Spoiled

My daughter is an avid reader; and when I saw avid, I mean avid. A month or so ago, she just decided she wanted to read Fahrenheit 451, so she checked it out of the library and powered through it. And  did I mention - she's 12! But I digress...

One series of books she's really enjoyed has been the  Wings of Fire.  The moment a new book comes out all she has to do is stop by the library and give our librarian the title. A few days later the book is at the library, ready for her to pick up. If K so much as mentions a book she's interested in reading it magically appears at the library the next time she's there. I'm not sure if all Island kids get that kind of treatment, but I'm pretty confident that all the "readers" are properly spoiled. I know our librarian has made the library one of my daughter's favorite places.

 

K's Aunt Kelaine also does an amazing job keeping

her in books.

Wintery

It has been one blustery day on Mackinac. We had blizzard-like conditions pretty much all day  long. Usually I can see the mainland and the bridge when I look out my classroom window, but not today. This afternoon I couldn't see past the playground equipment.

 

It was so windy and snowy, I had a huge drift outside of my classroom window. Main Street and Grand Blvd, by the school, were badly drifted as well. Driving a snowmobile, in a white-out, makes snow drifts really hard to see...

Not only was it a white-out on the island, but visibility on the Mackinac Bridge was awful, too. The Bridge Authority closed the bridge at about 1:15 pm due to a car accident and have kept it closed due to the weather conditions. It's about 7:15 pm now and it's still closed. I'm so glad I don't need to leave the island until next weekend. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we still aren't having weather like this!

Get in Line

The school pick-up line on Mackinac Island.

Brrrrrrrrrr

It's been so cold for the past few days the lake has been steaming quite a bit. In fact, the boats quit running yesterday due to the ice conditions.

Luckily the plane situation seem to have been sorted out so we'll be able to get on and off the Island.

 

Blooms

My Christmas cactus has blossomed. It's a little late for Christmas, but it's bright pink flowers really brighten up my classroom this time of year.

It would make my grandma smile to know her plant is still going strong. She gave it to me years ago when she sold her house and moved into an apartment, making sure to tell me she started it from a cutting she took from her mother's plant. 

I love having it on the window sill in my classroom; it make me think about my Grandma every time I look at it. And then I feel guilty for not watering enough. Luckily it thrives on neglect...

Happy New Year

New Year's Day on Mackinac was perfect. Fresh snow and bright sun made it a perfect day to get outside.

Busy

We had such a fun baking extravaganza this weekend!  My mom, a cousin from Indianapolis, two cousins from Ann Arbor, the kids and I all baked up a storm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

We made most of the family's traditional cookies; many of which my great-great grandparents brought with them when they emigrated from Germany. I have clear memories of making many of these with my mom and grandma when I was a little girl, though as a kid I was blissfully unaware of just how much work went into some of them.  

 

Some of the recipes are amazing. A couple are so old they still call for baker's ammonia, and others just seem like they would have taken an incredible amount of work. The springerles, for example, need to be beaten for 30 minutes. I can't even imagine doing that before the invention of the electric mixer. Even with a hand crank mixer - doing it for 30 minutes would get really old really fast. I guess that's what kids were for, and why these cookies must have been such a special treat. They definitely weren't something mom was just going whip up.

I'm listing what we made here so I'll remember who liked what.  The only bad thing about them is that we're enjoying them so much there may not be any left for Christmas!

 

Springerle - molded (and then dried overnight) traditionally flavored with anise; we also made lavender

Nuremburger - slightly citrus flavored rolled and cut cookie, decorated with sugar (the kids' favorite to decorate)

Chocolate nuts - meringue-based drop cookie made with chocolate and hazelnuts (my mom's favorite)

Zitronenherzen - lemon flavored, heart-shaped, glazed cookie made with almond flour (my son's favorite)

Zimtsterne - cinnamon flavored, star-shaped, meringue based cookie made with ground almonds and hazelnuts, topped with meringue

 

Mandelberg - meringue based, drop cookie made with slivered almonds (my daughter's favorite)

Scottish shortbread - baked in a ceramic mold as well as cut out; not German, but still a long-time family favorite  (Liz and Allen's favorite)

One Guess

One guess what's on my agenda for this weekend!

Best Pancakes Ever!

Often in the fall, when the hotels close for the winter, they donate their leftover food to the school. Our school cook is amazing, but there are certain things she can't use. If containers have been opened or she can't be certain about expiration dates, she isn't allowed to serve the food. But if the items are still good, they are often shared with community members. 

I love it when she gets five pound containers of sour cream. (A container spoils before the cook can use the whole thing.) What could Liz possibly want with five pounds of sour cream, you ask. Why make pancakes, of course. And not just any pancakes mind you, sour cream pancakes - the best pancakes in the world!

They're literally the most delicious pancakes I've ever tasted; light, fluffy and super easy to make. The original recipe can be found here, but it doesn't make enough for a family of four. I double the recipe and it's just perfect.

 Sour Cream Pancakes

• 2 cups sour cream
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 whole large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• butter for frying

In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Set aside.In a separate small bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl, stir together the sour cream with the dry ingredients until just barely combined (don't over mix.) Finally, whisk in the egg mixture until just combined.

Heat a griddle over medium-low heat and melt some butter in the pan. Drop batter by 1/4 cup scoops  onto the griddle. Cook on the first side until bubbles start to form on the surface and edges are starting to brown. Flip to the other side and cook for another minute or two. Don't worry if the pancakes seem off they will be a little on the soft side. Serve them with softened butter and syrup. Be prepared to get requests for these!

New Toy

Allen got me a Silhouette Cameo cutting machine for our anniversary and yesterday I finally felt confident enough, and had enough time, to play with it. (You know me, I had to read the manual and watch about 15 YouTube videos before I dove in.)

S and K each chose a design and now have brand new, customized shirts made with heat transfer vinyl. This thing is going to be so much fun. One guess which shirt is for the 12 year-old girl and which one is for the 14 year-old boy...

Done

Those may just look like random trash bags to you, but to me they look like a job well done. Yesterday, the kids and I spent several hours cleaning out their bedrooms. We were ruthless. Too small? No longer played with? Not particularly important? It all went into a bag. The bags (and boxes) above, are the donate pile. Next time I head to the mainland, those eight kitchen trash bags and three boxes full of toys, books, stuffed animals and clothes will go with me and get dropped off at Goodwill.

These five bags are the trash pile. If I learned anything yesterday, it's that both of my children are in desperate need trash cans for their bedrooms. 

It just feels so good to have crossed that job off the list.

Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwww

Usually creepy crawly things don't really bother me. Often I pick them up and investigate them, but there was something about this bug that made me keep my distance.

Maybe it was because the thing was gigantic - over three inches long. (Those paper clips a the jumbo sized ones, not the typical-sized paper clip.) Then again, it could have been those huge eyes. I swear the thing moved its head and watched my hand every time I opened its box. It also could have been its giant arm-like legs.  It held them open - like it was just waiting for an opportunity to latch onto my finger.

Two of my students knew what it was,  "It's a toe biter. We see them sometimes in the Grand Pool. Well, not ones thaaaat big."

I refused to touch it, and I'm glad I did (I wouldn't let the kids touch it either.) Apparently there are five species of these giant water bugs that can be found in Michigan and they do bite. They inject toxic saliva that liquefies the tissues of their prey and causes paralysis. I kills the prey but we're so big, their bites just hurt like there's no tomorrow. Check this video out if you're curious.  (Skip ahead to about 13 min 30 seconds if you just want to see him get bitten.) And for the record - ours was every bit as big as that one.

I still haven't figured out what this thing was doing walking along the sidewalk near the high school entrance to our building in November. I'm really hoping we don't find any more, and I think I need to exchange the flip flops I usually wear when the kids and I explore in the summer time for a pair of closed-toe water shoes...

So Glad

So glad I dove, head first, into yard work last weekend. 

It looks like we may end up with five to eight inches of snow this weekend. So thankful to have this off of my "To Do" list - cleaning up in the spring is so much easier when I do a clean up in the fall.

Mackinac Blue

Back in 2012 I dreamed of painting my laundry room a lovely shade of blue.  Specifically, Grand Hotel Mackinac Blue. (Yup - it's a real paint color.)  I love it so much. Now that my eyes are more attuned to the color, I'm noticing it all over the island...

It really is a lovely color...

Not Much of a View

Several tourists giggled and pointed as I pushed my packages and milk up Fort Hill after school today. (How else was I supposed to get it all home?) The lack of view was worth it though because right now I am enjoying a delicious, sugar-free hazelnut steamer. 

This little gizmo makes frothing one up super easy and it's been a great way to get the kids drinking more milk.

The Great Pumpkin

We had a visitor yesterday. He left the perfect pumpkin in our front yard. It's beautiful; huge, round and the most perfect shade of orange you've ever seen. The photo just doesn't do it justice.

A year or two ago S and K asked the gentleman who grows pumpkins near the Big Barns if they could have one. He had already promised all of them that year, but ever since, he has made sure they were on his list. He's been so sweet. Now, whenever they see him in town they yell,  "Hi Pumpkin Man."

I think it makes him smile. I hope it does, because he sure puts a smile the faces of two kiddos.

Mackinac Problems

On my way to school this morning my pant leg got caught in my bike chain; like pulled in between the chain and the guard. Sigh. 

Any suggestions on getting oil out of fabric?

Friday

We came into school on Friday morning to find this little guy hopping down the hallway. He probably thinks the Three Rs are reading, writing and reptiles...

Proud Mama Moment

Last spring, with the help of a poet, the Island kids wrote Mackinac-inspired poetry. Next, artists came to school to work with the kids to create art to "visually express the theme of their poems." Finally, the poems and artwork were displayed together in a juried show.

I actually didn't know about the "juried" part until we got to the opening reception and they started announcing winners. (We were in Seattle last June and missed the show.) You can imagine my surprise when the judge announcing the Best in Show winner said this, 

"This poem and painting beautifully captures the unique experience of visiting Fort Mackinac. Every time I visit Fort Mackinac I am overwhelmed by the vibrant colors and our State's history. 'The Fort' poem and painting immediately put me there and it honestly warmed my heart."

K couldn't believe she'd won the whole thing - Best in Show! She was on cloud beamed as the reporter from the Town Crier interviewed her. In case you didn't make it to the show (at the Center for the Arts at Mission Point) here is K's poem:

One of the best parts is, that lovely paining will be coming to our house soon. I have just the spot to hang it.

Homemade Ghostbusters Proton Pack

A couple of people have asked me how I made the proton pack I wore for Halloween a couple of years ago. I don't have pictures of the process,  but I can explain where I got the parts and how I put it together.

First of all, and probably most importantly, I started looking for parts early. I knew I wanted to be Holtzman  but there was no way I was going to spend $700 on a pre-made pack. My budget was more like $50.00... So I started scrounging every time I stopped at Goodwill.

Most of the parts were items I picked up at thrift shops for next to nothing. In fact, the most expensive part of the whole thing was the spray paint!

(Click to make the image larger.)

I used an acrylic tray as the base of the pack, rather than the military frame that lots of people use. The ALICE frame was running between $25.00 and $50.00, so when I saw the tray for $1.00 it was an easy decision.  My husband cut some slits into the top of it for me so I could thread through straps I took from an old backpack.

Most of the other parts ran around the same price - except for the spray paint and the lights. (Everything is better with lights, right?) The best part was finding the light saber on the shelf at The Salvation Army for $1.99. After cutting down the end and drilling holes, a coat of paint, and some added lights - it was close to perfect.

After scrounging all the parts I used E6000 glue to hold everything together. Best. Glue. Ever. It stinks to high heaven, but it's flexible and is great for holding things together that need a little give.

To be honest, there was some sewing involved since I did add the orange and gray ribbon to the jump suit. It was actually cheaper to buy a pre-made jumpsuit on Amazon than it would have been to buy the fabric and a pattern to make one. It may not be screen accurate, but it was prefect for Halloween.