “Red Flag Warnings,” which means there is very high fire danger.
We never really had to worry about forest fires downstate. All of Michigan has trees. I am always surprised when we return to Michigan from out-of-state to see just how many trees we have compared to other states. I usually exclaim, “Dang! Michigan is a forest!” But there is more farmland than forest downstate and worrying about forest fires never really entered my mind. I don’t ever remember any big fires in Michigan like they have out west but it’s more of a concern now that we live in Northern Michigan, which is mostly forest. Some people don’t like Michigan because of all its trees and the clouds. We have many cloudy days because of moisture from the Great Lakes. But I have always, always loved trees, and I think clouds are interesting.
I’ve been cleaning the house today because we are expecting a guest. Every few months, EJ’s long-time friend TH stops by. He lives almost in a straight line across from us on the Lake Huron side of the state. He usually spends the night and then drives down to visit his daughter’s family, who lives in the area we used to live. I know that he probably wouldn’t care–or even notice–if the house is extra clean, but I care and notice. This time he can sleep in JJ’s old bed instead of the couch. I’ve washed the sheets, made sure his bathroom is sparkling, vacuumed, etc. Yesterday I made potato salad to eat with hot dogs. I never know when EJ will get home from work, and since TH will be eating with us, I wanted something to heat up last minute so nothing gets cold or overdone.
I walked Hannah to the mailbox with me, as usual. Apparently she was really enjoying this beautiful Spring day because she started rolling in the grass. I was able to get a partial video. I had to cut it off at the end because she started racing full speed to the end of her leash. My injured hand is doing really well, but it still doesn’t have the strength it once did so I had to grip her leash with both hands so she wouldn’t get away from me. She is such a delightfully funny dog.
Tomorrow morning I am going to try to wake up early to watch the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. EJ asked, “Why do you want to watch the wedding?” I replied, as I always do, “Because it’s history.” When I was growing up, my parents always took us on vacation to historical places. Mom made us sit in front of the tv to watch things like President Nixon resign “because it’s history.” So I gained a love of history, and I like to watch things that are historic. That way, I can say, “I saw that when it was happening…because it’s history!” I watched Prince William and Kate’s wedding and now I’m determined to watch Harry and Meghan’s wedding. EJ isn’t interested in royal weddings, but he watches them with me so I have someone to share the experience with.
Are any of you going to watch the wedding?
I Love To Go A Gardening 
I think I will try to catch it online as I don’t have TV and there should be highlights. Just read they will have the song “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King which should be interesting. I watched William and Kate’s wedding online but sat in my bedroom at the bottom of the bed and watched Charles and Diana’s wedding in my room … tiny B&W TV at that time. Seems like a long time ago. Hannah looked like she was having a ball.
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You can watch the wedding online at Youtube here:
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Thanks TJ – I didn’t know that. Thanks for the link.
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So glad you gave me this link TJ … been watching the wedding … the looks they give one another … very sweet, and the smiles and a giggle at taking their vows, which I noticed are now “I will” and not “I do” … it’s been years since I went to a wedding or maybe this is because it is in England. Beautiful church .
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Been watching – they are a cute couple aren’t they? Just took their vows. Just saw Elton John.
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