Category: TRAVELS & JOURNEYS

QUILT CAMP CONTINUES

We stayed up late last night reading, chatting and watching an old movie so Am is getting a bit of a late start today on her quilt. It makes me smile though. We have her all set up at the kitchen table with my old sewing machine, all her cut squares, her instructions, the ironing board nearby and she is singing away to her iPod as she creates her squares. She is making great progress.

Her first finished square ever.

Underground Mine Tour in Vulcan but we didn’t see MR. Spock

We took advantage of the wonderful weather and decided to trek to Vulcan (unfortunately Mr. Spock didn’t join us) for the Underground Iron Mine tour here in the U.P. The first time we tried to do this, we hadn’t brought jackets and even in July they are a necessary evil. As you progress down the mine (400 feet deep and 1/2 mile underground) the temperature drops to 42 degrees almost immediately! So this time we brought jackets and stayed toasty for the tour.


The mining began as exploratory in 1837 when Michigan became the 26th state and took MANY years to produce a profit.


The mine was closed after WWII in 1945 when the prices for iron took a drastic drop and the mine could no longer make a profit.

Am was so chilled she even covered her ears!

P.S. Note to those who actually care about common courtesy and respect for others: If you are taking your children on a tour that requires others to pay for their tickets, then please curtail your small children’s activities and speech. No one spends their hard earned money to go on a tour to NOT hear it or see what is going on because of your inability to discipline your children and keep them respectful of others.

The Revival of a Family Sunday ~ Breakfast through Dinner

We’re changing up the menu plan a bit! The catch to dinner: My recipes, but the teenager has done all the menu planning (which she hated making choices – said it was hard work), shopping, prep work, cooking and clean-up. On the Menu: Toasted French Toast for breakfast and for dinner, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Garlic Smashers, Home Made Carrot Cake she made a gourmet meal that was quickly devoured! We used multi-grain and sourdough for the French toast and it was truly scrumptious.




TOASTED FRENCH TOAST ~ We hate soggy French Toast and this recipe conquers that.
8 slices thick white bread
1 1/4 cup milk
5 egg yolks
1/8 cup flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

  • Toast bread, but not browned.
  • Preheat griddle and coat with a small amount of butter.
  • Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, salt, vanilla, butter and cinnamon.
  • Whisk in flour until smooth.
  • Pour milk mixture into a baking dish.
  • Soak bread pieces for a few seconds on each side.
  • Grill for several minutes on each side until golden brown.
  • Serve with warm maple syrup.

SMASHERS
6-8 small YUKON potatoes, skin on
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 stick butter, melted
2 teaspoons minced garlic
olive oil

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
  • Scrub potatoes
  • Boil potatoes until tender
  • Generously spread olive oil on cookie sheet
  • Space potatoes a couple of inches apart
  • With a potato masher, SMASH each potato
  • Sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika
  • Melt butter and mix butter and garlic together
  • Pour a tablespoon of butter mixture over each potato
  • Bake 30 minutes or until tops are crispy
CHICKEN CORDON BLEU
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 thin slices cooked ham
4 thin slices swiss cheese***
1/2 pound bacon (8 slices)
2 jumbo eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon minced garlic, jar
1 teaspoon oregano

  • Flatten chicken breasts.
  • Spread butter evenly on the tops.
  • Smooth garlic evenly amongst the 4 breasts.
  • Sprinkle the thyme evenly between the four breasts.
  • Top with a slice of ham and then a slice of cheese.
  • Roll up tightly.
  • Wrap 2 slices of bacon around each one and secure with toothpicks.
  • Whisk together the eggs and milk in a shallow bowl. Place flour in another shallow bowl. Combine the bread crumbs, oregano and cheese in a 3rd shallow bowl.
  • Dip each chicken breast in the egg mixture first, then the flour, then the egg mixture again and the crumb mixture last.
  • Place on a greased cookie sheet.
  • Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
  • Don’t forget to remove the toothpicks before serving.
*For really easy servings, I lay the bacon on the cookie sheet and cut the flattened breasts in half. On top of 1/2 of the bacon strip lay a chicken piece, top as directed and then lay the other chicken breast. Bring the other 1/2 of the bacon slice over the top and bake as directed. NO ROLLING AND NO TOOTHPICKS!

***I also use Muenster or Gruyere if that is what I have on hand.

SCRUMPTIOUS CARROT CAKE with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
CAKE
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
3 Jumbo eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup golden rum*
3 cups grated carrots
8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

  • Pour rum over raisins and set aside for at least an hour.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease and flour 2-9 inch cake pans.
  • In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugars.
  • In another bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and 1 egg. Add additional eggs and beat until well creamed.
  • Add dry ingredients gradually until well blended.
  • Add carrots, pineapple and walnuts until well blended.
  • Drain raisins and fold in last.
  • Pour batter into prepared pans.
  • Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool 10 minutes.
  • Invert cakes onto rack and cool completely.

*As an option you could soak the raisins in orange juice instead and then substitute 1 teaspoon maple flavoring for the rum.

FROSTING
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

  • In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
  • Add lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until blended.
  • Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended and smooth.
  • Ice first layer and then add 2nd cake top and ice again including sides of cake.
  • Refrigerate 1 hour to set icing before serving.

3 Hour Tour – Lake Superior and Pictured Rocks

We set off on a 3 hour tour only to find that Am didn’t know about Gilligan’s Island, so our lame jokes about the S.S. Minnow were lost on her. We decided to take a glass bottom boat tour of Shipwrecks, but at the last minute had to change to the Pictured Rocks cruise because of timing.

Pictured Rocks are 200 foot sandstone cliffs that have been mineral stained over the years by iron, calcium and copper. They are also being eroded away by the 30 foot waves that crash over them and carve out sea caves.

Lake Superior is the largest (400 miles across and 160 miles top to bottom) of the Great Lakes and the deepest. The water is so clear you can see the bottom in places. It started out quite nice and a bit warm, but before long sweatshirts won out as the air became so much cooler the further away from shore we were.


The schooner Madeline was in bay today and there was a music jam in the marina.

The soft sandstone sides are stained from the minerals that run sometimes continuously from natural springs.




The arch below has been carved through the centuries as have the sea caves.



This is Indian Head point and this arch used to have room for a small boat to travel under it until it’s collapse a decade or so ago.


See how perfect the break is on that huge rock? Makes you realize how soft and breakable these sandstone rocks must be.

The 2 pictures above and the 2 below are of Chapel Cove. They leave you a bit awestruck as you see the many layers upon layers of sandstone. The captain took the boat all the way into the cove so we could get a better perspective and closer view.




Notice the tree growing on top of that pile of rocks. If you look closely, you’ll see the roots actually drape across to the land!

Notice how clear the water is. You can see the previous remnants that have fallen from the cliffs above in the water below. It is quite shallow at points.


The lighthouse is on Grand Island on the last stretch of private land on the island. There are only a few houses, but if you own one, you own a percentage of the lighthouse too. It is no longer in use, but there is a conservation committee to preserve it. It was decommissioned a century ago and stands tall and proud still. Grand Island is a HUGE (larger than Manhattan) island that protects Munising Bay from the elements to some extent. The island is now owned by the forest service and it is a recreational area that you can ferry out to.

Obviously the wind blew a bit today, but we had fun and finished the day with hot fudge sundaes at Bob’s Big Boy.


She pleaded with me not to take these pictures and then reluctantly acquiesced to my request.

final blog signature.

3 Hour Tour – Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks and AMBER’S first BIG BOY!

We set off on a 3 hour tour only to find that Am didn’t know about Gilligan’s Island, so our lame jokes about the S.S. Minnow were lost on her. We decided to take a glass bottom boat tour of Shipwrecks, but at the last minute had to change to the Pictured Rocks cruise because of timing.

Pictured Rocks are 200 foot sandstone cliffs that have been mineral stained over the years by iron, calcium and copper. They are also being eroded away by the 30 foot waves that crash over them and carve out sea caves.

Lake Superior is the largest (400 miles across and 160 miles top to bottom) of the Great Lakes and the deepest. The water is so clear you can see the bottom in places. It started out quite nice and a bit warm, but before long sweatshirts won out as the air became so much cooler the further away from shore we were.


The schooner Madeline was in bay today and there was a music jam in the marina.

The soft sandstone sides are stained from the minerals that run sometimes continuously from natural springs.




The arch below has been carved through the centuries as have the sea caves.



This is Indian Head point and this arch used to have room for a small boat to travel under it until it’s collapse a decade or so ago.


See how perfect the break is on that huge rock? Makes you realize how soft and breakable these sandstone rocks must be.

The 2 pictures above and the 2 below are of Chapel Cove. They leave you a bit awestruck as you see the many layers upon layers of sandstone. The captain took the boat all the way into the cove so we could get a better perspective and closer view.




Notice the tree growing on top of that pile of rocks. If you look closely, you’ll see the roots actually drape across to the land!

Notice how clear the water is. You can see the previous remnants that have fallen from the cliffs above in the water below. It is quite shallow at points.


The lighthouse is on Grand Island on the last stretch of private land on the island. There are only a few houses, but if you own one, you own a percentage of the lighthouse too. It is no longer in use, but there is a conservation committee to preserve it. It was decommissioned a century ago and stands tall and proud still. Grand Island is a HUGE (larger than Manhattan) island that protects Munising Bay from the elements to some extent. The island is now owned by the forest service and it is a recreational area that you can ferry out to.

Obviously the wind blew a bit today, but we had fun and finished the day with hot fudge sundaes at Bob’s Big Boy.


She pleaded with me not to take these pictures and then reluctantly acquiesced to my request.

QUILT CAMP

Our ‘niece’ will be visiting for a couple of weeks and helping to organize around here. We will find some time for fun too though. We’re going to take the Shipwreck tour and see the Madeline that will be in port a few days.The one thing she wanted me to teach her, was to quilt. She picked out this pattern, a great beginner pattern and then from my quilt stash she picked out these fat quarters as well as many others for her quilt. Then she learned how to use the quilt bug to narrow down the fabrics to just those that went together well, which I personally always find exciting. To these we added a great border fabric and solid backing that she picked out when we went to town.

Today Am learned how to cut out her pieces using the quilt rulers and got a taste of the tedious part of quilting. The pressing and cutting take so much time. Tomorrow she can start sewing.

She’s getting her summer reading requirements accomplished while Sady keeps her company and reads along. And yes, Am is wearing a turtleneck in July – it’s been chilly of an evening here.

4th of July – Small Town USA

This is one of the reasons we left the hustle and bustle of large town west coast. Small town 4th of July parades. It seems like you either helped set up the parade, were in the parade or both. The kids on the floats call out to the kids on the street by name, everyone waves and smiles and politeness abounds. They honor the war heroes and veterans. The kids hang out waiting for the parade to start and then run out to cash in on the candy thrown by the floats.
We’ll try for some fireworks pictures later, but no promises, I may just enjoy them. Because it gets dark so late here, they won’t go off until 10PM.

Tamy

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CHOCOLATE!!!

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied.

You don’t like anything too intense and dramatic.

Deep down, you’re a kid at heart… and you’re nostalgic for the past.

You are emotionally expressive and sensitive.

You’re effected by everything around you.

Your friends appreciate your open heart, but they are afraid of hurting your feelings.

You love the feeling of accomplishment. You enjoy doing what’s important.

You feel lost when you have to do frivolous tasks or hang out with shallow people.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

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History of a barn and the hope of a greenhouse

Many have asked so I’m now doing pictures and a bit of the history as I know it that surrounds our barn. We are ‘in town’ technically, but we have one of the last standing barns, It’s in great shape as it doesn’t leak and the floor and inside walls were made of half logs. It was built in 1850 according to the real estate information. The only thing the previous owner left behind of any value was an abstract Title that spelled out the history of the property, a story for another time.
The last owner had used it for storage and had it packed so full you couldn’t see all 4 walls at the same time. When they moved they took most of their things, but did leave behind a 60 yard dumpster full of junk (you know things like 60 year old vacuums, broken high chairs, plastic one gallon jugs, broken coat racks, etc… I could go on for pages.
We were not told that it is ‘sliding’ off its foundation by the previous owners, but the previous previous owner has told us it is. He said he shored up in the early 90’s before selling. Now we’re told the next guy put skirting (we were told it was for drainage) around the shoring to disguise it. This summer we’ll take off the skirting and see where we stand. Hubby is thinking about turning it into a workshop. Once we cleared away the debris we found a pretty neat barn. The building itself is about 28 x 30 and has a large attic area. There is a wood burning stove and old brick chimney. The sliding carriage doors (I couldn’t get a picture of these today – too many mud puddles) no longer slide open as that side is braced from the ground up, but look neat anyway. The graffiti is leftover from the local high school students. In the 80’s our barn was used to construct the homecoming float in each year and became a hangout for the kids. Someone replaced one of the windows with a vinyl slider that looks really out of place. Right now hubby uses it for mainly storage.
And this picture is especially for Barbara. This is the south west corner where you can begin to imagine the greenhouse made from our old sash windows. This spring we will be planting lilacs of various colors along the outside of the chain link fence to create a hedge to hide it and add a touch of privacy. You also have to imagine the yard is green. If you look close, there are still a few small patches of snow here and there. In that corner will be the greenhouse. The door will open towards the yard. I may even set it on an angle for a touch of charm. Now imagine on either side a 3 tiered flower bed made from railroad ties and full of LOTS of color.

History of a barn and the hope of a greenhouse

Many have asked so I’m now doing pictures and a bit of the history as I know it that surrounds our barn. We are ‘in town’ technically, but we have one of the last standing barns, It’s in great shape as it doesn’t leak and the floor and inside walls were made of half logs. It was built in 1850 according to the real estate information. The only thing the previous owner left behind of any value was an abstract Title that spelled out the history of the property, a story for another time.
The last owner had used it for storage and had it packed so full you couldn’t see all 4 walls at the same time. When they moved they took most of their things, but did leave behind a 60 yard dumpster full of junk (you know things like 60 year old vacuums, broken high chairs, plastic one gallon jugs, broken coat racks, etc… I could go on for pages.
We were not told that it is ‘sliding’ off its foundation by the previous owners, but the previous previous owner has told us it is. He said he shored up in the early 90’s before selling. Now we’re told the next guy put skirting (we were told it was for drainage) around the shoring to disguise it. This summer we’ll take off the skirting and see where we stand. Hubby is thinking about turning it into a workshop. Once we cleared away the debris we found a pretty neat barn. The building itself is about 28 x 30 and has a large attic area. There is a wood burning stove and old brick chimney. The sliding carriage doors (I couldn’t get a picture of these today – too many mud puddles) no longer slide open as that side is braced from the ground up, but look neat anyway. The graffiti is leftover from the local high school students. In the 80’s our barn was used to construct the homecoming float in each year and became a hangout for the kids. Someone replaced one of the windows with a vinyl slider that looks really out of place. Right now hubby uses it for mainly storage.
And this picture is especially for Barbara. This is the south west corner where you can begin to imagine the greenhouse made from our old sash windows. This spring we will be planting lilacs of various colors along the outside of the chain link fence to create a hedge to hide it and add a touch of privacy. You also have to imagine the yard is green. If you look close, there are still a few small patches of snow here and there. In that corner will be the greenhouse. The door will open towards the yard. I may even set it on an angle for a touch of charm. Now imagine on either side a 3 tiered flower bed made from railroad ties and full of LOTS of color.