Christmastime

We had a great time together in Escanaba, but took turns feeling sick. The Sinterklaas tradition was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed all the delicious food! Got some rest and even did a bit of work outside. Not much snow at all down there. Looking at a big blizzard moving through tonight, though. 

Had a fun dinner last night with one of Naomi's colleagues. Finally made it over to the Christmas Village. Almost didn't make it this year. Nice to go after Christmas when it isn't quite so crowded. 

Finally got the workshop cleaned up and the family room downstairs painted. Sure was nice to have a bit of time with just the two of us as the girls were at my parents for a couple days. I guess it's about time to get back into the downstairs renovations. Hopefully I'm done being sick for a while! 

Carter's Christmas Village.

Sinterklaas suprises.

Yum!

What a feast.

Ready for a Break

The girls are both tired and ready to get some rest and have fun around our house and in Escanaba. Naomi is past that point! Fortunately she saved up some time and is able to take three weeks off. Much needed. 

I picked up a cold this week, so haven't done much. Did get the greenhouse adjusted as much as possible in regards to the condensation issues. Can't do more until it warms up to the point where caulk will dry. Got the dead beehive cleaned out. The other one is still going strong. 

The girls had their annual Christmas concert at school. No play this year as they are in middle school now. It was fun to see the improvement as they have been playing with the same group of students for a while now. 

Winter continues and although we had a bit of a thaw which allowed me to make adjustments to the greenhouse, the cold and snow are persisting. Managed to enjoy the first runs at the ski hill this season. Hopefully the holiday conditions will be good!

First run of the year.

Piano solo.

Both girls played the trumpet!

Tropical Fish

It's taken a while, but Amélie finally has her aquarium all set up and running! What a wonderful Christmas gift. The fish seem happy, but the plants are not looking the best. I guess we put them in too early. 

We got to go to a hockey game on Friday. It was a lot of fun! Too late for us though, haha. The NMU team has had a terrible season so far. Haven't won a game yet. Still fun to watch though.

Working a bit more on the condensation issues in the greenhouse. Some stuff I can't address until the spring and it gets warm enough for caulk to dry. 

We got the Christmas tree all set up and the ski hill opened this weekend, so we will give it a go this morning!

Got the skis and boards all waxed and sharpened.

Christmas time!

Not a very full stadium.

Happy fish.

Do I Bow to the Rose?

Yesterday was a busy day! We celebrated Sinterklaas with our Dutch friends in town. My parents also came up to see the girls perform at the music recital. They got to play on a grand piano that cost 30k back in 2002. It was a special afternoon! When the music teacher was giving instructions, Amélie didn't quite understand that after she played, she would be given a rose and then could bow to the audience. She thought she had to bow to the rose. 

After the recital, we dropped off some baked goods at French Claire's house and then went to the bookstore. We met with Pish at a Thai restaurant for a celebration dinner. Nice to see her again. Today we will need to catch up on all the chores we missed out on!

On Friday night my Mom, Naomi and the girls made gingerbread houses. They had a lot of fun. I have been feeling sick most of the week, so I went to bed early. It has been good to get some rest, though. Still need some more, but starting to feel better. It is really winter here. Ski hill should be opening next weekend. Greenhouse is performing pretty well, but need to continue to manage the condensation issues. 

Moonlight over the greenhouse.

Amélie and Grammie made a delicious dinner!

Prepping for gingerbread houses.

The final result. Which one is Amélie's?

A beautiful recital. 

Thanksgiving

Sure did have a great holiday! It was a lot of fun to spend time with family. Ate a delicious German dinner at my parent's house with Claire and Matt on Thursday. Abigail came a couple days early and played lots of games. Amélie stayed with us during that time. We worked on her fish tank, did some baking, and managed the effects of this seasons first real blizzard! 8 inches of wet, sloppy snow. Gave our snowblower a real workout. Another three or four inches since then, but they were a breeze. Light and fluffy. Basically nothing in Escanaba.

On Friday we drove down to Appleton. Found some ice skates, snowshoes, snowboard boots and a few other things. Had a great visit with the Sankey's! It was a lot of fun to see everyone else on Saturday for the Thanksgiving celebration. A lot of people canceled due to the snowstorm in Wisconsin, but it ended up being okay. Plenty of good food. Different venue this year as Aunt Sara is still recovering from her car crash. Glad she could make it! 

The drive back to Marquette was uneventful. Just a bit of snow. Spent a good chunk of the morning clearing the driveway. Turns out the greenhouse stayed at temperature (above 40) the whole time we were gone without using the wood stove or the space heater at all, even though it was well below freezing for that entire time. Impressed with that. Looking forward to enjoying some restful time out there this month.

Tree blocking our driveway.

All the windows were covered.

Lots of snow!

Lucky to have such a good machine.

Icicles because it rained a lot before turning into snow.

Thanksgiving dinner. 

Watching Home Alone.

 

Down to the Wire

What a mess. So much to clean up and get organized! Got the last of the plants in ground for the winter. So curious to see which ones will make it. Put together a little tropical section next to the wood stove. The fish, crayfish, and snails all seem happy. Made a specialized squeegee to take the condensation off the polycarbonate roof. Bricks are all in and the gaps are seeded with creeping thyme. Bees seem to be doing better inside, behind the net, than they were outside, but it is too humid for them and although they don't like the net, it's better than dying on wet and colder windows. It all came together and I like it! Finally can say this project is done. Barely made it before the final deadline I set this spring - Thanksgiving. 

The girls had a half day on Wednesday, and Naomi was able to pick them up and bring them to her office. Fun to spend some time together. Naomi has several more colleagues who are actively looking for other jobs. Sure wish they could find a way to create a stable, not so toxic workplace, because she likes her job and so do the people that keep leaving. 

Looking forward to some time spent with family, and some rest in December! Also will be nice to have everything cleaned up and organized, for a little while anyway. 

Needs some landscaping.

Lots of light.

Plenty of height.

Balancing all the straight lines.

Happy fish.

Probably won't make it, but who knows.

Nice spot to work.

Great woodstove!

Lots of condensation in the winter.

Through the table leg.

From the top step.

Working with Mommy.

40

I had a pretty special birthday. Henry Ford was really active in this area - he owned 500,000 acres, set up lots of sawmills and factories, even a giant power plant that was run on the scraps from his operations which powered a third of this region. We got to spend the night in his hotel, his room actually, the same place where he hung out with Edison, Kingsford, Firestone, etc. Had fresh whitefish, a great breakfast, and even hiked back to a waterfall without getting shot on the opening day of deer season. 

We did get some snow earlier this week but it is mostly gone. The girls got to enjoy their first snow day! Even had a friend over. Almost done with the greenhouse. Planning to finish it up in the next week or so. Got some steps in and the aquaponics all set up. Happy with how it's turning out. 

Also, brought my book into a new local bookstore this weekend. Hopefully they will want to put it on the shelf. We shall see. Would be nice to have it available in town. The girls are in Escanaba for the weekend, so we will head down to pick them up later today. It was great to have a bit of time away, but definitely a lot to wrap up before Thanksgiving!

It got a bit dark on the inside!

Snow day.

Wrapping up the steps.

Sugarloaf Mountain. 

Henry Ford's hotel room.

Big Bay.

The lighthouse turned out to be private, but we found a sunset.

I want one!

Yellow Dog Falls.

Losing the Race

My goal this spring was to beat the snow with this greenhouse. The exterior is done, but lots left to do inside. The snow has come. Luckily it isn't here to stay! Not ready yet, but it sure is pretty. Working on getting the ramp in and the water system set up. Tried replacing the hose, but still need a pump to run the water jacket on the wood stove as I can't get the air out. 

Put the first two ground plants in the the ground, so that's exciting. Hopefully they will adjust to their new environment. Treated the water to address the chlorine and added a couple water plants to it. Should be ready for fish in a few days!

Naomi has been busy at work again, but it is starting to slow down. My mom came up again for the night and we had a nice lunch with Naomi. The girls have had a good week too. Amélie has had some trouble with her friend at school, and Abigail got a bit of a cold, but other than that they are doing well. Amélie baked some zucchini bread for French Claire and we dug up some plants from her garden. 

Lighting up the stove for the first time!

The draft is good.

Testing the water jacket.

Finished exterior!

First in ground plants.

Working on the ramp.