Fall at Lake Charlevoix

                                      Mid September 2015

"Good morning sunshine" 
We still had nice weather mid September, so we took the boat out and got half way to the town of Charlevoix. The whole day we took it slow, and enjoyed the weather. It was too hot, so Mallery didn't have her life jacket on during our slow ride. As we headed back, the day cooled down and I put Mallery's life jacket on. Joe put the "foot to the pedal" so to speak, to get home faster. The video below is of Mallery swimming, either because we were going fast or because she had a life jacket on. She has never done this before, so either it was instincts or she remembers being put in water when she was younger with a life jacket on. Anyway it was way cute!

Mallery under the dash to cool down from the sun when it came out. The next video was back home. It shows how blind she has gotten in the last 9 months. ( Mallery got her top knot cut off because I felt she had enough to deal with these days. She was always good about getting her hair combed and put up each day, but it was not her favorite thing to do).

By the end of September, we finally had gone through all our boxes of stuff and set up for the garage sale. I just wish we had got rid of so much of this 7 years ago. If I had know we would  be on the road for so long, I would have sold most of it back then. If we only had a crystal ball!

Mallery really looks good for being so sick. She has got more confused lately. The vet thinks she probably has tumors in her brain which is causing the confusion. She can not have MRI's or be put under, because of her collapsing trachea. Most dogs with this condition don't make it through anesthesia. ( If this is the last entry of this blog that shows up, look for the "Read more" below because there is more to this blog. Not sure why it is showing up like this. It has never done this before)

Up North Just The Two Of US

                                            Monday  9/14/15

After all the company had left, we needed a break. We took our left over gift certificate money that our realtor, Mark Kowalske, had given us for picking him in the purchase of our home, and went to the Cafe Sante'.

I got one of my favorite drinks, a chocolate martini

Joe just stuck to the free water, plain or bubbly. He is too scotch to order a drink in a restaurant even though he likes to drink.

It's a nice restaurant in down town Boyne City on Lake Charlevoix.

On Monday nights they have $5 pizza's. They had two kinds of pizza to pick from. Mine was a gorgonzola cheese and corn and spinach. ( Their pizza choice ingredients come from left overs that need to be used up.

Joe had some kind of sausage pizza. Joe's pizza's looked burned to me, but the waitress said the pizza's are wood fired Neapolitan style and suppose to look this way.

September had some really beautiful weather this year. The waters were extremely calm and clear with very little boats action on the lake.

It was almost magical with the calm and crystal clear waters.

We took the boat out several times and on this day we reached an area we had never been to yet. The lake had been like glass until we turned the corner to enters the South arm. Here the water had very small waves.  At this narrows area, there is a ferry that costs $3.25, to take your car across to the other side. The total travel time across the water is about 3 minutes.

On the other side of the ferry, is the restaurant the "Landing" It has been closed all summer because it is being completely remodeled.

As we headed down new territory of the South Arm, we saw the first house boat on the lake that we have seen.

Check out the boat. It is almost as big as the house boat.

There were some pretty big home on this part of the lake.

This is the biggest house on the whole lake that we have seen so far.

I hate the color of it but look at the boat garage.

It is quite the compound of a house.

First island that we have seen on this lake.

Mallery came with us this day. Joe drove slowly, as we enjoyed the beautiful day, which also makes it much better for Mallery.

Mallery recently saw her veterinarian and had blood test to check her kidney levels. Her creatine improved by 1 but her BUN got worse by 1. The Dr said the Creatine is much more important. She also wanted to check her liver levels because she thought for sure it would probably be getting bad. Fortunately her liver levels were great and in normal limits. Because Mallery had a digestive episode the prior day she wanted us to give Mallery her fluid treatment daily for 2 weeks and then back to every other day. We just finished up the 2 weeks of daily treatments and started back to the every other day. Luckily Mallery has seemed to mellow out with the treatments. I must be getting good at it because she hardly flinches. This of course makes it much easier for all of us.

As we headed back toward home, we had to stop for the 4 car capacity ferry to go by, as we exited the South Arm.

When we got home Mallery got real excited  to be on land again!

Oh how she loves to be back home again.

What a beautiful September day at Lake Charlevoix.

Round Three Guest Part 2

                                                    Saturday 9/5/2015

I continue with our time with my family visit. Here is my sister Nancy's husband "Farmer Jim" making a cucumber, tomatoes, and onion salad from his garden. It was awesome, but boy does he make a mess in the kitchen. I have always been a messy cook also using tons of utensils, but Jim beats me in the "Big Messy Cook" award!

If you have been following us for a while, you know Mallery is almost blind from cataracts. She falls out of bed because of her limitations, hence the bed rails. She is a morning sleeper, so she sleeps way past Joe and I getting out of bed in the AM. I have to keep an eye on her, to make sure she doesn't fall off the bottom of the bed, so I attach her leash to our two pillows.

She usually barks to let us know she has woke up and wants someone to come get her. Here, she still has her blanket on top of her!

Jim and Nancy met each other at the YMCA, swimming laps. Here Jim was up early and down at the lake, doing his laps, with Nancy soon to follow. We were amazed how many laps they both could do.

While Jim was swimming, a sailboat race developed out on the lake.

With the weather being gorgeous (in the high 80's), after lunch it was time to cool off. A little wave from my mom, while hiding behind her hat and sun glasses! There were a ton of boats on the lake this day, so I did my due diligence and warned Joe of every boat that was nearby. You know, the front seat driver. I know Joe really appreciates my help.

Me and my two favorite sisters. Just a note, don't be the one closes to the camera on the end, because you always look the fattest. ( A fact I learned from my photographer daughter). What I do out of love for my sisters! Gosh I am such a good sister.

We bought a growler of Root Beer Beer for our guest from the Petoskey Brewing. This beer has 10% alcohol, so it is not a weak beer, but doesn't taste like it. It wasn't quite the hit we thought it would be. My mom likes Joe's new beer find, a tea beer! I don't think the beer was cold enough because we poured it into large plastic glasses. Next time I will pour into frosted glasses!

Another morning view of our "Sleeping Beauty".

Not a morning girl at all.!

The constant stress of weeks of visitors was not easy on Mallery. Her subcutaneous fluid administration treatments quickly returned to every other day or daily with all the confusion, starting with Joe's family through my family. She seems to be doing a little better after a month of normalcy.

September was one of my best months up North, with calm warm days on the water after Labor Day weekend.

After all the company left, Joe and I dug into the garage full of boxed stuff that had been stored in storage for 6 years. I just wanted all the stuff to go away. After a week of discovering stuff we forgot we had, Joe set up our garage for a sale.

Mallery enjoyed the front yard and the quiet house once again, as well as we have, when not working in the garage.