Six States

My traveling husband covered six states yesterday - Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.

Michael stayed in the great little town of Syracuse, Nebraska in a great little motel. This morning, when he was getting fuel at the nearby gas station, he saw a group of older men with suitcases. Being the inquisitive man that he is, Michael asked them if they were all homeless and needed a place to stay. They told him that they were on their way to MACKINAC (they pronounced it MACK-IN-ACK) ISLAND!

Of all places in the country, Michael found a group of travelers from a tiny town in Nebraska, going to northern Michigan for vacation. He told them to buy lots of fudge!

Michael just called a few minutes ago, with a little dilemma. The nice little motel that he stayed in Rawlins, Wyoming last year (where he was stranded for a week) was booked to capacity, along with every other motel for sixty miles! He had to keep driving for another two hours, hoping that the next town had rooms available. Since there is no cell phone service in Wyoming, I have to wait until tomorrow to find out how far he had to drive to get a place to stay. Lets hope he is not homeless tonight!

The saga continues tomorrow! Night!

Ready to Race

Michael picked up the RE5 at Rotary Recycle,
the RE5 hospital in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Jess Stockwell did a great job repairing the bike.
Jess is the #1 RE5 tuner in the world!

The bike is tucked safely in the van
and it is ready to race at Bonneville.

Michael has an official RE5 hat and t shirt.
He is also ready to race at Bonneville!

More tomorrow!

Michael is racing ready.

If you happened to follow the blog last year, you will know that it is time for Michael to go racing again. If not, here is the scoop...

Michael will be racing the Miss Heart of Michigan Suzuki RE5 motorcycle, in an attempt to beat his own world land speed record that he made last year.

He is on the road, heading to Tennessee to pick up the motorcycle at the RE5 hospital. It needed a few adjustments, but it is now racing ready. From Tennessee, he heads northwest to the Bonneville Salt Flats.

I will update daily with his adventures.

I would appreciate prayers for his safety and that of the other racers.

Thank you!

Look what we found!

As Morgan Lind, one of our lovely Miss Heart contestants
(currently holds the title of Miss Grand Valley State University),
strolled through Keewanau Gem and Gifts in Houghton, Michigan,
she spotted a familiar bag.

Morgan had to take a photo of it so we could see how adorable she is
and that she is holding a great cookie mix!

Thanks Morgan!

Lola is Missing Again

If anyone sees a little Bantam chicken named Lola, please let us know! Lola escaped again and Heidi has not seen her for two days! Lola's wings were clipped, so she must be escaping on foot, but she has not been found yet.

We will give Lola updates when they happen.

Happy Clients

This came in an email from one of our clients. I love happy clients!

Hi -

We purchased the Garlic and Cheese Beer Bread mix on Saturday at the Farm Market in Suttons Bay. It was fun to prepare and so delicious! Not only do we need to stock these in our pantry, but I think they'll make special "Up North" gifts.

I have to agree! Thanks for the great input!

Lola Update

Michael gave me more details about missing Lola.

He just came back from our neighbors house to let them know that he found Lola. Little did we know that Lola's mom (our neighbor Heidi) had been crying for four days because Lola disappeared. Lola was Heidi's favorite chicken. Heidi and Dave had spent the lasts four days searching for Lola in the fields and the creek and everywhere else in between.

We still cannot figure out how Lola got to our mailbox. The assumed way of travel was in a very big field with very high weeds and wildflowers. The only clear way to travel would have been the railroad tracks next to our home and even those are not easy to navigate!

It was such a blessing that Michael came home at that time. Within a few moments, Lola would have been in the road and gone forever. No wonder Lola jumped into Michael's arms to be taken home!

We are all so glad for a happy ending and one happy chicken!

What's Happening at Creekside

I am so far behind in Creekside updates! I guess that the ten Farm Markets each week are catching up with me. There is so much to say, and so little time to say it.

I have really enjoyed meeting new clients and seeing previous clients come to the Farm Markets for more Creekside products. It has been a wonderful summer at the Farm Markets!

Just a few notes from the past few days...

On the way to the Glen Arbor Farmers Market yesterday morning, I saw a very big buck and two tiny fawns hanging out by the side of the road. They were so pretty!

Today, I pulled into the driveway for the Grow Benzie Farmers Market. I looked into the neighboring field and saw hundreds of spider webs dripping with dew, sparkling in the sun. Each web was nearly perfect in shape. I wish I had my camera. There were so many and they were so beautiful!

I just got a phone call from Michael. He said that when he pulled into the driveway at our Creekside home, our neighbor's chicken Lola met him by the mailbox. Lola was inches away from being hit by a car! When Lola saw Michael, she jumped (or flew, I am not sure which) into Michael's arms and said "take me home!" He walked her back to the safety of her coop. We are still not sure how she got to our mailbox. It is quite a hike for one small chicken to travel that far!

Time to get ready for the next six markets in three days!

Glen Arbor was flying

The mixes were flying off the table today at Glen Arbor! I could not get them from the car to the table fast enough!

It was a very fun market. I got to meet many, many people who were visiting from all over the country. From Idaho to New York City and Kentucky to California, Glen Arbor had lots of visitors.

Even though the mosquitoes were awful and it sprinkled a few times, we still had a great time. I got to see the rest of the Brontman family and get reacquainted with the adorable family dog. They were my best sales people. When they suggested a mix to someone, that person bought it! Thanks for the help!

Off to pack the car for the Grow Benzie Farmers Market in Benzonia tomorrow!

Blue Angels

After five Farmers Markets in four days, I wanted a break, so Michael took me to see the Blue Angels on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day to watch the millions of people in town for the National Cherry Festival and enjoy the Blue Angels. The show was wonderful and it was nice to get away from work.

A few hours later, when we got back into work mode to buy some supplies at Sam's Club, we looked up, noticed three Blue Angels, then two more, then the last, as they flew on to their next show. It was a fun way to say goodbye and send them on their way. It was really fun to see a little boy wave to them and yell goodbye in the parking lot of Sam's!

All week, I loved to see and hear the Blue Angels practice. Our office is very close to the airport, so we could hear them take off, watch them get into formation and head into the skies. When I was driving home from the Leelanau Peninsula Farmers Markets, I got to see them fly over West Bay for practice. I really enjoy watching them! I am so glad we took the break to see the "official show."

Back to packing for the Farmers Markets. Glen Arbor, Benzonia, Leland, Northport, Elk Rapids, The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, Crystal Mountain, Suttons Bay and Frankfort are on our plate this week and every week throughout the summer. See you there!