For Mom

Meet my mom. Her name is Crissie and she is currently living and working in Cairo, Egypt, and blogging about her experiences. My favorite so far is her post about the police raid on the "Women's Only" car on the Cairo Metro. I know she'd love it if a few of you popped on over to her place and left some comment love.

Neither Wind, Nor Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Snow...

photo via

Lots of people ask me how I get my mail. I never really thought about it, but life on Mackinac is "different" from mainland life, so it doesn't surprise me that people are curious...

Mackinac Island's mail starts out like all other U.S. mail - at the Post Office, but that's where the similarities end. When my children send letters to their grandparents, those letters leave the Post Office and get a dray ride up to the airport,

where they wait on a cart,

until they are loaded into the plane
and flown to the mainland.

Once the plane lands in St. Ignace, the letters are picked up by a USPS truck and taken on the rest of their journey. Island mail often takes a bit longer to arrive than mail sent from the mainland, so we just make sure to give our bills an extra day or two to make it to their destination. Occasionally, in the winter when there is snow, sleet and freezing rain we may go several days without mail. In the 17 years that I've been here, I think the longest we've gone without mail (due to the plane's inability to fly in bad weather) was three days. It's not really a problem though - especially now that I have email!

As for getting our letters and packages, the island does not have home delivery; everyone has to go to the Post Office to pick up their mail. Luckily, my husband usually takes care of that chore.

However, UPS does deliver (thank goodness.) That's how I got these:

My new Ott lights! Joann's was having a 50% off sale and I had a free shipping coupon. I've only had them four days and now I can't imagine not having them - they're that good!

Me Likey

(Taken in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, in February 2008, from my second row seat!)

Anyone who has ever lived with me (and been scarred by my playing the same music over and over again) knows that I am a huge Barenaked Ladies fan. If you're not familiar with them you should know they're Canadian, they're men, and they are usually fully clothed. (My friend Michelle and I did get an accidental eye full once.) Anyway...

A while back BNL parted ways with their lead singer, Steven Page (the guy on the left,) and they just came out with their first single since he left the band. Go ahead and listen; I'll wait...

Apparently not all browsers support the widget above. If you don't see a box to play the song, click here to listen.

I'm on listen number 52 (or there abouts) and I like it. I was worried about whether or not I would like their music as much after Steve left the band since he had such an amazing voice, but now I am really looking forward to their next album (due out at the end of March.) I wonder if I can pre-order it yet though Amazon?

Sewing Again

I picked up a bunch of adorable patterned tights (on sale) for my daughter over Christmas break only to realize that she only had two neutral skirts that would work with them. So this weekend I got to work on some new skirts.

This skirt is basically the same as this one, I just used the legs from an old pair of jeans (thank you Miranda) for the bottom instead of calico. My machine didn't like sewing through the gathered denim and the flat felled seams of the jeans - not one bit, but in the end I only ended up breaking one needle. I purposely left the hem unfinished so it would fray; for some reason I love the way frayed hems look on denim. I don't think the picture does this skirt justice. When she has it on, you can't see the lighter denim on the top - my daughter's shirts hang down low enough to cover it so it looks really cute.

While I was taking pictures of the skirt yesterday afternoon I noticed this little flower in my back yard. It brightened my day and I thought it might brighten yours, too.

We are losing snow fast on Mackinac. It's been in the 20s and 30s for the past week! It feels great but we are quickly seeing bare pavement which isn't so great when your main source of transportation is your snowmobile. But if I have to walk, I'll walk with a happy heart...

Mystery Box

The last time I visited my grandma I saw this box sitting on the shelf in her closet. It peaked my curiosity because it had to be, like, forty years old - if not older.

Just look at the treasures I discovered inside:

Forty glorious years worth of buttons (and zippers and trim.) Don't you just love those big green jacket buttons? I do! Lucky, lucky me.

Thank you Grandma, thank you so much!

New Year's Fun

New Year's on Mackinac has been a tradition with my friends and me for a long time. Including the gatherings that occurred before I had my own place on the island, and subtracting the one year hubby and I were off the island just after we got married, this year marked my 20th Mackinac Island New Year's Eve celebration.

Usually everyone arrives on the ferry, well except for last year when some friends missed the boat. I just love that little tree on the bow.

Then the fun begins.
This year it included snowmobiling, bird watching*,

sledding,

snowshoeing,

and taking apart a flat screen TV.

Let me tell you, it doesn't take long for six sets of hands to tear down a television. You should have seen them; "I'm taking this piece home... Mom, can I take this home?" I was thrilled to see the girls right in there with screwdrivers holding their own amongst the four older boys. I'm always impressed at how our nine kids (ages three through fifteen) get along so well.

*Keith, the botanist of the group, told us that by looking at the tips of the tail feathers he could tell this owl was less than one year old. Keith didn't hear it hoot so he couldn't tell if it was a male or a female.

Painting With Light

One of my favorite New Year's projects this year was painting with light. (Thank you oh Craft King, a.k.a. "The Hubby.") Imagine six kids, ten glow sticks, and my camera on a tripod in our living room after dark. Add in a little creativity and 10 second exposures, and you've got at least two hours of fun.

It was great to watch the creativity just ooze out of the kids - and to see their strategies change as they saw each image they created. Six kids was probably a few too many to be practical as it was hard for everyone to get a chance to experiment with their ideas, but they still had a good time...

After the kids went to bed, the adults had to get in on the fun. Mrs. Rose, my third grade teacher, would not have been pleased with our cursive!

Next time you're out shopping you should pick up a few glow sticks (check out the sporting goods section.) At about $1.00 each, the fun was well worth the cost!

Mama's Got a New Set of Wheels

As of this morning the ferry is frozen in and can't get out of the St. Ignace harbor, and Arnold Line has called it quits for the season. So now this little airplane will be my lifeline to the mainland...

The plane holds the pilot, five passengers, and their stuff. When Great Lakes Air hauls UPS and the mail they remove some or all of the seats to make more room for all of the freight. Round trip airfare is $50.00, except kids and pets fly free as long as they fit on your lap. I wonder how long my kids will fit? Some how I probably won't be able to get away with holding a 12 year-old on my lap.


For a small plane, it sure can hold a bunch of stuff. Last year freight cost $2.50 per box or tub. I don't usually haul dog food or other heavy items on the plane because those are charged by the pound. I can't imagine what the cost would be for those 50 pound bags we buy. Luckily, before the boat quit, I laid in enough pet food to get us through the winter. (Hopefully!)


I just can't imagine living on Mackinac Island without that little plane...

More Holiday Crafts

Aren't those cards the coolest thing ever? I think so. The snowflakes were poked into a thin acrylic sheet and then lit with a LED. The cards were a great school project; lessons in rotational symmetry, measurement and electric circuits all rolled into one. You'll find the tutorial here.

I know the kids really enjoyed making these. Despite the fact that they each had to bring in $3.00 to cover the costs of the acrylic, the battery and the LED, my students are already asking if we can make them again next year.

Looking Forward

The New Year always makes me think of Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables. She said, "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it," and I really like that. I like the idea of a clean slate; like the new year is blank page in a book just full of possibilities. Should I write in it? Doodle? Or use it for origami? Ah... so many choices.

I'd like to make a few changes in my life and today seems like perfect day to start, don't you think? One change I'm going to make is having a happy heart. What I mean is, to do everything I have to do (but might not want to do) with a happy heart - a positive attitude, a smile on my face, and putting in my best effort. I'm also going to be better at keeping the house picked up and asking my husband to help me. I tend to get upset with him for not doing anything while I don't ask him to do anything. And he is willing to help, I just don't ask him to. I expect him to just know that I need help and then get irritated with him when he doesn't. Definitely something I need to improve on. So, this year I'll be happy, in a clean house, with a grouchy husband. (Just kidding, honey.) I'll just have to work on keeping his heart happy, too...

I've also got some exciting things on the horizon for 2010. I'll turn 40 this year, and while I'm not really excited about it, I think I'll live through it - everybody else seems to. I just don't feel 40, you know? More exciting is that two shops downtown have approached me about my mittens. One shop wants to sell them, while the other wants to sell the pattern. I've been honest with both of them that I'm not sure I can produce enough to keep them stocked all summer, but both owners insisted they'd take what I can provide. So now I am a thrifting mad woman, buying sweaters by the duffel bag full. My husband tells me that I have a problem; last night he informed me that he's organizing an intervention...

Snip Snip

She's three and a half and just had her very first hair cut... sniff sniff... My little girl is growing up. Her brother had his first hair cut at three as well, but my little toe head had a lot less hair.

I can't believe she will be four in just a few short months - it seems like she was just born. I'm still chuckling about her feigning, "It hurts!" as the stylist trimmed off all of about two inches. Of course I had to save it. One little lock is now safely tucked away within the pages of her baby book. The one I am religious about updating regularly; seriously, I am really good about it. It's just a little thing that I can do for my children. I think they'll really appreciate those books when they are older. I know I love flipping through the pages of mine...

More Gifts

Now that all the gifts have been opened, I can show you the brown sugar scrub the kids made for the special people in their lives. Papa, Grandma, Aunt Kathy, their teachers and babysitters all got a jar of it, and let me tell you, it's wonderful. I had to test it. I mean, I couldn't give away untested scrub, now could I. What if it didn't work? Luckily, I works really well and it was a perfect gift for a three year-old and a five year-old to make. Actually, the hardest part (for me) was getting a hold of the supplies. There isn't much call for exotic oils on Mackinac Island, though now that I've tried this stuff I'm going to have to keep a jar of it on hand all the time.

If you'd like to make a batch, you'll need:

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup sweet almond oil
• any kind of essential oil or similar to scent the scrub (if desired)
  

I bought my oil here, though I must admit, I wasn't pleased with their service. When they discovered they couldn't ship to my P.O. box they claim to have emailed me. That email never arrived, while the order confirmation did - so I know they had an accurate address. After a long phone conversation (which made it quite clear to me that customer satisfaction is not at the top of their list) they shipped the oil to me. It arrived in time for the kids to make the scrub, which, in the end, is all that really matters...

Mix the sugar and the oil, put in a tiny bit of smelly stuff (we used a very small amount of almond extract), put it in jars and you're done. One batch made just about three cups of scrub, which for us was three jars - so we ended up making three batches. I wish I could remember where I saw this recipe originally, but I do remember them saying that the recipe was basically a two to one ratio of sugar to oil - and that you could use different oils; olive, and coconut should work as well. In the end I went with the sweet almond oil they used because I try to stick to the original recipe the first time I make something...

We jarred our scrub in pint-size canning jars; dressed up with a pretty fabric circle, a direction label and a coordinated beaded spoon. The spoons were Kitchen Aid measuring spoons which had the "Kitchen Aid" part removed thanks to the help of a Mister Clean Magic Eraser. (I'm still in awe of how handy those little things are.)

The best part was watching the kids' faces as people opened the gifts they made. It was priceless...

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Mackinac Island!

2009 Teacher Gifts

Part One

Sorry I've been out of commission for a while; life has just been crazy lately. Between finishing up presents, packing for an upcoming trip, and incredible amounts of drama at work, there just hasn't been time for blogging.

Somehow Christmas snuck up on me this year. It was like the weeks between Thanksgiving and December 15th just disappeared, but somehow I survived and managed to make these for the kids teachers - thanks to Kristyn. She made this for Lisa back in October and it was so cute. Thank goodness I filed the idea away, and then when I couldn't find it, that Lisa helped me remember.

They were really easy to make! I just printed out the names onto nice textured card stock and then trimmed it to the right size. The kids picked out the crayons they wanted to use, I hot glued them to the paper, and then I used double sided scrapbooking tape to attach the card stock to the back of the frame. The frames are about 3/4 inch deep collage frames, so those crayons are under glass. (I thought they would be easier to dust that way.) The kids made gifts too, but that's another post...

The Present Plate

The present plate is my first attempt at an Advent Calendar. I had planned on calling it "The Countdown to Christmas" but my five year-old immediately decided "The Present Plate" was a more accurate description and it just stuck. All it is, is my largest serving platter, covered in white and gold snowflake fabric and loaded up with small bags and jewelry boxes (spray painted gold); each containing a small goody or two or an event / experience. For example, some of the things included are:

• glow in the dark bracelets
• two chocolate coins
• two stickers
• new pens and a note that says "write your name"
• a note saying "go to Turtle Park"
• bath confetti with a note saying "tonight is bath night!"
• two Beanie Babies with a note saying "snuggle with your new friend and watch a show"
  
• two small stuffed animals
• a note saying "play a game after dinner"
• new colored pencils
• two pair of snowman socks and a note saying "go jump on the bed!"
• a note saying "make a special project with Mama"
• two new cups with snowmen on them
• two little McDonald's stuffed puppies

Most of the things are items I picked up on clearance throughout the year, at the after Christmas sales last December, or found while thrifting. I bought the bag and plate-covering fabric when it went on sale last year and then saved jewelry boxes all year long. I came up a bit short with the boxes, but a nice sales woman at Kohl's took pity on me and gave me six of them the day after Thanksgiving. In all, I probably have $25.00 invested in it - including the fabric and paint.

I've had so much fun this December watching them take turns opening a present each night after dinner and then eagerly handing the note to their father or me to read. The Present Plate has been good for S and K; it has helped reinforce the lost art of taking turns, the importance of being happy for another's good fortune, remembering to say "thank you" (even when the gift isn't your favorite,) and of course - keeping track of how many days remain until Christmas (since they know we'll open the last one on Christmas Morning.)

I think this is going to become one of our family traditions...

Perfect Snowflakes Every Time

A Snowflake Tutorial

I love making snowflakes and being the perfectionist that I am, I like them to be as perfect as possible. The other day another teacher in the building asked me how I get mine to look so good, so I let her in on my little secret - it's all in the tools...

First, gather your supplies: square sheets of paper (I just use regular printer paper that I square using the paper cutter at school,) a pencil, scissors and a protractor. Take it from me, protractors are handy little tools to have laying around. Go ahead and get everything. I'll wait...

Next, fold the paper in half so you have a long rectangle - sorry, no photo for this step. (At school we call this "folding the hot dog way.") Crease this fold well.

Then line up the side edges like you were going to fold it again - only this time into two squares (this is "folding the hamburger way," if you're curious) but don't really fold it. Just crease it - down on the edge that you already folded.

Lay the paper flat on the table and it should look like this:

Now, get out your trusty-dusty protractor and line it up on the little crease you just made. (If you haven't used one since high school, you can refresh your memory here.) Align the protractor so that the center mark is over the crease and the 0 and 180 degree lines line up with the folded edge of the paper - which should be along the bottom.

Find the 60 degree mark. Use your pencil to make a small dot at 60 degrees.

When you move the protractor, you should be looking at this:

Next you are going to fold the bottom edge of the paper so it touches that little mark you made. I use my finger nail to help me get the bottom to fold exactly where I want it to.

then fold so you have this, (See how the edge lines up with the dot?)

and then crease well. (Like my owl jammies? I often live in my jammies on weekends, but I digress...)

Unfold the paper and you should have a line that looks like this:

Now, fold the bottom edge from the other side over until it touches that fold you just made. Again, use your nail to keep that bottom point nice and crisp.

When you unfold, you should have a V in the center of the paper.

Fold the paper back up along the folds you made. My students call this step "making a heart" because they think the folded piece looks a little like a heart.

Take that heart shape and fold it in half. Again, use your nail to help keep the bottom point looking good.

The top edges of the paper will not be even so you need to trim them. Use your scissors to trim away the uneven edges. The dotted line in the photo below is where I cut.

This is what you should be looking at:

Now comes the fun part. Use your scissors to cut away parts of the triangle to create your snowflake. Be careful not to cut away an entire edge. If you do, you'll get several pieces of paper instead of one flake.

Keep cutting until you are happy.

I like to experiment with straight lines as well as curves. When you are all done unfold your snowflake and bask in its beauty and almost perfect 60 degree rotational symmetry. Now go back and fold about 10 more because they're addictive...

If anything isn't clear to you, please let me know. Since I am a math teacher there may be directions here that make perfect sense to me but are unintelligible to you. If that's the case, email me or leave a comment and I'll edit the tutorial to make it more clear. Now, go make a flake!