East Coast Adventures

This trip definitely confirmed my preference not to travel! It was expensive and uncomfortable, but we also had some really fun moments. I enjoyed the time showing the girls around Ann Arbor. The city sure is changing quickly. We had a great stay at my friend's house, the guy who wrote the article, and it was fun to meet his family. After that was lots of driving with a quick stop at Niagara falls, and then we were in Connecticut. 

The celebration was beautiful, and lots of fun. It was good to be there and to see everyone. We spent Monday in New York City. Found some amazing bagels and a wonderful West African lunch. Times Square was terrible. Nothing but giant ads. Central park was loud - 3 hovering helicopters for the entire time. French bakery was disappointing. Train worked well and, of course, the skyscrapers were impressive. Stayed in a seedy motel and left the state as quickly as possible. 

The drive through Pennsylvania was beautiful! Then we got to Ohio. Ugh. 90 degrees and terrible. Found a nice hotel across the border, but got scammed with the price. Girls had lots of fun in the pool, and the next morning we hit a bit of traffic around Ann Arbor, but the rest of the trip home went smoothly. Took a few days to readjust, but it's great to be home. The leaves are mostly gone on our land, but still looking beautiful in the city. 

I got a chance to meet some returned Peace Corps Volunteers yesterday which was fun. The girls had a birthday party to go to and Naomi got to hang out with her friend. Still plugging away at the grant application, but they changed the rules this year, so Marquette County no longer gets priority. What a bummer. Now it's time to get organized and ready for winter! 

Central Park.

The trail by our home.

Niagara falls from the Canadian side.

Toronto skyline from across the lake. 

West African lunch.

Crossing the new bridge to Canada.

Rockefeller Center.

Abe Lincoln's dad built this cabinet.

Ann Arbor museum.

Looking up at the buildings.

Best bagels we have had!

Developing Ann Arbor.

The ceremony in Connecticut.

The girls in front of Auntie Claire's old house.

Frank Lloyd Wright house in Ann Arbor.

The spot where we got engaged.

Hornets nest.

Mackinac Bridge overlook.

The Shed

Finally was able to get the shed done! Now I need to get it organized. Lots of heavy lifting for that to happen, so it will need to wait. Came down with a bit of a cold. Amélie helped with the final door. Ended up just costing a couple hundred bucks as most of it was free or left over from other projects. Now it's time to get ready for winter. Lots of wood to split. 

On Tuesday I met with an excavating company out on our land to talk about the road. Nervous about getting that estimate back. Still haven't heard from the well driller. Trying to figure out a design and estimate for a shed that can power the well and some tools too. Hopefully all three things will be possible next year. 

The girls had their one and only XC meet of the season on Wednesday. It was great! Beautiful weather. Naomi worked hard this week so that she could be away for a long weekend with some friends in Minnesota. They are doing a leather working workshop. She missed out on a great Indian dinner with some of our friends in town though! 

All done!

The colors are here!

Rather portable. 

XC meet.

Out on the 80. 

Thinking about next year.

Everything but the Shed

So much for working on the shed this week! I did manage to pick up a few parts from the store, but there was too much else going on. Monday, Kile came up to help me out with the tractor maintenance. Sure went smoothly with is help! On Tuesday I did some work for a client, and met some new clients in the process. Finished the job on Thursday.

Thursday afternoon was the girl's first XC meet. Grammie and Grampie came up for it. The organizers decided a last minute time change would be a good idea, so by the time we arrived at the scheduled time, the race was about over and our girls didn't get to run. What a bummer! We went for a nice walk by Teal Lake instead. Dinner was fun too. 

Got some studying done, errands run, and other odds and ends taken care of. Then it was back down to finish the sawmill on Friday. Had another nice visit and got the job just about done. Even did a test cut. Looking forward to getting it up and running outside the garage! Abigail tagged along and wove some more pot holders. 

It works!

Pizza time.

A hike by Teal Lake.

Fall colors come sooner to Ishpeming.

Added some decking for a client.

A beautiful day by the greenhouse.

Making friends.

Topped off an old 2x4 handrail.

The Sawmill

Dad and I have been busy with putting together our new sawmill from Sweden. IKEA on steroids. Quite the puzzle. Not done yet, but the frame is together. Need to work on mounting the engine, blade and making the final adjustments next weekend. Nice to spend some time in Escanaba. Taking one girl at a time for this task, so it works well for everyone! 

Did the work to prepare for a new hand railing that one of my clients requested as well. Finally a rainy morning. Planning to do the install sometime this week. Need to have some money coming in. 

Had a difficult time dealing with the insurance company this week. Still not sorted out. Trying to get a new policy on the home and car to save some money and have a better agent, but they don't like the workshop. 

Worked on the greenhouse and planted some trees to replace the ones that died and grapes too. Finally on sale at the greenhouse. Hopefully this winter will be a bit kinder to them. Naomi has had another rough week. Sure hope she is feeling better soon! 

Amazing packing job!

New plant from Aunt Jenny.

So much stuff in such a small crate.

What a puzzle!

Working on the handrails. 

Back To School

Sort of. The girls had their first day on Tuesday! It was a good week. They are happy to be back! Naomi did not have a good week. She was sick at home. We did walk the girls to their first ride to school on the bus though! So nice that the school was able to arrange a stop for us. It's a 7 minute walk from our house. The girls have been liking it. Saves us a lot of time and effort.

Managed to wrap up the roof on Monday. Returned the extras on Tuesday. Took care of some errands on Wednesday. Redid the bottom parts of the shed roof on Thursday with some extra roofing materials as it was leaking. Made it into a living roof. Worked on the shed a bit more on Friday.

Got to see an old friend from college and his wife on Saturday. They didn't bring their kids with them this time, but they will next summer. Such a great family. They are both from Marquette and it turns out his mom lives around the corner from us! Heading to Escanaba to help unload and put together the new sawmill. The girls need a little apart time too, so the timing works well. 

Garden produce.

A front yard visitor.

All done!

All done!

The first day.

Roofing

Definitely not my favorite job, but I can think of worse ways to make $20,000 dollars. It has been really hot, so jumping in Lake Superior has been a wonderful way to end the day. My friend Matt is helping me with our roof, and next year we will do his. Sure am happy the tractor is able to help us lift stuff up to the roof. 

We had a surprise thunderstorm in the middle of the night. It poured for hours. Hasn't happened all summer, but it comes during the night that we didn't cover up properly. Water in attic and house. Hot enough now that it should dry okay, but what a bummer. 

Naomi and the girls have helped out too! Sure goes faster to have someone handing over the shingles. Two days left, and it should be done. We heard what sounded like a rooster one morning, and only three hens have been laying, so we aren't sure...otherwise the chickens are doing well.

Hen or rooster?

Taking advantage of the shade.

The OSB was all in good shape.

Making progress.

Abigail is tracking the eggs.