Five Pounds of Sour Cream?

Every fall, when the Island's hotels close, many donate leftover food to the school. Our cook is very good at menu planning with the random food items that appear, but sometimes she gets things she just can't use. Often it's the it items that have already been opened, or that will expire before she can get to them; those things she passes on to the staff and parents. 

This fall she got tons of sour cream - in five pound tubs. One of which, came home with me. Luckily, I knew about this little gem of a recipe: Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes - from the Pioneer Woman. 

The recipe seems off, but trust it - the measurements work. The pancakes are light and fluffy, and they're delicious. According to my daughter, they're the best pancakes in the whole world. If you make them for more than two people, you'll want to double the recipe. A double batch made the perfect amount for my family of four.

Field Trip!

Teaching at the Mackinac Island Public School is pretty amazing. Not only because it's Mackinac Island and our kids are fantastic, but because we have so many groups supporting our school...

Last week my co-teacher and I (with the  help of some super parents) took our 21 fourth, fifth and sixth graders to Lansing - Michigan's Capital city. Most of our trip was generously funded by the Mackinac Island Community Foundation. You may remember this trip they funded for us a couple of years ago.

Our first stop was dinner at Shaw Hall - a residence hall at Michigan State University. For many of the kids it was their first visit to a college campus. I went to MSU and regularly ate lunch at Shaw, so it was fun for me to see just how far dorm food had come.

Then, thanks to the Mackinac Arts Council, we walked over to the Wharton Center to see Wicked. 

(Photo: The Wharton Center)

A few of the kids had seen it before, but for most of us, it was our first time and we were not disappointed. It was AMAZING! If you live in Michigan and you can get to Lansing in the next week or so - go! I know the play was spell-binding because several fourth grade boys insisted it was the best part of the whole trip!

After a good night's sleep we were off to Impression 5 Science Center for a morning of exploration.

There were so many interesting things to play with, the kids were in constant motion -

until it was time to come together to build electric circuits. 

Next, we had a private tour of the Capitol Building.

Did you know one of the floors in the Capitol is made of glass? The kids were surprised to learn it was only about an inch thick.

They laid on that floor and marveled at the dome 160 feet above them. 

One of my fourth grade girls loved the incredible light fixtures in the Capitol. "Look Mrs. B, even the lights match Michigan's flag." I love it when kids notice things like that.

And, as if that wasn't enough to cram into the trip, when we left the Capitol we drove over to Potter Park Zoo for their overnight program. Yep, we got to spend the night at the zoo!

After touring the zoo, the kids got up close and personal with reptiles, a Eurasian Eagle owl, a tenrec and the most adorable three-banded armadillo you've ever seen. 

We had time for a campfire complete with s'mores before it was time to settle down for an animal movie (Andre - a true story about a family that rehabilitates an injured seal.) Finally, it was time for bed. Which was a good thing because we were all ready for a little rest.

We had intended to visit Abrams Planetarium in the morning before we headed for home, but Mother Nature had other plans for us. The National Weather Service issued a gale warning for the Straits area (50 mph winds) for Friday afternoon through Saturday, so we decided to leave Lansing early. Hopefully we would miss the worst of the storm and get back to the Island before they possibly closed the Mackinac Bridge or shut down the ferry. 

We arrived in Mackinaw City to find the bridge open, the ferries running, and happy parents eager to hear all about our adventure...

And So it Begins

The kids' snow gear is unpacked and the sleds are on the porch because  winter is coming to Mackinac. Finally...

Mackinac Must Haves: Organization

When you live on Mackinac Island you've got to be organized. For instance, a few Fridays ago I left the island after work to spend the weekend with some friends. I wanted to leave on a 3:00 boat, so going back "up the hill*" to get my stuff wasn't an option. I needed to be packed and ready to go before I left the house for work at 6:00 am Friday morning, so Thursday night was all about getting ready.

I packed up four bags of returnable soda cans ($31.10 for the vacation fund,) two big duffels of donations for Goodwill and my bag of clothes for the weekend. I also got out the tubs we use for bringing groceries home.

Friday morning I set everything out in the front yard. That way the dray could pick it up while I was at school and deliver it to the dock. When I got off the ferry Friday afternoon, everything was safe and sound, waiting for me. You might notice the bags are labeled "Star Mac City" - to make sure they got onto the right cart after they were dropped off at the dock

* I live "up the hill" which means to get to my house from town it's a pretty significant up hill bike ride or walk. I'm not sure what the incline is on the hill, but it's fairly steep. The hill definitely makes you think about organizing your day so your day so you don't have to go up more than necessary.

Changes

Change often comes hard to those of us who live on Mackinac. There is a certain predictability to our lives, and many of us like it that way. Not all mind you, there are those who thrive on drama, but I'm not one of them. 

There is something comforting about routine - I like it. This week a 138 year Mackinac Island routine came to an end when the Arnold Transit Company closed its doors. 

Star Line bought Arnold - they bought the boats, the docks, everything but the freight end of the business. Sure I know the boats will keep running, but lots of things are up in the air. I can't even imagine how the Arnold employees are feeling right now. My rational brain realizes these things happen every day, but my heart feels just a little bit sad at the thought of such a long-running business closing its doors.  

I know I often griped about the slow boat, but you always got me home safely. Thank you, Arnold Line, for 32 years of safe travels. 

Thankful

I was Mackinac Island's sixth voter this morning and I can't tell you how thankful I am that this election season is coming to an end. I normally have strong feelings about which candidate I prefer, but I've never been as anxious over an election as I have been about this one.

Whoever wins tonight, I am hopeful the losing side will graciously acquiesce so we can all move forward.

Photo via