Another Amazing Quilt...

 

Candace recently finished this fantastic quilt. It is one of many projects that she has done - and this one is up for sale. :) 

The back of the quilt. I'm so amazed by her intricate craftmanship.

Sourdough and Scones...

Candace has been hard at work in the kitchen recently, working on her sourdough baking skills, along with other recipes. She made a delicious sourdough brie wheel (pictured here) for a church picnic and then the next weekend she blessed us with amazing scones. We are so thankful for her talents and these yummy treats!

Always need jam and cream on a scone! :)

Warrendale's 100th Celebration...

We visited our local neighbourhood community organisation's 100th anniversary celebration a couple of weeks ago. It was a fun atmosphere with train rides, jumping castles, face painting, raffles, and even an Indycar from the Detroit Grand Prix! It was great to see the community come out and celebrate together. :)

Fun party atmosphere.

Lovely monarch butterfly bench.

Playing noughts and crosses with Eliza.

She was so excited to sit in the race car...

As was her brother!

Family photo at the anniversary celebration.

Riverfront Cycle...

I joined my old Mercy Ships friend Dan for a lovely Saturday morning cycle earlier this month. We drove through to Belle Isle, from where we offloaded our bikes and headed off on our adventure. 

We cycled around the island and then across the bridge to the mainland, where we meandered along the Detroit Riverfront. A Tall Ships festival, Sail Detroit, was underway and it was great to see four sailing vessels docked at Detroit's Port. 

Later that day the family and I returned and walked along to see these historic vessels, a true glimpse of the former days of sail.

Beautiful skies before we headed to Belle Isle.

View across from Belle Isle.

USCGC Bristol Bay docked in Detroit.

Dan heads along the Riverfront. The bridge to Belle Isle is in the distance.

Tall sailing ships moored on the Detroit River.

Lovely to see all the masts with flags fluttering in the breeze.

A view later in the day when we returned as a family.

Tie-Dye Fun...

Candace hosted some friends and their children for a morning of tie-dye fun earlier in the month. And while the children were a bit distracted, the adults had lots of fun. :) They created some fantastic patterns on their old t-shirts!

T-shirts newly tie-dyed drying in the sun.

They look amazing!

Cucumber Harvest...

We have had various homegrown produce to enjoy this year - strawberries, blackberries, chives and dill, and now tomatoes slowly ripening. But one of my favourite homegrown veggies is our cucumbers! Our cucumber vine has given us so many cucumbers this year - one day they'll be hardly noticeable, and the next day they'll be ready to pick. We're truly thankful for this summer blessing!

Homegrown cucumbers on homemade sourdough toast. Yum!

Lifeguard Duty...

We visited a friend's house for an afternoon at the pool earlier this month. We had a lovely few hours, and we even brought our own furry lifeguard with us. Thankfully, she wasn't required to jump into the water! (And I don't think she would have...) 😂

Riaan's Lego Moria Scene...

Riaan built this amazing scene from The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring recently. It depicts the Fellowship as they run along the towering staircases in Moria, deep under the Misty Mountains - and Aragorn and Frodo get stranded on a tottering section of the stairs. He completed the scene with orcs down below. Wonderful creativity!

Legolas fires off a shot.

Riaan even added a hinge so that the section could tip forward!

Bench Swing...

We brought Candace's grandpa's porch swing (that he made himself) with us from Indiana to Michigan a couple of years ago. We had been unable to hang it until now - as its stand was rusting in Indiana. It fits perfectly if we take down the children's swings on the new playset!

Eliza applied a black and white filter while she was taking photos. :)

Luna Moth Caterpillar...

We came across this bizarre-looking caterpillar in our back garden last month. After some quick research, we discovered that it is the luna moth caterpillar. It's amazing to see all the things that we can find in a small area in a city!

Another view of the caterpillar. Look at that interesting head!

Pretty Princess...

Another beautiful artwork courtesy of our middle child. :)