Birthday Thoughts and Pictures

Yesterday was my 59th birthday!  Mark and I drove to Iron Mountain for the day.  He had to go pick up building material from Home Depot and we thought we'd check out the town, go to lunch, and shop for my birthday (they have a Christopher & Banks - we don't).  We also stopped and walked through a local high school craft bazaar - I saw these and thought I'd share them as they say just what I was thinking.  We did all these things, but I did much more than that.

...and you can have many best friends!  You all have helped me write my stories!

This was hard to photograph, it says - "I walk down memory lane because I know that I will find you there."

With us here and all our friends and family elsewhere, it gave me time to reflect on my life and appreciate all the people who have shaped and molded me.  Birthdays should be a time for reflection. Before we left yesterday morning, I had already received about 12 birthday wishes on Facebook.

Without each of you in my life, I would not be the person that I am today and I thank each of you for all you've done for me and with me!  I've told my girls that, if something ever happens to me, know that I have had a VERY blessed and VERY happy life...and I'm VERY aware of it.  I don't know why I am blessed - most Americans are blessed in some way or other, our job is to pay our blessings forward - and I'm a strong believer of paying things forward!

We've been so busy getting settled here that I have not found a path for that here - yet.  But, I have been checking out places to volunteer and may have found just the place.  It's call Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly - see their web site at http://houghton.littlebrothers.org/.  They seem to have MANY ways to pay it forward.  Enough seriousness - now on to the fun part of the posting  - photos:

Mark thinks this is a tamarack tree; it is the brightest yellow, even after all the other trees have dropped their leaves.  It  looks like it is actually dripping yellow as its leaves are so soft, thin, and long.

We passed this house on the way to Iron Mountain - Mark wants to model our renovations after this house...if we decide to rework it.  I would love our home to resemble this house.

Our sunset as we headed home.

Short video clip to show you the snow in the "high country," which is between Houghton and Iron Mountain.  We had no snow at home

I had a very wonderful day, only one thing could have made it better - for each of you to have shared it with me!  Thank you for being my friend and making a positive impact on my life!