Southern Indiana Review

Got some contributor's copy in the mail yesterday.

This is going to sound nerdy, but I really like the fonts they used on the inside.

Anyway, things are going well here. Joe is getting closer to finishing his semester, and I'm trying to catch up on things I would have done last week before I decided to flee town.

My summer semester is completely planned and we are ready for our visitors from Michigan to come tonight!

Happy Wednesday!

Michigandering

oh, Michigan.

I'm heading back to Spokane tomorrow, but this surprise visit has really been refreshing.

After a year in Spokane, everything here seems extra green and breezy and watery.

 

I feel so lucky to have been able to visit and see my friends and family, to have eaten Hudsonville Cake Batter ice cream, to have had the option to eat an olive burger, to stare out into Lake Michigan for an hour.  

Here are some highlights:

The beach!

And not just the beach, but watching my nephew enjoy it. 

Look at that lil' guy!

Cedric likes the beach too.

I also got to see my friend's lil' guy.

What a cutie!

There was a lot of relaxation on this trip:

 Sitting in parks in Saugatuck:

Sitting by fields...

Lounging in hammocks:

What a view.

Eating ice cream at Kilwin's.

Cake batter!

Taking time to appreciate little blue flowers:

Eating at The Wooden Shoe in Holland just to squeeze in more time with Tanya. Look at that friendly service! :) 

 

Can you find the Cedric for sale in the case? 

Sipping limeade spritzers:

      

I also got to see my sister's new(ish) shop:

      

Everywhere you look, there is something cute.  

What a neat collection of milk glass! 

And here are more shots of Alek. I can't get over how excited he was when he saw a bus full of children pull up to the driveway he was playing near. You can see in this picture he takes a second to see it. 

 

And when he realizes what it is, he runs towards it.  "Ooooooaaaaaahhhhh!"

 He stood there jumping and waiving at the kids coming out. Okay, just a few more photos:

 Here he is with the graduate and his new friend Cedric:

We were all very grateful to be able to spend this time with each other, and wanted to thank the two lovely ladies who paid for my trip:

Which Way to Michigan?

This week I have been enjoying a last-minute trip to Michigan.

My niece was graduating high school, and I couldn't stand the idea of missing it. So last Monday, I left Spokane for a week in Saugatuck.

I didn't tell any of my family I was coming, and I enjoyed surprising them one by one.

Monday night, my friend Tanya picked me up in Chicago. At 2:30 a.m. I knocked on my mother's door. And, after about fifteen minutes of her looking through the blinds and yelling "who is it," she finally opened it.

After we chatted for a while, she said she was afraid to go to sleep because it might be a dream.

The next day, Breanna, the graduate, had the best reaction: instant tears. 

My sister was mostly confused:

"What is happening"

Grandma stayed calm and collected as always:

I didn't get any other shots of the surprises, but it was great to pop in on everyone and watch it take a few seconds for them to realize who exactly they were looking at.

I've been loving my time here--and how green everything is! I've got lots of pictures to share, but now I've got to go to bed so I can enjoy my last day in Michigan tomorrow. 

Goodwill Sewing

What's the best smell of spring?

Pretty flowers?  Fresh-cut grass? Food on the grill?

Absolutely not.

It's a fresh can of tennis balls. Yeahhhh.

Doughnuts from Michigan!

Can you believe this?

The same day I posted my list of things to do over break--one of which was to make my favorite doughnuts I can only find in west Michigan--they end up at my door step! 

And I really do have a door step, so I can say that. Anyway, I know they don't look so appetizing in their shrink-wrapped form--I thought they were pork-chops when I opened the box!

But their maple icing is delicious and the cinnamon swirled inside is delightful (maybe a little tough after the week-long journey) but who cares, they are here, in Spokane!

But Cynthia, can't you get maple icing in Spokane? Yes,but it's not the same. It's darker and thicker, and weirder. And, these doughnuts don't have it, but usually they are topped with a delightfully crunchy toasted coconut. Even if I did like Spokane's weird version of maple frosting, they don't put it on the right doughnut and they don't top it with coconut. 

But soon, I will recreate them, especially now that I have the original to investigate. 

Have you noticed I've started the last four paragraphs with a conjunction. Shame on me! I'm too distracted by doughnut planning to write better sentences.

Waiting for the Fed Ex Guy

Cedric is out enjoying the 84-degree day.

Meanwhile, I've started on my list of things to do on break:

What's left on the list?
1. Write letters!
2. Make the doughnuts that I can only find in west Michigan.
3. Fix up the semi-ugly dresses I've been finding at Goodwill.
4. Work on some writing!
5. Plan my summer courses.
6. Try making French macarons!

And of course there will be plenty of reading and probably some much-needed apartment cleaning/organizing.

Grades are in. Sun is out.

And so are the flowers! And some of them have got me thinking of home.

There are a lot of tulips here, and they are reminding me that I'm missing Tulip Time in Holland--dutch dancers in colorful dresses and wooden shoes, lines of food trucks, oh, and, that terrible traffic.

And I was happily surprised to discover that one of the plants in our back yard isn't just a boring ol' bush.

Lilacs! But this makes sense: we are in the Lilac City. 

These too, are a big reminder of home. I've been suffering a huge bout of homesickness lately, looking up ticket prices every morning and hoping some massive sale is happening (free tickets anyone?). But the smell of these bushes is getting me through, reminding me of the big one in our yard growing up, and of those in Marquette, towering over the sidewalk on Lakeshore Drive. Anyway, it's nice to see a familiar face (or bud). And soon we will have visitors!

Until then, I've got a lot of crafting and writing to do. And I've already started with this necklace I made for my mom (shh, it's still in the mail).

I saw this bird's nest necklace on Sarah Ortega's blog and thought it was the perfect mother's day gift. It's easy, but I took a few tries to get it how I wanted. Click here, for her directions and adorable examples.

She used silver, but I had this copper wire lying around and thought it would compliment my mom's beautiful red hair. She's probably not as pale as I am!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!