A Jaunt on the GR&I

 Today was mostly about the vendor event at the Cedar Springs Library. I haven't added it up yet, but I did pretty well.

The event ended at 2 pm, so there was plenty of time to go for a walk. And... the North Country Trail/White Pine Trail is just a couple blocks from the library! Most of the walk was perfectly straight since it's a rail trail. But this curve was attractive.

There are a few old mile markers along the trail. This trail is the route of the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad, but the White Pine Trail runs from Grand Rapids to Cadillac- no where near 254 miles. But originally, the railroad line went south to Richmond, Indiana, and eventually to Cincinnati. So this marker is 254 rail miles from one of those two places.

Interestingly, the first piece of the GR&I to open in 1867 was the 20 miles between Grand Rapids and Cedar Springs.

In one stretch, the Silver Dollar Plant has gone wild. Genus Lunaria. I'd need to see the flower color in spring to know if it's the annual or perennial one.

These sculptures are in front of the library. The girl reading is called "Once Upon a Time," and the owl who is hovering nearby is "Imagination and Wisdom."

I didn't really set out to try to hike fast, but the cool weather is invigorating; the trail was paved and level. I did four miles in 1 hour and 7 minutes. That's 16.75 minutes per mile. Not bad for an oldster.

Miles walked in 2026: 680.6
NCT miles walked in 2026: 138.2

North Country Trail/White Pine Trail, Cedar Springs south to Indian Lakes Road and back. 4 miles.

See 100+131=2

Still Life with Plates and Breakfasts

 I got my act together and made some baked goods this morning. One was some bagels- they got a little browner than intended, but they are fine. The other is a low-calorie cranberry bread I wanted to try for the holiday season. Omer really likes it, so half is stowed in the freezer for either T-Day or Christmas breakfast.

But the other half of the news is the two plates. I still have some single pieces of tableware to show you that have family connections. This cake plate is also Limoges Haviland, although I can't find the name of the particular pattern. I didn't find a picture of an exact match, although I did find matches to the unpainted shape of the plate.

It's even older than the green Limoges I showed you before. This was made between 1891 and 1914. This is a cake plate.

Now, here's the part that may need more research. Mom has this marked as belonging to "Aunt Maggie." I heard that name a lot while I was growing up, but I don't really know who it actually is. The only Margaret I can find in the family line (except Mom's baby sister who died the day she was born) is Margaret Antoinette Hall Dubois who would have been Mom's great-great aunt. And she died in 1901, so Mom would not have known her, although she might have heard a lot about her. And the date of production for this plate seems a little late for when she would have been buying china, but who knows?

If this is indeed "Aunt Maggie" - here she is.

The other plate is even older. This is marked "Hall family." That is only moderately helpful because there are Halls on both sides, although I'm 99% sure this is from Mom's side. And in fact, the time period fits better with Margaret Antionette HALL than the dates of production of the Limoges plate. (I can't find a single Margaret in the next generation down, nor a Margaret on Mom's father's side.)

This is transferware made by W. Adams & Sons of Staffordshire, England. The pattern name is "Columbia" which featured romanticized or picturesque landscapes with architectural views, with 12 sides. These were made from about 1819–1864.

Margaret Antoinette had seven siblings, one of which was my great-great-great grandfather, and one of which was Susan Hall Barry, of some fame. So there are a lot of possible Halls to choose from.

In other news- I got all the book stuff ready for tomorrow and loaded in the car. I have to leave at 6:30 in the morning. I packed away the glassware I showed you yesterday, baked, and did some financial stuff.

See Davy Crockett and Hervey Smith Hall

Cambridge Rose Glassware

 I have a number of pieces of Cambridge Rose glassware that also belonged to Granny. This stuff is so delicate, I'm practically afraid to touch it.

I like the shadows that they cast. This is one goblet and one sherbet glass. Again. with the cutwork tablecloth, which really fits the time period.

I tried to enhance the contrast so you could see the pattern better.

There are 7 goblets, but 1 has a small chips, and 8 sherbet glasses, 2 of which have a small chip. The perfect ones are worth at least $30 each. I'm working on packing boxes that can eventually go to Replacements, Ltd. They also take silverware. I have 2 complete sets of family silver!

In other news: I had a Zoom meeting, did some volunteer stuff, went shopping and did errands (including getting one box of the not-important stuff to a resale shop).

I'm thinking that we might do Thanksgiving dinner with a table set with Granny's stuff just once for the heck of it. But I'd have to trust all of us to touch these things. Poor Granny- she really wanted me to be much more highbrow instead of the inveterate tomboy who just really doesn't care about this stuff.

See Granny's China

Lunch and a Veteran

  Whenever we are both home, Om and I like to take advantage of one of the free meals for veterans in the area. There are several places that offer them now, be we like Applebee's. Om always has their small steak, and I usually have the Festival Lime Chicken.

Appelbee's always has a full line of flags, from the various services and US flags, lining their curb.

Omer was in the Army in the 1960's but just missed going to VietNam. He was stationed in Germany.

Of course, I never run out of topics for this date because it was also my mother's birthday.

I got my act together and worked on computer stuff this morning, but after we got home, I've pretty much disappeared into a book.

See Lunch with My Veteran

State Park Loop

 Today was non-stop busy.

I had laundry on the line by 8:30 in the morning. Had a Zoom meeting at 9 and then follow up stuff after that until lunch. Took down the laundry. Edited. Then I did errands and went for a walk. Usually, before bell practice, I just walk around the trails near the Mehodist Church. But the weather was gorgeous. I decided to drive a little farther and take a walk at Ludington State Park.

I really love the Island Trail, so I hiked out on that. This is looking out into Hamlin Lake from near the beginning of the trail.

The trail connects a string of islands that form Lost Lake. All the lakes with that name- a lot in Michigan- didn't get lost. They were formed because a ridge of land separated them from a larger body of water, so this one is "lost" from Hamlin Lake. In this picture Lost Lake is on the left.

I wasn't sure how much hiking time I'd have because of the errands. But I made it to the north end of the Island Trail, and this CCC cabin, in good time.

So I decided to do a loop with some other trails. I headed inland on the Ridge Trail. That is a high trail with some topography. You get glimpses of Lake Michigan from up there.

The Ridge Trail is just what it says- on top of a ridge. You can sort of see how high a lot of it is in this picture.

You can choose to return to the parking several ways. Today, I got off the Ridge Trail and returned via the Lost Lake Trail which goes on the west side of Lost Lake. But right at the junction, you can get a shot of how the Island Trail connects the eastern edges. See the bridge out there? I zoomed way in to get the picture.

Then there was bell practice. The hard piece we are working on for Christmas is starting to come together. I think this day was packed full enough

Miles walked in 2026: 676.6
Ludington State Park: Island Trail, Ridge Trail, Lost Lake Trail loop. 4.6 miles

See My Favorite Ludington SP Loop