Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Nancy and Princess the Friendly Doe


If you are ever in the UP during winter, or possibly live in the UP, you have to visit Shirley's Happy Hour Bar and Grill in Hulbert, Michigan, to see the deer.

So many gorgeous creatures! And they are not penned up. They all just yard up at the Happy Hour in the winter because they know they will be well taken care of.

It's almost 5:00 p.m. and they are waiting for Nancy.

Suppertime!


Nancy comes out with her pail of corn and bag of apples. Princess is always there to greet her.


Princess likes to show off in front of all the other deer and get hand fed corn from Nancy while the other deer nervously/impatiently wait.


How about an apple Princess?


She prefers to be hand fed corn kernels.


Then she'll watch Nancy fill up the trough for her friends, cousins, uncles, aunts, and whoever else is waiting for supper.


Here they come...


All eyes are on me as I snap photos.

Who is that stranger?


And they munch...


and munch...


and munch...


...while Nancy fills up the trough by the windows for the customers to get a closer look.


They wait and watch until they dare make their move or until Nancy returns to the restaurant...


...but something doesn't feel quite right.

She senses she's being watched.


And she is...

See the broken glass?

That would be the reason for the bars outside the windows.


Sometimes the deer get a little frisky and take to sparring.


Snowmobilers taking a break and having a burger while they watch the deer.


Thanks for letting me take pictures, Nancy!

Lots of snow in the UP and the snowmobile trails are awesome.

I should know, I'm married to one of the groomers.

More snow in the forecast for tomorrow!



Saturday, January 24, 2015

Wedding Photos From Duck Key


Lindsey


The Bouquet


The Place


The Bridesmaids


Groom and Groomsmen


Steve and I
(Why I look like a secret service agent is beyond me!)


Dad giving daughter away

(Photo credit goes to Riley's GoPro Hidden Camera.
See the below white arrow.)


Sorry about the blue cast in this pic.
Al's hair really isn't blue.
(Sorry Al.)




The three photos above were also taken with Riley's GoPro Camera.

The following are random shots during the reception and at the resort.



Bride and Groom Dance


Father/Daughter Dance


Mother/Son Dance

Sniff.


Father of the Bride and Son-In-Law Dance


Rehearsal Dinner


Swimming with the Dolphins.


Lindsey and her sister, Kelly


Kathy, Kris, and Denny
Wonderful People!


Nikko, Riley and Paul at Sunset

The newlyweds have been sending me pictures of the wedding which is GREAT because I didn't take any. The only problem is I have no idea who to give photo credit to (except Riley).

 Thank you all! 

*************************************************************************

Venison Shoulder Pot Roast
Oh, and if you have a venison shoulder roast sitting, lying, buried in your freezer, try this Venison Shoulder Pot Roast recipe. Yum and oh so easy!





Sunday, January 18, 2015

Wedding in the Keys


We are back and ALL UNPACKED from our trip to Florida. I apologize to those of you who faithfully follow this blog of mine and I appreciate each and everyone of you who take the time! I've heard it said that one shouldn't advertise when they are going to be away from home so I didn't give many of you a heads up that I'd be gone or why. But it wasn't at all a worry to be gone because we have THE BEST neighbors and friends who all look out for us and our two pooches when we travel.

But I'm home now, unpacked, and can let out a big WHEW and share with you the past 10 days!


We left bright and early from wintry Kinross airport where the temp was -15. We flew into Ft. Lauderdale, Wednesday, January 6, where we rented a car to drive down to Duck Key. It was 85 degrees in Ft. Lauderdale - a 100 degree difference!

And the reason we went to the Keys was for our son Riley's wedding which took place Friday, January 9.


To say the least we were thrilled when Alamo upgraded our rental car to a Mustang convertible! We drove the whole 2 1/2 hour trip with the top down, soaking up that Florida sunshine!

Steve and I rented a condo which was on the edge of Hawks Cay Resort. Riley and Lindsey got married on the beach across the street. 


When one rents a convertible one must travel, so the day before the wedding Steve and I headed to Key West!



Where the tourists and chickens and roosters roam free.

And of course when one has a convertible...


one must attempt a selfie!



On the day of the wedding, after afternoon pictures, we hung out on our porch until the wedding began at 5:00.


Riley's pretty Grandmothers.


Our condo overlooked Hawks Cay Marina.


The day after the wedding we all sat around the pool in the sunshine. Yes, I said SUNSHINE.


Sunshine. Warmth. In my bathing suit.

No gloves or stocking hat.


Riley's Best Man.

His crazy, um, handsome brother Steven.


On Sunday we all went our separate ways. Riley and Lindsey rented a sailboat for three nights in Key West.


And they did a bunch of fun things like take a biplane ride and snorkel.


Steve and I got into our convertible and drove to Cocoa Beach. (I love saying convertible.)


Can't get enough of them palm trees!


The Cocoa Beach Pier


AND another selfie.

After Cocoa Beach we drove to Orlando where we stayed a few days with Steve's parents.

(And turned in the convertible. Bummer.)

All the photos on this post were taken with my phone. I have Orlando on my other camera and will show those pics in a future post. We did a lot of fun things like visit New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic Ocean and another day at Mount Dora. I also went to Trader Joes for the first time ever!


Leaving LaGuardia Airport...somewhere over New York City at sunset this past Friday evening. Steve and I saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time ever from our airplane window when we came into LaGuardia.

Have a wonderful week everyone!
~Debi