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!