South

We left Papa at home and headed south for some fun; a long way south. One of the highlights for the kids (apart from having Grandma and Grampie's undivided attention) was visiting Spring Mill State Park. They loved the trip into Twin Caves.

First we had to get a life jacket,

then we walked down the path,

and waited for the next boat.

Then it was time to get into the boat. We ventured about 600 feet into the cave on a specially designed boat - just wide enough to pass through the narrowest part of the cave.

The trip may have only lasted about 20 minutes, but the kids really enjoyed it. Though, if you asked the kids what was their favorite part of visiting Grandma and Grampie, I think Jiffy Treat (similar to a Dairy Queen) might win!

Next stop: Uncle Bill's...

A First

Mackinac Mittens has its first ever trunk show the other day. We managed to sell 15 pair of mittens during our two four-hour days. It was great fun. Watching someone you don't know try on something you made, and then shell out their hard earned money to buy it is quite rewarding. My favorite was a woman who was downright giddy to find a blue hat.

Making these mittens has been an interesting experience. Right now the three of us are trying hard just to keep up with the demand in the two stores here on Mackinac Island. Yesterday I got an email from a shop owner in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and she wants to sell them in her store, too. I don't know if we'll sell them off the island, but it was pretty exciting just to be asked.

On the grandma front, all is well. In fact, she has improved dramatically since she has stopped taking all of her medications. She is doing so well that my mom is moving her out of hospice and into an assisted living facility. Thank you everyone for your thoughts, prayers and well wishes. Know that they have been greatly appreciated!

Discovery

A week or so ago my husband discovered a wonderful little lake in Mackinaw City. At its deepest point it's only about 10 feet, so it's a perfect spot for adventurous little ones. My daughter was content to build sand castles on an old cinder block, but my son was in heaven. He and Papa waded around the edge of the lake - stopping to investigate every last inch. S found clams, crayfish, turtle eggs, shed insect exoskeletons and numerous other treasures, that much to his dismay, his horrible mother made him leave behind. In the end he agreed that the living clams really would be better off if he left them in the lake, and on two clam shells instead. If you live anywhere near Mackinaw City, Michigan, French Farm Lake is worth the trip.

Hello and Goodbye

Life has been hectic lately. The end of the school year with its report cards, room clean-up, inventory and permanent record updating usually throws me into a tail spin, but this year it's worse. So much worse. Several weeks ago my grandma (the one I wrote about here) went into hospice. Saying goodbye has been sad - even though I support her choice to stop taking her medications and let nature take its course. Despite the stress of dealing with her impending death, there has been a silver lining...

I took this photo on the first day my mother and her two surviving brothers had been in the same room in over 25 years. Yes, you read that right - 25 years. No, there wasn't a falling out; just a great deal of geography between them. Uncle Rob lived in Ecuador and then Japan, Uncle Andrew moved to Arkansas and my mom remained in Michigan (though she has been in Egypt for two years.) You should have seen grandma's face light up when the three of them walked into her room together. It was such a beautiful thing.

Blogging in these parts will be sporadic at best for the next little while. The kids and I will be spending quite a bit of time off the island with their Great Grandma. I'll still be crafting and trying to post, but I want to savor every minute with grandma we have left...

Sunshine

My husband chose our route home today just so I could see these little beauties. It's a lady slipper, and with all that has been going on lately (I'll go into details soon) they were just the spot of sunshine I needed...

Everywhere

While spring is not my favorite season on Mackinac Island, it is a wonderful time of year. In addition to the parade of tulips and the lilacs opening, the woods are full of trillium.

Mackinac Island wildflowers: one of my favorite things about spring...

Full

Our weekend in Kalkaska was a full one. Brimming with:

friends,

swings,

fish,

blacksmithing,
(which was quite nice since I hadn't picked up a hammer in about 10 years)

and caterpillars.
Thousands of caterpillars.

How about you?

Keeping Cozy

I've made a bunch of these tea cozies lately. I wanted to get them made and delivered to The Jaunting Cart before the lilacs opened. Let me tell you, I just made my deadline because the lilac trees on my street started to open yesterday. The only down side to Mackinac lilacs in mid-May is that they may all be gone before the Lilac Festival.

This year the festival is June 11-20. If you are on the island during Lilac Festival you may want to pick up one of this year's festival posters. I'm thinking I need one for myself...

photo courtesy of The Tourism Bureau

Green Home on Mackinac?

A team from Lansing Community College won the BuildUp Michigan design challenge and plans to start building their winning design on Mackinac Island this fall. According to Jeromy Clements, a member of the winning team, it will be "a 3,075-square foot, Victorian-style house, lathered in solar panels."

I love the idea that it is supposed to be a "net-zero" home; one which creates as much energy as it consumes. However, one island development has banned hanging laundry outside to to dry; how would they feel about a home covered in solar panels (in a historic district)? So now I'm curious; has the design has been approved by our local planning commission or the development's association? Does the City Council knows anything about it? And, of course, where will it be built? I'm not against the idea, I just want more information...

Mackinac's Bounty:

Wild Leeks and Morel Mushrooms

On a walk this past weekend my husband was lucky enough to find wild leeks (he calls them ramps) and morel mushrooms. Thank you Mother Nature!

My husband was careful to just pick a few leeks from the outside edge of each bunch so they'll regrow next year. The leeks, which he pickled, have a surprisingly sweet flavor. As for the morels, he carried them in a mesh bag so their spores could spread and hopefully create a few new patches of shroomy goodness. They are drying and will be saved for a few special dishes; I'm hoping for prime rib with a morel sauce...

Spring

Despite this weekend's snow, (yes, it did snow on Mackinac this weekend!) the island is starting to look pretty springy. I never realized just how difficult it is to photograph snow until I actually tried it. The above photo was the best I could manage of the big flakes we saw here on Saturday morning. Luckily, the ground was warm enough that, apart from a bit of slush on the porch, none of it stuck.

Thanks to the rain we got at the end of last week, the island is really starting to green up. I know most other people are already inching their way into summer, but for those of us in Northern Michigan, spring is still here in all its glory.

Phew!

I've been crazy busy lately - feverishly making mittens and pins to fulfill an order for Mittens. Two shops on the island, Some Wear on Mackinac (located next to the Gate House) and The Jaunting Cart (located on Market Street right across from the Biddle House) are carrying mittens and pins this summer. It's so exciting! In the week the shops have been open only two pairs have sold, but that's O.K. - it's a start. Now I've got dresses and blankets to finish up for Little Luxuries. So if you happen to be looking for me this weekend, you'll find me in my sewing room.

Making Me Smile

My husband has introduced me to the music of this guy. And while some of his music is way too geeky for me (yes, it is possible,) I do really like this song. Listen to it - ignore the video and just let that guitar soak in...

There's nothing like a song about a giant squid to put me in a good mood...

Surprise!

Yeah, it's official, I'm 40.

And, let me tell you, so far it's been great.

It started out with a package I received the night before my birthday. It was a birthday shirt - for ME - made by my good friend Maggie.

Then, the weekend after my birthday, my husband planned and skillfully executed a surprise party. I don't have many pictures (guess I should have known something was up when he was annoyed with me for leaving my good camera at home), but it was wonderful! Tons of my friends were there, the adults and the kids all had a good time, and I got a much needed night out with the girls (while the husbands stayed behind with the kids.)

Four of us have all turned 40 this year; I'm glad we got to celebrate together.

Thanks honey. Grandma Mary is so right, you are a keeper. Now, you've risen the bar so high, I can't wait to see what you do when I turn 50!

Happy Birthday Little Dinosaur

A certain little girl round these parts turned four recently. Of course, she needed a birthday shirt. Little Miss K loves dinosaurs and specifically requested a dinosaur birthday party. Mama didn't make it to the fabric store to get dinosaur fabric when I came home from Egypt so she had to settle for butterflies. K didn't seem to mind, in fact she didn't even seem to notice the shirt's complete lack of reptiles. Perhaps it was just that the dinosaur crown made up for it.

Then again, maybe it was the dinosaur pompoms hanging around the room. (We had to make them after seeing these.)

The paper towel tube turned palm tree centerpiece was a big hit - as were the gummy dinosaurs.

But, now that I think about it, it was probably all the dinosaurs that came to celebrate with her that made the so special. Grandmasaurus, Grandpiopteryx, Mirandaraptor, Jeremysaurus, Mamamimus, Papaceratops, Grandpadactyl, and Brotherodon all came to wish K-asaurus-Rex a good day. (All the toy dinosaurs from her preschool classroom were able to come down from the shelf and come to the party too.)

However, it may have been the dinosaur cake Papaceratops whipped up that made this the best darn dinosaur party ever. In case you're curious - he's an iguanadon. (The cake - not the Papa.)

I suppose none of that really matters. She had a fantastic day surrounded by people who love her, and in the end that's what's really important.

The birthday shirt and crown have become somewhat of a tradition in our family. Do you have any special traditions?

Would the Pharaoh Approve?

After we got off the train down in Luxor, we waited here for our ride. No food; since I was on the "no food I can get at home" meal plan I opted for coffee. I doubt any McDonald's in the world can beat this view, though I seriously doubt the Pharaohs or the priests from Luxor Temple would have approved. Then again, perhaps two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun may have been enough to convert even the toughest critic.

Exploring Cairo: Sailing

Last night we went out for a sail on one of these. A fallucca; a traditional Egyptian sailboat. We took a bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme (thank you duty free) and a bottle of wine to enjoy during our hour out on the River Nile.

Abdullah took good care of us.

Rigging the mast and sails must involve some time up at the top of the mast. Despite the opportunity for some great pictures, I decided not to take advantage of the steps.

All the fallucca sails we saw were handmade. While we were waiting to go out we watched a man making a new sail.

I kept wondering how long it had taken him to sew the strips of canvas together, hem the edges, and then stitch the rope around the hem. He had one huge iron needle and a knife; no scissors and no awl - he just used the stone floor to push the needle through the layers of canvas. It looked like a lot of work.

We may have only been out on the Nile for an hour, but it was a perfect way to start the evening.

After our fallucca ride we headed off to dinner and then back to the Pyramids for the Sound and Light Show...

Does This Pyramid Make Me Look Fat?

What do you think? Now be honest. It's a great accessory, but I don't know if it really goes with this particular outfit.

Well, my new boyfriend doesn't seem to mind; in English the Egyptians call him "The Sphin-kus." Sadly it ended up being a one afternoon stand. When it was time to go I just couldn't get him to budge.

I didn't ride a camel t the pyramids this time. I decided to walk in to the pyramids instead. Mohammed, our driver, walked me to the entrance gate and from that point I was on my own - which apparently is somewhat of an oddity. Egyptians and other Arab tourists constantly asked if they could take my picture or have their picture taken with me. I always said yes and then asked if I could take their picture. It worked out beautifully because I got lots of pictures of Egyptians - especially women. The veiled woman below lifted her veil so her face would show in the picture with her friends. She was even going to leave it up in my photo and smiled when I motioned for her to put it back down.

Everywhere I went while I walked around I was greeted with "What's your name?" and "Welcome! Welcome to Egypt." Then the invariable picture request. I just smiled. I'd love to convince my self that they were all swept away by my beauty, but I think it had more to do with me being an unescorted blonde-haired western woman. Either way it was a hoot.

It was a great day. I got to walk around the pyramids that I didn't get to explore the last time I was here and experience a little local color. Plus I picked up a little kitsch for the kids. It was so good, in fact, that I'm still smiling...