I love my hometown

Had a lovely day in paradise. I added the aerial view of my town to the right. If you were to physically turn around 180 degrees, you would see a small strip of land and then Lake Michigan (shown in the picture below). Lake Michigan looks exactly like the ocean - you cannot tell them apart. The BIG difference is the water is freshwater, not salt water. Much better for swimming! My home is in the center of the photo about 1/4 of the way down from the top. You can see a few boats in the water in front of where my home lies. This is what I see every day and it is truly beautiful. Our house faces west so we see spectacular sunsets over the lake every night. Some are so beautiful they take my breath away. Thanks to my friend Kelly for such a lovely day at her home. I am tired from sitting in the sun, but it was totally worth it.

Gaining strength

I am getting a bit stronger every day. (I had that terrible dream again last night - ugg). I am looking forward to the long weekend ahead - we have a perfect weather forecast and some fun plans. We are going kayaking and will definitely hike with the dogs as well as get some work done around the house. Slowly, slowly I am able to do a bit more each day.

Haven't heard from our hiker (he's hiking solo now, his cousin bailed out on him) but I have confidence in his abilities as he is very experienced. This hike is "easy" compared to some he's done. We've also been able to see our oldest son reach financial independence. Last school year, his teaching job was only 50%, so he was scraping by to pay bills and did not have health insurance. Now he knows he has a full-time teaching job and has full health and dental insurance. He's been driving around a clunker that keeps breaking down, but he had saved enough money to get a nice used car for himself. He transferred the title and got tags for it yesterday and he was grinnin' like a little kid. He's on his way.....

My friend Kelly invited me to her house to sit out on the beach today. We live in a beach town that is hoppin' all summer long. I never take for granted the beauty of the state of Michigan, with all the lakes, rivers, wooded areas and undeveloped land - I haven't found any place else I'd rather live. And we get all four seasons equally, which is something else I couldn't live without.
The picture I have posted is from my town. I get to see this every day if I want to. Again, so very blessed!