The Lake House

Now those of you who have been to Lake,MI and seen our little chalet may not recognize the cottage in the photos. After 12 years of blissful cottage ownership we decided to do some updates. Small details like Roof, Siding and windows were really needed. We also felt that since the house is on the lake the deck should be facing the lake, rather than on the side where it was built! So Jerry hired the local Posen brothers who did work on Hank's house Unfortunately Home Depot (despot!) screwed up our order several times and even delivered damaged windows. "More raving, More screwing, that's the frustration of the Home depot" This caused us to lose our contractors to a job down south, and left us with Tyvex where our front windows should be. UGH! And for a while it put a real damper on our thrill about being able to shape things up...But Jerry and Charlotte took a ride up today to check things out and Jerry was pleasantly surprised. He said he is re-enthused about the project and looking forward to the installation of the windows and the end the project or what I like to call the end of Phase One...hey, a girl can dream, can't she?! Check out the pictures and tell me what you think! And plan a visit for next spring or summer to comment in person :)

our sweet chalet-the heart trim,the side deck, the swiss mountain feel....
and now...

this is what we will be looking at as we sit on the new deck and drink coffee...join me?

the door, and old deck footprint

new wider stairs, and No Bees, PJ!

front view, tyvex areas will have windows and completed siding

I love the railings! They never have to be stained.

and we can get to the lake from the front

BRING ON THE SUMMER OF 2013!

weekend activities

click on me to learn something cool

Danny learned how to play Euchre and actually won! The guys looking over his shoulder did not give away his cards!

 

Danny and Jerry headed to camp to HUNT! Lucky for me they didn't catch anything. But they enjoyed lots of man time with Hank and his crew and a visit with Aunt Reg as well.

I hunted for bargains on Black Friday and I had great success. The girls and I went to Kohls and when they saw the 45 minute check out line--they ditched me! I gave them the Costco card and they crossed the parking lots to "sample world" and pigged out. I ended up buying some fancy gourmet popcorn that Molly could not live without! We went for a run together and went to mass as well.
On Sunday they went to see a Christmas musical called Child of the Promise and I drove down to Dearborn to get Cassandra. Jake had gone back to Drum on Friday night by train and Cammy has obligations this week, so we get Cassie! Hooray! That is my best score of the weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday 6am
Rolling into the fog on our way to Detroit to run the Turkey Trot,bananas and power bars in hand. And coffee for some of us--that is my energy bar! I am so excited that Jake is able to join us. We pick him up at Fairlane Mall and finish the drive into the city. Homeboy Jerry navigates us to an excellent parking lot just two blocks from Cobo hall and the start of the race. This year is much more relaxing then years past because Molly doesn't have any jobs. Rather than frantically racing to get to the press booth or start line, we are just strolling along looking at all the costumes and people and dogs and watching the sun come up over the Detroit River. The temperature at the start is close to 50! Unbelievable! First we line up at the port-a-johns, then we line up at the start, and off we go.With 23,500 participants you can imagine that Woodward avenue is pretty crowded. And you would be right! I love it though. This is a race you run for fun, not for time. People line the route to see the parade which comes afterward and cheer on the runners. Kids stand on the edge of the road and hold out their hands in hopes that a runner will give them a "high five" as they run by. And campers line the parking lots, wafting the smell of bacon out onto the course...no shortage here in Michigan!
The only hitch in the whole run was the finish. Cobo Hall is under construction and the street where the race finishes is very narrowed. The finish should have been relocated,but alas, it was not. Consequently, instead of a big kick to the finish we actually had to walk across the line, packed tight as sardines, we shuffled along! Best thing (beside our whole family running together!) was that we all got medals, along with the other 23,494 runners, to commemorate the 30th running of the trot. Awesome! Charlotte has been wearing hers all day!
Men ran the 5K, Danny and Jake ran 29ish, Jerry ran a 33
Girls ran the 10K,  Molly ran 58 1/2ish, Charlotte and I ran 60min.
Go Team Hincka!
We ate our turkey dinner at noon, ravenous after our run. Then we all relaxed and watched the Lions, played lawn football ala The Kennedys, and ate pumpkin pie!
Jerry and I decided to try Targets special 9pm opening to black Friday and it was quite a scene.  It had started to rain, and people were lined up around the building when we arrived at 9pm. But as soon as the doors opened the line flowed smoothly into the store and frenzied shopping began! I can't tell you what we bought, since some of the lucky recipients resd this blog, but I will say i got some great deals! With lots of laughs on the long lines and lots of bargains in our bags we deemed the experience a success.

Team Hincka is ready to run!

Are we in the right place?!

crowd is ready to run.....

We did it!

my kids-I am THANKFUL!

Back in Brighton,rolling down Main street, we notice Ugly Naked Guy is dressed for Thanksgiving
and we have to stop for a photo!

I hope you and your family had a blessed and

fun filled Turkey Day.

Poly hockey...are you a fan?!

First thing you have to know--it is floor hockey, and NO I do not know why it is called poly hockey! It is played on a gym floor with a hard slidey puck,sneakers and helmets and sticks. 5 players, 2 defense,2 offense and 1 roaming guy, plus the goalie. 6 periods of real hockey line changes and the threat of the penalty box if you misbehave. Only difference between this and real hockey?? As far as I observed, everyone playing still had nice teeth!
Our state finals tournament took place on Sat/Sun Nov 18-19 in Lansing. The Penguins played at 12 noon on Saturday and lost a tough game. After lunch, Molly,Charlotte and Gary voted to head to Brighton and chill until our second game, Sunday at 11am. I was super happy! Nothing wrong with a night at a hotel, but coming home and going to church made me really happy. Bright and early we headed back to Lansing for game two and this time Victory! It was back and forth, we were up,then tied,then down, then tied, then the game winning goal was whacked in with a minute to go in the last period! Wow! The girls really enjoy their first try at  this sport and are planning to join the team next year. Thanks again to Special Olympics for providing another great opportunity to our girls!

 

 

Saturday 11/17 Wolverine vs Hawkeye

The yellow and black bus rolled into Ann Arbor around 3pm and the Hawkeyes descended. Al Lockin and his big brother Doug and his baby brother Brian and Al's oldest, Iowa senior Ben. They prowled around the campus, checking out the wolverine good luck spots and hoping to lay a curse on!  Then they arrived in Howell to treat the Friday night basketball gang to an exhilarating shoot around. Then with Molly in the car to keep the conversation going it was back to Ann Arbor to visit the iconic eatery Blimpie Burger. Luck was with the crew, and the crazy lady who yells at you to order, saw the kids and took it easy on them! Everyone enjoyed their burgers. Back to Brighton they all came, and we hung out in the kitchen visiting til much later than we should! In the morning an early breakfast was followed by a trip to Ann Arbor. This time the Hawk crew was joined by Danny and Jerry, representing the wolverines. The group enjoyed a tailgate and a stellar performance by the drum line before heading into the big house. Jerry and Danny ended up being able to sit with the Lockin line-up through the entire game, bravely wearing their maize and blue in the Iowa section. In fact, the Hawkeye quarterbacks Mom was sitting right next to them :)
Michigan blew Iowa away, so much so that the yellow and black bus was rolling west again before the fourth quarter even started. Better luck next time fellas!

Big house view
Danny,Al,Doug, Ben and Brian

tasty tailgate

wolverine statue shot

Thursday 11/15 Hosting dinner for Jake's family

Well thankfully my dinner menu for last night was one that would keep! Cassandra had a one year checkup(90% height and weight!) and got 3 shots and was not feeling well. So the dinner was postponed from Wednesday til tonight. Chicken tortilla soup, Mexican bean dip, salad and cornbread.
Everyone said it was good but spicy, and I had forgotten Cammy does not like spicy foods. Oops, my bad! Cassie seemed happy to see us, and after 10 minutes was running and playing around the house like she had never left! Jake and Danny ended up doing a lot of wrestling/judo/self defense moves which they both enjoyed. Jake was seriously impressed by Danny's moves, which made D feel amazing! They left around 9:30.
Sadly Jerry was not home, he was in Cleveland and Posen, home on Friday. Hopefully we will see Jake on Sunday for more visiting.

family dinner

wrestling fun!

two brothers looking tough

the final move-Danny did get Jake on this one!

Inspiring Greatness Gala

11/9/12  Friday Night, Motor City Casino Hotel, The Soundboard Room

We were thrilled to be invited to the Inspiring Greatness Gala, a large fundraiser for Special Olympics of Southeast Michigan. Two weeks ago I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the second annual event. This black tie optional event was held at the Motor City Casino in downtown Detroit. We had never been there and it is quite an operation. There is a huge parking structure and it was very full. Masses of people were in the casino and it is definitely the busiest place in town. The soundboard venue was really large, a big stage, huge screen and tables all around in a horseshoe shape.  I must say it was a bit intimidating to see the set up, I know a lot was expected of Molly and I.
Wowee! This is how the other half lives I guess! Thanks to borrowed finery (thanks Shawne and Karen) the girls and I looked very well dressed for this big party! Jerry wore a suit, no worries for guys on their wardrobe.  We schmoozed with the SO staff that we knew and browsed through the Detroit sports team memorabilia heavy silent auction. Our table was o nthe small balcony, with a great view of the stage, Kim Purdy, the communications and PR director for SOMI and Karen Drew, channel 4 new personality were seated with us. Molly and I went on at about 8:30, after the dinner of filet mignon and salmon, salad, veggies, hot rolls and chocolate lave cake was served. I couldn't eat a bite. You've heard of someone being a  point man? Well Jerry was our power point man! Not only did he put the presentation together for us, and rehearse it until it was just perfect, but he ran the slides this evening so that everything would go perfectly. And Charlotte took lots of pictures of us, Thanks Charlotte! The party had an official photographer and I hope to access some of those shots and post them on my blog soon.
When it was time for our speech, Molly and I headed to the stage. The lights were very bright and I couldn't see the audience, it was more like being in a play then my usual speech venues. Molly did an excellent job, and all her laugh lines got big laughs! I did okay I guess! Hard to judge yourself, you know? When the presentations were all over at 9pm, Molly started working the room. She shot away from our table and began chatting up the important business people, she is too funny. She and Charlotte both met Frank Kelly, former MI attorney general and longest serving AG in the country, and George Perless, former MI state football coach and Pittsburgh Stealers Superbowl winning coach! These guys are long time SO supporters who were there to receive an award and they both got choked up when talking about the program--awesome! Loads of kind folks came up to me and said they were moved by my speech, that was really cool because our goal was to touch hearts and so touch wallets! I hope that happens.
And the other cool thing was that Jer was the successful bidder on the tickets to see Motown's own The Four Tops--he is really excited about that!

Charlotte checks out the program

All the SO athletes at the gala. The tiny girl up front was the global messanger speaker, the others gave out the awards

Athletes honored on stage, Charlotte was so proud to go up there!

George Perless

Our friend Jack from 5th/3rd bank and his wife

Some gals who came to congratulate me, I was very touched.