Not Much of a View

Several tourists giggled and pointed as I pushed my packages and milk up Fort Hill after school today. (How else was I supposed to get it all home?) The lack of view was worth it though because right now I am enjoying a delicious, sugar-free hazelnut steamer. 

This little gizmo makes frothing one up super easy and it's been a great way to get the kids drinking more milk.

The Great Pumpkin

We had a visitor yesterday. He left the perfect pumpkin in our front yard. It's beautiful; huge, round and the most perfect shade of orange you've ever seen. The photo just doesn't do it justice.

A year or two ago S and K asked the gentleman who grows pumpkins near the Big Barns if they could have one. He had already promised all of them that year, but ever since, he has made sure they were on his list. He's been so sweet. Now, whenever they see him in town they yell,  "Hi Pumpkin Man."

I think it makes him smile. I hope it does, because he sure puts a smile the faces of two kiddos.

Mackinac Problems

On my way to school this morning my pant leg got caught in my bike chain; like pulled in between the chain and the guard. Sigh. 

Any suggestions on getting oil out of fabric?

Friday

We came into school on Friday morning to find this little guy hopping down the hallway. He probably thinks the Three Rs are reading, writing and reptiles...

Proud Mama Moment

Last spring, with the help of a poet, the Island kids wrote Mackinac-inspired poetry. Next, artists came to school to work with the kids to create art to "visually express the theme of their poems." Finally, the poems and artwork were displayed together in a juried show.

I actually didn't know about the "juried" part until we got to the opening reception and they started announcing winners. (We were in Seattle last June and missed the show.) You can imagine my surprise when the judge announcing the Best in Show winner said this, 

"This poem and painting beautifully captures the unique experience of visiting Fort Mackinac. Every time I visit Fort Mackinac I am overwhelmed by the vibrant colors and our State's history. 'The Fort' poem and painting immediately put me there and it honestly warmed my heart."

K couldn't believe she'd won the whole thing - Best in Show! She was on cloud beamed as the reporter from the Town Crier interviewed her. In case you didn't make it to the show (at the Center for the Arts at Mission Point) here is K's poem:

One of the best parts is, that lovely paining will be coming to our house soon. I have just the spot to hang it.

Homemade Ghostbusters Proton Pack

A couple of people have asked me how I made the proton pack I wore for Halloween a couple of years ago. I don't have pictures of the process,  but I can explain where I got the parts and how I put it together.

First of all, and probably most importantly, I started looking for parts early. I knew I wanted to be Holtzman  but there was no way I was going to spend $700 on a pre-made pack. My budget was more like $50.00... So I started scrounging every time I stopped at Goodwill.

Most of the parts were items I picked up at thrift shops for next to nothing. In fact, the most expensive part of the whole thing was the spray paint!

(Click to make the image larger.)

I used an acrylic tray as the base of the pack, rather than the military frame that lots of people use. The ALICE frame was running between $25.00 and $50.00, so when I saw the tray for $1.00 it was an easy decision.  My husband cut some slits into the top of it for me so I could thread through straps I took from an old backpack.

Most of the other parts ran around the same price - except for the spray paint and the lights. (Everything is better with lights, right?) The best part was finding the light saber on the shelf at The Salvation Army for $1.99. After cutting down the end and drilling holes, a coat of paint, and some added lights - it was close to perfect.

After scrounging all the parts I used E6000 glue to hold everything together. Best. Glue. Ever. It stinks to high heaven, but it's flexible and is great for holding things together that need a little give.

To be honest, there was some sewing involved since I did add the orange and gray ribbon to the jump suit. It was actually cheaper to buy a pre-made jumpsuit on Amazon than it would have been to buy the fabric and a pattern to make one. It may not be screen accurate, but it was prefect for Halloween.