chochiyo_sama

I never posted these up--but remember in a previous post, how I showed my stuffed and horribly messy cupboards from the inside and outside?

I posted the after pictures of the outsides and countertops, but I never posted these pictures of the new improved and much tidier INSIDES of the cupboards.

I moved all the cereal and boxed pasta and stuff from the counter into the bottom cupboard.

I now have significant amounts of empty space in my lower cupboards.

I got rid of almost everything I do not use--and the things I love and never use, like the vintage kool-aide pitcher on the top shelf and the green custard cups that were my grandmother's, I put up high. I have never used that vintage double boiler on the top shelf either, but I got it at an old, old lady's garage sale for fifty cents, and I just can't part with it. Note that I moved some of my canned goods from the floor level cupboards to the more easily accessible ones above.

So what happened to all of that other stuff, you ask? Well, I met my sister-in-law and my nephew in Owatonna and gave it all to her for her church garage sale. Sadly, I missed a box which is STILL sitting in my porch. Sigh.

Here's my nephew Caleb, by the way. He fell off the monkey bars at the beach and broke his arm in two places. That is the thing he had to wear untel the swelling went down enough for them to put a cast on his arm. Poor little dude.

Summer was so busy that I really did not have time to post much. Or perhaps, I just didn't make the time. I had intended to. Seriously.

One exciting thing I did this summer was go to visit friends in Michigan--it was sort of a writers' retreat. It was very motivating and a lot of fun to.

This is the section of the airport where the baggage claim is and where it spits you out into the outside world. I am so thankful that I have been walking a lot this summer as I KNOW I walked at least two miles between my plane and the baggage claim. If I had not been regularly walking a mile and a quarter or so each day, I would have DIED. It was the most convoluted route I can possibly imagine--riding on many many moving sidewalks and up and down many escalators.

By the time I reached the baggage claims area, I was drenched in sweat. Then I could not figure out how to tell which carousel my luggage was on for about 15 minutes.

This is Michigan. Doesn't look much different from Minnesota.

I found this license plate frame amusing--it says "I work for Ford, I drive a Ford." It was in the parking lot of a huge store that had everything you can imagine in it. Food, clothes, toys, furniture....you name it.

For shits and giggles, my friends and I had a little tea party--it was actually part of a experiment to jog our creativity.

Note the adorable "Disney princess" party theme.

Our refreshments--I baked two kinds of cookies and brought them with me to Detroit--chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. To make it festive, we made round open face sandwiches with cheese whiz and olives (like my grandmother always had for her Oak Street Club ladies) and peanut butter and banana open face sandwichs. And nothing says "special occasion" like a jello mold!

This is a tiny little park in Plymouth--it was full of war memorials. All the way back to the Civil War.

This is just looking down the street from the corner across from that little park.

This is a school behind the little park.

This is some old gun. Most be real old.

I didn't see a marker by it, describing what it is.

This is part of a semi-circle of memorials to various wars and conflicts.

Here is a close up of a few of them. The etchings were pretty detailed and nice. Look new.

A couple more--I wonder if this is computer generated etching--looks like it.

This was in the center of the semi-circle.

They had little markers for each of the branches of the military.

This was a special memorial for the Korean and Vietnam wars. It's hard to see them, but on the lighter stone sides, they have the names of all the local young men who died there.