What Have I Been Up To This Week?

It's been kind of quiet this week on the blog this week due to the fact that I have been busy with stuff.  I have been visiting with family, recovering from visiting with family (lol), and dealing with the wet basement in my house from the Great Flood of 2014.  Also, our internet has been kind of spotty, so reading and commenting on blogs has been difficult.

My brother and his wee ones (my two nephews and niece) who live on Long Island have been visiting my parents in mid-Michigan, and they came to Detroit to go to Greenfield Village on Saturday, and I went with them.  Greenfield Village is an outdoor museum that was founded in 1929, and has numerous historical working buildings that have been moved there to create a "village" that depicts American life and how it has changed since the founding of the country.  I haven't been there since I was a kid, so it was fun to see everything as an adult.  I think as an adult, one can appreciate historical stuff and museums differently than as a child.  It was kind of a long day (there is a ton of stuff to see), and I may have gotten too much sun (I didn't burn or tan because of my diligent use of sunscreen!), so I was pretty tuckered out by the end of the day.

Some pics from Greenfield Village:

Statue of Henry Ford

Detroit got a boat load of rain, or rather enough rain to float a boat, on Monday, and our basement flooded some.  Not a huge amount to where we needed professional help to pump it all out, but I spent much of Tuesday and Wednesday wet-vac-ing and sopping up water.  Our sump pump and dehumidifier have been working overtime.  Detroit's freeways were such a mess that my husband couldn't even get in to work on Tuesday due to closings and such.  We didn't have anything damaged because we learned in our old house that had some water issues in the basement to not put anything directly on the floor, so we have everything on plastic pallets or plastic shelving.  It also helped that our basement is unfinished, so we didn't have to deal with carpet or electronics getting wet or anything like that.

After dealing with basement fun-ness, I went to my parents house on Thursday.  We had a party for my sister, who flew in from Wisconsin, and my brother.  We were celebrating my sister graduating from the University of Wisconsin, and my brother receiving tenure at Adelphi University!  My aunt also came to Michigan from Illinois for the party.  A few family friends came over, too, and it was a nice, relaxed celebration.

It was hard saying goodbye to my nephews and niece (ages 10, 8, and 6), who I only get to see once or twice a year.  They are such sweet children, and they are growing up sooooo fast.  They are leaving Michigan on Saturday, and I'm not sure when I'll see them next.  Hopefully around Christmas.

Anyhow, I think next week will be a little more normal and predictable, although my parents are going to Russia on Tuesday, so I get to enjoy being anxious for the next 2 weeks while they are there.

As a reward for reading this rather fascinating peek into my week, here is a photo if Emma hiding under a tablecloth.

Have a great weekend!