We're selling my dad's condo today. He passed on in March. He lived there for nearly 18 years. I feel a little sad. I never lived there so it's not like I have personal memories from childhood or anything, but it was my dad's home and I have many good memories of him living there.

It was in a Senior complex. I always called it a senior dormitory even though they each had their own private residence, but the way they hung out together was very much like we did in college. He never went to college but loved all the camaraderie of living in that complex. Playing cards, bingo, traveling together, dinners and outings we couldn't keep up with his schedule - it was great for him. My dad's doctor wanted him to write a book on how to grow old - enjoying every minute. He didn't like to write, but if he would have told his story it would have been that he never had a bad trip or a meal he didn't enjoy and a little luck at bingo and cards doesn't hurt either. Be friendly to you neighbor - help them out when you can. Smile.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to share my dad's wonderful experience of living there with the lady purchasing his condo. His neighbors were so wonderful I'm sure it won't take much time at all for it to feel like home for her. I wish her the best and hope she is as happy living there as my dad was.

You can't have summer without flip flops. Check out my new Etsy favorites at the bottom of the blog.

The weather forecast for the weekend was not good (cold and rainy), but we ignored it and went north to Ludington anyway and were glad we did. The weather on Saturday a.m. was overcast and cool but as the day progressed the skies cleared and it was gorgeous. Sunday was more of the same clear blue skies, a slight breeze and much warmer.

There was a fishing tournament being held from 7/16 to 7/19. I have never seen so many fishing boats in my life. Our guys went fishing on Sat and Sun mornings but only got a few hits - no keepers.

Once again the fireworks display on July 4 in Ludington, MI was spectacular. We had lots of guests this year to enjoy the event - the numbers seem to grow each year. It was a great time for all.

My sister and I spent much of our time this weekend at the annual Westshore Art Festival. I bought a very cute anklet by jewelry artist Kathy Fields www.kathyjewels.com. It's made of blue lapis, chainmaille, and bamboo beads. It's very lightweight and fun to wear. Her necklaces were georgeous. Check out her website to see her collection or visit her at the Plymouth, MI art fair the weekend of July 10-12.

I've been spending the last week or so gathering collage materials for my niece's collage. The theme is surfing. My sister sent me some photos of Steph surfing from one of their vacations, so those photos will be part of the collage.

I've also collected many photos of beach and water and have started to layout the design. My son has my camera today or I would take a photo and show you what I've got so far.

In addition to photos, I usually like to do some painting in the background of my collages, and even create some painted papers to use. I also need to go through my stash of collage stuff to find additional items like pieces of fabric (terry cloth maybe), a shell or whatever to add to the design. I also want to get some beach sand when I'm up in Ludington this weekend. Now I'm feeling inspired.