It's a Good Day

There is a song by Natives of the New Dawn called "Good Day." Listen to it at cdbaby.com. Today was a good day. I bought local honey at a farmer's market in Decatur, MI. From there I found an amazing coffeeshop in Lawrence, MI. Keep in mind that Lawrence has a population of about one thousand people. Imagine my surprise when I heard music and wandered into the Red Brick Coffee Shop where I had a yummy blended skim iced mocha. Even better, it has a cozy seating area that would be perfect for a knitting group. I'm going to ask if I can post a sign looking for interested knitters! Next door was The Seeded Earth where I hope to sell some knitted things, and in the basement I found beautiful tie-dye and some funky used clothing at cheap prices! I also checked out the Reits Flea Market where I bought a couple of little things I didn't know I needed, including a $3 metal display rack in case I want to sell my knitting at a market or, I don't know, Bethel College Fall Fest.

I finished off the day by taking a 2 mile walk and finishing my hiking socks. I found the pattern in One-Skein Wonders and used Phildar Auteuil yarn. For you knitters out there, they are done in a broken garter stitch (K3P3 and do the opposite the next time around).

Backyard Treat

Although yesterday I paid to pick black raspberries, today I picked a few red ones for free in the backyard. My mom is trying to get a patch going here. What a treat!

I made it to Michigan. This is the view from the backyard of the cottage. It is a cool evening, which is a blessing after the heat of earlier this week. I interviewed at a temp agency this morning and then found a wonderful raspberry patch on my way home! I have another interview the week after next for an early intervention job.

I plan to spend the next couple of days exploring. I've already connected with someone who invited me over to knit and she said she'll teach me to spin yarn! Maybe I'll take her up on that in a few weeks. My first priority is finding a job.

Everything is Fabulous

I have a friend here who teases me about my overuse of the word "fabulous." If someone knits something I like, it's "fabulous." If someone has a great idea...fabulous! So, before I shut down my computer today for my move, here is a list of the FABULOUS things about living around here that I don't want to forget:

The squeekiness of fresh cheese curds
Blizzards in March
Barges on the Mississippi River
Leinenkugel Berry Weiss
Sun Dogs
Picking blueberries at Rush River Produce
A 1-yr old Cheyanne at the top of the stairs calling for "Abita"
Walking to school in rain, sun, snow, ice
Braschler's donuts on Saturday morning with the family
Knitting with the Knit Wits every Sunday
Tubing on the Cannon River
Ziggy, the talking cockatoo, saying "hello" when we walk to school
Listening to Patchouli and the Back Porch Band at the coffeeshop
Riding the train along the very edge of the Mississippi
The kids hanging on my legs when I'm trying to go downstairs
Ember saying, "I want to kiss you and hug you."

Tackling the Mighty Mississippi

I just returned from a little camping trip on an island in the Mississippi River!

One of my knitting friends owns a cabin out there with her husband and she invited the knitters up there for the weekend.

We ended up only staying one night and through the next day but it was such a great, relaxing time.

We had to take a boat to get there, of course, so half the fun was boating on the river.

Along the way we saw an eagle nest with 2 eagles in it! Did you know that eagles can build nests big enough to hold a PT Cruiser? It's true!

Frozen Sin

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe. If you are opposed to alcoholic beverages then you'll want to skip this one. Pretend you never saw it. I know there are some of you out there who will try this, though! The recipe calls for making these into popsicles, but I found them to be a bit too slushy for that. Next time I'll probably freeze them in individual cups and eat them with a spoon. YUM!

Slushies

1/2 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
zest of 1/2 lime
3 Cups fresh pineapple chunks (about 1 pound)
1 1/2 TBSP white rum
2/3 Cup fresh orange juice
2 1/2 Cups dry white wine

In a bowl, combine sugar, ginger, lime zest and pineapple. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape mixture into skillet and cook about 5 minutes, until pineapple carmelizes. Stir in the rum and cook about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add orange juice. Let cool. Puree fruit mixture in blender. Add white wine and pour the mixture into small cups with lids and freeze. Don't let the kids find them!

Last Hurrah with Little Friends

We went to Como Park and Zoo in St. Paul, MN yesterday with our friends. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, with the temp probably barely reaching 80 degrees. The kids had great fun! My little godson will soon be 6 months old and you can't even tell by his size that he was born 6 weeks early.

Tasty Treat

Have you heard about the 17-year cicadas that are invading the Great Lake states of Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan? They come in swarms...billions of them! They have been underground at the base of trees for the past 17 years and they climb out and quickly shed their skin, grow wings, mate, lay eggs and then die within the course of about 2 weeks. In some areas of Chicago people have to use snow shovels to get rid of the hoards of cicadas! Our friend Steve and his daughter, Violet, dared each other to eat live cicadas and you can view the results of their attempt by clicking here. I guess they taste a bit like peanut butter.

House Sale from Child's Perspective

The house sold in less than 2 weeks. Cheyanne looked out the front window this morning and drew a picture of her house with the sold sign in front. The man in purple is her Dad and the woman in green is her mom. For some reason she insists on drawing women with what she calls "bottoms" between their legs. I've seen other kids do this. What's up with that?

Phony Job Posting

I'm still job hunting.

I spent the past week visiting my parents with my nieces in tow. It was especially nice to float in the lake at their cottage in Michigan in the 90 degree heat.

While at their condo in Illinois I got the local newspapers and found a job posting that read: "Post Office Now Hiring. Av. Pay $20/hr or $57K annually including Federal Benefits and OT. Paid Training. Vacations. PT/FT. 1-800-584-1775 Ext. 3801." I called and they kindly explained all the benefits I could receive as a postal employee. They reviewed the possible jobs at the postal service and the great money I'd be making. I willingly paid $126 for the 250 page study guide they would need to send me for the Postal Battery Exam and they explained how important it is for me to study and do well on the exam. Then this morning I used my registration info to download the study guide from their website and found out that they are not affiliated with the U.S. Postal Service in any way and I can get study guides from the post office for FREE!! I was able to get most of my money refunded when I called back and told them I would be contacting the Better Business Bureau. I'm usually so good at spotting scams, but they got me on this one.

Wearable Art

It's finally the last day of school and Cheyanne brought home a huge pile of schoolwork that she did throughout the year. What do you do with it all? Well, she picked out 3 pictures that she especially liked and I made them into t-shirts.




I used Avery Ink Jet T-Shirt Transers that you can buy at many stores that sell office supplies. It is incredibly easy! You need a computer, scanner, color printer, and an iron. The pictures last through dozens of washes and still look great.

Finding the Joy

Despite the fact that I will have no job and no house of my own in just three weeks, I am really trying to remain focused on the joy of spending time with my nieces. They are showing signs of stress about the move, just as we all are. I talk to them quite a bit about the upcoming changes but I'm also trying to find ways to take their mind off of the move and just have fun. Today Ember and I used up all of the brown bananas in the freezer and made a quadruple batch of banana chocolate chip muffins. She's either really happy about it or she's faking it really well for the camera.