My latest project

Ah, another long absence from blogging for no good reason.  I seem to have stopped using my camera, which means I don't even consider posting anything on my blog.

I nearly forgot my camera the other day, and I had actually completed a little project!

The girls have a dear friend who is turning 16 this week.  A party was planned in her honor, by a friend who enlisted help from Julianne and Allison.  They decided on a music theme, as music is one of Molly's passions.

It so happened that I recently checked out a library book called Fabric by Fabric One-Yard Wonders.  One of the projects in the book was a guitar, which I decided would make a nice addition to the decorations the girls were putting together.




It made a cute display next to the banner Julianne made out of old albums.

Molly arrived home to shouts of "Surprise".

Sadly, there was one surprise none of us had anticipated.  Both my girls ended up sick on Sunday and couldn't attend the party they had had such fun helping plan.

The girls have talked to both Molly and their co-conspirator, Sarah.  From all reports, the party was a success and Molly enjoyed herself.  

Happy Sweet 16, Molly!

My most unique Christmas gift

I know, it's New Year's Day and I'm just talking about Christmas.  I've been part of an email list of homeschool moms for several years and, the other day, one of them asked what our favorite Christmas gift was.  I've been short on bloggy inspiration for so long that I decided to answer her question here.

I visited a new store a while back and was telling Clarence about all the cool things I saw there (including a cute chair I got for the living room).  The item I kept thinking about was a vintage clothes drying rack.  I'd never seen anything like it before.  You lift the dowels up, pull them out, and a ring on the end serves as a stop so they don't slide too far out.  Ingenious!


 I love how little space it takes up when not in use.  I love that I can hang something to dry on it like I would on a hanger.  I love that it's just so different than anything I've seen before.

I especially love that he remembered I'd mentioned it and found a way to get it for me, from a store that closes before he could get there after work.

So, moving on from Christmas...Wishing all of you joy and peace in 2013!

Farewell, faithful friend

Our 19 1/2 year old cat, Belle, passed away during the night.  It wasn't completely unexpected-last night it was obvious we didn't have much longer with him-but I am so thankful that we all had a chance to say goodbye.  In fact, we've had four bonus years with him that almost didn't happen, which I am very grateful to have had.



So many memories run through your mind-how he'd come and sit on my feet when I sat down in the living room...the way he'd lay down and nap on the back of the girls' legs whenever they laid on the floor while we were doing school...how much we'd laugh at our algebra-loving cat because he'd sit with the girls and seem to watch their algebra video with them-we just knew he enjoyed, and understood, their algebra lessons...the way he'd meow so loudly in the middle of the night if he ran out of food or water-or if we'd had the nerve to leave him home alone while we went out of town...the not-so-subtle hints that he wanted us to start a fire in the woodstove because he liked it toasty.

He was the best of cats.  We will miss him.

Pinterest inspired wedding gift

My niece, Lauren, got married last weekend.  Although our standard wedding gift is a check, I decided to add something to unwrap for this, my first niece to get married.

I saw this idea back in August, which was just in time for the wedding, scheduled for September.  Unfortunately, the poor groom ended up in Texas for mandatory training when he was supposed to be getting married.

I was anxious to see what the new date was going to be.  I was constantly looking for new numbers, trying to assure I'd have the digits I needed once I knew the revised date.

 I was very relieved to find exactly the house numbers I needed but even more delighted that the happy couple finally got to enjoy their special day and begin their new life together.

We love you, Lauren and Brian, and wish you a lifetime of love and happiness together!

Bacon Blue Cheese Mac & Cheese

I thought about titling this "Love it or Hate it Mac-N-Cheese" because I'm sure the common reaction to this is one or the other.


I suspect this is not a kid-friendly recipe in most households but my girls love it.  Then again, they don't eat the stuff in the blue box at all.

Earl and Kathy gave me some fantastic smoked blue cheese recently, which prompted me to tell them about this dish with the promise to blog it so they, too, could try it.

I got this recipe from a Better Homes and Gardens year end cookbook that I picked up used.  I don't follow the recipe exactly (no surprise there) so I'll post the recipe as I make it.

Bacon Blue Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

4 slices bacon
2 large onions, thinly sliced
6-8 ounces dried macaroni or other medium sized pasta
4 ounces (1 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 ounces (1/2 cup) blue cheese
1 cup half-and-half (or milk)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp, over medium heat.  Remove to paper towel, crumble and set aside.

In reserved bacon drippings, cook onion until tender and golden brown.  (The original recipe says "5-8 minutes".  I cook my onions low and slow-over an hour and a half this time-because I like to caramelize them if I have that much time.)  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350º.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and place in greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Add the crumbled bacon, onion, mozzarella, blue cheese, half-and-half, and pepper.  Toss gently to combine.

Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.  Stir gently and top with additional mozzarella, if desired.  Bake for 10 minutes more, or until top is brown and bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

There you have it.  Are you a "love it" or "hate it" person when it comes to blue cheese?

Point Iroquois Lighthouse

When we left Tahquamenon Falls, we spontaneously decided to take a road that somewhat followed Lake Superior's shoreline.  We were so glad we did because it gave us a chance to see the Pt. Iroquois lighthouse, an unexpected bonus.
 

We were excited to be able to go up into the lighthouse, as well as visit the home attached.  The girls read something inside the house that said that three families lived there at the same time.  I've always thought of lighthouses as being maintained and run by one family so that was quite surprising to me.

I think it was 94 steps up to the top of the lighthouse.

The view was worth the climb.

We planned to visit a lighthouse in Mackinaw City (and we did, the next day) but this one was a completely unplanned side trip that we really enjoyed.

Tahquamenon Falls

We left for Mackinaw City after Clarence got home from work and we ate a quick dinner.  That got us there by about 10 PM, just in time to settle in for the night.

The next morning, we headed for Tahquamenon Falls.  My parents took us there when I was a kid but my memories of it were pretty sketchy.  I was quite glad to have a chance to see the falls again.



We visited the lower falls first. 

We found this little bridge in the woods on our way to the lower falls.  We joked that the little creek running under it was a warm up act for the actual falls.

They have installed a boardwalk to the falls-I don't think it was there 35-40 years ago when my parents took me.

We opted not to walk the 4 mile trail between the upper and lower falls.  During tourist season, they have a shuttle to return you to your car but we would have had to turn around and walk back.

The brownish color of the water is caused by tannins, not minerals.  I can't quite wrap my brain around that-that's a lot of tannins!

The day warmed up nicely into the 60's, with nice, bright sunlight so it ended up being a perfect day to explore the falls. We were so glad we had this opportunity!