2 for Thanksgiving dinner

This is the first time that Bill and I have ever had Thanksgiving with just the 2 of us, and we'll be doing it at the cabin. Bill will probably hunt in the morning and in the evening on Thanksgiving. I am planning on dinner at 1:00pm, which is what I plan for when we have a house full. My Mom always had dinner early so that everyone could watch football and have sandwiches later.

Here is our menu:
4 lb. turkey breast
Mashed potatoes
Dressing
Gravy
Corn
Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins

What are you having for Thanksgiving dinner? How about leftovers? You could help me change my mind....

For leftovers, I'm currently planning on either Turkey Pot Pie or Turkey Shepherd's Pie. And, of course, turkey sandwiches. For drop in company, I plan on making a Maple Pumpkin Pie that Alicia from over at Waiting for Vermont is going to send me. I decided on muffins for Bill and I because I can freeze the rest to have for breakfasts.

Edit: Alicia added her recipe in the comments section. Thank You!

PC's, Michigan/Ohio State game and wild birds, what do they have in common?

Nothing, except I need some assistance. We need a new PC, ours is 8 years old. Here is what we do with our PC, would you help suggest a good buy PC?

1. Blog
2. Surf Internet
3. Check email for home and work
4. We use Word and Excel, even at home.
5. We take lots of photo's. I haven't used the movie feature on my camera yet.
6. We are not gamers.
7. We occasionally play CD's.
8. We've never watched a movie on it, can't see why we would with plenty of other TV's in the house and cabin.
9. "I feel the need, the need for speed." Yes, give me something fast!
10. I have an i-pod.

Anyway, it takes our PC about 10 minutes to warm up. It got a virus just after we bought it and has never been the same since. Only about 1/2 of our hard drive is usable. We are going to go 'look' at Best Buy today. Should we wait until just before Christmas or after Christmas to buy?

We can't go during the Michigan/Ohio State game. (rolling eyes!)

With that, I'll leave you with a couple of pics of our feathered friends.

Tasty wild turkey's. This was close to Houghton Lake when I 'went into town' to get some groceries. It was a flock of approx. 30 turkey's. They went behind a house and I didn't feel like getting arrested to get a photo, so I continued on.

Blue Jay, he's big, he's bad, he's a bully.

This is Mr. Hairy, getting a snack on the 'suet tree'.

Looks lonely when it's cloudy

In the front yard. The site of many parties with family and friends and beautiful sunsets in the summer... The adirondack chairs around the front fire pit await being covered with a tarp in preparation for the snow yet to fly.


In the back yard. Where the sun rises as I walk around with a hot cup of coffee to start the day in the spring and summer. Now, there is barely a sound except for a few birds and squirrels.


But, the whole place is alive when the sun is out...even in the winter.

Heading North

Bill has been on the road since 6:00am with Cleo. He just sent me an email saying that they are just north of Flint and he will call when he gets there. It normally only takes 3 hours to get there.

I am at work right now. Thank you to everyone who has asked if I am still employed. Yes, I am, but terribly short handed and excrutiatingly busy. Work is interfering with my social life...LOL The cloud still hangs over that more furloughs are coming. But, for now, I am safe.

I have been clipping coupons and studying hard at being a 'strategic shopper'. Check out CouponMom.com I've been learning a lot there.

Anyway, I'll be heading up north around 4:00pm today. Hopefully the roads will be better. In the mean time, here are some pic's of Cleopatra, Queen of the Cabin.

Lob Cabin Woman Cooks: Michigan Chicken Salad

But before we get to the recipe...here is a Giveaway opportunity that my bloggy pal Shelley has over at her blog. CHECK IT OUT (you too, Mom)! This recipe would go perfect on that artisan bread that she has over there. Here in the State of Michigan, Shelley is just a smidge directly north of me. Shelley's Blog Giveaway Stay tuned, I'll have my own giveaway here soon! Here is an update, my bloggy pal Jen's husband just got an 11 point buck. Jen's Blog They are not in Michigan.

Michigan Chicken Salad
4 cups cubed, cooked chicken breast
1 cup mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 cups dried cherries or cranberries
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise/Miracle Whip with paprika, salt and poultry seasoning. Stir in dried cherries or cranberries, celery, onion, and nuts. Add cubed chicken, and mix well. Season with black pepper to taste. Chill at least 1 hour.

Hello Everyone,


I am back from the hunting trip. Well it looks like McDonalds tonight because there are no deer in them woods.

Saturday Morning at 630am I was on the hill setting up my blind. I got settled in and waited for shooting hours to start. As the time came I heard lots of shots around me, which encouraged me. I did not see anything moving until about 830am. When a nice buck came into view on my right heading straight away from me. He was at a nice trot. I did not get a chance to see how many points he had. I used my grunt call and he stopped, he than took a couple of steps right behind a tree. I looked with the binoculars but could not see him. He went further down the hill to the left and the next thing I saw was his tail running away from me. Other than that I saw no more deer over the weekend.

In talking to another hunter as I got back to my truck Saturday evening, he saw no deer at all. After the morning hunt the deer realized the pressure was on and stopped moving. And so goes hunting.

Although I did not get a deer I still got two days of sitting on top of the hill looking over God's country. Not a bad way to spend a weekend, just wish it had been a little warmer and not so windy. I am not done hunting, there is Thanksgiving weekend and than in December there is muzzleloading and the late firearm season. With any luck we will have vension soon.

The above pic is the view I had looking out from the blind

Above is a pic looking up the hill at the blind.

Above a close up of the blind.

Take care everyone.

Cabin Loon Dinnerware

Bill bought me this dinnerware from Cabela's while we were waiting to close on our cabin over 4 years ago. The day we looked at the cabin, there was a Common Loon fishing out in front, we were hooked on Loons at that point. Unfortunately, I don't believe this pattern is available anymore. Cabela's has a log cabin pattern right now for $29.99 with service for 4, the same price Bill paid. Cabin dinnerware Bill got me service for 12. The coffee cups hold 2 full cups of liquid. The bowls hold a whopping 3 cups. It's great to grab a big cup of coffee and stare out the window at the birdfeeder's this time of year. I just googled Scott Zimmerman Dinnerware, and it looks like Cabela's also has Whitetail, Moose and Elk patterns available.

Cabin Curtains made with LOVE by my Mom

As promised, here are some pics of the curtains that my Mom made for our cabin. The original curtains shredded in the washer. The new curtains are a dark beige plaid with red and green stripes. Here is what my Mom had to say about making the curtains.

Hi everyone, The material I found for the cabin, here in Florida, was almost identical to the old ones, Denise liked the curtains that had been in the cabin and wanted the new ones to duplicate them. I had never made curtains before, so I ordered an additional 4 yards, in case of mistakes and matching patterns (material is a plaid pattern), I do not sew, so it was a new experience for me, but I layed the material on my Mom's (large) bedroom floor and did all my measuring, matching up lines in the material and cutting there. I made curtains for the bedrooms from some old office drapes my niece gave me, the drapes had 2 linings, just pinned them and cut off the tops and hemmed them to fit the bedroom windows, these are ok I guess. - Mom

Here are a couple of samples. This is the window over my kitchen sink. I know there is a 'tile' missing near the upper cabinet. Long story, but my cold water pipe gets so cold, it knocks the peel/stick tile off the wall. In the future, I will redesign this kitchen. But, aren't the curtains perfect for this old cabin? My Mom made the curtains for over the sink, the 2 picture window's in the front of the cabin, both windows on either side of the fireplace and the 4 windows for both bedrooms. It took her all winter to make in Florida. Don't I have a great Mom? Ya know, she is Bill's favorite Mother-in-Law....his only Mother-in-Law...LOL

The valance on our front door.

Here are the curtains that she made for both bedrooms. They are HEAVY! Thank goodness, because those are the original drafty windows. See that TV? My Grandparents bought that for my Uncle when he went to Viet Nam in 1964! It's color TV - ahhhhh, what luxury to have a 5" TV in the bedroom. We only get one channel in the bedroom.

The double lined curtains in the bedroom. You can tell by the pic above that you just grab ahold of them and ZIP, they are closed....and ZIP they are open again.

Opening day of firearms is tomorrow

I just got home. Bill is on his way to the cabin for opening day. He told you about what I thought was a big dog in the front yard last night. Well, here she is...but, she is not a dog. Sorry about the pic. I tried to take it without flash and got nothing. I put my camera against the window and raised the flash. I didn't know that I would still get a reflection back at me with the lens against the window. Anyway, it didn't bother her at all. She went right back to feeding on Woodpecker mix out of my feeder. I get this special blend in Midland. It is all tree nuts plus dried fruit. I was SHAKING, she couldn't have been but 6 ft away from me! Deer don't usually come onto our peninsula since they are water locked. This was the first time I had seen a deer on our property. I have lots of hosta's all spring and summer, hope they forget this was a great place for food.

Here are a couple of pics where Bill is going hunting on State land. It is a section of forest that had a major fire that burned nearly 1800 acres about 3 years ago. Everyone in the area calls this 'the burn'. Last I heard, you are not allowed to 'bait' for deer this year because they had found a case of Chronic Wasting Disease in a private heard earlier this year. Bill hasn't ever baited anyway. Too bad the deer spread Bovine Tuberculosis and other diseases by where they eat, or I'd have a stash-o-sugar beets to watch deer all year at the cabin.

How about a woodpecker? I bought some meal worms on my way up north, but they weren't the favorite at the feeder. Woodpecker mix is loved by all. Here is a Red-bellied Woodpecker peeking over some food at the 'suet tree'. The yellow cup holds small suet balls. The White-breasted Nuthatches think they are really getting a treat when they get those little suet balls. I need to catch up with all of you blogger's out there! Let me head off to bloggy land to see what you all have been up to since I was gone! If you are going hunting, be safe. :)

The weekend

I just spoke to Denise at the cabin. She is doing fine, she had the fire place going and it was 80 degrees in the cabin. She was watching TV and getting ready to go to bed. She will be on her way home on Friday and I will be on my up. We will pass each other on the freeway. She has to work and I am going up for a weekend of deer hunting. Momma wants some venision.

Been getting ready to go for the last couple days. So I look forward to heading out to hunt with the other 750,000 hunters that will be hitting the woods over the next two weeks. With any luck I'll be bringing home some venision. With my luck the only thing I'll be bringing home is a cold.

Take care eveyone.
Bill

Cabin Creepy Crawlies

I'm heading up north in the morning. I'll leave you with a couple of creepy pic's...and Bill. You'll be in good hands. This first one moves into the cabin every winter. It could possibly be a 'Western Conifer Seed bug', but we don't know for sure. It moves REALLY slow. We do know that it isn't a box elder. If you have another guess, let us know. :)

This second one really creeps me out. We've heard that it's a 'Toe Biter'. It's name alone sends chills up my spine. Hubby found 2 of these in his minnow trap when he pulled it up out of the water. You can tell by the adirondac chair arm, just how big this thing really is. It was about 2" long. Hubby put it on a hook and nabbed a little bass on the first cast. If you have a better ID, let us know. :) See you in a few days!

Cabin Corner Detail

We know that painting logs is a no-no. This was the style, 'back then'. Our paint color is 'Barn Red' and is still produced today. Behr makes barn paint in red and white.

We had wanted to completely strip the logs and stain them, but our log replacement contractor said that he would never be able to get all of the red out. He said maybe 90%, which didn't seem good to us either.

I really wish that I had a close-up of this. These corners had been cut off (gulp) with a chain saw! Probably due to rot. The smaller section of the cabin is our utility room. The window toward the left is the window over my kitchen sink.

Corner detail at the side door of the utility room after log replacement. They used car jacks to hold up the cabin while they cut out the bottom logs. I really wished that I could have been there to see it, but I had to work. When I arrived around 1am, I walked around the cabin...in awe...with a flashlight....shouting with glee! LOL The log guy left us a couple of the original iron pins that held the logs on top of each other. He replaced those with bolts.

Ta Da! Complete corners again! Ain't they purdy? These photo's were taken in April of '06, so there is no greenery to accent the beautiful work. We not only had to replace corners, but a couple of long logs had to be replaced.

Gardeny Things

This is our third day of fantastic weather. ...Nah, I decided not to bore you with after shots of my clean garden, downstate. But, I must say, they are lookin' mighty spring clean....until the snow begins to fly. Here are pics of a couple of my favorite gardeny things.

'Vintage' style spigot. I LOVE this cute little copper spigot and want Bill to make me a couple more of them.

Fence planter. Indeed, there are petunia's still hanging on this late time of year. In fact, they reseed themselves every year in this little planter. I originally bought this at Michael's, but I'd like a few more and don't know where to find them. If you know, let me know :)

70F+ today!

A day that started with a sweat suit, ended with a tank top and shorts. I'm doing my spring outdoor cleaning, downstate. I sure wish that I was up north at the cabin. My gardens up there certainly need cleaning up too. They will probably have to wait until spring, unless I get the urge to clean the gardens under cold weather conditions...which I have also been known to do. Anyway, with the weather being warm, I decided last night that I needed to do a good garden cleaning...the kind that I do in the springtime. My hosta's have to have several days of frost weather to kill them down enough so that I wouldn't be taking their last bit of food from their leaves. Several of my other plants could use a good cleaning to take on the winter weather. I've got Bill to promise that he will leaf blow tonight after he gets home from work, tee hee. Oh, and I'm working on a FANTASTIC recipe for dinner tonight, which I'm hoping will become part of my cabin repertoire. Here is what I started with today in the gardens, I'll show 'after' pics tomorrow:

Sargentina Crab Apple, which is 10+ years old, it needs pruned because some of the branches are hanging close to the ground. But, we don't dare prune it until spring, or we may kill it because it will work at healing itself. Too much stress for the winter yet to come.

Hosta garden, this area holds some very pricey and hard to find hosta. They have taken a few hits with frost which should make it pretty easy to clean up. I'll clean it up as best as possible.

Fence line, lots of things to be cleaned up and cut back here. I pay special attention to those plants that cannot handle cutting back at this time of year. I'll clean up anything that can.

Coved Ceilings....in a log cabin?

Who-da-thunk-it? Who would have ever thought to add such a beautiful detail in a log cabin. Well, someone did, 60 years ago. Those curtains don't exist anymore, well yeah, I have a couple of them put away in a drawer. They shredded when I washed them. My Mom (HI MOM!) made us new curtains for the entire cabin. Isn't she great? She found a pattern in Florida that she thought I'd like and sent me a swatch. I loved it too. I'll show pics of my new curtains at a later date.



PS Don't forget to vote today! :) I'm off to do my duty and get some Olga's Kitchen for lunch

Haven't used the furnace....yet

Every year, Bill and I like to see how long we can go without turning the furnace on 'downstate'. This year, we have made it to November 1st...so far...and counting. I think the end is near though.

It has been below freezing on a couple of nights, but we never touched that thermostat! Good thing that we have a warm down comforter...and a little space heater named Cleo.

Up north at the cabin, it's different. Bill lit the pilot light on our old propane furnace this weekend. We have to heat our utility room because our well head is located in there. It's no longer legal to have a well head inside of your home, but ours is the original well.

We also use a heatilator as our primary heat in the cabin. The heat from a heatilator is very dry. I have to run a humidifier constantly and that doesn't keep up with the humidity. Sometimes I heat water on the stove and let it steam.