It's Springtime!!

 Oh darn, I meant to post at the exact minute on the official first day, but life happens.  I was the only person in my department at work since the 12th and then the weekend was busy. 

I finally got some crocuses pop up in my yard!

Literally these 2 little bunches. 

I was out the day after St. Pats putting my leprechauns away and bringing out the bunnies. 

Supervised by Chuck the Skeleton, of course. 

This will be the last blowmolds out until Halloween.   

I don't have any patriotic ones for Memorial or Independence Days. 

I should know to check my calendar before planning things, since I went & bought the tickets to go see the Monster trucks in Detroit.....and then realized I had a search & rescue drill the same day! 

This did not belong to the person we were looking for!  

Whoops.  

I just ended up leaving the drill early so I could get home & shower before we had to leave for Ford Field. 

The last 2 years we've gone to Huntington Arena in Toledo to see the Monster Trucks.  It's much cheaper, smaller (a hockey arena) but with seats an adult can actually fit in.  The parking is tolerable and we never had much of a wait for concessions or souvenirs and never for the bathrooms.  However Ford Field is much larger (home of the Detroit Lions) and there was also a Red Wings game going on nearby, a concert at one of the casinos and a play at the Detroit Opera House.  So parking anywhere was crazy.   The event was sold out - which I've NEVER seen before. Tickets were insanely expensive for the 5 of us, then add drinks & snacks?  $$$$$$$$  I could just fit my butt in the seat but had to twist and drape my arm across the back of the granddaughter's seat so there was room for my shoulders.  The Spouse couldn't even fit in the seat - he perched on the edge the whole time. 

So yeah.  We will be going back to Toledo next year.  It's only about 1 1/2 hours away which isn't too bad at all. 

My introverted-ness demands it!

I happened to glance over during the National Anthem - I melted. 

Grave Digger - on fire. 

I really liked Avenger's Lions-themed paint job. 

Jim Koehler, the driver, is from Michigan, so he was a favorite. 

Mayhem - possibly on fire!

Driven by Chris Koehler - also a local guy & Jim's son!

El Toro Loco - on fire! 

We've never seen so many actual FIRES - sometimes you might see a little flame shooting out of the bottom of the truck, but these all required the ground staff to use extinguishers!

Anyhoo.  Sunday was pretty low key.  I got new pillows, pillowcases and bedspread for mine & the Spouse's bed.  It's beyond embarrassing how old & gross our pillows were!  So I put all this nice new stuff on the bed last night - a fluffy new pillow is going to take some getting used to!  Even the cat seemed confused.  My old one was flat & I had to fold it when I slept on my side.  They're supposed to be "cooling" pillows, but I sure didn't feel any cooling!  

Anyway, this week might be less bonkers than last week was, since I'm not alone in the office - plus it's a short week!  I have Friday off work and will be doing a girls' overnight trip (with mom & the sisters) to Ohio again.  Woohoo!  I hope it's not raining, that's all I gots to say.

Happy Monday!

SkyWatch Friday 3/20/26

Greenfield Village edition! 

The Village is actually still closed for the season, but someone from the search & rescue team I volunteer for knows someone and we were allowed in to do K9 training last weekend. 

Greenfield Village is one of those places where you can go to see what life in the US was like hundreds of years ago.  Historical buildings have been moved there. 

In particular, Thomas Edison's laboratory is here, as well as several other buildings from Menlo Park, the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop and the house that Henry Ford grew up in  - just to name a very few! 

Martha-Mary Chapel

named after Henry & Clara Ford's mothers. 

Thomas Edison

Scotch Settlement School

Henry Ford attended school here in 1871

We are easy to see!

And for fun - want to see where Henry & Clara Ford are buried?  

This used to be St Martha's Episcopal Church, but the sign out front says Triumph Church, Central Campus.  I'd love to see the inside of it, but I have a strong feeling that it's closed. 

Ford Cemetery is located more or less in the front yard of the church. 

(link takes you to the Find A Grave listing)

someone did a LOT of research because there's a lot of genealogy listed. 

The tall obelisk belongs to Henry's parents, William & Mary and his sister Jane. 

Henry and his wife Clara are under the black grate. 

 

#AtoZChallenge - Theme Reveal

 

It's that time of year! 

I'm feeling very confident with my A to Z this year - I already have topics for each letter and drafts made with the badges for each post.  Now I'll just have to get on the ball with commenting & visiting! 

If you don't know what the A to Z Challenge is, here's the official post about it, but the Cliffnotes version is - you write a post each day (except Sunday) in April.  April 1, your topic would be something that starts with A.  April 2 starts with B, April 3 - C etc, etc.  

The first time I did the challenge was back in 2012 - and I jumped right in with 3 blogs!  Crazy, I know.  I slowly whittled it down to just this one.  

2015 was my absolute favorite theme - it was all stories from the time I was in the Navy. 

2018 was a close second with all about exploring Detroit. 

Btw - I really like the graphics this year!  

Purty!

Anyhoooo......

My theme for this year is random stuff in my life that I'm grateful for.

It's a pretty broad & varied theme, and one that required a little bit of thought for each letter. 

Ready to get going!