A Lilac a Day, Day Ten

The lilacs have mostly passed, except for a few of the later varieties. Luckily my garden has been doing quite well this year and I have lots of other flowers think about...

A Lilac a Day, Day Nine

I know many people were a little concerned when they learned the Grand Hotel had been sold. While I haven't spent a great deal of time there this summer, I can assure you the gardens are a lovely as always.

A Lilac a Day, Day Eight

I love the smell of lilacs, but I've never been a fan of lilac scented soaps or air fresheners. Maybe it's because I've been spoiled by the real thing.

A Lilac a Day, Day Seven

I had hoped to plant lilacs when we built the house, but sadly our yard just doesn't get enough sun. Luckily, my parents have several varieties growing at their house.

A Lilac a Day, Day Six

The lilacs in Marquette Park looked amazing this year. There were so many blossoms, you could see them from the ferry.

A Lilac a Day, Day Five

I hope you've enjoyed A Lilac a Day this week. It's not a good substitute for actually being on Mackinac and enjoying them in person, but it's better than nothing.

Hopefully, in 2021, we'll all be vaccinated against Covid-19 and we'll be able to smell the lilacs together as we sit and watch the Lilac Festival parade...

A Lilac a Day, Day Four

I always want to cut lilacs and have a vase overflowing with them on my dining room table. I've tried twice, and each time they were wilted with in just a few hours. Now I just enjoy them on the tree.

A Lilac a Day, Day Three

The smell of lilacs always puts a smile on my face. Maybe because they always signal the start of summer...

A Lilac a Day, Day Two

I love walking down my street this time of year. The lilac scent is almost overwhelming...

A Lilac a Day, Day One

June on Mackinac can be wonderful. I'm not sure if the lilacs have peaked yet, but they certainly are lovely.  For those of you who are missing Mackinac, this week I will be sharing a few lilac pictures each day. Just so you can get your daily dose of the Island...

Questions

I stopped by school the other day to water my plants.

My poor Christmas cactus is a bit confused. It flowered right after Christmas and now it is flowering again. I don't think it's ever done that before. But it does fit in with the craziness that is 2020.

I was sad walking around my silent room, but I held it together until I noticed the bulletin board in the front of my classroom.

March. Here it is June and the calendars up on the bulletin board were from March. I broke into tears - not over the calendar per se, but over the two and a half months lost. My logical brain completely understands why school was closed, and that those months at home flattened the curve and saved lives, but it's been hard on my heart. 

So I sat at my desk and cried.

At home I've kept my mind busy, but in that moment I just needed to admit to myself just how much I've missed being at school with my students. People may think sheltering in place has been easy on teachers because we haven't had to go into work every day; we've gotten to be at home with our families, but it's been hard. I worry about my kids and their parents. Some of them aren't working, while others still have to work while the kids are home. We threw them into online learning thing almost overnight. This experience has been stressful for them - traumatic even. I've tried to support them through this crazy time and I've got to tell you, my sixth grade families have been amazing. I am so proud of them. And as I sat contemplating just how hard they've worked and how much I miss them, I noticed the Magic Eight Ball sitting on my desk...

So I asked it, "Will we be coming back to school in the fall?"

A good sign. But the worrier in me felt the need to ask again. "Will we go back to normal school in September?"

Another good sign. But just to be sure, because, you know, it's me, I asked one last time - "Is everything going to be OK?"

So there you have it - The Super Eight Ball certainly believes the future looks good. And as ridiculous as it sounds, my heart felt a little lighter as I walked out of my classroom and headed for home...

Helping

As adorable as Minnie is, she is not the least bit helpful when I'm trying to make mittens.

I think she loves the fact that we are all here during the day. No more waiting until we get home to get snuggles.

Swapping

Two days ago I started making homemade clotted cream. It is simple to make but it takes about 24 hours, so it can't be rushed.  (I now understand why the stuff is so darn expensive.)

I made the clotted cream and my lovely neighbor made cherry almond scones.  And then we each gave half of what we made to the other. It was the best breakfast I've had in weeks: homemade scones and clotted cream - delightful. We'll have to do it again when we can enjoy breakfast together!

Cooking

I'm not a big cook. I don't really enjoy it; to me it is more chore than fun. It just takes so much... time. Well, time is something I have in abundance these days, so I've gotten more adventurous in the kitchen lately. So, I present to you, drum roll please...

Moroccan beef and vegetables served on homemade Naan bread. 

Delicious, if I do say so myself. But it's bread, and I pretty much love any and all breads, so it wasn't a hard sell. Nor was it hard to make. You'll find the meat recipe here and the Naan recipe here. 

I've made these twice now and my Naan turned out much better the second time. The secret was to let the dough rest (in a bowl covered with plastic wrap) for a few hours. It turned out much better than the batch I cooked right away.

I think quarantine has gotten to me and I've officially lost my mind; the footstool talks to me, the pasties were happy to be eaten, and now the Naan seems to be smiling at me. It may be time to go out for a walk.

Too Close to Home

We're a game playing family, but right now these two aren't leaving the cupboard.

They're both great games, but they hit just a little close too home these days...

Feeding an Army

Last week the kids and I set out to make pasties.

A lot of pasties. The goal was to make enough so we could have dinner and then freeze the rest for another meal or two.

We used this recipe and were quite happy with the results.  (We did add carrots into the mix.)

At the end of the day we'd chopped enough vegetables and rolled enough dough to make 25 pasties and two meat pies. (At the end of the day we got lazy.) Plenty to share with the neighbors, feed us dinner, and stash 20 pasties and one meat pie in the freezer for later.

The only down side - I think the pasties are in league with the step stool. Just look at that smile. I would have thought they would've been more upset at the idea of being eaten...

Passing the Time

One of the things I did this week to keep busy was make eight gallons of homemade laundry detergent. Not a particularly exciting way to pass the time I know, but very practical. The best part is, I probably won't need to make any more until about August.

For me, homemade detergent is actually easier than store bought. Everything I buy has to be bagged at the store, unbagged and packed in a tote, loaded into the car, unloaded at the dock, and finally put on a luggage cart so  the ferry can bring it over to the Island. Since detergent is mostly water, dealing with the ingredients is a lot less work than lugging big bottles around. (The plumber told us not to use powdered detergent, or dishwasher soap, since we have a sewer grinder.) Plus, a few years, the Grand Hotel was getting rid of 50 pound bags of washing soda. I still haven't used even a fourth of the bag I stashed in the basement. So all I need to get to the Island are small bars of Fels-Naptha soap and the occasional box of  Borax. 

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent 

1 bar of Fels-Naptha or Zote soap, grated (I prefer Fels-Naptha)
1 cup washing soda
1 cup Borax
Water

You will also need:

Large pot
Blender (immersion or stand) or a hand mixer
Containers to hold approximately four gallons of liquid
Funnel for filling containers

Get your biggest pot; I use the biggest pot we have - the one we use to boil spaghetti noodles. Fill it with water and set in on the stove on high heat. While the water is heating, grate the bar of soap.  Put the grated soap into the water so it can dissolve. This usually takes a few minutes (I think stirring helps the soap dissolve.) You want hot, but not boiling water. (If it boils, you'll get suds.) Once the soap has dissolved, slowly add in the Borax and washing soda - letting what you add dissolve before you add more. Once you're happy that everything has dissolved, turn the stove off and let the mixture cool. This takes a while so I usually just leave mine to cool overnight.

As the detergent cools it will congeal into a thick mass. I like to use my hands to break up the goo into smaller globs. (If you have kids at home, this is a perfect job for them - as long as you're up for lots of booger jokes.) After the mass isn't a mass anymore and more liquidy, use the blender to liquify it even more. The blender / mixer really breaks down the goo and it makes mixing in the water later much easier.

As I finish blenders full, I use the funnel to pour even amounts of the stuff into four, one-gallon jugs. Once I've got the entire pot full blended and into the gallon jugs, I fill the jugs with warm water; giving each one a really good shake to make sure the detergent and the water are well mixed. That's it. Then it's off to the basement until I need it. Usually I give the jug a little shake each time I use the detergent because sometimes it does separate a little (though as yet I haven't discovered a why one batch does while another batch doesn't.) I use about a half-cup of detergent per load of laundry.

I think for tomorrow's project, the kids and I will make pasties...

Is it Just Me?

I think sheltering in place is finally getting to me and I'm losing my marbles. Not only am I watching way more TV than I ever have in my life, but I think the furniture has started talking to me.

I swear that step stool just asked me to stop stepping on his head.

Spring

Spring is slowly coming to Mackinac. Today I noticed a few crocuses in my neighbor's yard. As I walked by my garden I saw a few hyacinths, tulips and a trillium or two inching their way up. If we can get another good rain and then a few warm days, I bet I'll have some color to brighten things up a bit. And there's nothing like flowers to improve my mood.

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing a wonderful day to one of the most 

adventurous people I've ever known.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Sorry we couldn't go to brunch

with you today.

Hopefully next year we'll

be able to celebrate as a family...

My Mother's Day was lovely. It started at 6:30 with a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and coffee in bed, made 100% by my children.  (They wanted to make sure I didn't get up before they did, and even had the kitchen clean before I came downstairs.) The day ended with a steak dinner with baked and grilled pineapple on the side, and homemade pineapple ice cream for desert. (If you haven't guessed yet - pineapple is my favorite.) It may have been socially distant, but it was a delightful day.