Out with the Old

Somewhere around northern Michigan I lost a four. I knew the State of Michigan would not appreciate my horrible lapse in license plate etiquette, so I popped into the Secretary of State last time I was on the mainland. The lovely woman at the counter was quite surprised at how badly the plate was peeling. Surprised until she checked the computer system and saw that we'd had that plate on our van for ten years. Apparently license plates are supposed to be replaced every ten years anyway, so the S. O. S. replaced it for free. I inquired about getting the car replaced instead, but the lady at the counter was not amused. Undoubtedly it was the 150th time she'd heard that same joke..

Good News

When I checked my phone at lunch today I noticed this wonderful text. The Huron is up and running and will start passenger service tomorrow! It is officially spring on Mackinac...

Halloween 2018, Late as Usual...

Why is it that I never seem to be able to post about Halloween near Halloween? It always seems to take me months and I'm not sure why. Anyway...

Last year the kid's decided they both wanted to be characters from the Five Nights at Freddy's video game.  K found this "tutorial" for a Freddy Fazbear mask on line and she and Allen built her mask out of a flower pot, PVC pipe hangers, sponges and felt. As tutorials go, it was seriously lacking. Luckily it was enough to get them started and they managed to muddle through the missing parts of the directions. S wanted to be a marionette character from the game and had an absolute riot creeping people while he trick-or-treated.

I'm glad Halloween is still alive and well in our house. Now that the kids are in seventh and eighth grade, I know it is only a matter of time before the decide to opt out of trick-or-treating. Although, it may be hard for my sugar-loving kiddos to turn down the candy haul, which for 2018 was 9.6 pounds each. (The weighing of the candy is a family tradition.)

 

Cookie Time

I bet Mackinac Island is one of only a couple of places where Girl Scouts deliver their cookies by snowmobile! 

We want to send a big "Thank you!" to Fresh Air Aviation for donating the freight cost to fly the cookies to the island. The Mackinac Island Girl Scouts appreciate your support!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope you had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.

My daughter still has that clover, in a frame, up in her bedroom.  (Along with the four others she found that day.)

Growing Up

I kissed my son on the cheek yesterday and it was scratchy. Scratchy!

I guess the whiskers just go along with the size 12  1/2 feet and fact that he's taller than I am now. They grow up so fast...

Tutorial: Homemade Faux Hogwarts Wax Seals

A few years ago at MIPS we celebrated March is Magic Month and I posted the photo above on Facebook. Recently, I got an email asking how I sealed 45 Hogwarts acceptance letters with red sealing wax with out breaking the bank. (At about $1.00 per stick that wax is expensive.) I'd read about using crayons in a glue gun, but I didn't want to ruin mine, so I had to get creative. The truth is, I didn't actually use red sealing wax...

I used hot glue.

I also used a Teflon pressing sheet, a button, cooking spray, and red spray paint. I could have bought a real Hogwarts seal, but I was on a budget...

I started by gluing the button onto an old empty thread spool so I could hold onto it more easily. Not exactly the Hogwarts crest but it was close enough.

Next, I used my glue gun to make dabs of hot glue on the pressing sheet, which I quickly sprayed with Pam cooking spray and then squished flat with the button. The Pam spray is really important - otherwise the glue will stick to the button. I also discovered dipping the button into cold water between each press helped it release from the glue more easily. It wasn't exactly a quick process, but it was March, on Mackinac Island, so I had the time.

After the seals cooled, they needed a good washing with Dawn dish soap to remove the cooking spray. I also needed to cut off those little glue tails you get with hot glue.

They were done after two quick coats of cheap red spray paint - which cost about $5.00.

A quick drop or two of Elmer's Glue  and the envelopes were sealed and ready to go...

Spoiled

My daughter is an avid reader; and when I saw avid, I mean avid. A month or so ago, she just decided she wanted to read Fahrenheit 451, so she checked it out of the library and powered through it. And  did I mention - she's 12! But I digress...

One series of books she's really enjoyed has been the  Wings of Fire.  The moment a new book comes out all she has to do is stop by the library and give our librarian the title. A few days later the book is at the library, ready for her to pick up. If K so much as mentions a book she's interested in reading it magically appears at the library the next time she's there. I'm not sure if all Island kids get that kind of treatment, but I'm pretty confident that all the "readers" are properly spoiled. I know our librarian has made the library one of my daughter's favorite places.

 

K's Aunt Kelaine also does an amazing job keeping

her in books.

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.