The Roof

What a job it was to shovel off that roof! Luckily the new tractor came just in time, otherwise we wouldn't have been parking in the garage. Painful to write such a big check for the tractor, but it will be necessary for the work we want to do out on our land, and really useful around the house until then. Sure took care of that huge pile of snow in a hurry. Unless we get a lot more snow, probably won't wake it up from it's slumber until spring. 

Also learned that I will need to add some structure in the garage as the span is too much to handle the snow. Part of a truss snapped in the past, and while I don't know what amount of deflection is considered normal, once I got part of the snow off the garage ceiling came up by maybe 3/4 of an inch. Not counting on the new metal roof to shed all the snow needed and I don't want to shovel that. 

Went out to our land twice this week! Naomi and I enjoyed some sunshine and blazed a trail to the nearest corner, at which point we were too tired to continue. Rick and I made it all the way back on Friday and figured out where the road should go and narrowed in on a site for a clearing. Naomi and the girls had the day off on Friday as it was too cold. Great to have another long weekend!

Potential spot for a clearing.

Amélie made another great dessert!

Plenty of wind.

Makes one feel small.

Took a while to figure out the right technique. 

It was touching before the snow removal.

Sure could use a tractor!

Right on time.

Where to put it all?!

Ski Jumping

Another wintery week! There was a snow day on Wednesday with some heavy winds, so we went down to check out the lake. Big waves. Amélie didn't bring a hat, of course, so she froze. You'd think she might learn from that, but when we went to the ski jump on Friday, she forgot her gloves. I guess that's one way to toughen up! It was fun to see the jumpers fly by from up close. 

I managed to finish up the game table for my mom this week. We will deliver it on Monday as the girls are down with my parents for the long weekend. Wednesday will be a half day for them - so not a whole lot of school this month! 

Plenty of snow clearing, though. Supposed to get cold this coming week, so not much to look forward to at the ski hill, especially as their main lift is down for the year. What a bummer. Finally snow and can't get to the top!

Lots of fun in the fresh powder!

Clamping up the corners.

Big waves.

So much wind!

Finished table top.

What a competition!

Such a big hill.

Dome glaciers.

Electrical Frustrations

Two snow days this week! Wow, fun to have some extra time with the girls, and Grammie was here for the second one! We got more last night, so I will need to get the snowblower out this morning before we head to the ski hill. 

Managed to get the entertainment center up and running this week. Played some Sega with the girls and they had fun. Also started watching a movie last night. It's gettting better down there!

What I thought would be a half hour job, hooking up a second hall light, turned into a nearly three hour fiasco. Got so frustrated. I made a couple mistakes but had tons of bad luck. Who would have thought a brand new light bulb wouldn't work? Winter just isn't my time to be productive. 

New entertainment center and hall light.

Second Blizzard

We got our second blizzard of the season before January even started! This one was even more powerful than the first. Lots of trees went down around town and the majority of people in the area lost power for a day or two. We had a white pine snap off about 20 feet up and the top somehow missed our power line. The wind blew it from one side to the other. Very lucky as we would have been extremely low priority - our power stayed on. It took four charges on the snowblower and an assist from Tyler's tractor to get our driveway cleared. 

Made it to Marquette Mountain the day after to enjoy the fresh snow, but they were woefully unprepared. I guess they can't get their employees to show up for work. The main lift also seems to be broken, so we couldn't access the best runs. Hopefully they get their act together soon! 

The girls got to spend New Year's Eve with Grammie and Grampie. They all had fun with fireworks and watching movies and eating junk food and staying up late. What a party. Naomi and I went to bed early and enjoyed an uninterrupted night of sleep. Sure don't miss all the fireworks in the NL! We did have some fun snowshoeing in the fresh powder. Greenhouse is still doing okay, but the banana is not happy - no surprise there. 

Slush under the powder.

Somehow left our power line in tact!

Greenhouse in the moonlight.

No ice yet!

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.