Good Morning

I'm thinking it's going to be an inside-recess kind of day.

(77295 is the Mackinac Bridge Authority and 41411 is Arnold Transit - the ferry boat company.)

Late

My Christmas cactus is late this year. It's in the same spot it's always been, but for some reason it's just starting to get buds. I'll have to do some research; perhaps it's time to repot or prune.

Brrrrrrrrr

It has been frigid on Mackinac this week - we're talking close-to-zero-single-digit-temperatures. When the air is significantly colder than the water, it causes the lake to "steam." Technically, it isn't really steam, it's fog. It happens when when 20ish degree warmer water evaporates and then quickly condenses in the much colder air. The misty fog looks like steam coming off the lake. Either way, the lake is giving up energy and cooling. Local lore on Mackinac says the lake has to steam seven times before we can get an ice bridge. 

I think this was steam number three.

Happy Days

This may just look like a simple line of snowmobile helmets to you, but to me it means Mackinac Island got enough snow that we can ride snowmobiles. I don't really mind walking to and from work, but there's something wonderful about hopping on a snowmobile and riding down the hill. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it stays cold enough us to keep the snow!

(These were the snowmobile helmets lined up outside the third and fourth grade classroom at the Mackinac Island Public School this morning.)

Birthday

A very special somebody had a birthday this week. Nothing fancy, just a low-key evening with family and pie. A pistachio pie, made with this recipe. It wasn't the most amazing desert in the universe, but it was good. I really appreciated that the crust didn't get mushy, even after several days.

So if you see Allen out and about, be sure to wish him a very happy birthday!

Link: https://dancearoundthekitchen.com/pistachio-pie

Quiet

Truth be told, I am not a dog person. I am, most definitely, a cat person. (To me there's not much that beats snuggling with a purring cat, but I digress.) My mom has been on a skiing trip so we agreed to watch her dog while she has been traveling.  Wren is an adorable little black lab who loves long walks (and her ball.) 

She and I have been going out together every morning before I head to school, which means we usually walk in the dark. This past weekend however,  we headed out together a little later so we got to see the sights. We walked for about 30 minutes each morning, and apart from a few squirrels, we didn't see another living soul.

Nerdy Ponderings

If you've been here for a while, you are probably well aware that I am a complete and total nerd. While I was waiting for the boat the other day, I noticed the new decor in the waiting room.

Two very nice photographs of old Arnold Transit schedules are now hanging on the wall; one including a price. The 1972 schedule doesn't have a price, but the other schedule does - $1.50 for a round trip under the bridge. Then the current price flashed up on the screen - $44.00 for an adult. 

It got me wondering... How does that price increase compare to inflation?

To do that I had to make an assumption as to the year of that schedule. To give Arnold Transit the benefit of the doubt, I assumed it was pre 1972, so I guessed 1970 (a nice round number.) According to this inflation calculator, $1.50 in 1970 would be worth about $12.50 in 2024. So, if the price had gone up the same percentage as inflation, the ticket price should be about $12.50, but instead it costs $44.00. That means the price of a ferry ticket has increased about three and a half times the rate of inflation. Or, to put it another way the price of a ferry ticket has changed 2,833%. (You read that right - two thousand, eight hundred thirty-three precent.) I used the percent of change formula to calculate that, in case you're wondering.

My next question was - why? What could account for an almost 3,000% increase?

Gas prices? Wages? Well...

According to Google's AI, diesel fuel cost $0.36 per gallon in 1970. Today, that same gallon of diesel runs about $3.50 a gallon -  an 872% change in price.

Also according to Google's AI, the minimum wage in Michigan was $1.45 in 1970. It was $10.33 in January of 2024 - a 612% change in price.

Now I need more data!

Please don't get me wrong - I in no way am putting down Arnold Line or suggesting inappropriate pricing practices. I really do appreciate them and their employees! I'm just a nerd who got to thinking, and that can be a dangerous thing. 

Merry Christmas

This year my students sewed snowmen to give to their parents for Christmas. I promised them I wouldn't share this picture until today so I wouldn't ruin their surprise. Hopefully, the presents have all been unwrapped and it is now safe for me to share.

I hope you are impressed with their snowmen. Each of those kids hand-sewed every stitch of their project. My favorite part is the carrot button noses. I was so excited to find those on Amazon!

(Six of my eight fifth and sixth graders are in the picture above.)

Island Style Christmas Tree

My friend, Travis, picked up his Christmas tree the other day; and of course since he lives on Mackinac, he got his tree home on his snowmobile.

Supporting Our Community

Every year my co-teacher and I work with our students to create items to sell at Mackinac Island's annual Christmas Bazaar. 

This year they created the cutest little Christmas trees made from yarn wrapped around a cone,

complete with little felt "lights."

The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders made quite a few trees, which brough in almost $300, but teaching them to donate their time to important causes was priceless. (All the money raised at the Christmas Bazaar goes to support the Mackinac Island Community Foundation, the Mackinac Island Medical Center, and the Island's churches.) 

2024 Christmas Cookies

December kind of snuck up on me this year, so I have been a cookie-making machine lately. This year's varieties include: zimtsterne, zitronenherzen, caramel springerle,  Nurnberger, spritzgeback, Scottish shortbread, ginger, stamped chocolate, Oreo truffles, peanut butter blossoms, and pretzel turtles. 

I just love making Christmas cookies. OK, who am I kidding? I enjoy making Christmas cookies, but I love eating Christmas cookies!

My kids, both home for the holidays, love eating them, too. Hopefully they will read my note so I'll have enough to pack into the cookie tins I give away.

This year I had a custom cookie mold made. The maker did an amazing job - I was a little worried about those tiny spots in the top of the bridge, but the springerle mold worked beautifully with both the springerle and chocolate dough.

All Tied Up

I was at my favorite thrift shop the other day and this display stopped me in my tracks. I'm guessing someone who loved bowties passed away and his loved ones donated them to the shop. Some lovely person spent quite a bit of time making all those ties. (I'm guessing they are homemade because I purchased some of the same fabric at Joann's.) Priced at $3.00 each they're going to make a bowtie-loving person very happy!

Letters to Santa

Getting kids to write can be challenging, so when I saw a Facebook post from our local Postmaster about her Santa mailbox, I started plotting. My fifth and sixth graders need to be able to write five-paragraph essays, so why not turn those into letters to Santa explaining why their names should be included on his Nice List. It worked perfectly; they were engaged and worked hard to clearly describe the three reasons each of their names should be on the list.

Once their essays were revised, edited, and printed, we addressed them and headed to the Mackinac Island Post Office to put them in the box. Thank you Molly for making this assignment more fun and include a field trip!

Camilla Returns

It's December in my classroom and that means Camilla the Christmas Chicken comes back for her yearly visit.  My students were so excited to come into the classroom to see what she brought them. (She brought a puzzle from this book, if you're curious.)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

While my family does not share my enthusiasm for vintage ceramic Christmas trees, they make me happy. And since it's "that time of year," they are all over the house! Do you have a favorite holiday decoration?

Thankful

I am so thankful to have this husband. He singlehandedly planned and cooked Thanksgiving dinner for nine. All I had to do was make desert (cheesecake and pecan pie, if you're wondering.) And yes, his cooking is delicious! 

Treat

I wasn't super excited about having to catch the first boat this morning, but the sunrise brightened my day, literally.

When Life Gives You Lemons

When life gives you lemons,

and you happen to have chickens,

(so needing 32 egg yolks isn't an issue)

what should you do?

 Make homemade lemon curd, of course?

One of the Island's hotels closed for the season and donated all their remaining produce to the school. Our cook pulled out the items he could use, and then the leftovers were put out for staff and parents to take (so noting would go to waste.) Not many people were interested in the big box of lemons, so I snagged enough to make two batches of lemon curd. I also got enough cream cheese to make a cheesecake for Thanksgiving.  One guess what flavor it will be!

Hard Days

I've had some hard days lately. Someone I care very much about is going through some things that, quite frankly, I can't help them with. Other than letting them know how much I care and that I'm here for them, there is not a darn thing I can do, and it's killing me. I'm a take action and solve the problem kind of person, and right now I can't do squat and I hate it. And I know if my days have been hard, their days have been much, much harder.

Then there's the worry. Some days I am physically ill with worry for this person. I tend to be on the anxious side to begin with, so throw in some actual serious concern and my anxiety goes through the roof. 

Logically I know they have to deal with this and it's their issue, but it's still hard not to be able to help. And I'm told that when I get anxious, I come across as angry. Which I'm not. I don't mean to seem angry. I just wish I could help.... I know. I'm sorry.... This is a long rant with very little context, but putting it in print is helping me deal with it.

Perhaps this person might see this and come to realize I am not upset with them, but rather I am upset about their situation and just wish there was some way I could be of help.

Ready for Winter

Chickens don't require huge amounts of work, but there are things you have to do to keep them. One of the most dreaded chicken-chores is cleaning out the chicken coop. Luckily, my coop is small so cleaning it isn't an overwhelming task. 

Today I managed to cross that job off my Fall To Do List. The girls now have a clean coop, complete with new nesting material. As soon as I finished, several of the girls had to pop inside to check out their newly cleaned digs. I can't tell if Princess Poopy Pants is pleased, or if that is a look of disapproval.

If you're wondering why there is a phone taped to the wall in the chicken coop - it is being used as a camera. I can open an app on my phone to check to see if the automatic door has opened or closed. The automatic door makes owning chickens soooooooooooo much easier!