The wicked witch of the west blew little carols house away!

Memorial day was REALLY festive in Lansing and the surrounding areas. Sunday night the weather turned on us and into tornado weather about 5:00 PM. Ricky and I had been working on the house all day and it was Windy and nice bright weather and then the doom of the storm was upon us really fast! The sirens went off three times and the news was very unsure where or if any tornados where sited. Bertlee got a phone call and bounced off the couch because his niece little carols house was totally destroyed!



He had to go out and see if he could help, and was up and gone in a flash.
I was on pins and needles because we did not know what to do so we went on with our plans to go to Renee's house for a wet barbecue. Shelly, me and Ricky showed up at about 6:30 right after the a ok that the storm had passed. We had prepared vadelia onions to roast on the grill, and they where so good! I'm going to make them ALOT this summer on my own grill. We had a great visit and smiles where forced though the tension of the storm and the unknown of little carols house. Bertlee called about 8ish and said it was all gone, house, trees but little Carol was fine, except for the brick that smacked her on the ass as she was running down to the basement for cover. She did not know how lucky she really was until after when she came up and saw all the destruction. What a CRAZY memorial day eve!
Monday, memorial day 2011
Bertlee took 3 Excedrin PM's to sleep and I was whipped from all the yard work and painting from the day before. I think I got up about 11am to the smell of coffee and laughter.


-- Post From Little Rayray iPad

June 1st just 14 days before my birthday!

I had a wonderful last day of May with the temp hitting 94 degrees here in Lansing. WOW what weird week of weather! I mean it was cold, raining and now sunny and windy. Rickie my painter has had quite a working vacation. We have the tree house painted except for the sides up high. I will be finishing that and then can start working on my arbor before the weekend. My dad and Edie made it home from Florida with help of my brother Bobby. I am going to see them on Friday. I can't wait! My dad is doing well with his recovery from his stroke and I thought it might be best to wait till they settle in some. It's a very windy day for the 1st day of june. I am sitting on the clean back porch having coffee and listening to Nora jones and the birds sing back to her wonderful voice. I had breakfast from my own two hands instead of going out for breakfast! Can you believe it? I am trying to cut out extra expensive things to get my tooth repaired. Yep, I have a cavity that has come back. It will be better by june 21st. Hot and cold puts chills though me right now, they are zingers! Well,I am off to painting while the breeze is blowing nicely.


-- Post From Little Rayray iPad

Location:W Maple St,Lansing,United States

Rainy May 18th

Doodling helped me make this from the Fred Meijer gardens..LOVE my iPad!


I am sitting at the doctors office waiting for my morning appointment just thinking about the end of the week festive East Lansing Art Fair. I want to start painting on the house but the weather still is not cooperating. I was hoping that I would have the tree house finished and on to the lower part of the house. Myles helped me power wash it two weekends ago and Ricky is ready to come and help. I did not plan to work on anything this weekend. Just fun at the Art fair. I have to decide today weather to have Ricky over for just a visit, or to work on the house. I wish that it would stop raining and just be nice! We got spoiled on Friday the 13th with 89 degree weather, so it's coming, just have to be patient. Bertlee and the girls posed for me in front of the beautiful garden at the house along with there mom mellissa on thursday last week. They are so cute!





I took photos for Laura Allmacher on Monday and the weather was cool but was perfect for photos on MSU campus. I had a great feeling about the photoshoot and so did Laura. She has a healing wellness clinic and I could tell this is exactly what she needed. I hope for more great referrals from her. After the shoot she took me to the Wandering tea house in East Lansing for conversation and hibiscus calming tea. What a wonderful atmosphere that Mark the Owner has accomplished. He has travel all over and has decided to land in little ole East Lansing for a while. Talk about blue eyes! His are like the light blue sea! I had to tell him because you just don't see eye so sea blue that often. I also have to show him some of my work so they can hang in his place. I was very glad to meet him, and it was because of Laura. I need more days like Monday.




-- Post From Little Rayray iPad

May day May day has come and gone!

This last week of April was so long and it was good to end it with a Royal wedding.


I loved the wedding and thought they pulled it off with the Grand Scale that was expected of a Royal wedding. The Aston Martin was GREAT!


As for a busy and fun weekend it was all that and a pile of butter! I got out in the front garden just before the tulips opened and it was a cool saturday perfect for gardening. Unfortunately I pulled a muscle in my back and had to stop working outdoors. Ashely Lipsey my wonderful neighbor birthday was the next day, so she and I went to get something to eat at Michigan's brewing company. I have only been there a couple of times, once with Bertlee and once with Jamie. Ashley looked so wonderful for her birthday and I had to take some pictures of her so that she can remember how beautiful she was on her 30th birthday!


Jamies band was playing at Sammys paddock lounge where I took him on our first night out over 10 years ago! Wow how time flys! I did get to enjoy so much on the last day of April that I wish it almost didn't have to leave. My tulips are waiting for Bertlee to get home form his brother sister bonding to bloom but they are so ready! I hope my back it better by then I have so much yard work to do! I pulled it on Friday, putting the mulch in so Thayer look fantastic when they bloom. We have suits in the city on Wednesday so I hope Thayer look good by then!
UPDATE here is me and Bertlee in front of garden! Yep it bloomed on Tehran and this was the first whole day!








It was so nice to hang out with her Saturday and Sunday! Rennes birthday is the same day so when I saw her on Monday for breakfast I took her photo too!
Thank god for spring my eyes are a feast and next week Monday we are going to Fred meijers garden, holland tulip festival and saugatuck! Then to Hal's house to have dinner! So look foreword to a lot of new photos in the next few weeks! I will keep you posted!
-- Post From Little Rayray iPad

Location:N Capitol Ave,Lansing,United States

We survived Easter weekend with a quarter century under ones belt

What a wonderful Monday,rain showers and flowers ready to bloom. Friday was a great sunny day and it was nice to sit on up in the tree house until the sun went down. Bertlee was shivering so we went in and watched a Netflix before a early night of good sleep. Saturday, we went to one of my new found breakfast places, The soup spoon, which is the best kept breakfast secret around lansing. Last Monday on the 18th I woke up to snow and was up by 7am so I went out looking for a new place to eat. I was driving up Michigan avenue and saw the open sign lite at the Soup spoon. Now, I have been there many times for lunch and they have a packed downtown lunch crowd in order, but not breakfast.


I had the place almost to myself and the jazz as awesome! Better then head banging myself into a Bolivian at the Golden Harvest. I love the harvest, but they have gotten bigger than they can handle and I just hate waiting an hour for food. Also, I know this is my age showing, but I don't like the music. First thing in the morning should be calm pleasant and not head banging. Sorry, Zane I am so glad for your success, just not for me. So you can imagine my surprise at such a wonderful breakfast that will even serve you a Salad instead of all thous carbs! I was in heaven! I was there till for a couple hours catching up on my blog and enjoying the coffee and this wonderful black forrest omelette.





I returned on Wednesday, and had the Smoked Salmon omelet and it was wonderful! Gretchen and Meagan have taken care of me so well, and I brought my friend Terri in so she got a wonderful two eggs, toast and salad for 5 bucks! Best deL in town by far. Oh did I tell you that the omelets are only 7 and 8 bucks?
So on Saturday, I took Bertlee and he had the seafood omelet and





I had the Daily Benny with of douse Salad with blue cheese dressing. Yummy! If you are in town try there food you will love it!

-- Post From Little Rayray iPad

Location:N Washington Ave,Lansing,United States

Happy birthday Taylor!

Well my youngest son Taylor is turning 21 this next Monday and he has grown up to be a handsome well rounded young man. I remember when he was 4 and he was the talk of all the ladies that he met when we where out. I use to take my boys to breakfast almost every Saturday that I could. We loved breakfast and we where known as the breakfast boys. I like Bob Evans and Taylor liked Denny's because of the waitress use to treat Taylor like a little prince. Myles liked Bob Evans because of almost the same reason, except he loved BOB Evans sausage and biscuits. It was a time we could sit and draw or just catch up on the weekday events. I really miss thous times. Taylor does not do much but work, sleep, shower and shave now at this age. Now don't get me wrong he has a great job at liquid web, and he loves his job, but there needs to be more fun and less sleep. His social life has suffered since this job and I know he needs more of a outlet.


I miss that spry young energetic kid that I come to know and love. Becoming a man is a lot of work,that sometimes seems harder and never moves fast enough for you. I remember when I was his age I had just gotten married to Abby, and was starting my new job at ABC Warehouse. I worked on commission and stood on the sales floor from the age of 21 to 26. That felt like the longest 5 years of my life. I had two children, a wonderful wife and a hunger to make money like no other salesman. The world was my oyster and I was going to be rich beyond my wildest dreams. I had a house payment, two car payments and a acre of land in the country with a large in ground pool to take care of. I was a kid, raising kids and I was never home. We had to be there on the sales floor from 9am to 9pm and there was never a day together for me to have with my young boys ,except my one day off which was Sunday. I always made a big breakfast and it was just lovely to have time around the table with my family.


When I was living with my dad though high school he would get me up and we would go for breakfast on Saturday. To catch up and hang out. I lived in Elsie which is a small town, and we would go to Mary's kitchen in the next small town Ovid, Michigan. I had a hard time getting up just like ,Taylor does when I call up to see if he wants to get up and spend time with his Dad. I always enjoyed the time after in was up and around and hell, it usually was still only 9am by the time we got home!
I cherish thous times like no other with my DAD,and now that he just had a stroke they come flowing back like no other memory.






I know that Taylor is so overwhelmed with all the new responsibility that comes with the change of becoming an adult. I wish he would talk to me more and fill me in, so I can help where I can. It sometimes seems to hard to tell your dad things about your life, and how you want them to change faster than they are. When I look at him it is also hard not to see the little handsome young Taylor, that has alway tried to pull the wool over my eyes. I hope as this year goes forward, that he knows that bits the little things like breakfast and communication, will keep our bond flowing forward. I am so proud of Taylor, and I expect the pressures of life may not get much better, but I want him to know that he will alway be my little boy and my wonderful grown up man that he has become. I love you very much Taylor Tot!
Sincere wished on your twenty first birthday,
love,Dad





-- Post From Little Rayray iPad

Location:W Maple St,Lansing,United States

Rain for April flowers

I went for a walk on this rainy Wednesday,down to the golden harvest but it was over flowing as usual. Dam! So I went to Pablo's instead.
The coffee is to be desired, but the food is like going to grandma victoria and having her cook you pa pa and havos.

I plan on stopping by studio 1212 to get the list of people that have signed up for my class and edit with avid all day long. I guess it's ok to rain, it does bring spring flowers and we all knowhow I love the spring. Write more later..I will leave you with a spring thought of mine.


Update: I did get the avid program up and running today on my computer called biggdaddy 264. I now have lots to learn before the 30 days trail closes down. I am editing the 7th annual Polar or plunge that was shot at Eagle Eye Golf course in January this year. I am trying out all the compressors and codecs to see which one will do more for me before the program runs out. So far the sorreson squeeze is really good, and it took 3.8 gig down to under 700 megbytes. I plan on trying to get the video to look good on both PC and Mac. I have this wonderful Sony camera that is avchd, but so far there is lot more noise in the movement that I want. I am also editing the first video I did with it which was Elliott Yamin when he visited our little North Lansing in 2008. Time will tell of I can get rid of the movement or just live with it. Happy Friday! My class at Gallery 1212is tomorrow, so I have a lot to do today. Theos is feeding a great breakfast to get my day going. Heck it's only 10am and I have been everywhere to get stuff done! Here is a photo I took yesterday after working in my yard.

-- Post From Little Rayray iPad