Vas Sol Ich Sagen

-The Olympics are done...and this is how we feel! Tired, but good! And we're sick of Michael Phelps! Go Lezak, Torres, May and Welch!

-Lots of music going around with the Mackinac Music Festival. I volunteered for a night and got to hear Switchback and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels.
-Peggy, me and Lily at the Mission Point Theatre.

-And a lot of people are leaving, which means more getting together before everyone goes. Peggy and Heather.
-Lucas and Carolyn.
-My second annual tradition of getting up early after the medical center benefit and getting a pictures of Arch Rock.
-And earlier picture of Sugar Loaf.

And the quest for 1,000 is done! I got my miles on my bike. Now on to 1,200!

Liz's Tag

Liz tagged me for this meme, so here it is...I'll try the picture thing, but I'm not sure I'll be able to get many!

Name: Katie, mostly. Katherine or Kate otherwise. My mom used to spell my name Käte, which is more Germanic. I have a long name if you include my middle name, confirmation names and last name all into one.

Born: Conklin/Grand Rapids, Michigan. A small farming community between Grand Rapids and Grand Haven. The picture is the school I went to from grades K-8. It's also where my mom and grandfather, not to mention a ton of relatives went.

Favorite Color: Blue, blue and more blue. I could wear all blue every day and not be tired of it. I've been gently prodded to buy things that are not blue, which I do have, but blue always catches my eye.





Favorite City: Whoa! I would have to say first that cities are not necessarily my favorite places to go. Visit, yes, but never to live. And secondly, I'm just going to make it broader and say that my favorite state is Michigan. I'll visit anywhere else, but that's where I'll always come back.





Places I Want to Visit:

Yep, just about everywhere. Right now I'm looking at Nova Scotia/PEI, Peru, China/Thailand, India, Carribean and more of the U.S. It's just a matter of when the time is right and if it's safe to travel! And, of course, time.

Bad Habit: Worrying, too. I'm a-copyin' Liz. I come by it very honestly in my genes.

Favorite Animal: Oh, probably the turtle or giraffe. Just as a pet, nothing beats a good ol' mutt dog!

Past Love: I, too, am not sure how to answer this. So, this is how I'm going to do it. I used to love salt...dipping things in it. Although I still use it, I'm not obsessed anymore. I did dunk in the salty Dead Sea this spring. Maybe still an obsession?

First Job: I guess babysitting would be it. Just in reference, my brother (then 12) and I (then 9) would take care of my sister (then a baby). It ended up my brother staying in his room "in case of fire" and me taking care of her. Imagine that. I guess babysitting and working on the farm (picking strawberries, tying trees, making boxes, sorting) are two of the firsts!

Current Job: Curator of Education at MSHP. Working with programs, interpretation and education. All in the straits area.

August Days

First off, it was my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. My sister took care of a family surprise party. My brother and I couldn't be there, but we have a treat for them in September!

-The hollyhocks are everywhere on the island now!

-A night landscape of downtown, with a somewhat fuller moon in the background. Kind of sad there's not more people!

-A wonderful night ended in some swimming near the bridge (Lily, Val and I).
-Another jump with me, Lily, Jane and Val. Others came in later. The water was actually really nice...for Michiganders.
-A sunset over the west side of downtown.
-A almost total group picture of the HHIs (Crafties): Brianne, Amy, LeeAnn, Claire, Katie and Maria, before they all start leaving!
-Maybe more of their natural state?

Olympic Fever

Yep. I have it. Olympic Fever. A small group of us have been very diligent in watching as much of it as possible. The official site for anyone who wants to keep up: NBC Olympics or the official site.

Dancing, Blacksmiths and Zip Lines

-Heather and Lily dancing to R&B Motion, an excellent band at the Gatehouse.
-The color-changing lights I like at the Gatehouse.
-Katie, Lily and Joe, the last two who stole my camera and got all sorts of crazy pictures.
-The bat in the woodpile at the Biddle!
-Crazy blacksmiths having fun after the day is done (Steve and Kent).
-Liz never gets into my blog, so here she is after I got to spend some time with her (finally) at the convention, with Pat and Steve.
-Rob bending some steel.
-Lily and I love to smell the sage!
-A bunch of tired mergansers huddled on the rock.

-At the employee recognition event we went to our site that has the newest, coolest stuff, so off to Mill Creek and the Adventure Tour! Besan and Jared ready to go down the zip line.

-Lily's building up the excitement.
-Dave coming down.

-Lily up high for the second time.
-And Katie F.