Green Bay Packers Nike Vipor Gloves

I am a Green Bay Packers fan. I show my colors every month of the year in Detroit Lions territory. I have t-shirts, jackets, hats, gloves, scarfs, neck ties, golf balls, grill covers, license plates, flags, and more. Win or lose, they are my team. A few friends have been allowed to view my collection of stuff in the Packer Shrine at my house. During the Pro Bowl, Greg Jennings tweeted that he would do a 'be great' celebration after his next catch--it was a touchdown. He put his Nike Viper gloves together to form the Packers logo with the G for Great.

Nike was debuting some of their 2012 gear at the Pro Bowl. Apparently, all teams will have this type of glove and they will be available in the Spring.  Friends, I wear size XL  :-)

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Munro House Quilts

After a few months of reading, training, and practicing, Lori Venturini is almost ready to begin using her long-arm quilting machine for fun and profit. Settings and quirks needed to be adjusted and fixed before the machine was able to work at its maximum efficiency. Now it is time for the test quilt to be completed. Her first quilt has several mistakes and imperfections. It is the ideal item to do further testing on while perfecting the learning process. Soon she will be open for business as she manages Munro House Quilts.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Riding on 2 Wheels in January

Motorcycle rides in January make me happy. 52 miles today. More of same tomorrow--I'm going to take another afternoon off--because I can!





Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Shoveling Snow in Michigan

Winter in Southern Michigan isn't too bad until the wind starts blowing. It really doesn't seem cold until the temperature drop into single digits, or the wind chill factor makes it feel like single digits. We got a few inches of snow this week, but with temperatures in the upper 20's and virtually no wind, there was no reason to get all bundled up to go outside and work, so I didn't. I already had my gym clothes on and felt manly enough to just "man up" and get it done. With my Yooper Scooper in hand, it only took a few minutes to clear the sidewalks of my corner lot in downtown Jonesville. It was exhilarating to push the powder onto the lawn while getting a light workout. I did not get cold, despite my lack of hat, gloves, and pants. The day will come when it will be necessary to get all geared up to shovel and blow the snow. Until then, I will remain comfortable when doing quick work on my property.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

New Years Eve Party in Michigan

It is New Years Eve. We are hosting a Murder Mystery Dinner Party at the Munro House in Jonesville, and it's 41 degrees outside. That is just too nice a day to not be able to enjoy because of work, so I took 30 minutes and rode my motorcycle around town. I got a snapshot of me in front of the time and temperature at the bank, in front of the Jonesville Water Tower, at the local gas station, and in the Wal-Mart parking lot. So this is my time capsule of what it was like on this day. The price of gas was reasonable, my town was progressive, the parking lots were full, and the weather was outstanding (for December). Now I've got a house full of nice people and everyone is having a good time. Lady Gaga will be on the countdown from Times Square. We'll pour champagne at midnight and I will have to work on day 1 of 2012. It is all good.  Life is good in Jonesville.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Outlet Mall Shopping Near Jonesville MI

There is a Manufacturers Outlet Mall about 45 minutes from the Munro House B&B in Jonesville, MI. It is located just across the border in Fremont Indiana at I-69 and I-80-90. Levi's, Jockey, Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Coach are a few of the brands that are represented.

Lori likes the trendy brands and knows her stuff when picking out a quality item at a good price. On this trip, she scored a blue leather Coach Bag.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Merry Christmas

The Christmas tree is up and fully lit. Santa has just left. The presents are neatly arranged under the tree. Based on the number of boxes, I must have been a very good boy and Lori must have been a very good girl.  Merry Christmas everyone!


Mike & Lori Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper s
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Cool Christmas Ornaments

I have collected some pretty cool Christmas ornaments over the years. We consistantly add new bangles that may be trendy, memorable, or commemorative for our life experience. My son gave me a "Dandy Dad" ornament when he was in 1st or 2nd grade. That inspired me to want to relive important things in my life. Now when we put up the Christmas tree, it is like opening a diary or history of who we were, what we did, and what we enjoyed about our life.

The Facebook and the Words with Friends logo ornaments remind me of how I stayed connected on the internet and sharpened my Scrabble playing skills. The Michael Jackson ornament helps me remember an entertainer who ruled the world of music while being within weeks of being the same age as my wife. The Seoul Tower ornament commemorates our trip to South Korea that was our first travel experience to the Far East. The Titletown Ornament brings back great memories of my experience as a sponsor of the Green Bay Packers when I lived in Wisconsin and the fun I had being the holder of my company's season tickets for most of the 1990's.

New ornaments will be purchased or constructed to continue displaying the good things about our life.


Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Michigan Bottle Deposit Law

Urging citizens of Michigan to recycle bottles and cans, our state has had a deposit law for years. Many states have a voluntary recycling program, some states charge $0.05 deposit on various bottles and cans, but Michigan charges $0.10 deposit on carbonated beverages to coax people into getting their deposit money back and keeping these items out of land fills.

Most grocery stores have automated machines in which bottles and cans are inserted one at a time. A scanner reads the bar code to be sure that only brands sold at the location are refunded the deposit. The machine tallies the number of items inserted and prints a receipt that is redeemable for cash at the registers.

The scanner now reads an extra code that differentiates cans sold in Michigan with cans sold elsewhere at half the deposit or no deposit at all. Non-Michigan cans are rejected. The aluminum cans and plastic bottles are immediately crushed and dropped into a bin for the beer and pop companies to return to facilities for recycling. Glass bottles go in a separate machine and are returned intact.

With bottled water sales now surpassing pop sales, Michigan is considering putting the deposit on water bottles, too. I am doing my part by voluntarily recycling all of my bottles and cans whether a deposit was paid or not. Inserting all those items into the machines is just too time consuming.

It is a bit of a hassle, but it is a good deed worth doing. Recycling is more nature-friendly than natural decomposition, and the refund is like bonus money to me. I save the empties and store them in 30 gallon garbage cans. Each can nets $12-$15 in mad money that I try to spend on stuff I wouldn't buy otherwise, rather than putting the money back into the general fund.


Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Gifts from Guests

We get a diverse cross-section of people at the Munro House B&B in Jonesville, MI. Very often, we compliment guests on their clothes or accessories. A few weeks ago, a large box arrived in the mail. Inside was a fur coat and a note. The note mentioned how Lori mentioned how nice the lady looked in the coat. The lady wore it home, had it dry-cleaned, and sent it to us as a gift. Lori loves the coat and looks great in it. People are so nice!

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Quilts for Christmas

Lori Venturini began quilting about a year ago with the specific goal to give quilts to family members for Christmas. Personal gifts have more meaning as we get older, so she wanted to do something special. She decided to use her sewing machine that had been sitting, mostly idle, in the back room. She started going to Trevathan's Sweep and Sew Shoppe in Hillsdale where they taught her how to use her machine and got her involved in regular quilting classes and get-togethers.

Lori has several "block of the month" projects in progress that take a year or more to complete. She participates in "12 hour sews" that can produce a mystery quilt top pattern in a single day. A local person does the long arm quilting to finish the project. She is on schedule to have 8 quilts completed in time for Christmas. Her sister has already rigged their family's annual gift exchange so specific people get a home-made quilt.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Goes on Sale

Today 11/08/11 at 12:01 a.m., the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 video game went on sale at retail outlets in the Eastern Time Zone. My wife volunteered to go to Wal-Mart and be there when the game went on sale. She joined my gamer friend TREVORLICIOUS as the first 2 people in line. They got there late afternoon with camping chairs, cell phones, an I-Pad, and a good attitude. They waited patiently for the midnight release of this much anticipated version of the very popular series.

As the evening progressed, more people arrived to wait until the line extended through electronics and infants departments and down through the dairy department of the grocery store. An estimated 150 people were in line with the ability to purchase up to 2 games at midnight.

Occasional breaks were taken. Food was purchased in the deli and a box of donuts from the bakery that were shared with the first 10 in line. A social network of gamers had a good time waiting for 12:01. The first 3 people in line got a free Call of Duty t-shirt.

My friend Jeffy joined them to purchase the 2nd of 2 allowed games per person and came to my house to load the game on my X-Box system. By 12:15 a.m. we were online and enjoying MW3.  About 1 a.m. we got kicked and couldn't get back into the game. Jeffy went home, got online, and invited me to party with him. We played for a couple hours while trying to learn the new maps.

There will be many hours spent gaming online with friends around the county, across the state, and around the world. We usually meet online at 9:30 and play until midnight 2-3 times a week.

I appreciate my wife who waited in line with scores of young men and a few young ladies until the midnight release of this much anticipated video game. She's one of a kind, the love of my life, and likes it when I spend time with my friends.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper

"Life is good in Jonesville"

Wedding Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of our marriage back in 1977. We celebrated by replaying our first date with a trip to McDonalds for a Big Mac for lunch. We can't stay up late enough to go to the outdoor movies for a triple feature anymore, so we walked to Saucy Dog's for dinner instead and had a good time. We will be calling it a night fairly early. Life is good when you're with the right person. I know, because I am.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Ozzie, the Scottish Terrier Host

Guests often leave gifts and occasionally send gifts after having a good experience at the Munro House. Franny and her family left our house and saw a chocolate Scottie Dog at a gift shop. They immediately thought of the youngest member of our family and official four-legged host, Ozzie. They mailed the chocolate figure to us and we are deciding on when to eat it. It will not last forever in our collection of Scottish Terrier figurines, so it will be consumed soon.

Thanks Franny!

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

About Getting Older

Officially, another day has passed, because today is Monday and yesterday was Sunday. Technically, another year has passed for me, because yesterday was July 31 and today it August 1--my birthday. Already, I have received dozens of well-wishes through phone calls, cards, and facebook messages. I especially like the personal notes with an inside joke or a historic photograph. My brother digs up pictures from the vault at our mom's house and always manages to find the right one to show how different we were back then. My buddy, Dave, made reference to a line from 'Escanaba in da Moonlight' that we performed on stage a few years ago. These things make me smile.

Being self-employed brings on a series of choices for the birthday boy. Back in the day, I always took a day off work for my birthday. Now, that I'm self-employed, I have stuff to do that won't get done if I don't do it myself--if only I could find a way to clone Mr. Mike... Already today I've done breakfast, dishes, and some laundry. Still on the agenda is blogging, recycling, trash, shopping, and scheduling. A couple of friends want to kidnap me and take me out to lunch and a matinee--Captain America looks good. Buggy and I always do Chinese for special days--so I know where we're going for dinner tonight. It is going to be a full day.

I got an I-Pad from Buggy and I'm having fun with the photo editor--in case you haven't noticed. There's only one of me, I can't make my eyes do that, and although Buggy thinks I'm hot, only a heat imaging photo shows the truth.

I have somehow managed to surround myself with friends who are mostly my age or younger than me. So I may get a little goofy today with the people I see most--maybe more than a little bit goofy. At the end of the day it's who you know that makes life good. Thanks to everyone. Today is already another good day.




Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Grilling Kebabs

Grilling out is fun and can be a little more interesting when it is taken beyond hamburgers and hot dogs. We grilled some kebabs that were very tasty. We started with a nice piece of steak and followed that with huge mushrooms, onion petals, tomatoes and pineapple, plus green and red peppers. We double foiled them to prevent premature charring and sticking to the grill. After a few minutes we enjoyed fresh fruit and vegetables with a nice hunk of meat. It was delicious. Bed and Breakfast aren't the only things we do well at the Munro House!

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Who Gives Anniversary Gifts

Today is our anniversary for owning the Munro House B&B in Jonesville, MI. It was on this date in '99 that we threw in the corporate towel and became innkeepers. To celebrate this historic event, we are offering rooms for as low as $99 per night when you stay 2 nights through July 15. But it's only available for these 2 weeks and you have to ask for the "99 SPECIAL".


Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Test Driving Victory Motorcycles in Coldwater MI

I needed a new front tire for my Honda GoldWing Motorcycle and took it to Planet Powersports in Coldwater MI to have the work done. On this day, the people from Victory Motorcycles were promoting their American-Made bikes by offering free test rides at this dealership during their Fuel It Demo Tour. They had a dozen or more motorcycles to ride in various styles and sizes. All that was required was a motorcycle endorsement on a valid drivers license. 

I had an hour to kill so I signed up at the registration desk. They made sure I was licensed, took my personal information, and gave me a wristband identifying me as a legal rider. They then gave me a certificate for $1,000 in accessories if I purchase a Victory Motorcycle within 2 weeks.

The touring bikes were already reserved, so I chose a Victory Vision 8 Ball Cruiser. About a dozen riders drove off in formation with Victory representatives in the lead and tail positions. We took a half hour ride around the backroads of Branch County then got up to highway speed on the interstate before finishing the tour back at the dealership.

The repairs on my bike were not yet complete, so I went back to see if there was another bike available. I was in luck--there was one left--a Vegas Cruiser. I hopped on and joined the group for another fun ride on a beautiful day in Southern Michigan.

This is what I know: My next new bike will have a windshield, satellite radio, and an ipod dock. 

The power of the Victory Motorcycles I rode were impressive. Very good pick-up, smooth ride, nice to look at, easy to handle, and a light rumble--not noisy like a Harley. American-Made is another big plus for the Victory. 

I am not in the market for a new bike right now, so my certificate will probably go to waste. However, when I am in the market for a new bike in the next couple of years, Victory Motorcycles will be in the mix.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast

How to Create a Photo Album

We take a lot of pictures. They usually end up on a disc somewhere or in a photo album. The discs tend to get lost and the albums don't have much personality. After a recent overseas trip, I decided to do something special and found exactly what I wanted online at Shutterfly. They then helped me produce an original hard cover photo album that looks and reads like a picture book for a reasonable price. The finished project appears to be in scrapbook format but can be completed in an afternoon and is much more compact and durable.

Pictures can be sized and rearranged. There is also room for a description to tell the story of what is happening in the photo arrays. Pictures can be as large as the page or multiple photos can be arranged on a single page.

Folks who visit us at the Munro House Bed and Breakfast are constantly paging through these books. They are great conversation pieces and another way for us to connect with our guests. It is also easy for us to relive our special moments that have been captured on film.

The good thing is that if my book should get lost or damaged, it can be replaced by ordering another copy from the original that they keep on file. They want me to keep creating photo albums, so I have been getting regular email deals for a % off or free shipping to entice me to do it again--which I will.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper

"Life is good in Jonesville"

Munro House Bed and Breakfast

Quilting Project Near Completion

Another one of Lori Venturini's quilting projects is nearing completion. The pieces were cut and sown together and a border was added. A backing and batting has been purchased, so now it is time to finish the quilt and add another fine piece of personal accomplishments to our collection.

This was another project that began at Trevathan's Sweep and Sew Shop in Hillsdale and was put together in a single day. Trevathan's has a great classroom with instructors who provide tips on being a successful quilter.

Mike Venturini

Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
"Life is good in Jonesville"
Munro House Bed and Breakfast