strength

We spent the day laughing and telling stories. Playing with the dogs. Eating a big breakfast. Buying pajamas at Target. A day like many others we've had in the past, during our lifetime of friendship, nothing out of the ordinary.

Except that tomorrow Rosanne undergoes a double mastectomy at the age of 40.

I am concerned, hopeful, and a little sad. But mostly, I am proud.

katie's day out

More photos from Katie's vacation with me. These are from her day at Greenfield Village.

All photos were taken with my little Canon Elph, because I didn't feel like

lugging my heavy Canon 20D around.

Following a chicken.

At the working farm.

Standing on the tracks.

Using the old-fashioned printing press.

Upstairs at the sawmill.

Near the Liberty Craftworks district.

Having a root beer (while I have a Bell's Pale Ale).

On the carousel.

In the town square.

Petting a really big horse.

A gazebo.

At the Garden House.

In the Garden House gardens.

Standing in goldenrod in the Cotswold Garden.

Making a hand-dipped beeswax candle.

Holding up her tiny, barely-coated wicks. Candles have to be dipped 20-30 times!

Drying off the candles after cooling them in water.

At the IMAX theater, waiting for Under the Sea 3D to begin.

more ellen photos

On the carousel at Greenfield Village.

Here are a few photos of the elusive Ellen, taken on her stay at my house two weeks ago. She doesn't like her picture taken, but I managed to sneak a few in. These are my favorites.

Soaking her cares away after a long day of walking.

At the Artic Ring of Life at the Detroit Zoo.

Checking out polar bears at the zoo.

breakfast with katie

My niece, Katie, is staying with me this weekend. We attended a Breakfast at Tiffany's themed bridal shower on Saturday morning, and I had a great time dressing her all up. Katie has this awesome vintage look about her, and the cool outfit makes her look like an old movie star.

photo friday

Check this out:

No, not the beer! The faceless man sitting across from me at a microbrewery last night.

Could it be???? Yes, it's true! I am no longer single. Just when I had given up (most) hope and decided I'd be going into my 40's single, and was finally completely fine with that, BAM! Some coworkers at work played matchmaker and set us up. Many emails and a meeting later, we totally hit it off and have been seeing each other ever since.

I'm not giving many details at this point, since he doesn't yet know that I even have a blog. But let's just say: it's been about six weeks, he's fantastic, and I'm having so much fun!

water babies

My niece, Ellen, stayed with me for four days last weekend. High on her list of activities was to meet my little neighbor, so we invited her over to run through the sprinklers on a very hot, muggy day. The two of them had a blast together, and I got to shoot some fun photos. Please excuse the embarrassingly long grass in my yard - I haven't been home very much this summer and it shows!

i'm back

Because I miss this blog . . . because I miss documenting my life . . . and because maybe I'm not done saying everything I need to say after all.