Took Mamala to Grand Rapids yesterday for a doctor’s appointment so I missed most of the Xanga outage.

We really didn’t do a lot. Grand Rapids is two hours South of Traverse City, it was a nice relaxing drive. When her appointment was over we went to YESTERDOG!

I am mostly posting this to make my Lil Sis jealous. She is a Yesterdog fan…

Who has seen the movie American Pie?

Well it was written by Adam Herz and inspired by his youth in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. When they are eating Hot dogs in the movie that place is based on Yesterdog…

So here’s some pictures of the original Yesterdog for you…

It’s a very cool neighborhood.

The menu

The product. We got five cheddar dogs. I should have gone with the Yesterdog though, I missed my pickles.

Pick a seat… not here? Okay let’s move down the building…

One of these booths. OKAY.

This is the bathroom door. I felt right at home.

Enjoying the goodies.

The booths are covered in graffiti, there is just STUFF everywhere.

The hot dogs are cheap, made with cheap fixings.

Just the way a great dog should be.

Ang

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Out the door for my sleep test… I’ll try to get someone to take my picture with all of those little electrode things all over me. I’ve always wanted to look like a science experiment.
Now that’s some kinky fantasy stuff there. ;-b

We were sitting in the car in a parking lot waiting for my sister. We wait for my sister a lot.

When I spotted a man and two women crossing the street followed by a couple of boys on bicycles, a girl on a scooter, a girl on a tricycle and a teen pushing a stroller.

Me- “That looks like a nice family.”

Ben-” Two families… unless he’s a polygamist.”

Charlie-”What’s a Polygamist.”

Ben-”Let’s not go there.”

Me-” A polygamist is when a man has more then one wife and they live together as a family.”

Ben- “It isn’t legal.

Charlie-”Can a lady have more then one husband?”

Me- “Yes,but that isn’t legal either.”

Ben- “There are some countries where Polygamy is legal but most societies frown on a woman having more then one husband. You know why?”

Me-” Why?”

Ben-”Because you don’t always know who the father is but you always know who the mother is with polygamy.”

Me-” Hmmm.”

Charlie-” Mom! The Hit the Road Jack guy was a polygamist!”

Me-”Ray Charles? NO! He wasn’t a polygamist, he had a mistress.”

Charlie- “What’s a mistress?”

Me-”Ummm… (snort, snicker, none stop laughter)”

Ben-” I told you! We shouldn’t have gone there!”

Meanwhile my sister is approaching the cars. My daughter, who has been patiently and quietly waiting for her, jumps out of our car and running towards her yells

“Aunt D! We saw a POLYGAMIST.”

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DON’T forget to check out my pics from the two previous posts you guys! If you haven’t seen them.

I know I’m shameless…

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One more thing about Detroit I forgot. I can’t believe I forgot this I was SO upset about it.

There was a half of a birthday cake left. I helped with the clean up and set it on the counter and thought YEA! Birthday cake for breakfast!

I mean come on, don’t tell me you guys don’t do it… How often do you get birthday cake for breakfast? Once maybe twice a year?

I was seriously looking forward to it. So the next morning I came upstairs looking forward to getting a piece all of that sugary goodness…

She THREW IT AWAY! There she was with the trash bag in hand, the half of a perfectly WONDERFUL birthday cake shoved in it! To make matters worse she was licking cake crumbs from her lips!!!

I think In a few more days I may have recovered. I will have to put my dreams of a birthday cake breakfast on hold until at least November now.

Sisters, they can be so cruel.

Apparently if you go to a zoo you are supposed to post zoo pictures.

I have to tell you though that I am not fond of taking pictures of animals in the zoo.

For me it’s like going to a turkey farm and shooting a turkey… Where’s the challenge?

I did take some though, Of course! I can’t not take pictures and I do LOVE the zoo.

Where else can you wander around aimlessly looking at things and no one thinks your a nut.

Yup, zoos are right up my alley.

First though, my nephew got a camera for his birthday.

He is three.

Every time I would take his picture he would want to take mine… I had to start being covert about it.

Every picture he took of me is a cleavage shot.

It was NOT intentional.

Okay on to the zoo.

My entourage.

Getting five kids to look at the camera is impossible.

Prairie dogs… Personal space? Never heard of it.

Poison dart frog

^I like this.^

Croquet anyone?

Who gets that one?

This guy was checking Cooper out.

The Arctic exhibit in Detroit is really very nice.

Bear Butt… Oh yeah, I’m funny.

Isn’t nature beautiful?

There were two guys primping and preening…

This guy did nothing and she chose him.

I had to take this picture… every once in a while this guy would play with himself.

Typical male.

This guy was eyeballing me.

Of course it could have been  paranoia setting in after walking around in the heat all day.

Nah… he was eyeballing me.

You know, I really don’t like the penguin house in Detroit.

In Grand Rapids there is a zoo called the John Ball Zoo.

The penguin exhibit is really cool.

There is a plexi glass wall about five feet tall and then its all open. The penguins swim right up to you.

Very cool.

My favorite picture of the day.

There ZOO pictures!

Are you all happy NOW???

Ang

Made it home safely.

Really, really tired now. It has been a very long day.We walked around the Detroit Zoo all day in 97 degree heat.

For those of you who asked… A perogi… is like the Polish equivalent of a chinese dumpling or wonton.

They are dough stuffed with cheese, potato or sauerkraut… and then steamed or pan fried, as they are below. You can  dip them in sour cream and enjoy.

There are  two of each kind below, I had to have help finishing them… You really don’t need more then three maybe four.

I’m off to bed…  But first I’ll show you some of what I saw this weekend.

Now you got to see some of what I saw.

Be safe.

Ang

Catch up… We made it to Detroit safely. Before we left we received a special package in the mail containing gifts from Seedsower!  Purses made from juice bags. WE LOVE THEM! Isabelle will not put her’s down.

 Isabelle ready to go out with her new purse.

Grandma and Grandpa took us out to a Steve’s Polish restaurant. on Friday…

Had Perogies’ for dinner.

Cooper gives Grandpa some love…

One can never get enough of that.

Today was my nephews birthday party… Once again the differences between my sister and I are glaringly obvious.

SHE is SUPER WOMAN…

 The birthday boy… he was happy really… he was.

the table…

One, two, three beverage coolers… one for beer, one for pop, and one for juice and water… hmmm…

Do you think we had enough plates? Notice the theme…

I stuffed the pinata. Complete with rubber chicken.

D provided that.

I also set up this… I am so proud of myself… I didn’t need a man to do it… yes, I am that good.  Set up the bouncy thing I mean… there you go again with those gutter thoughts…

I did a good job huh?!

I also set up a tent and a bunch of other stuff… I did one very gross job, that I think I get extra good sister points for… in fact D may have to forgive me for stealing those boots I want. She doesn’t need them… ahem!

We also went to pick up the balloons before the guest arrived. My sister probably picked this joint just for the name…  I know I would have.

 Wouldn’t you guys?

That and the balloons were really good.  

It was a long day… everyone was very tired, Some of us took naps. Not always the children.

<Grandpa…(Ben’s dad)  Like father like son…  Ben wasn’t really sleeping though… he was trying to convince Cooper to sleep… yeah… right.

The special guest arrived late, but the kids forgave him.

Here he is throttling two of my children.

It was a great day… very hectic and busy. Not only did I manage to put the bouncy thing up alone, I also managed to take it down, but Ben was here to help so I can’t take all of the glory for that.

I’m jealous the kids and Ben went to Greenfield Village while I was helping D set up… ah well another time. It’s off to the zoo tomorrow. Another BIG day.

I have one more picture for you all…

Why Big Bird will never become a burglar… he leaves a trail of these every where he goes…

I’ll be excited to catch up with you all when I get home.

Hope your having a great weekend. ANG

LEAVING… I’m supposed to be packing for Detroit and I’m playing on the computer…

I’m going now… want to be on the road in an hour. For once I will be moving on fast speed… its a shame, I much prefer slow…

A successful few hours at the beach.

Take…

A DOG,

ONE,

TWO,

THREE CRAZY CHILDREN,

Get off my bucket!

Where was I… three crazy children…

A DOG, sand chair, Profitable Glass and Games magazines’,

beach hat, owned and worn since high school, a must!

sunglasses, a bucket and a frisbee.

These are the ingredients for a great few hours.

FIRST try to exhaust the dog…

Isabelle had Cooper and George running after the frisbee.

Works for me.

Come on throw it again…

Good air catch

Occasionally throw it in the water so you can see this.

Shall we see that a little closer?

Ick…

Keep throwing frisbee until it looks like this…

Second, watch the kids build dams and moats that are doomed from the start…

But still they carry bucket after bucket of water…

He was huffing and puffing the whole way…

They told him to keep em coming…

Finally he was done.

Hey me… what about me… more pictures of me… remember ME!

Trying to take picture of beach hat to show everyone, since it is one of my favorite things.

I CREATED A MONSTER!

A true camera hound…

Cooper did this to himself.

A LITTLE HELP HERE!

Yes… he loves his bucket.

It is going to be a GREAT summer.

Hope you all are having even HALF as much fun as I am…

ANG

Kids are officially done with school for the summer. To celebrate we dragged Grandma to the park and had lunch.

Now what?

Ang

Ok! Who out there knows who Jackson Pollock is?

This is Jackson Pollock.

I am not a big fan of abstract art, it just doesn’t move me. So I have never really paid a lot of attention to his works until recently I rented a movie called.

Who The #$&% Is Jackson Pollock?

This woman… a truck driver and thrift store queen finds a painting at a thrift store and thinks it is the ugliest thing in the world but buys it anyway. Only to be told later as she is trying to sell it at a yard sale that it may be a Jackson Pollock.

These ^^^ Are Jackson Pollock’s.

So she sets off on a quest to find out if what she has bought at a junk store is the real deal.

Of course every person to look at it in the art world wanted it’s provenance… she had none… a thrift store does not a great pedigree make apparently.

NOW FOR THE SPOILERS*********IF YOU HAVE ANY INTENTION OF WATCHING THIS FILM*

ANY AT ALL***********************TURN BACK NOW*********************************

Alright still here?

Good so… after being told over and over that it is a fake and it isn’t real… She takes it to a forensic specialist who finds a print on it that matches a print he has found on a reproduction Pollock.

The art world still refuses to believe it is real… so the guy goes to Pollock’s studio where he finds a finger print on one of JP’s brush can’s… A perfect match to the painting… he also finds paints that are of the same chemical make up as those on the thrift store painting.

Ok… so in my mind done deal right?

NO! The art world still refuses to recognize it as a JP?!?! HUH?  If the same evidence had been found on a dead body, Jackson Pollock would be n prison for murder…  If he were still alive that is.

The art specialists’  insist that a finger print means nothing. That it isn’t a signature.

again… HUH?

So in the mean time the same forensic specialist has been allowed to examine an original painting WITH provenance, and found  finger print…  It is again a match.

Still no one will say her painting is the real deal.

She has been offered a great deal of money for it, nothing like what it would sell for if proven real.

 Are you ready?

This is it, below, the one that she owns.

For this painting that looks like something I may have done in grade school, that was found for five dollars at a thrift store…

50 MILLION DOLLARS.

If it is a real Jackson Pollack it would be worth 50MILLION dollars… yup, that’s what I said.

What? Say it again… 50 MILLION DOLLARS…

So people what do you think?

Would a finger print be good enough for YOU?

Should a finger print be considered a signiture?

This also brings up another question.

If you saw the painting at a yard sale and knew what it was or could be, would you say anything to the seller?

WELL! I think I will hit some thrift stores and see what I find.

The moral of the story?

Ummm… If you see it and think it is really ugly buy it? ( It actually does look like something I would buy, most of you who know me know that, for 5$ not 50 MILLION!!! Sorry that part just stumps me. )

THOUGHTS HERE PLEASE.

I love seeing my family this way.

Only one more day and I can see them like this all of the time!