Yesterday was a get-up – get ready – leave early type of day, but for a good reason. We were going with my sister-in-law and her husband to visit the Great Shipwreck Museum on Lake Superior. From our place to theirs in Guinn is about 45 minutes away, and then off we went for a three-hour drive. The weather was perfect, the company fun, and the drive beautiful. We spent the majority of our time beachcombing for agates, and I believe I found a couple. We gathered (permission granted) stones for our shower base and watched huge ships cross Lake Superior. I could see a little land far across the lake which was Canada – yes, I waved to our neighboring country. I am at home on the beach, so to say I could have stayed all day is an understatement. I’ll be posting some photos on Facebook after some editing takes place. After a while, we had to find a place to eat and were directed to a place in Paradise called The Fish House. It turned out to be one of those “hidden gems” you hear about. Friday Fish Fry is a well known happening event in the Yooper world, so you are guaranteed to find a fish dinner somewhere, but never have I tasted anything as good as their white fish. This place is only open from the time they get their fresh catch for the day until the last fish is gone. There is no frozen anything here. If it isn’t fresh that day, they don’t serve it. The atmosphere is friendly and fun, and the food is excellent. If you are ever up in Paradise, Michigan, I hope you will be lucky enough to find the restaurant open and are hungry, you won’t be disappointed. The waitress was hysterical and called Dan out for his finger-pointing. After a lifetime of loud farm equipment and construction, Dan is used to pointing out directions, places, people – pretty much a pointing man. We all got a good laugh at her ribbing, and have no doubt we will be back.

After our three-hour drive back we stopped in Marquette for a little more beachcombing and sightseeing. When you see the huge ship docked for ore-loading, you appreciate the size of the equipment involved. Photos do not do this process justice. The train is on top of the ore bridge, and though we didn’t get to see the operation take place you can see the ship lined up waiting for the iron ore to be loaded. The pockets drop and the loading process takes only minutes from what I’m told. The original ore bridge (no longer active) dates back to 1912 and is a beautiful piece of history to enjoy when visiting the waterfront. It was an amazing day, and I will go back to Marquette and the Shipwreck Museum area beachcombing again…hopefully, soon.

As always have a wonderful day, and thank you for reading my ramblings.

Yes, I said it, that word “hater” – but the truth is I have no use for hackers, and I doubt you do either. I am an early riser, and many times before I get up, I check my iPad (always close by) to see what happened in the world while I slept.

This morning I had a private message via Facebook from an author, Carolyn Strain, I met through a writer’s group. We have chatted many times on messenger and had built a friendship via our lives and interests. This morning when I checked there was a message from Carolyn asking how I was and if I got some sleep last night. Though generally, our discussion is about writing, personal subjects have come up before. Anyhow, I said I slept like a baby for six full hours – YAHOOO. We chatted a bit, and I asked how she was doing (recent illness) – that is where it went downhill. The response was, “I’m Carolyn’s brother, she is resting because she doesn’t feel well. Where are you from?” – I let him know I didn’t feel the need to engage in a private conversation with another man because I am married, and it is not appropriate. The next message had grammar content that gave me pause. My suspicions were quickly solidified; she had been hacked. The new profile pic I had missed was of a guy and his dog.

What is frustrating is I can’t even message her to let her know she’s been hacked because the guy will answer back as her. I hope a more personal friend will notify her. I had no other choice but to “Unfriend” her, and now I don’t trust to accept a “Friend Request” from her if she figures it out and tries to get in contact with me. This is one of the worse Facebook hacks I’ve encountered.

I have many friends on Facebook that are personal friends, so if I suspect they are hacked, I’ll contact them directly – problem solved. But I have made many friends through other authors, photographers, and like interests’ groups. I get it’s only online, but a friend regardless. We bounce thoughts off of each other, give advice or ideas when asked, or support when needed. So, I’ve enjoyed the friendships. As a shy introvert, Facebook has provided an excellent avenue for me to keep connected with family and friends in faraway places, connect with extended lost relatives, and meet many new friends. I guess, as this hacker, or hackers, infiltrate my contacts on Facebook, I will be forced to continue to “Unfriend” people. Hopefully, it won’t go on until all my friends have been eliminated, but that is a possibility. If you find I have had to “Unfriend” you, please take that as a sign you have likely been hacked, and I’m sorry to lose our connection. Which hacks me off.

That said, I will change all my passwords (in case he was successful with his dirty deeds) and move on with life. Maybe Facebook is too vulnerable now, and has run its course as my lifeline to the outside world – we shall see. Until then, be careful, my friends, real or online.

I can’t believe that summer is quickly coming to an end. Labor Day is upon us, and many kids, if they haven’t started already, are gearing up for school, heading back to college, and getting used to earlier bedtimes. The air is notably changing with a hint of fall. I’ve even noticed a couple of trees with autumn colors showing, slight, but undeniable. Soon, the leaves will begin to flutter to the ground as the new season makes its full entrance. The days are getting shorter, and, at least here in the UP, the nights are getting colder. I like to take my coffee and sit under our pavilion in the morning and, like today, I bundled up because it was 47 degrees. But until it gets unbearably cold, I’ll continue to enjoy that fresh morning air sitting by the river.

The reason for these back-to-back blogs is because a week after our wedding adventure with Jessica and Brandon, aka Mr. & Mrs. Hominsky, Dan and I had one more summertime event. A couple of Dan’s cousins planned out a Vermote Cousins Reunion. It was held across the street from the New Zoo in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Luckily, that meant we only had a two-hour drive, so any worries about sleeping in the truck dissipated quickly.

It was my chance to meet some of the Vermote’s that I’ve been on Facebook with for some time but hadn’t met in person, and meet new family members. And, of course, happily, visit with the members of Dan’s family I’ve already had the pleasure to meet and spend time with prior. The hugs were plentiful, as was the food and conversation. I don’t know how God designs us that we can meet people and quickly feel a connection, but that is the wonders of His work. I am shy, but everyone made me feel welcome right away. Just under fifty family members attended, so it was no small group.

The crazy part was about six of us went across the street and did the zipline at the zoo. Wow…that is a lot of stairs to climb. Getting to the top had me out of breath. A reminder that I am out of shape. I don’t like stairs without a backing, so I had to concentrate on looking at the rungs and not through them. Once I was at the landing, I second-guessed my decision and wondered if I had lost my mind. But if the others were going to go through with it – challenge accepted. Then I worried if I could step off the ledge – call me crazy, but that turned out to be the easy part. I hope to be posting a video of my experience and plan to put a link on Facebook. So, if you don’t care to zipline, you can live vicariously through my video. Let me say it was risky holding my phone out of fear I’d drop it. I don’t know why I worried because I had a death grip on it. I also had my favorite flip-flops on and was concerned they’d fly off – but I guess my death grip worked on my feet, too, because everything stayed in place and the experience was better than I expected.

I was glad to check this one off my “bucket list” – but that won’t be the last time I zip-line. I think it could be my new hobby. My mind quickly compared it to a prior experience – my daughter’s fiance has a VR (Virtual Reality) set up, and a while back I did the “Walk the Plank” – where you go up an elevator and walk off a plank from a very, very, very tall building. I was standing still in her living room, not moving until I had to take one step to the right. It took me so long and included a lot of screaming to stepped off the plank – and it wasn’t even real. Ziplining is more natural in comparison – and involved a real “step-off” – so there you go. Real or not – life carries a variety of experiences. Some make you laugh, some make you cry, and some make you scream. It’s all in perspective, boundaries, choices, and chances you engage in throughout your life. I have my share of regrets; however, ziplining is not one of them.

I hope you enjoy the Labor Day holiday weekend, and, as always, thank you for reading my ramblings.

Wow, what a busy week we had. Starting early morning Tuesday, the thirteenth, we headed for Medina, Ohio, where my stepdaughter, Jessica, lives. She and her fiancé were working on the final preparations for their upcoming nuptials on Saturday the 17th. Trust me; there is a lot to think about.
Heading off to an adventure is like any good trip, we had to get there first. It’s a 10-12 hour drive for most people – which equates to a long two-day journey for us more age mature folks. Typically when we head to Ohio, we take our pop-up trailer and, with a little bypass, stay in a friend’s driveway, who lives about halfway. We get a good break and a pleasant visit with our friend Jack. But we opted not to take the pop-up this trip. And I came up with this grand plan to take a couple of pillows and blankets and sleep in the truck (always trying to save a buck). How hard can that be – recline and sleep away the hours? But that isn’t what happened – nope – neither of us could get comfortable with our old and injured backs, so sleep eluded us. After a couple of tough hours, we bagged the idea and headed for our hotel room in Strongsville, Ohio.
Anyhow, we made it and off to the races we went. There were projects to work on, shopping to do, decorations to finish and fun to be had. My daughter and her fiancé flew in the next day. We met them for a drink at their hotel and then scooped my daughter away and headed to the nail salon to meet up with Jessica, her mom, godmother, bridesmaids, and friends. There were glasses of champagne, and snacks to enjoy along with the pampering, topped with a lot of laughing. Friday consisted of more final touches along with rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. I was on duty with my camera in hand. I love the look on Brandon’s face – like he is thinking “I’ve got this…maybe?”

Dan is a fun guy to be around, always goofing off to make his daughter laugh, but practice makes perfect, and soon everyone had their role down to a tee.

Before we knew it, the big day had arrived. That evening was a blast. The hall was set up beautifully, and I could see Jessica’s design throughout. Though I shared a couple of photos from the wedding, I’ll let Jessica have the honor of posting more photos, but trust me, it was a stunningly beautiful event.

The wedding party made a grand entrance with fun poses – then Mr. and Mrs. Brandon Hominsky were introduced, and, yes, my heart melted. Brandon and Jessica are such a beautiful couple and filled with so much love for each other, I can feel nothing but joy for them both. The evening, along with the ceremony were beautiful – not even a hiccup. The reception was as much fun as anyone could ask for, and the food was wonderfully delicious.

Jessica and Brandon were shining stars and ended the night with a sparkler send-off. Their exit path was lined with all of us holding sparklers as the happy couple walked along. Everyone had smiles and best wishes for Brandon and Jessica as they made their way into the sunset.

Dan and I rarely have a reason to dress up, so I asked Kristin to take a photo of us before the night was over. 

As sad as it was to leave everyone, we headed on our two-day adventure back to the UP (Upper Peninsula in Michigan). But there was NO sleeping in trucks this run – oh, heck no, we stayed at a Best Western – thank goodness.

Fun fact – by the time we left our hotel in Strongsville Sunday morning we had put on more miles in those four days than it took for us to get there – so there you go, when you think it’s just a little ways down the road, think again…and I’d do it all over just to relive those days.

Though I love the peace and quiet of country life, I’m a city girl, as you all know, so all of the time I’ve spent in Cornell, Michigan without running water, citified bathroom facilities, and the lack of electricity has been challenging at times – to say the least.

But let’s get caught up first. My last blog was about my trip with my daughter, Kristin, to Reno, NV to see my son, Mike, and his family. Here are some other highlights from my seven months in the PNW (it’s impossible to list them all) – I was able to enjoy seeing my granddaughter, Jo, star in another play – this time she was the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. She is born to be on the stage. She, along with a couple of other girls, also wrote and performed a screenplay of Harry Potter in a camp this year, and, again, blew me away with her talent. I watched Kristin’s fiance’s daughter do a performance and quickly realized she, too, is born for the stage. I spent time watching favorite shows (and new ones) with my daughter, shopping days, and movie times. Visits with three BFFs and sisters as often as possible. Family game night with sisters, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and nephews, along with extended family members (what a blast). Sav was home from college for Christmas and breaks. It’s always a blessing to get caught up with her. A quick trip to Colorado with my husband, and then a few days at Bayview with my oldest sister, Erica, for some writing exercises (and agate hunts). My last big trip was with two of my sisters at our Pacific Ocean retreat in Seaside, Oregon. Sleeping to the sound of the ocean, digging my toes in the sand, and watching the sunset on a horizon as far as the eye can see is what regenerates my soul. Every day was spent in quiet conversation, laughter, and adventures, along with good food and wine. There is nothing like standing in front of the ocean and breathing salty air and new life into my soul. I am suddenly whole again. It is as if every little fiber that had become threadbare – a lot or even a little – is repaired within me. I have a rock that says “I go to the sea to breathe” and I couldn’t have said it better myself.

The evening I got back from the ocean I met up with Dan, who had driven in from Michigan. I had a chance to get caught up with my brother, Bill, and sister-in-law, Judy and her family. The next morning we were on our way to Michigan with a full, and by full I mean overloaded trailer containing 95% of our belongings. If you remember we sold everything when we took to the road for our travel adventures. The rest was put in storage, which consisted of boxes of household items, and a few antique pieces we would not part with. The whole “overloaded” situation kept both of us on edge as the road continued to be long and hot. We had our pop-up trailer on our pick-up truck which became our temporary home as we made our way from Washington to Michigan. Thankfully, five days later we were parked on the property. It took a week for me to fully recover from the drive, stress does a number on me at my age, but I am back in the groove again. Dan manages road stress much better. I can hear some of you asking “Are they living on the property full time” – for now, the property will be our main launchpad. After all, the taxes are cheap, and we have our trailer here to sleep in, and soon we will move into the cabin. But, eventually, I’ll want to live as close to the PNW as I can. I don’t know what that looks like yet, so, as of now, I live one day at a time. I haven’t dealt with winter here, and I don’t really want to, so I’ll be back and forth to Washington regardless.

So, what does all this have to do with the title of this blog? Let me explain. Being on the property is more like a real home now. Dan keeps the RV water tank full so I can clean, wash dishes, cook, and shower. We have internet (the highest speed possible) and, last but not least, we have electricity. I have never been so happy not having to ask Dan to start the generator so I can pack in as much writing etc as possible on my computer knowing I only have a couple of hours. Now, I’m free to use the power of our modern world throughout the day, and night if I so choose. Thanks to electricity, I stay cool in the A/C of our trailer, warm when the evening temps drop, and I don’t have to wait until the generator is going to start the coffee in the morning.

Growing up, and as an adult, my life is accustomed to having electricity, so much so that it seems unreal without it. If we lost power due to a storm life became less than ideal. Now, time spent on the property without power has enhanced my appreciation for power tenfold. I know in Upper Michigan, and having weather dictated by the Great Lakes, we will likely lose power off and on, but having power is such a wonderful asset to my existence here I’m taking advantage of every minute. I LOVE ELECTRICITY…that, my friends, is not an exaggeration.

Thanks for reading my rambling, and have a great first day of August.