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Michigan
Early Friday morning we set
off, on our way to meet Nancy Stuck of Michicats in
Michigan.
Nancy was also going to holiday with us and be my
rooming partner.
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Nancy is a keen doll
collector. Here she is showing off one of her Ndebele
dolls that I brought from S.A. |
Nancy spoiled me with
some great gifts, the most treasured being the cat
books! |
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Dawn Moline of
Kittyhaven in Michigan was also there to welcome
me! |
I also had the pleasure
of meeting Nancy's beloved
Grandma |
I had taken Grandma some
dried monkey apples and a decorative woven Zwazi plate and Nancy
explained to her what my gifts were. As Grandma is hard of
hearing, Nancy (raising her voice)
said "Grandma, these are monkey
balls" !!!
We all laughed so much at her slip of the
tongue!
After a delicious lunch at Brent Harbour, where I also got
to taste my first American iced tea
(which I did not like), we had
to leave in order to meet with Sue & Bill Shorey of
SuPurr Ragdolls in
Millington, MI
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Meeting bubbly
Sue |
In front of Zehnders is
this colourful and creative chicken-shaped
topiary |
After supper, we went
shopping. Not being used to the sun setting so late, I lost track of
time
and was most disappointed when Linda pointed out that the shops were
about to close.
I complained that the sun was still high in the
sky and that we had plenty time to browse many
more
shops. I could have spent an entire day in that beautiful
"Bavarian" town!
The next day we visited the Shorey's at
their home.
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Being very wary of
horses, I was scared of touching them but soon found them to be
very friendly with big gentle eyes |
Bill putting one of his
show Arabians through its paces ... Magnificent
sight! |
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From
L to R
Son Scott, Bill, Linn &
Sue
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After visiting the Shoreys,
we left for a lunch appointment with the Hoppe Family of
Rose Cottage
Ragdolls. Karen and Al preprared delicious American hamburgers
for us.
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The Hoppe
Family |
Kissing Manto the
Llama!! |
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Al & I bribing Manto
for more kisses |
Linda pleading with
Manto for just one more soft rubber-lips
kiss! |
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I had the pleasure of
meeting Mr &Mrs Kauffman Snr. We had a delicious supper
and breakfast with them.
At the hotel, Linda was told that
there was a problem with the booking of the rooms and that my room
had changed. To my delight I was given a suite with a
king-size bed. Not being used to such a big bed, I thought I
would sleep in the middle of it, all stretched out and hogging all
the space. I woke up the next morning right on the edge of the
bed, like I normally do on the double size bed I was so used
to! |
The next week we spend some time in Racine doing
some shopping and also took a drive out to
Jill Hill of
Rockabyerags. We had the most delicious lunch, sweet and tender
corn-on-the-cob
and to-die-for pudding! It was such fun
visiting with her and the children.
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Linn, Jill with baby
Nicole & Linda |
Both Jill & I
collect chicken ornaments ... Look at this beautiful one she gave
me! |
I also got to meet Dick & Linda's children
and grandchildren
and we had this lovely turkey dinner
feast.
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Racine
Harbour |
Linda and I at the
Racine Lakefront |
Late Sunday afternoon,
we went to the Racine Zoo where we watched the Racine Concert
Band
perform their weekly concert. The band has been in existence for 79
years.
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Dick plays
the bassoon
He is on the far right,
second row from the
front
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The zoo had just
received their first rhino ... Imagine coming all the way from
Africa to see it! Back home, we have them roaming in
a nature reserve less than 10 miles from our
house! |
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