Keeping Busy

I've been working hard to maintain a positive attitude in light of the current situation. I tend to be an anxious person and often worry about, well... everything. For me the key to keeping my anxiety under control these past two weeks has been to keep busy.

Yesterday's project was my sewing room and it was an all day project. Everything came out of the closet, off of every shelf and out of every drawer. (I even vacuumed inside the drawers.) Every piece of fabric was refolded and organized, and five trash bags of hoarded, I mean saved items were moved into the donation pile or city-approved garbage bags. When I was finally finished I just stood back and smiled. It was one of those jobs that has been nagging at me and it feels really good to cross it off my list.

Sewing

I've been sewing like a mad-woman for the past few days. A dear friend of mine, who is a nurse downstate, asked me to make masks for her. I know there is debate about the merits of cloth masks, but she's a nurse and she wants them. So who am I to argue?

20 of them will soon be headed her way. Sewing them was like a walk down memory lane. They were all made from leftover fabric I hoarded, I mean saved for a rainy day: my daughter's bicycle dress, a Captain Underpants cape, headbands, Jaguar Girl, and more Halloween costumes than I can count. 

I hope they keep her safe. She's got some trying times ahead and anything I can do to help her will be time well spent. 

Stay well Chandra!

Read Aloud

I miss my students. I know it's only been a week since I've seen them, but for me, not seeing them every day is just weird. I worry about them. I know most of them are not upset at the idea of time off of school (at least not yet anyway). Give it a few weeks and a few of them may realize they miss school more than they initially thought. 

When we abruptly left school on Friday of last week, I was right in the middle of reading a book aloud my sixth graders. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963, by Michigan author Paul Curtis, is a wonderful book about a 10 year-old boy growing up in Flint, Michigan. After his older brother continues to get into trouble the family decides to take a trip to Birmingham, Alabama, to visit their grandma. I don't want to share any more for fear of spoiling the ending for one of my students. I hate spoilers! 

I may not be able to read to my class at school, but I can post a chapter on the school website every few days so the kids can keep up. I may not be as good a reader as Jim Dale, but it's better than nothing. Maybe it will help give my students a little sense of normalcy in these completely abnormal times...

Survival

It's been a week. And we survived. I don't mean survived the  Covid-19 virus, I mean the kids and I survived each other.  In case you don't know, my husband is in charge of the Island's drinking water system, so it is important for him (and his staff) to stay healthy. To decrease his chances of exposure, the kids and I have been religious about practicing social distancing.

It's been hardest on the kids. Take two teenagers, add a bit of stress and a huge change in routine and it's just put them on edge. Me as well. Despite the challenge of adjusting to our new normal, the three of us had a pretty darn good week...

S and K built the most amazing blanket fort in the living room.

They spent a lot of time in there this week. It was the perfect place for keeping up on Spanish homework  and watching musicals (Hairspray, Rent and Grease.) We've also listened to hours of the soundtrack from Beetlejuice the Musical. (Yeah, its on Broadway right now.)

My daughter spent time inside writing and drawing in her journal while I organized closets.

All of them...

Once I was out of closets (and drawers) I moved on to cutting and sewing mitten linings,

and then on to the outside portion of the mittens...

I've made fresh bread twice, washed every stitch of laundry in the house, hung all the pictures I've not gotten to since Christmas, and the kids and I cleaned pretty much the entire house. It's probably the cleanest the house has ever been. Kind of a bummer we can't have anyone over to enjoy it. That said, I did manage to spend a little time with friends. 

One evening, six of us spent three and a half hours together. It was wonderful! Besides giving me a break from The Whole Being Dead Thing,  it felt so good to laugh. Normally we all get together for a long weekend this time of year, but that's kind of hard to do while being socially distant. So until we can physically get together again, we've scheduled weekly meet-up like this.

The kids scheduled an online D&D game yesterday so they could  spend some time with their friends. It was  wonderful to see some of their stress melt away - I think spending some time with people (other than their sibling and parents) did a world of good for their moods.

New Normal

Who would have though we'd ever be where we are now. The words "global pandemic" use to be the stuff of movies and video games, and yet here we are in the midst of one.  Michigan schools closed for a minimum of three weeks, restaurants are closed,  and we are all practicing "social distancing" in an attempt to flatten the curve.  (Although my favorite graph so far has got to be Cattening the Curve. Dr. Anne Marie Darling, an epidemiologist, altered the chart because she thought cats would be more "compelling" to people than plain old charts and graphs.  Brilliant.)

So here we are, trying to navigate this new normal. My husband is in charge of the Island's water system, so the kids and I are on "lock down," in an attempt to keep him and the other plant operators healthy. Throughout the past few days, I think the hardest thing for me has been the not knowing. I don't like not knowing. I'm especially worried about my dad; he's 79 and has COPD...

photo credits: Corona Pandemic  Cattening the Curve

Back in the Day: The Library

I was going through old photos the other day and came across this picture of the Library building that use to be on the property of Mission Point Resort.

I took this picture in 1989 during the first summer I worked on the Island. I think that was the only summer it was there (while I was) because I seem to remember it being torn down in the early 90s. I don't think it had been maintained very well and the architecture certainly wasn't very "Mackinac."

Sense of Humor

A couple of weeks ago when I was off the Island shopping, I noticed this hood ornament on a car in Petoskey. Who cares if it isn't scientifically accurate; it made me smile on an otherwise dreary day.

Connections

This winter during my family's annual Christmas cookie baking extravaganza, I found this recipe in my cousin's recipe book. I almost teared up when I realized it was written in my grandmother's handwriting. Somehow it made it seem like a little part of her was there baking with us. I think that would have made her smile.

Until, that is, my cousin and my mom started disagreeing about how much flour to put in the Nuremburgers. At that point the smile would have disappeared and Grandma would have informed us of the, ahem, correct way to do things. And they would have been perfect...

Who Would've Thought

Hands down my kids' favorite vegetables these days is Brussels sprouts. Which, by the way, I always thought were called Brussel sprouts not Brussels sprouts, but I was wrong. And then there's the question of why no does Brussels not have an apostrophe, but I digress. Anyway...

My kids love them. Like, love them enough to ask to have them for dinner. That said, they have to be roasted Brussels sprouts.  They asked my mom to make them once and forgot to specify the roasted part, and my mom boiled them. Talk about two unhappy teenagers. I think the word "ruined" may have been used to describe them, and as you can imagine, grandma did not appreciate that commentary on her cooking. For the record, she happens to love Brussels sprouts; boiled with lots and lots of butter. 

So, if you are looking for something new to try with your kids, give these a whirl. You might be as surprised as I was. And even if your kids aren't into them, you might be...

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

You'll need: 

• About 1.5 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts (I use two mesh bags from Meijer to feed 4.)
• Olive oil, maybe a tablespoon or two
• Salt and pepper, OR your favorite spice blend (I like this one.)

 

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (about 205 degrees C.)
2. Cover your cookie sheet or baking dish with foil for easy clean-up. (This is optional.)
3. Peel off any outer leaves that look brown or wilty.
4. Cut the bottom end bit off each sprout.
5. Slice each one in half lengthwise. If they are bigger than a gold ball, quarter them. If they are tiny, you can leave them whole.
6. Toss  the sprouts with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Use just enough to coat them. 
7. Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet or in a large baking dish.
8. Sprinkle on your spices.
9. Roast for 25 minutes or until they are slightly browned on the outside and tender in the center. (My daughter loves the blackened crunchy bits the best.)

Shoring Up

It's been a rough fall / winter on Mackinac. With the water at an almost record high and recurring storms, the shoreline has gotten pounded. 

MDOT (Michigan Department of Transportation) has shored up a few spots where the road has washed out, but they aren't responsible for private property.

Back before Christmas break my students and I noticed a barge near the school. Of course, we had to go out and investigate.

One of the water-front home owners hired the barge to drop boulders on their property. The hope is  they'll stop the erosion being caused by the extremely high water. I hope it helps. My husband tells me the Army Corps of Engineers predicts the water may continue to rise - up to an additional 18 inches. Yikes...

Back in the Day: Visiting Paris

Last spring, as I watched the news coverage of Notre-Dame burning, I started thinking about my visit to Paris. It took a while, but I finally managed to find a few pictures from that trip. It seems funny now, but I remember building money for film developing into my budget - enough for 10 or 15 rolls of film. At the time that seemed like so many pictures, but I took almost 1,500 pictures during the two weeks I spent in Iceland this past summer.

The summer I was 16, eight girls from my Girl Scout troop spent a month traveling around Europe. (We spent time in London, England; Paris, France; Munich, Germany; Venice, Italy; Salzburg, Austria and Adelboden Switzerland.) Our troop operated a Gift Wrapping Booth at the local shopping mall and believe it or not I managed to raise the $800 I need for the trip working there. (The trip actually cost $1,600 but my parents agreed to split the cost with me. I earned my $500 spending money by babysitting. Babysitting at $2.00 or $3.00 an hour no less.)

Nerdy uniforms, I know. But we only wore them on border crossing days. Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Gallagher traveled with girls every summer and they learned quickly that uniformed Scouts moved through customs much quicker than run-of-the-mill teenagers did.

I remember loving the gargoyles  up on Notre-Dame. My daughter is super envious of this picture. When she went to Paris a few years ago with my mom, they weren't allowed to touch them. 

As I look back on that trip, I feel pretty darn lucky to have gotten to visit before the fire...

Yikes

We were waiting for the boat to come home after Christmas break when my son noticed some smoke in St. Ignace. At first there were just a few little wisps but it didn't take long until huge black clouds were billowing out of the building. We quickly realized there was a serious fire on Main Street.

And I mean serious.  We stood on the bow of the Huron, in awe. I can't remember the last time I saw a fire like that - one that wasn't on a screen.

Luckily, the St. Ignace Fire Department, with support from both the Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island Fire Departments, quickly contained the blaze. There was smoke and water damage to the buildings next door, but thankfully the fire didn't spread. 

Scary stuff.

Rescued

I'll tell you - there's nothing like combining the power of the internet with a small town.  Within 10 minutes of posting my plea on Facebook, I was on my snowmobile heading out to pick up a little carpet cleaner. Then, while my son feverishly worked to clean up the mess he accidentally created, I was getting text messages of support from friends down state. 

This experience has, once again, reinforced why Mackinac Island is the best place in the world to live.  Hopefully the take away from this whole thing for my son is - when his dad says he needs help completing a job, it means he needs help.  He doesn't want my son to do the job for him. Especially when the job involves a container full of  disgustingly fowl black water that smells like death, and tan carpet...

Here Comes the Sun

Wishing you and yours a wonderful Winter Solstice.  May your heart be filled with sunshine today and every day...

Beware!

This lovely little tradition has just legitimized all those times my kids got clothes for Christmas. I was just looking out for them...

Also, I think they will get new underwear for Christmas this year. New undies with giant, smiling cat faces on the butt. (Thank you Allen.) I wouldn't want them to get eaten, especially now that they've been to Iceland and could legitimately be on the Yule Cat's radar.

I think my friend Kelaine might need a pair, too...

Saying Good-bye

I haven't really discussed it much,  but my husband's father passed away this summer. A few weeks ago we traveled to Sunderland, Massachusetts, to say our final good-byes.

Sunderland is a lovely little town on the banks of the Connecticut River. The kids and I had never been there before, and while it was a sad reason for a visit, we enjoyed getting to explore his old stomping ground.

We laid him to rest in the most beautiful cemetery I've ever seen. There was just something about the light through the leaves that day. It was lovely.

He served in the Navy during the very end of the Korean War, so he was buried with military honors.

And while I know you didn't know Dick, know that he would have appreciated being laid to rest near a patch of brussel sprouts, a corn field, and in view of the church where he married the love of his life. You can read his full obituary here.

Rest in peace Grampie;

we love and miss you...

Teacher Halloween 2019

This year for Halloween, the Mackinac Island teachers decided to dress up as if we were characters in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinny.

We thought about just picking characters from the book, until I found this site - Wimp Yourself.  It's a fun little site where you can personalize a character. Some poster board, black Sharpies, tape & paint stir sticks and quick as a wink, we were wimped!

Halloween 2019

This year we were lucky enough to have friends come up from Lansing to celebrate Halloween with us. They moved off the Island a number of years ago, but their mom and I have managed to get the kids together once or twice a year ever since.

 

This year I had a D&D character - a rogue. K put a lot of time into creating her costume. She had a clear vision and worked hard to bring it to life through thrifted (and then altered) items. D&D is serious business but don't let that face fool you - she was thrilled withher creation.

I also had a Laughing Jack - a macabre clown. My son also knew exactly what he wanted to do. You should have seen him walking around the fabric store looking for the items to make each part of the costume. Finding the feather boas for the shoulders made his day!

S has gotten into horror (think Stephen King) and really enjoyed creeping people out with his costume. Luckily, he hasn't lost his sense of humor. 

As for candy, 2019 was an average year. The four kids brought home between 7.4 and 9.8 pounds of candy each (about 3 kg - 4.5 kg.)  Given that they all went together to the same houses, I'm not sure why there was such a difference between their hauls.  By far S's favorite item this year was the blood bag. I'm not sure if they came from Amazon, but that's exactly what they looked like; except these were filled with a thick blood-red sugary liquid. It was all I could do to watch S slurp it down...