Snowy Sunday

The cute little Beetle Bug woke up at 7 am. It's so nice she slept in. She is accustomed to getting up at 5:30 - 6 a.m. I think we wore her out last night so she slept well in the grandkid's bunkbeds in the guest room, all by herself.

She enjoyed a fun time this morning, crawling around on our bed with us, snuggling and tickling, giggling and watching cartoons. Grandpa brought us in each a donut with my cup of coffee. What a wonderful treat! Except now we have to change the flannel sheets on the bed, due to the crumbs all over the place, now crushed into the flannel fabric.

She figured out how to put her boots inside of Grandpa's big shoes.  My oh my, what big feet you have?

Her mommy came to get her around 10 a.m. and it was time to send her back home. It's nice that we now live close by and we can babysit for special occasions for all of our grandchildren. Her parents celebrated Valentine's Day early, as their schedules allowed, to spend the entire Saturday day doing couples things--- including manis and pedis, a couples massage, and a nice dinner out.

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We were forecast for some snow today. They first said about 6 to 8 inches. Then the forecast crept up from there to 8 to 10 inches.  We went over that by the end of the day.

It started coming down about 9 a.m. it snowed steadily all day.  It was so peaceful and pretty.  So fresh and white and fluffy.

Honestly, it was very cozy and we were warm and dry, well fed and comfortable. Our power stayed on all of the while, and our gas fireplace in the she shed added to the coziness.  The heat from that room goes up into the house and supplements the main part of the house too. 

and the snow kept softly falling down 

As we sat by the big windows, watching the snow, we were also watching the birds outside at the feeders.  They really scavenged our bird feeders down to almost empty levels. A big pileated woodpecker, which is huge, finished off the rest of the suet block. 

They are between 22 and 24 inches long and weigh close to a pound.  They are very shy birds and don't often come near developed neighborhoods.  We are located close to the nature preserve (backs up right to our backyard) so they probably feel safe enough to scavenge over to our feeders.

By 1 pm those feeders were almost empty.  I bundled up into my snow gear and high Iceman snow boots and went out to refill the feeders. As soon as I put that fresh new suet block out there, that big old woodpecker came right back to test it out when I went back into the house. I think he was watching me.

I went through three loads of my 2 quart pitcher filling up the big bird feeders with sunflower seeds, and a good chunk of the bag of thistle seed for the little black-capped chickadees. I get flocks of chickadees and some finches at the niger thistle seed feeders. We get such a nice variety of big blue jays, cardinals, and woodpeckers hanging around.

Here are the thistle seed feeders, before I got them filled.  There are 12 perches to eat from and they are usually filled up with 12 birds at a time....with others waiting for their turn, perched on top of the rods.

We had the dogs out in the snow for a while, they were plunging around in it but it was up to their bellies and they didn't get too far.  It was snowing pretty heavy, so we didn't push them out for a walk.  We came back inside and pealed off the layers of winter outerwear. Whew!

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Steve finished putting up some more of our beadboard panels. This time he added them on each side of the window in the kitchen, on the ends of the cabinets. Once he had them nailed securely into place, I gave them two coats of paint throughout the day.  I think that they sure came out nice.

LEFT SIDE              RIGHT SIDE 

These little beadboard panels added a touch of "farmhouse" style to the kitchen. Maybe some day Steve will build some different beadboard doors to go on the fronts of the cabinet boxes.  For now, just trimming up the ends is enough.  I like the layout of the kitchen as it is, and like the sturdy old wooden cabinets. I can load them up and not worry about them flexing under load like the fiber manmade composite boards of newer cheaper cabinets.  What I have is enough to make me happy, and that is what counts. 

(still working on the idea of a 

new single basin deep stainless steel sink) 

He cut the rest of the 5 beadboard panels to insert on the doors of the island, but he realized that he was getting low on construction adhesive. I told him that "tomorrow is another day". It was too snowy to go out and drive just to pick up a tube of adhesive. So instead he heeded my advice, cut off work for the day, and we took a nice nap!!!

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We popped a couple frozen pasties in the oven for supper and the house smells so good this evening. The smell reminds me of when my mom would make rows and rows and rows of pasties. It was like an assembly line on the counter and table to put them all together.  Then we would stack them up in long empty plastic bread bags to close up and put them in the freezer.  With 6 kids to feed, it made sense to make a bunch of them in advance and freeze them until needed.

For anyone who wants to know what a pasty is, it's what the Cornish miners would use for their meal, taken down into the mine shafts where they worked. It became a staple food of the miners in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The miners would heat them up by setting them on there lanterns and they would be ready to eat by lunch time. In the old days you pierce your initial into the crust with a fork.... so you knew that was your pasty and not your brother's or father's or uncle's. Womenfolk would make bunches of them for the entire family of men who were miners going down in the shafts underground.  Nobody came to the surface for lunch breaks, they ate underground. They would eat part of it at one meal break and wrap it back up and then eat the rest of it at another meal break. It is definitely a traditional food from the upper peninsula of Michigan. I buy them pre-made frozen in the unbaked form. Then I just have to thaw them a bit in the microwave and toss them in the oven on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet to bake them to their golden brown crust ---   the insides are delicious.

This is from a Pasty Website: 

To many people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the pasty is much more than food, it is an identifying cultural mark that gives them their own identity. When the Cornish came to the copper mines of the Upper Peninsula, they brought with them a lot of mining knowledge which the other ethnic groups did not have.  The pasty was the standard lunch for miners.  The pasty became popular with these other ethnic groups because it was small, portable, was very filling, and could stay warm for 8-10 hours.  Pasty rivalry occurred between the Finns, Swedes, Irish, Poles, Germans, Scots, Italians, and French with each group  contributing something in the way of seasoning and other ingredients.  All groups agree that pasties must contain two things, potatoes and onions. The portability of the pasty not only made it easy to carry, but if it should get cold it would be relatively easy to heat up.  This was done by putting the pasty on a shovel and holding it over a head-lamp candle.  Miners never ate a pasty with a fork, they ate it end to end, and held it upright to keep the juices in.  Since entire families worked in mines and each member of the family wanted different ingredients in the pasty, the wife would stamp the bottom corner of each pasty with an initial.

According to the Cornish Recipes, Ancient and Modern, "The true Cornish way to eat a pasty is to hold it in the hand, and begin to bite it from the opposite end to the initial, so that, should any of it be uneaten, it may be consumed later by its rightful owner.  And woe betide anyone who take's another person's corner!"  There was a superstition among the miners that the initial corner should not be eaten, instead it was dropped on the ground for the mining gremlins (also known as Knockers) to eat.  These "gremlins" caused mischief in mines, causing accidents and mine collapses, feeding them supposedly kept them out of trouble.

The pasty is a simple food and can be described as a portable meat pie.  It remains relatively unchanged today, a few places have put in healthier vegetable shortening instead of lard, and a couple of other minor changes like the cut of meat used.  

(I like the beef and pork sausage meat and rutabaga cubes along with the slices of potatoes and onions) 

The snow seemed to let up a little bit around 6 PM. It's still coming down but lighter. The plow finally went through and of course it piled a huge snowbank across the end of the driveway.

Steve decided to get out there and snow blow it out of the way as soon as possible. Otherwise it hardens into a very heavy row of chunks of snow that are difficult to move.

The temperatures are dropping out there, so he put on his gloves that were a Christmas present from our daughter Erin and son-in-law Waylen. They are electric gloves!  They are from Global Vasion and are really worth their weight in gold in cold weather.  It seems as Steve ages, he said his hands get colder faster.  These gloves do the trick.

There are 2 little battery packs that you pre-charge and then plug them into the gloves. There are electric wires within the gloves that go down into the palm and finger areas. 

See the blue glow on each of his wrists? Blue is the lowest setting. Then green is the middle setting. And then red is the highest setting.

It looks like we have about a foot of new snow on the ground... And Steve did a great job getting it all snowblowed away. He did the driveway, the walkways, and even around the fire hydrant in front of the house. I didn't go out there tonight but I will help clean up a bit in the morning and do the front porch and steps.

In our little town it's a city ordinance that you need to keep the fire hydrant clear if it's on your property.  If not, you get a fine if the city has to come by and clear it out. It's a good thing to do as an added benefit for all of the neighbors in the area. If there ever were a fire at any of our houses, the firemen would waste precious minutes trying to dig out a fire hydrant from the snow. So we will do our part by keeping a nice clear berth around the hydrant, and we avoid any nasty letters and fines from the city.

He turned his gloves up to red HOT! 

He is back in the house now and taking a shower to warm up. Now that we are cozy warm inside I think we will snuggle down with the movie for the evening, after I finish this blog.

VACATION - Looping Around Lake Superior - Day 14 -to Kleinke Park in Michigan and HOME!

THIS IS MY 1,001st POST

since I started blogging in 2009! 

Over ONE AND A HALF MILLION VIEWS! 

Thank you, kind readers, for following along!

Here is the map of day 14 travels down to the next campground... this map shows leaving Little Bay de Noc national forest campground number 22, and heading up around through Gladstone and Escanaba, down to Kleinke county park in Menominee county, Michigan, 23.

We left our campsite (and grumpy camphost) at 10 am from Little Bay de Noc.  I hadn't gotten a good pic of our campsite the day before, so here was one in the early morning.  In the background is all water from the Little Bay de Noc but it doesn't show up in the early morning picture.

  

We headed north and then west snaking around through Gladstone. It was by far the roughest stretch of highway we had traveled on all of the trip so far!  Once we got into Escanaba, it smoothed out of course. We made our stop at Dobbers Pasties that I mentioned in yesterday's blog.  We know it is right next to a big parking lot for easy access to their shop.  They carry a variety of Yooper souvenirs and delicacies from the area.

We stocked up on a dozen frozen beef pasties (with rutabega!) $4.95 each, plus 2 fresh ones to eat for lunch, a frozen unbaked Danish Kringle (caramel and nut flavor) and a bag of Trenary Toast.

If you have never had Trenary Toast, you are missing out. It's thick hard Finnish rusk bread made into toast slices, (like Zwiback) with cinnamon and sugar on them.  Good for dunking into coffee, some smear soft butter or peanut butter on them, some give them to teething babies. Any way you have them, they are great.  Made in Trenary Michigan, in the heart of the U.P.

Now it was just a hop, skip and jump down the shoreline of Lake Michigan on M 35 to some of our favorite campgrounds. If we couldn't get into the one we wanted, we know of four others we can get into.

1. First is Fuller Park in Delta County with electric and water
2. then Fox which is a rustic campground, 
3. then by Cedar River is a rustic state forest campground about 8 miles in to the west,
4.  then next on that strip of road is J W Wells state park with electric and water
5. and lastly, our favorite, Kleinke Park of Menominee County with 50 amp electric only $20 a night.

Our friends Roz and Gary were at Kleinke campground for a few days, and we were hoping to meet up with them there. By the time we reached them via phone, they had already packed up that morning and headed home.  We pulled right next to the spot they had just vacated that morning.  Gosh, we would have been neighbors!

Kleinke has always been a favorite of ours.  Many sites are right along the sandy beach and water is clean and clear, far from the mouth of the Green Bay where it's icky by late summer.

The dogs are allowed on the beach and it's got great 50 amp power.  Showers and bathrooms are nice and newer, and a dump station with potable water is on hand for the campers. If you are just traveling through, you can use their dump station for a small fee.

It was SOOO hot and humid when we got there, but it was still 15 degrees cooler than the temps back at home in Chilton.  We donned our swimsuits and plunged in the water.  Finnegan was not too happy to get dunked in a bit, but he wanted to join me in the water. Binney said NO THANKYOU when we tried to get her to come in.

After drying off and relaxing under the awning for a while, we moved on indoors at 3:30 to watch  the Packer Game on tv.  We knew being close to Escanaba we could get CBS for the game... as well as a myriad of stations from as far away as Milwaukee travel over the water and come in really well.  I scanned the tv for stations and got over 50 of them. That is more than when we lived 45 miles  further south in Oconto.

We had both roof airs going on the 50 amp service to be comfortable inside the motorhome. I whipped in a Dina Mia pizza, also made in the UP of Michigan, for our halftime snack (and supper).  Once the nail-biting game was over, with the Packers winning the Bengals in overtime... we went back outdoors. It was finally cooling down at 7 pm.  We met some nice folks as we wandered around with the dogs on leashes. Sitting out under the awning until dark brought in swarms of small lake flies or gnats, and there were zillions flocking around our patio lights and crawling on the awning.  Time for INSIDE---  and we kept all of the windows closed so they didn't find a way in through the screens.  It was an early night for us, as the heat was really taking a toll on my health. It always does.

After a quiet peaceful sleep, 

we woke up to the most AMAZING sunrise! 

I took seventy million pictures, but here are the best.  

It kept getting more brilliant as it rose, from soft pastel pinks to hot pinks to blazing golds! 

What a GREAT way to start the day---

After looking at the local weather, and knowing we were only 110 miles from home, we decided to pack it in and load up before it got too hot.  It was gonna be a scorcher with high humidity again.

We have a wifi thermostat at home that we can look into the conditions inside the house.  At 7:30 am, the inside temp was already 10 degrees hotter than the outside temp, so I electronically turned on the air conditioning and it will be cozy and comfortable by the time we get home, about noonish.  It should be about 90 when we get home.

We asked the dogs if they wanted to go home, using a few key words like "BIG BACKYARD" "FRONT PORCH"  "MAIL LADY" "UP THE STAIRS" and naming all the toys like "football" "squirrel" "bumblebee" and "hedgehog"  ... they are eager as recognition flashed in their eyes.

Binney jumped up and nabbed Finney around the neck to get his attention as if she was saying: SEE???  I TOLD YOU THEY WOULD BRING US BACK TO THAT HOUSE AGAIN, WE ARE NOT LIVING IN THIS MOVING ONE FOR EVER!"

We got road worthy in a short time, and drove over to the dump station for the final dumping before heading home.  Steve rinsed the tank with our turbo swishy thing that is built into our black tank since nobody was waiting in line. Once we get home we will wash off the layers of road grime. Now its all ready for our Halloween camping at High Cliff in late October.

I am typing this up as we roll south, just passing through Green Bay now.  I will post a recap blog tomorrow with things like costs, campgrounds, links and final expenses for our trip.

Thank you to Steveio 

for being such a good driver 

and getting us to where we wanted to go. 

(Doesn't he look relaxed?)

We are now HOME ...safe and sound.  

Thanks be to God for watching over us on our travels.  

We went 1513 miles without a single breakdown 

and no accidents.  

Temps are 85 right now at noon.  Ewwww

Glad we came home.

110 miles traveled today

1513 total miles

74283

Whirlwind Week of Weavers!!!

First a quick shout out to my darling daughter, Heather.  27 years ago today, she came into the world, our youngest child.  She is now a Mommy herself, and she knows what if feels like to love a child too.  We are so proud of you Heather, and may you never lose your sense of humor---- as much as you deny it, you are soooo much like your mother! 

Now back to fiber things... the subject of my blog.  

Oh my goodness a whole week has just FLOWN BY!   My darling friends Linda from Tennessee and Rosie from Missouri hit the road last week and worked their way north to my house.  

We got a desperate phone call from them when they were 90 miles away in Oshkosh with a vehicle breakdown---  ABS brakes went out and they only had the hard-to-press-feet-to-the-floor pedal!   The mechanic there was not able to work on them for a few days, so Steve (our HERO!) said he would drive it himself the rest of the way home.  We hopped in our Tracker and buzzed down to Oshkosh while they languished in the luxury of free WiFi at the McDonalds. LOL     

Got in our hugs and greetings ...  and then while Steve drove Rosie's minivan, we gals all piled in the Tracker to gab gab gab our way back to Oconto.  What fun!  We started talking on Wednesday night and didn't stop talking till the following Wednesday morning, a week later as they departed!   ----- and I am NOT exaggerating!

(left to right: Linda, Rosie and Karen) 

The purpose of their visit was to start dismantling my loom room in preparation for moving.  They had already helped me decide with photos via emails about who was taking what weaving stuff back to who's studio.   They are both weavers.  The only item they BOTH wanted was a cute old barrel, that was really lined inside with a thermal layer and plastic, so it was really a cooler!   Here they are still figuring out WHO was gonna get that barrel.

Even now as I write this, I am not sure which one got it, but all I know is that it was loaded in the van.  Perhaps they are gonna toss a coin when they part ways in Illinois and head East and West to their own respective studios?  

One of the items being dismantled to haul away was a rug loom... so here I am weaving off the last rug before we tear it apart.  Between the tears falling and the sobs shaking my shoulders I was singing a song to the tune of "It's the Last Song I'll Ever Write For You"   by Edward Bear

It's the last rug..... I'll ever weave on you

It's the last time that I will put the shuttle in your shed

It's the lasssst tiiimee I'll ever weave this loom ....  

The rug coming off this loom for the last time is an order for a fellow RVer, so it will have a special place.

Please keep in mind, I am not stopping my weaving.  I am taking along my table loom inside of the motorhome where it has a perfect place to ride along.  And in the basement compartment is a rug loom that can be assembled in about 20 minutes.  I can set it up under the awning or take it into a rec hall at an rv park with permission and give demos too.  Or set up when staying at friends houses or family visits easily in a garage or storage shed.  Never fear, I will always be a weaver!

We did some fun things while the gals were here.  At one point we NEEDED ice cream, and the gas station about 5 miles up the road has hand dipped Cedar Creek ice cream waffle cones.   Throughout the gas station are the traditional Wisconsin tourist items----  including bags of cheese curds, sausage, carved log yard decorations, and yes, even CheezeHeads!

We spent days sorting and packing and organizing... the gals were SO helpful to me, and we got a lot accomplished and figured out.  They staged the items in order of preference and necessity in rows in the garage.  Then as Rosie would load, they could cull or add as space allowed.

As the loom room cleared out, Rosie had more room around her air mattress, surrounded by yarns and baskets of fibers.  Ducky the collie loved sneaking down to bunk out with her every chance she got.  Linda was using the guest room with an air purifier as she has trouble with allergies and dog fur.

At night, I had to block off the stairs down to the loom room with a baby gate to keep our dogs up on the main floor... they moaned and groaned and wanted to go back down and sleep with their new friends!

Rosie does get quite a bit of winter snow over in Missouri, but our dear Linda from Tennessee was hoping to see some REAL WISCONSIN WINTER!!!  Most years in March, we Wisconsinites are sitting under a foot or more of snow, and having temps in the 20-30 range.  If you have been watching the national weather, you will know we are having unseasonably WARM temps in the 70's and 80's!   The only snow we could find was this crusty old dirt ridden snowbank for Linda.   She sure is happy we found at least ONE bit of snow for her.

(I guess the snow angels she was dreaming of making are out of the question?)

Down the road a bit from our house is a tall pine tree where a pair of eagles nest every year.  The female is now setting on the nest and the male is bringing in food on a regular basis to his bride.  We see him scanning the area from wayyy up high as he cruises along over the fields and up the river.  Sometimes we see a flash of wings and water as he grabs a steelhead salmon that are spawning in the river right now.  Off he goes to feed the mommy-to-be waiting in the nest.  One year the local University came to film these eagles in their nest.  They set up cameras and cords and cables (and left a mess!)  so they are not welcome back anymore on the neighbor's farm.  Now the eagles can come back and nest in peace. 

One day during their visit, we took a little break and buzzed up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to the town of Menominee, to get some pastys (pronounced pah-steez) 

History of the Pasty

When one thinks of gifts from other cultures that carry with them great historical significance, one usually doesn't think of food.  In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan there is a food delicacy that has gone ethnic to multi-ethnic and finally to regional.  To many people in the Upper Peninsula, the pasty is much more than food, it is an identifying cultural mark that gives them their own identity.  While it is a source of great pride to this region, the pasty itself, especially its ancient history is shrouded in mystery.

        The easiest way to describe a pasty, is a pot pie without the pot.  Nobody knows for sure where and when the pasty originated.  It's thought to have been invented when the preparation of food became an art rather than roasting a hunk of meat on a stick.  The pasty came to the Upper Peninsula through Cornwall England.  When tin mining started going bad in England during the 1800's the Cornish miners immigrated to America hoping to earn there fortunes in newly developing mines. 

http://www.hu.mtu.edu/vup/pasty/history.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasty 

We also managed to rediscover The Elegant Ewe fiber store... it moved down the street from it's previous location, to this huge lovely historic home, set on the shores of Lake Michigan and the waters of Green Bay.  We browsed and fondled and oogled and ahhed over the delightful treasures within.  But remember, I am DOWNSIZING so I kept my wallet in my purse!  Rosie was tempted to succumb to her lust, and came out with a bag full. 

LOL LOL LOL   Here is a link to their shop:   http://www.theelegantewe.com/

In between all of our running around and packing and sorting, Steveio was diagnosing and repairing Rosie's brakes. We brought it to a place to diagnose on a computer, and then Steve brought it over to our favorite repair guy too.  The guys found a good "fix-it" work around because it was just a bad wire to the boost pump, and not the master cylinder and ABS pump components to replace after all.  Honestly, they used WIRE TIES AND DUCT TAPE!!!    He was able to get it operational to get them back home, and then she already has a newer van lined up for purchase.  Then this one's job is done. 

He was also kept busy (and away from us gabbing ladies) by mounting our Tracker tow bar, cleaning the garage, and getting things ready for a showing of our home to prospective buyers!   Yes, we had a showing on Sunday!  While Rosie and Linda were busy packing up the van, we brought some prospective buyers through the home, along the river, around the yard and through the garage.  Will hope to hear from them soon before the house is scheduled to go on the market the beginning of April, as they wanted *first dibs* to get in and look! 

Rosie and Linda started organizing and loading.  They wanted to keep all of the nice heavy Rubbermaid totes I was getting rid of, but unloaded the contents into soft squishable trash bags, and then stacked the totes into tight columns.  The bags got squished in to corners and narrow spaces. What a great idea! Rosie is my HERO when it comes to packing and organizing!   They even worked well into the night, packing and arranging, while Steveio held a shop light to see what they were doing.  

 I made a list on a clipboard of every single thing they loaded... 

but Rosie said I could not publish it!  LOL 

Yes, all of my well-loved treasures were loaded up and tucked in here and there...  destined to adorn a new studio and be loved some more!   But it is still an emotional thing, ya know what I mean?  I also think part of the sadness is knowing that Rosie and Linda will be leaving in the morning and that makes it even more depressing.

Look, there is still room for Linda to ride in the passenger seat. We had seriously thought about strapping Linda to the roof rack for the trek homeward, because of the need for space inside for precious fibers and tools!  (just kidding, Linda) 

Wednesday morning was D-day... time to pull out.  They loaded up a few more things, including a llama... (stuffed one from Peru) and headed out.  The van was a bit squatty on the road, but Rosie has hauled live llamas, feed, hay and many other heavy items and knew it could handle it.

They made it safely down to Illinois last night and are splitting up the load and each heading to their respective homes this morning.  I cried as I watched them roll out of sight... and watched till the van was far around the bend before turning back to my nearly empty Loom Room.  Thank you gals for taking my things to love and cherish.

On a motorhome note, last night Steveio did an oil change on the big diesel engine (28 quarts of oil)  and we took it for a little cruise around the country to give it a little exercise.  Onwards to our new life! 

.