Something for (almost) Everyone 9/13/2012

Hi Friends!  What a busy week this has been – AGAIN!  After Labor Day I thought things would quieten right down, and our busy lives would taper off into a sweet and glorious  slide into Fall.  Uh-uh!  Hasn’t happened yet.

Lot of things were going on this week that I haven’t shared yet, so – once again – it’s Catch-Up Day!

Blog Readers Week?

Did someone declare this Bree’s Blog Readers Week and not tell me??!!  I’ve met so many folks downtown the last few days who read the blog!  I mean, seriously, if I’d known everyone was coming at once, we’d have had a party or something.  Along with Kate, Scott, Mike, Pam, and Leonard, who you met on Wednesday’s post, I met two more ladies today at the post office . . . .

Pam and Tara from Ohio. They are spending the week at Main Street Suites and – believe it or not – ran into the “other” Pam and her husband and dad, Mike and Leonard, up at Ft. Holmes this week . . .

. . . and Anne sent me this photo of blog readers Pam and Dave from Decatur, MI. They were shopping a few days ago at Ella & Ivy’s! Sorry I missed you!

Later this morning Jill and I walked all over downtown looking for a couple who were staying at the Cloghaun and were trying to track me down during their stay.  Sadly, we didn’t see them :(, and I think they are leaving on Saturday.  Come back, and next time . . . let me know you’re coming!

What a Difference Some Paint Makes!

The old Mission House is housing for most of the summer employees of the Mackinac Island Historic State Parks.  Like everywhere else, the state parks have experienced budget cuts, and some projects have had to wait.  But  . . . drum roll please . . . the Mission House is, as I write this, getting a new coat of paint – actually several coats of paint!

It took a lot of scraping and preparing the wood, but painters are now busily spiffing up this old building, and when the workers come in next summer, it will look like a whole new place!

You can see the parts that are already finished – the bottom floor of the middle section and the left wing.  What a difference!

Available Photos

Every once in a while one of my readers sends a pic to the “Readers Photos” feature that is so different and so “Mackinac” that it appeals to me on a whole different level than the photographs of beautiful flowers, views, houses, and horses. A few weeks ago J.P. Pearson sent in such a photo, and I posted it that week. That photo, and many others J.P. has snapped, is now available for purchase at http://whitepinephoto.zenfolio.com/p1064624498/h17d54af9#h17d54af9. You really, really need to check this site out. J.P. is a phenomenal photographer, and if you’re looking for something special for that wall in your “Mackinac room” (Oh, come on – I know you have one – so do we in Georgia), you just might find something perfect for that one empty spot!

Butterflies

My wonderful friend Chris Ann Nelson texted me Wednesday that she was on the way over to spend some time on the Island.  Her friend Mary was meeting her at the ferry, and they were going to play “fudgie” for the day and take a Carriage Tour.  When she posted a pic on Facebook from on-board the tour wagon on Market Street, I knew I had 15 minutes to get dressed and meet them at the top of the hill.  And that’s what I did!

Mary and Chris Ann – arriving at the Carriage Museum.  I asked Chris Ann wasn’t it a little early for her “spider-web” Halloween sweater, and she laughed and said, “Nope – it’s chilly, and I wanted to wear it!”  Nuff said.

We headed for the Wings of Mackinac building just down the slope from the museum. I haven’t been there in a couple of years (even though it’s practically in our front yard) – don’t know why because I love watching all the dazzling butterflies flutter from flower to flower and land on people’s shoulders and hats.

This butterfly was decked out for Halloween also in its black and orange outfit . . .

. . . and this one was showing off its shimmering, silver-blue dress.

Of course, black and white is always so classic when you’re dressing up!

Chris Ann – mesmerized by a butterfly above her head.

We walked over to the new stable just in time to watch Kalin Franks from 9 & 10 News interviewing Ben Mosley about the new facility.  Here’s a funny story.  When they’d stopped filming, Ben and Kalin stood talking a few minutes and then walked over to where we were standing.  Kalin, who was the news station’s web producer last year (she is now their General Assignment Reporter), told Ben she always checked out what was happening on Mackinac Island on the Tourist Bureau’s Facebook Page and on Bree’s Mackinac Island Blog!  Ben laughed and said to her, “Well, that’s Bree standing right over there.”  And she wanted to meet me!!

Good grief – of all days. No makeup, hair thrown up in a bun, winds blowing like crazy, dirty clothes!  Who knows – when you think you’re going out for some fun with a good friend who couldn’t care less how you look – that you’re going to run into a film crew!  Note to self – try harder before you leave the house next time!   That’s Kalin on the right and Stephanie, her camera-lady, on the left.

What’cha Been Reading?

I’ve been reading a lot lately, and for some reason, I’m reading more mysteries – some of which are pretty scary!  Here’s a list I’d recommend, but a few of these are kind of intense.

Blue Heaven by C.J. Box (Ted read and loved this one also);  The Innocent by David Baldacci; Think of a Number by John Verdon (very gritty); Walking the Amazon: 860 Days, One Step at a Time by Ed Stafford (true story); Doc by Mary Doria Russell (a wonderfully researched story about Doc Holliday).

Going in a whole different direction:  Unsaid by Neil Abraham.  (If you love animals, you will love this.  You will also cry a lot – but it’s worth it.  It makes you think a lot also.)

What’s waiting beside my chair?  John Verdon’s next book (same main character) Shut Your Eyes Tight; The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons (I’m hoping this is the chick book I think it is); and Full of Grace by Dorothea Benton Frank.

Some Leftovers

A beautiful almost-white Percheron from the Grand Hotel stables.

The Little Golfer statue at Mission Point Resort – still surrounded by beautiful flowers.

Bringing down our flag after the Patriot Day ceremony.

Horses are already leaving the Island, and this pile of removed horseshoes will grow daily.

A wonderful day last week when the temps were still in the 70’s. The Jockey Club was the perfect place for lunch outside!

As my daddy used to say when he finished reading the “funny papers” to me when I was a little girl, “That’s all she wrote!”

Have a great weekend, my friends!  God bless.

Let Me Write, Let Me Write!

Hey. Bear here – your soon-to-be, once again, roving reporter. I have an interview set up on Friday with Mr. Joe Joe Cocker, the mascot at the Cottage Inn. If mom will let me have some laptop time this weekend, I’ll try to get the story on-line the first of next week! Bear . . . . out.