Time Flies - One Year Since Last Vacation

My goodness, how time has flown by - this year is a blur!  And, the things that have changed around here...is remarkable!  Last year at this time, my family [hubby and the pups & I] were on our semi-annual vacation in Michigan.  You can read about it in This Post.  While it was cold last year at this time...it is warm here this year.  We're about to set a...

warm temperature record over the next couple of days!  Yesterday was 72°.

Here are some of the photos from last years' vacation in Baroda, Michigan...near the beach.

NO PIX HERE...They were from the website where we stayed...and it is no longer in business. 

The 3 Pups, Jasper, Angel & Rosie certainly enjoyed themselves - a new place to check out, people to meet, steps to run up and down...and a few resident dogs of the property too.

I haven't been able to take a vacation this year at all.  I've spent money on other things...like re-painting the interior of the house...which I'm doing by myself...and saving a ton of money.  And that's a good thing, since the Pups and I are trying to save money.

Hubby is no longer in the picture.  He left on April 3 this year and moved in with his oldest son and his family.  It was all quite a shock, because he never mentioned the idea of leaving me.  Due to him being incommunicado, I haven't spoken to him since the day he left.  He doesn't write, text, call or answer emails.  I am out-of-the-loop. 

There have been good and bad days, due to all the changes.  But, the good have far outweighed the bad.  Now, don't take me wrong...I have not suffered any illnesses and neither have the dogs in the past 7 months.  I've not suffered abuse at the hands of my hubby...be it mental, verbal or physical abuse.  I haven't felt afraid.  I haven't felt frozen.  I haven't felt helpless or hopeless.  I haven't felt defeated.  At the time I was experiencing the mis-treatment, I didn't realize that I felt those things.  It was a gradual thing...over a period of about 7 years...where hubby changed, due to what we both think was onset of Alzheimer's.  That really changes people.

In the past 7 months, I've lost 62 pounds.  I've gotten physically and emotionally stronger.  I've done things that a year ago, I was afraid to even try to do [like climbing a ladder to paint].  I felt weak then, which limited the things I felt I could do around the house, with the dogs and just stopped doing them!

Not any more.

God has been by my side...guiding me...pushing me...waiting for me...loving me...blessing me...filling me with His peace...and so much more.

And my friends...I've been blessed by all of you as well.

I will be away from blogging regularly for a little while longer, while I finish painting the last rooms of my house.  Hopefully, I will be finished sooner, rather than later.  My goal is to be done the week before Thanksgiving, not that I have anything big planned...it's just the time I selected to finish.

But, I'll be around.

Pups' Update & Our Vacation

Last time I posted, I told you all of my Pups were sick. Well, they've made a dramatic recovery. It happened right after they got their anti-nausea, anti-diarrhea shot at the Vet!  They were given a 14 day antibiotic prescription, which they just completed lastnight.  All is GREAT with them!  I ended up cancelling their Grooming Appointment for a week ago, because they were sick...and you can see now how they are over due for a cut!  But we did go on our 7-day vacation, returning
earlier this week.

Nothing big...  Nothing far away.  Just 3 hours away - to Hickory House in Baroda Michigan...near the shores of Lake Michigan.  The Pups always love exploring a new home!

The weather was not the best for a vacation - even one the beginning of November!  It was terribly windy...outside and in...making it feel much more chilly than it really was.  It also rained 3 days while we were there.  And the couple of sunny days we had, were cold days!  But it was good to get away.

Something else that made it chillier than it should have been was there were no window coverings on the windows of the first floor.  The 2 sets of patio doors, both facing west, had pleated shades on them.  No where else.

This is not our favorite place we've ever vacationed...that I can tell you.

Now...I'm off to do some shopping.  I've got to get a PRINTER, since mine still isn't working.  I've done everything I can think of to get paper to feed in it.  I've done all that others have suggested too...all to no avail.

Vacation Rental Home

222 Merchant Street

New Buffalo, Michigan

We love staying in Vacation Rental Homes and I thought I would share one with you today...and tell you some of the important things I look for in a house we're about to rent.  First and most important to us is the house must allow our 3 Pups.  Together, the 3 of them weigh 34# and they are trained and they're also hypo-allergenic and don't shed.  Yes, they drop some of their hair - just
like humans do...but there is virtually no dander, thereby no allergies.  Along with allowing our 3 Pups, I look for reasonable rates for them to stay with us in the house.  Some places don't charge anything extra at all {far and few between, but a few are available}.

Some charge hefty security deposits for dogs {like up to $1500 - I won't pay that, it's unreasonable}.  Others charge a $250 deposit and a nightly fee per dog - {insert rolling eyes here, because this can get unbelieveably expensive}.

When I get a quote for our Pups to stay and spend a week with us...I have come to expect some sort of refundable security deposit of $250 and a weekly {7 nights} fee of $200 for the 3 Pups.  If I'm quoted much higher, I send links in an email to other places that I could rent who charge alot less.  Usually, I get a re-quote that matches or beats the best link I send.

This home is located in a residential area of New Buffalo, Michigan...near the eastern shores of Lake Michigan.  It's about a 3 hour drive from our home to the house.  We've come to really like vacations that don't always require a 9 1/2 hour car ride one way.  :) 

I also make sure that any house I'm considering has at least 2 bedrooms, preferably 3...just for the additional space for suit cases and dog crates and all the things we bring with us...as well as anything we purchase!

There is a Hot Tub outside on the patio now {not shown here}

I also will only consider a home if it has 2 Bathrooms.  I'm so accustomed to having 2 at home, that I will only rent homes with 2 as well.  Sometimes we have friends or family over while we're on vacation and I don't like sharing my bathroom with visitors.

We definitely want/need a TV...with cable.  We go on vacation to enjoy the house we stay in.  We don't do alot of tourist types of things.  And with the 3 Pups, we enjoy spending time in the house...or on the porch.  Speaking of a porch, this house has a very pretty, covered front porch.

I also check to see what kind of furniture they have in the photos...because alot of homes are putting multiple futons in Great Rooms, which I find to be very uncomfortable, with their wooden arms and lack of support...and if I do see them, I cross them off my list of possibilities. 

We also prefer a house that has central heat, air conditioning and a fireplace...for comfort and aesthetics.

I love a nice kitchen, some cabinet space for the items I bring with us and the groceries I purchase, since I do alot of cooking and baking while on vacation.

I also look for unusual things in a house - like this nook off the kitchen...I really love this.

I also look for a home that is rented By Owner.  Sometimes I just can't find one where I want to stay and will rent from a larger place...but I still prefer dealing directly with an owner of the property.  To me it shows pride in ownership...and you are generally treated better and usually owners are more flexible than a business owner.

Of course, another "must have" is an internet connection.  A desk is great too...I love this one in the loft overlooking the front door, kitchen nook and Great Room.

Here is the Lower Level Great Room

And I love a comfy bedroom.  No Bed-In-A-Bag for me - you know what I mean, don't you?  I don't like seeing bedrooms that have the cheapest looking comforter {usually a gawdy print or a drab plain fabric}, dust ruffle, pillow shams and pillows that appear to have had the air let out of them!!  

Theis is the Master Bedroom, I'm not sure if it's the current one or not - rather stark to me.  There is another Master Bedroom photo shown in the listing on VRBO on the 2nd level with a skylight in it that doesn't look anything like this photo.  I'd have to ask about it.

I like the look of this bedroom more than the one above.

I always ask for a location, if they don't show it on the map in the listing, so that I can Google the general area and check out restaurants, grocery stores, shopping, bakeries and antiques.  I like to know what there is to see and do, if and when I decide I want to do it.

I also select a time for our vacation based on how many people will be around.  Consequently, we vacation more often in April/May and October/November...thereby getting better rates. 

This is the Link to this home...Click Here 

Go check it out - there are additional photos on the site and lots of information!  What do you think? 

I haven't received any compensation for offering this information...it's just a passion of mine to find the best possible place to stay for a reasonable price...for the 5 of us.

Power Outage - Vacation

With the Severe Storms and Tornados in the Midwest this past weekend, I hope everyone is OK.    We didn't have any damage to our home, even though winds exceeded 65mph at times, during the torrential rain and hail.  If you know me, I really detest storms!!  Unless it's SNOW and I'm at home, comfy and warm.  Late Sunday afternoon, we lost power.  We called in to our Power Company and were told we could call the Power Company's Repair line...
and get an automated report as to when we could expect power restored.  So, we spent Sunday evening in the dark, except for a candle or 2 and a flashlight.  We went to bed about 11pm...and when we got out of bed at 7am, there still was no power.  The temperature in the house had dropped overnight to 60°.   So, I called the Power Company.

Imagine my surprise when the report said FRIDAY, 11pm was when they'd get around to us!  I couldn't believe it!  And it was to get down to a low of 29° overnight Monday!

Hubby didn't see a problem with that and us "roughing it" again overnight on Monday, without power.  Well, I just couldn't stand the thought of one more night in a pitch black house, in a pitch black neighborhood - No Food, No Way to Cook Any Food, the Cold and my growing claustrophic anxiety being in total darkness.  And then there are our 3 Precious Little Dogs {biggest one is an 18# male Havanese - smallest is a male Maltese who is 8# and the other "in the middle" is a female Toy Poodle}, who were already looking a bit chilled...and wanting to hide under blankets or be in the PJ's!

So, I mentioned finding a Hotel/Motel that would accept us and our Pups.  He said, absolutely not...No way!  So, I started making calls and found a nice Hotel/Motel about 20 minutes away from us, who wasn't going to charge us an arm and a leg!!  We went to the Quality Inn in Holland, Ohio...just off the freeway.  It was nice, quiet and most of all......WARM!!  And the people running the place were extremely friendly.  We told them that we'd pay daily before 11am, which was check-out time.  We settled in, picked up some food and enjoyed the light, TV and warmth.  We all slept soundly and comfortably.  Hubby made a morning trip up to our house, to check on pipes and conditions.  It was 50° inside the house and dropped another degree before he headed back down to the Hotel.  I'm so glad we left!!

When I called while hubby was out - to get the latest report on our electrical outage - it still said Friday, but 9am.  Goodness...and it was to get down to 26° Tuesday night.

Shortly after hubby returned to the Hotel, we made our payment for another night at the Quality Inn...and started making plans for our day.  Then our cell phone rang - it was our neighbor, whose son had driven past his house to check on it.  He said his son was astonished {as was our neighbor}, when the son saw the kitchen light on in his dad's house!!  Yeah, power.  Darn, just paid for another night at the Hotel.  Cha-Ching $100.

However, when we told the office people that we had power at home and would be leaving - and we asked them if they could do anything for us, since we just paid them 15 minutes ago...they said no problem...they'd charge us just the late fee - which was $10 an hour.  We knew we'd be out in about 2-3 hours, while we waited for the temp to come up from 49°.

Here's where the story gets even better!!  We were checking out at 2:00pm...which would have meant a $30 charge - but they charged us NOTHING EXTRA at all!  That was such a Blessing.  The $100 we spent for an afternoon, night and morning {along with a HUGE and delicious continental breakfast} 

was well worth it.  If we ever need to stay someplace because of a power outage - or for any other reason - it will certainly be at the Quality Inn in Holland Ohio!!  And the best part was that our Pups were all with us!!

And the day away never phased them - they jumped right on their blanket and fell asleep as soon as we were in the door!