Vintage Log Cabin

2011-05-08T20:43:00.002-04:00

Hello to everyone, It has been a very long time since we posted anything. We have not spent a whole lot of time at the cabin over the winter. With work and the economy the way it has been and continues to be, we chose not to travel the three hours up north to enjoy our pleasant penisula as often as we have in the past.

This last week Dee's Mom and Grandma returned with the rest of the migrating snowbirds to their home in Houghton Lake. Dee went up on Wednesday to see them and I came up after work on Friday.

There is definately something awesome about being at the cabin in the spring. With everything coming back to life. As always we enjoy watching ours birds. Below are some pics of spring around the cabin.

Last fall Dee and I planted Ice Follies Daffodils. When she arrived they had come up and bloomed. We were not sure if they would because in the past the squirrels have dug up the bulbs for lunch.

A Northern Flicker rooting around for some buggy snacks. He was tossing dirt all over the place looking.

A male Rose Breasted Grosbeak and Male Northern Cardinal.

A male Grosbeck giving a little love to a feamle Grosbeck while another, jealous male looks on.

A female Cardinal eating suet that had fallen to the ground.

I made this Oriole feeder for Dee last year. I put this out this morning and within 30 minutes the Northern Orioles showed up and enjoyed the grape jelly.

There were several other birds that visited over the last few days that I was unable to get pics of. They included an Osprey, a male Mallard Duck, Canadian Geese, American Goldfinches, Pilated Woodpecker.

We also have our Tree Swallows nesting again. They are very busy building their nest.

Her Royal Highness Cleopatera basking in the warm spring sun looking over her domain.

We also went Morel Mushroom hunting which I will talk about in future post.

We plan on posting on a more frequent basis.

Take care,

Bill

Kayaking the Au Sable

2010-09-27T19:34:00.011-04:00

Dee and I decided to kayak down the Au Sable River. We have canoed the river several times. We always enjoy driving through Michigan to look at the fall colors. We thought this would be a unique way to view the colors. Although it will be a couple of more weeks before the colors are at peak we had a great time. If you get the chance to go down the Au Sable please do so you won't be sorry. Along the way we saw a bunch of great cabins. We also saw a small variety of wildlife including a weasel, ducks, a blue heron and to top it off a bald eagle perched high atop a pine tree.

So we invite you along on our trip. Enjoy!!!

We used Campbells Canoe Livery in Roscommon. The folks are that own the livery are very nice and accommodating. I would recommend them.

The weather was mostly cloudy and in the 50's with a pretty stiff wind at times. The trip was about 4 hours long By the time we were done we were cold to the bone. We went into town and had lunch at Fred's bowling alley and restaurant. We had a great lunch, warmed up and then headed back to the cabin.

I am now thinking of a winter trip down the river. I better dress warm.

Outdoor shower

2010-08-26T21:45:00.010-04:00

So Dee and I were talking one day and I said wouldn't it be cool to have an outdoor shower. Dee thought it was a great idea. It was from there I knew I was in trouble. So she started researching and ordering pieces and parts.

As far as the plumbing for this project it was easy. Earlier in the year I had completely re-plumbed the entire cabin with PEX pipe. If you have never used PEX don't be afraid, it is so easy to use. I tapped into the run of pipe I installed for hot and cold water outdoor faucets.

Here is the pipes coming down from the ceiling. I had to switch them around so that the hot water would be on the correct side outside. I just pulled the PEX back up into the attic and pushed them back down through the opposite holes. This pic is before I switched them.

Bottom half of the pipes leading to the outdoor faucets.

The run come from the manifolds in the attic to the faucets.

This pic is of the T I put in to go to the shower faucet.

The pipes coming outside. Also the teak floor we put in. Dee found the floor on the internet. The squares snap together, it was easy to put together.

The finished product.

Looking forward to showering in the great outdoors.

The shower parts were ordered from Signature Hardware. A simple 36" circular shower rod with center support. It requires 2 shower curtains which I simply close with clothes pins when it is windy. The shower floor is teak 12"X12" ordered from Overstock.com.

Outdoor Shower

2010-08-04T19:07:00.003-04:00

I'll have Bill do a post about how to install an outdoor shower. But, here is a pic of the finished product. I LOVE it!

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-03T20:25:00.019-04:00

Last weekend Dee and I had our neice Michelle and her friend Brittnay up to the cabin. The girls are 21 and wanted to tan, swim and do what every 21 y/o wants to do, drink. We had good time. Saturday we partied with our neighbor, Sunday we went to Dee's Uncle house for hot dogs and hamburgers. Here are some pics of the weekend.

Michelle enjoying her first margarita. It was little on the strong side.

Here the girls are enjoying the camp fire, margaritas and beer. What ever happened to smores?

Here the girls are canoing across the lake.

Wouldn't be a post if we did not have wildlife pics.

Our Canadian friends and thier 6 gooslings.

A 2 foot gardner snake. First time I have seen one at the cabin. If you look closely you will notice that he has a full belly. I am thinking that there is one less chipmunk. Brittnay did not like this at all.

A muskrat swimming away from me on the paddleboat.

As I was paddleboating I was hearing this squeeking noise. I could not figure out what it was until I saw this female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker fly to the tree to feed her young. This tree is on our property.

Here is silhouette of a humming bird

Although he will grow up to be a pest that iratates the dogs , he is just to darn cute.

All in all we all had good time with neighbors, family and wildlife. The weather was perfect and the beer was cold. Truely a great weekend.

Cabin Gardening

2010-05-20T21:07:00.003-04:00

Oh how my knees ache! Spent all day cleaning up the gardens at the cabin

2010-05-02T21:47:00.005-04:00

Happy Sunday everone!

Just back from a weekend at the cabin. We did a lot of work this weekend. I finished closing up the kitchen cabinet from my plumbing job earlier in the winter, this made Dee very happy since it will keep the bat from visiting. I keep trying to tell her that he doesn't eat much. She does not believe it.

Dee worked somemore on her garden out side our bedroom, it is realy coming along. We will add pics later.

I put a new out door spigot in on the front of the cabin.

We also bought a St. Fancis statue for my Memorial garden for my Mom.

Below are some pics of some of our birds and a awesome sunset Please enjoy.

Nesting pair of Mallard Ducks

This female Downy had taken up residence in one of our bird houses. She since has been replaced by barn swallows who are currently busy building their nest. Sorry no pics of them yet.

Here is a pic of my Mom's Memorial garden with St. Francis.

St. Fancis was my Mom's favorite Saint.

A close up of St. Fancis the Patron Saint of Animals.

We finish with this absolutely awesome sunset on Saturday. It was just a great weekend at the cabin with Dee and the hounds.

New Door

2010-04-12T20:35:00.005-04:00

Hello Everyone!!!!

We brought a solid 6-panel door at the Habitat for Humanity Re-store in Houghton Lake. It has become our favorite place to shop. We have also donated several items to them. The door cost us $20.00.

We bought it to replace the hollow core door that was hung between the main cabin and the utility room. This door never really fit in with the cabin.

I had to cut 2 inches off each side of the door to fit into 32 inch opening. I also use the old door as a template for the hardware. I than took the door home, cut out for the hardware and sanded the door.

Here I am cleaning up the hinge mortises before we stain the door.

Dee took some molding to the hardware store to try to match the stain. They told her to use shellac. This was difinately the right choice. Here I am staining the door. Dee helped but she didn't want her picture taken, besides someone has to take the pictures.

Here the door is almost done. It started to rain so we had to move inside to finish the last coat.

Here is the finished product. It looks like its been there since the cabin was built. A great way to spend twenty dollars.

Take care everyone.

New planting bed with bird feeder

2010-04-04T20:45:00.004-04:00

This weekend Bill and I created this new planting bed in an area that, at one time, housed a propane pig. Today, it isn't legal to put anything greater than 100lb. tanks next to a house. This area has been an eyesore for me. So, we have created a planting bed with a bird feeder. I'll be able to see the bird feeder from bed when I wake up. Doesn't that sound wonderful?

I can't believe that it only took Bill and I about 10 minutes to clean this area out! He did all the hard work - moving the stones out of the area, then back in. I raked and he used a flat shovel to get rid of the grass. The ground was so soft in this area, it just took a couple of minutes!

I can't wait for real spring weather so that I can start putting plants in this bed. Here are some before and after pics.

This is a before shot. The windows on the left go to the utility room. The windows on the right go to the bedroom.

After, facing the bedroom.

After with all the debris removed and the rocks put into place. We were careful about not interfering with the gas line to the furnace and the electrical to the shed. I'll also be careful about putting short rooted plants in those areas. Any recomendations for plants in this area? It gets morning sun only, so probably along the lines of hosta and heuchera and other shade lovers.

Going, Going, Gone ICE-OUT!

2010-03-25T15:32:00.003-04:00

The first photo is Monday afternoon. The 2nd photo is Tuesday afternoon! Ice-out was about 95% complete when I came home this morning. We only have a little bit of ice in our backyard. Ice fishing is Bill's favorite sport. No more ice fishing for him this year.

Love is in the air!

2010-03-22T08:21:00.004-04:00

Here are some paired up visitor's from last weekend! My favorites, the Red-Headed Woopecker's, probably won't arrive until the end of April. Going up north today and plan on cleaning out my nest boxes. I always get Tree Swallows, but only get Bluebirds on occasion. Hoping for a year with the Blue's.

Red-bellied pair. Male on the left and has an unbroken orangy-red stripe down his neck. Unlike the female who appears to have a gray cap. Their name comes from a light reddish wash on their bellie's. Very difficult to see if you are not up close.

Pileated pair. Male on left with a red-mustache. Female has an all gray mustache.

Vacation - Swimming with Manatee's

2010-03-19T21:22:00.003-04:00

Been a while (sorry!). Here are some pics from our vacation to Florida in February. We went down for my Grandma's 90th birthday!

Bill and I went swimming with the Manatee's in Crystal River, Florida. It is just down the road from my Mom and Gram's place in Florida. It's an experience that you don't want to miss. We can't wait to go again! Hope you enjoy!

Tip Up Town

2010-02-14T20:31:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago I took my sister in law Debbie, niece Michelle and nephew Jimmy up to the cabin for Tip Up Town. They wanted to go see the polar bear dip. Temperature wise it was not to bad in the low 30's and no wind.

Here are the first two folks to go in. As you can see the fire department, paramedics and rescue divers are standing by.

There are some crazy people that take part in this event. The next picture is OH so wrong in so many ways. We were not sure why this guy dressed like this but it was both disturbing and funny all at the same time. Prepare yourself and scroll down.

What we wanted to know what the bet was and did he win or lose it.

Here is Michelle going down the ice slide.

Here we are in front of the Tip Up Town ice sculpture. It was the
the 60th anniversary of the event.

Back on Trout Lake a pic of my shanty as dusk falls.

Michelle all bundled up. This is the first time she has gone ice fishing.

Michelle' s first ice fishing fish. Go Michelle!!!

Here is were I was sitting, going after the crappies. Everything you need, a bucket to sit on, a rod and rod holder, a scooper, Coleman lantern and the most important thing a beer.

After a full day outside in the cold it is good to come inside and warm up by the fire.

This Old Cabin - Plumbing #2

2010-02-02T21:30:00.001-05:00

In this episode, I will replace the old plumbing with PEX. If you have not worked with PEX, let me tell you it is very easy to work with. The fact that you can do a single run from the manifold to the fixture is awesome. The connections are easy.

What was left over after all the pipes had been cut out. Off to the scrap yard. Got 64 bucks, don't tell Denise.

The cold water manifold for the PEX pipe.

Main water line is hooked up.

Cold water feed going to the hot water tank.

The bathroom cold water feed coming from one side of the attic to the other. I pitched the pipes to help avoid standing water in the pipes when we drain them.

Cold water feed to bathroom

Pic of me in the attic over the utility room. Not a lot of room and lots of nails sticking up and down. Good thing the tetanus shot is up to date.

Here I am stretched out running the hot water feed to the kitchen sink. This was the hardest part of the whole job.

Dee just had to take this pic as I crawled towards the attic hatch.

The hot water manifold.

I pulled down the crown molding far enough down to move the PEX through, but couldn't get it to go back up correctly. So, I ended up pulling the whole piece down, Much to Dee's dismay.

It made a very big mess as the blown insulation got in and on everything.

Got all of the molding back up. Here I am vacuuming the insulation up. Did I mention I hate blown in insulation?

The job is done except for a few connections that I will do later. We also left room for expansion of the water system. I also have some touch up work to do on the moldings. We are also going to build a new cabinet around the pump and manifold.

All in all I had fun doing this project and hopefully no more frozen or burst pipes.

This Old Cabin Plumbing #1

2010-01-23T07:35:00.020-05:00

I have been busy at the cabin tearing out all the plumbing. I got tired of fixing leaking and busted pipes and crawling around in the attic with a torch soldering pipes. This is the first in a series of the adventures of de-plumbing and then re-plumbing the cabin with PEX pipe. So in this episode of This Old Cabin, we look at tearing out the plumbing.

The water pump, please excuse the sheet, we had torn out the cabinet.

The upper cabinet had to be removed for the PEX manifold to go in. We will replace both cabinets with a floor to ceiling cabinet.

The main galvinazied water line coming into the utility room attic.

The maze of pipes over the utility room.

Starting to cut the pipes and watching out for the wires.

This is where the pipes and electrical go through to the attic over the main cabin. There were wood plugs in some of these holes to help seal them off.

So when you are crawling on your belly through an attic always make sure the you watch out for hazards. This is a pic of the 220 line that goes to the stove with exposed wires. Thankfully I saw this before I crawled across it. Had to crawl out of the attic and shut the breaker off. I put electrical tape on it and will replace the wire when we put the new stove in.

Water lines cut to main cabin attic.

Had to remove the door moldings in order to get to the hot water line going to the kitchen sink.

Also had to pull the crown molding down to access the cold water line and old hot water pipes, much to Dee's dismay.

I pulled the molding down but not completely off the wall. There was the use of the reciprocating saw.

Had to cut an access hole in the kitchen cabinet to get to the the pipes.

Here are all the pipes ready to go the scrap yard.

Stayed tuned to the next episode when I install the PEX tubing and make a complete mess of Dee's kitchen.

1952 General Electric 'Speed Cooking' 40" range

2009-12-15T19:50:00.009-05:00

***Edited to add that I believe that I have dated the range with the help of the GE website***

Bill and I were shopping in Houghton Lake. I always stop in the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store to hunt for antique light fixtures. For cabin lighting, the uglier, the better!

Well, on our way in... I spotted this beautiful 1950's General Electric range. We asked the man that runs the store if it worked. He said that he briefly tested it and all 4 burners and both ovens work! He is not sure if they work well, but they do work. This will be a great addition to our cabin, once we have it cleaned up in the spring. Bill does need to replace the old 220 plug with a newer one and he will check the rest of the wiring. It will have to sit in our garage downstate, until I can give it a good cleaning in the spring.

We don't know the exact year, I've googled it, but can't find any info on this model. If you know anyone who may be able to identify the year, let us know.

GE model #J466A1WH
Serial #HAK68228

Here are some of the feature's:
'Push-button' burners, one large burner, 3 regular burners
2 ovens, one is 1/3, the other is 2/3
both original broiler pans!
1 oven window
oven lights
flourescent cook-top light
clock
2 oven timers
individual oven controls

Here are some pics in our garage

Hunting Weekend?

2009-11-24T21:26:00.017-05:00

Dee and I were going to the cabin for the weekend. She got there before I did. On her way up, she stopped and saw the movie New Moon.

I was going up to go hunting. Before I even got out of Wyandotte, Dee called me to let me know we had a water leak at the cabin. I turned around and got my tools, which I usually bring up with me but had decided not to because I was hunting.

When I got to the cabin, it was late and I was not going to work on the plumbing at 10 pm. I told Dee I would work on it after the moring hunt.

Saturday morning I got up and drove up to my hunting spot. As I walked in, I kicked up a deer, never saw it because it was 'O dark early'. I got set up and sat. I didn't see anything all morning. Here are some pics of the area that I hunt.

After the morning hunt, I headed back to the cabin for lunch. Dee made homemade French Dip, it was awesome. After lunch I started working on the plumbing leak. I crawled into the attic and started the repair work. When I thought I had it fixed, we charged the system and it was still leaking. I told Dee I would look at it again after the evening hunt. So I head back out. Still saw nothing, but here are some pics of the sunset.

On the way out of the woods, Dee called me and told me she was sick and throwing up. So off to Wally world to get some medicine and gatorade for her. Got to the cabin and Dee was in bed with the hounds. I gave her some meds and cooked a frozen pizza for myself for dinner. I would work on the plumbing in the morning after the hunt.

I woke up in the AM and it was so foggy I could not see the lake from the cabin. No sense in going hunting, can't see anything. Once Dee got up I went to work on the plumbing. Below are pics from the attic. (Note those fabulous full log beams!)

The area in the attic I was working.

At some point someone had crimped this pipe over instead of capping it. This is not where the leak was however.

Moving along with the repair.

The leak was at the T connection on the left, which was bent to accomodate earlier plumbing.

The job is done...or so I thought. After three attempts it was still leaking. By this time it was late in the afternoon. So I did no hunting on Sunday. We are now pricing out PEX pipe for the cabin. PEX is supposed to be able to handle 6X the amount of water or ice pressure without rupturing...we'll see.

Wouldn't be a post without a pic of the hounds. Kaiser and Cleo enjoying lying on the our bed.

Not the best weekend but it was still great to be at the cabin with Dee and the hounds.

4 seasons at the cabin

2009-11-14T23:30:00.005-05:00

As many of you know I have taken a series of pics of the cabin from across the lake. I would like to share them with you.

Spring

The birch trees are just starting to bud.

Summer

Trees are green, the weather is warm and the lake is refreshing.

Fall

The colors are awesome, the birds are migrating and winter is not far off.

Winter

The trees are bare, snow on the ground and 18 inches of ice on the lake.

We hope you enjoy the 4 seasons as much as we do.

Lost Twin Lakes Pathway

2009-10-27T14:38:00.005-04:00

Here are a couple of pics from Lost Twin Lakes Pathway. This is just off the ORV/Snowmobile trails between our cabin and Houghton Lake.

Bill, Cleo and Kaiser after our 3 mile walk.

This was an odd tree. It had one branch that grew to the ground and re-rooted and grew back up.

Here is baby-dog Kaiser. Even though he is on a leash, he is also wearing a cow bell, just in case...

Cleo and Kaiser near a downed tree. Cleo is wearing an orange vest for her safety...it is bird season.

Here is Bill climbing up a the roots of a downed tree! This section of the forest appears to have had straight line winds at one time. Bill had to climb down into a ravine for me to get this pic. Cool, huh?

A dogs life at the Cabin

2009-10-05T21:45:00.012-04:00

As we all know a dogs life is very rough, especially at our cabin. Here are some pics of the rough life our hounds lead.

They don't always see eye to eye but as long as they can come to a compromise everyone is good.

When necessary they can tolerate each other, especially when its chilly in the cabin.

Sleepin' with Mom is the best.

Of course lying outside is very relaxing.

Standing next to each other if we have to for the pic.

Kaiser really enjoys the dog bed Mom bought for him. We keep it in her car and he just hops right up there if the hatch is left open.

Basking in the sun is awesome.

Running around the cabin with the swim noodle is a lot of fun. It is too funny because as he runs the noodle is hitting the trees, so all you hear is THUD, THUD, THUD.

So as you can see our dogs are spoiled and love to be at the cabin.

Beautiful September weekend

2009-09-20T19:59:00.004-04:00

Bill and I got to spend time at the cabin TOGETHER this weekend. Can you believe it? ...and, what a beautiful weekend!!! Here are some pics...

Twins sleeping on the couch. Actually, Kaiser has to be wrapped around your head. Here he is with Daddy. Kaiser ran out in the street a few days earlier, downstate, and got hit by a car. He is fine, just a little sore.

Beautiful early fall morning sky. I took this in our 'backyard'.

Kaiser going after as stick in the lake. He is curious about the water, but still a little suspicious about it. Plus, he didn't like his manly parts touching the cold water. It was a hoot!

Beautiful sunny day. Hardly a breeze and 70 degrees makes for a really nice day.

This was a surprise gift from Bill to me. OK, you may think this is silly, but trudging through the snow to get firewood in the middle of the night, isn't any fun! This will hold me for a couple of days. I just need Bill to get me 'Sven, the lumberjack' and winter will be perfect...LOL

Last week at the cabin

2009-08-20T20:48:00.008-04:00

Well I've been back to work since Monday. We had a really good time at the cabin. Took my nephews fishing. On Tuesday we went to Houghton Lake and on Wednesday we went to Long Lake.

It was very windy on Houghton Lake and we had a some trouble anchoring. Did not catch much. We had a turkey dinner at my mother in laws after we came off the lake. It was a nice way to end a good day fishing.

Funny thing happened on Wednesday. I orignially was going to take the boys to Grass Lake. there is no public access and after looking at the lake we would have been catching nothing but weeds. So we ended up at Long Lake. Got the boat in the water, I parked the truck and Sean said "Uncle Bill the boat is filling up with water". OH S***, I forgot to put the plug in. Thank God for my little bilge pump. So we fished and again we really didn't catch much. So after we were done I was backing the trailer into the launch when I broke one of the tail lights off the trailer. So we got the boat on the trailer and headed back over to my Mother in Laws for turkey left overs.

Well I hope the boys had fun even if I am a terrible fishing guide. I know I had fun.

Here is some of the fish we did catch.

Here is Sean checking out the babes, oh I mean the birds. Well it starts with a B.

The guys sitting around the camp fire.

Denise had here Mom but this fountain. I hope Denise has paid her Mom. I don't need a upset Mother in Law

Denise has her Red Headed Woodpeckers, well these our mine. The Pilated Woodpecker they are just awesome.

And here is the summer pic of the cabin from across the lake.

Take care everyone.

I'm on vacation!!! I'm on Vacation!!!

2009-08-09T23:42:00.011-04:00

Well I am on vacation this week. Spent the weekend with family. My sister and her family came up from Houston. Linda flew up and Kevin and the kids drove. Linda flew because she could only be here for the weekend. They all came into town for our family reunion on Saturday. We had alow turn out because of the wonderful weather we had. It rained all day long, but we still managed to have good time. Here are a couple of pics of the reunion.

Here are 4 of my Dad's sisters. Aunts Helen, Dorothy, Mary Jane and Francis.

Here is our clan. Sean, Jimmy, Debbie, Denise, Kate and Sara.

My Cousin Frank's little one was having a great time playing in the rain.

Here is a pic of all of our nieces and nephews. It is a very occasion that we are all together in the same place at the same time.

From L to R; Sean, Kate, Sara, Jimmy, Michelle, Shandra and of course Our Cleo had to be in the picture as well.

Linda has already arrived back home and Kevin and the girls are driving back home tomorrow. Sean is staying a few exrta days. So we are taking him and Jimmy up to the cabin for a few days of fishing. I am really looking forward to it. The truck is packed and we are just waiting for the morning to come. It is going to be a very nice time.

We will talk to everyone when we get back next week. I leave you with a couple of pics of our angel dog Kaiser.

Kiaser eating his first ice cream treat from Stroh's.

"I am so innocent, I don't know anything about that trash basket being tipped over Dad".

4th of July, party at Trout Lake

2009-07-30T22:41:00.004-04:00

The flower arrangement that my Mom made from flowers in her yard.

From the paddle boat parade.

Our neighbor girls from the paddle boat parade. Their theme: All American Christmas. This years theme had to start with the letter A.

Our neighbors enjoying the paddle boat parade.

A is for Amish and our wild and crazy neighbors across the lake. They were the winners!

Kaiser's favorite places to nap

2009-07-14T21:17:00.010-04:00

Well our little man is getting big. We went for his first vet visit today. He is 16.9 lbs. He was 9.13 lbs when we got him. He is into everything! He did really well at the vet, he never cried or even flinched when he got his shots. Dr. Dan says he is doing fine.

Here are some pics.

Nothing better than lying in the big boy bed at the foot of Mom and Dad's bed at the cabin.

We went back checked on him later and all that was left were a couple of legs, oh my!

Of course taking a nap in a chair outside in the cool north air is unbeatable.

And nothing is better than a nap after you been "Lei-ed". ( I know, typical man).

Of course sleeping on Mom and Dad's down comforter is the best. Shh!! Don't tell anyone I'm up here.

And just so you don't think that all he does is sleep. Here is pic of him doing his favorite thing, attacking Cleo.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by. Hope everyone had good 4th. Talk to you all soon.

Fishing weekend, Kaiser and 4th of July

2009-07-02T21:41:00.009-04:00

Well Denise is on vacation at the cabin. She has the hounds with her. I will be joining her for the weekend right after work on Friday.

Last weekend I was at my friends Tom's house fishing with the guys. On Saturday I had the best day ever fishing. I caught 4 northern pikes and one 18 inch largemouth. I kept two of the pike and we cleaned them up for Grandma. She always complains that I catch pike but never bring her any fillets. Well Grandma the pike is on the way.

The two keepers for Grandma

The biggest Bass I have ever caught.

So we all know fisherman lie, but I have to tell you about the one that got away. I had the largest pike I have ever seen much less fight, all the way to the boat when the leader broke and he swam away. Had we landed this fish it would have definitely gone on the wall. We guessed it was 45 to 50 inches long. It bent my 8 foot heavy rod in two. It put up a great fight.

The difference between catching a fish of a lifetime and just being able to tell the story about the one that got away.

Kaiser is doing just great. He is everywhere and him and Cleo have bonded. He follows her everywhere. When she gets tried of him she lets him know. Here are so pics of our boy.

Chewing on his canvas dummy that I put pheasant scent on.

Running away with the bird. I think it is bigger than he is.

We will be at the cabin to celebrate our Great Countries 233rd birthday. I am thankful everyday that I live in the USA.

Please take time to remember all of our men and women in uniform and all those who have given their lives in service to our country. Without them we would not enjoy the freedoms that we do.

Denise and I wish everyone a very Happy and Safe 4th of July.

More pics of Kaiser

2009-06-19T22:02:00.011-04:00

Well Denise is back from the cabin so here are some more pics of Kaiser. So here they are.

It did not take long for him to find his way up on the couch in the sunroom.

After a hard day of playing it is time for nap.

Her Highness Cleopatra keeping watch in the yard for illegal alien rabbits.

Cleo and Kaiser playing in the back yard. Cleo however is still not sure what to do with Kaiser.

Here Kaiser is giving us tree trimming suggestions. He is playing tug of war with a low branch on our Sargentina Crabapple tree in the front yard. I think he is trying to tell us that we need to trim the tree a little.

Aren't I handsome?

Puppy food $16.00

A variety of chew toys 25.00

Finding the perfect place to lay your head down.....

PRICELESS!!!

Our New Addition

2009-06-16T21:41:00.005-04:00

We have a new addition to our family. We have brought a new puppy home. He is about 6 weeks old and oh so cute. His name is Kaiser, he is a German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP). Below are some pics.

I won't be able to hold him like this for long.

Kaiser and his brother and sisters.

He looks harmless, except for those sharp teeth and claws.

I had more pics but somehow I lost them somewhere in the computer.

Denise is at the cabin with the hounds. Kaisers first trip up there. The girls next door have been coming over everyday to play with Kaiser. By the time they leave he collapses and sleeps all night.

Our other GSP Cleo doesn't quite know what to do with this new puppy. We are confident that she will get used to him and they will be running together in no time.

We were talking about what to name him and I thought we should find a German name. Denise found a website that had German pet names. As we went down the list Kaiser stuck out because it means Caesar, which was our first GSP's name.

Anyway if I find the lost pics I will post them.

Take care

Bill

Pics from the cabin

2009-06-04T21:37:00.017-04:00

We have been at the cabin the last three weekends which is very unusual for me. I only get up there about once a month. We have been spending time with Denise's family.

I thought I would share some pics we have taken at the cabin over the last three weekends.

Here is Uncle Don helping his grandson Nathan fish off our dock with a Sponge Bob fishing pole.

Nate caught quite a few nice blue gills. Nice Fish Nate!!!!

Denise and her Mom brought some garden art at a crafts fair in Houghton Lake.

This is Denise's skating bird.

This is Mom's garden monster.

These garden art statues are made from scrap metal parts. Nice way to recycle.

While visting at Uncle Don's Nate got tired of fishing, so Don took over the Sponge Bob pole and landed this nice bass. Don out fished us all with that pole. I think I need to put one in my arsenal.

A pic of a flying squirrel enjoying some sunflower seeds.

Cleo's two nemisis the black squirrel and the chipmunk. Nose prints all over the front window when these characters show up.

A male Pileated Woodpecker, one of my favorite birds visits the suet tree.

Denise's Red Headed Woodpecker visits us often.

I was out back of the cabin when I heard the call of the loon. I first I thought it was Denise, (get it loon, Denise) just kidding honey!! I love you!!! Anyway the Loon came into do some fishing.

A pic of the looking down our front shore line. Please notice the woodduck house I just put in. This is the one we won at Kirtland's Warbler festival.

A close up of the Wood Duck house. It it hard to see but that is very noisy Red Winged Blackbird on top of the house.

And finally the spring pic of the our piece of heaven framed by our favorite snag and trees.

Take care everyone.

Last weekend

2009-05-19T21:48:00.009-04:00

Well Hello everyone,

Last weekend we were at the cabin together, a rarity. It was our 16Th wedding anniversary. I got there on Friday evening. Denise was already up. She had gone to the morel mushroom festival with her Mom, Uncle and Aunt. No luck looking for mushrooms.

Saturday morning we went to the Kirkland's Warbler Festival. A little history on the Kirkland's Warbler. It is very rare birds who only nest in Jack Pine trees in the a very small area of the northern lower peninsula. The birds have become endangered due to loss of habitat and the Brown headed Cowbird. The cowbird is invasive birds that lays it eggs in the nest of other birds and then those birds than end up raising the cowbirds and there own chicks end up not making because the cowbird chick out competes the other chicks. For more information go to this website,http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-32591--,00.html

A pic of a Kirkland's Warbler

A pic of the Brown headed Cowbird

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, U.S. Forest Service and the Michigan DNR work together to create habitat for the Kirkland's. They set up traps, catch the cowbirds and than they are euthanized.

Pic of the Cowbird trap used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

We took a field trip out to the Kirkland's nesting area. You could hear the birds singing but they are hard to see. When they do the bird count they count the numbers of Kirkland's heard singing. This is made easier with the fact that the female Kirkland's do not sing

A pic of a Kirkland's Warbler roosting in a tree. (so they told me anyway)

After arriving back at the festival site we took some classes on Michigan Mammals, Butterflies, Dragonflies, Sharp tailed Grouse and Bats. All the classes were informative. During the lunch break they had a silent auction. Denise bid on a wood duck house. So while she was getting our food I hovered near the wood duck house to make sure we ended up with the highest bid, which we did. We won it for 25$. We are going to put it on a little outcrop area on our property.

We attempted meet up with Shelly and her husband but were unable to because I had no cell service in this area. In fact we had to put minutes on Denise's On Star account so we could try to get a hold of Shelley. Sorry Shelley, I am looking forward to meeting you and the Hubby.

So after the festival we went out for our anniversary dinner. The restaurant was in a bed and breakfast and oh my goodness was the food out of this world. Denise had a Kobe prime rib and I had New York Steak. This absolutely the best meal I have had in years. Than it was back to the cabin to wind down. All in all a very good day.

Red-headed Woodpecker's Home Again

2009-05-10T20:26:00.004-04:00

I have to wait all winter for my Red-headed Woodpecker's to come home. They are finally back and have been making whoopie, all day, everyday....

Here is Daddy. Yes, you won't believe it, but I know which is which (He has an odd black stripe on his back). This virile young man is approx. 2 years old. He came from a brood of 2. He was a NOISY juvie. He would cry mercilously to get to my bird bath. It was really funny. As an adult, he's just as noisy, but is a better flyer. He is the noisiest RHWO on the lake.

He's home and I'm thrilled to pieces!

Going to the cabin

2009-05-07T22:05:00.001-04:00

Well I am going to the cabin on Friday after work. Denise is already there and she has to come home on Saturday. I have a short son in law list to take care of for my wonderful Mother in law ( yes I have t say that she reads the blog).

Anyway Denise is excited because the tree swallows have nested in the one of our nest boxes. This will be the 3rd year in a row they have used this box. Her redheaded woodpeckers are also back and she is hoping they nest in the one snag on the property. We'll see.

Had an unusual thing happen at work today. We noticed a pigeon standing on the hood of one of our ambulances and next to her was an egg. We felt bad but we had to shoe her away. Our marketing manager took the egg home and she is going to try to put it under a heat lamp and see if the egg will hatch. There was no nest anywhere around. Again we felt bad but we needed the ambulance. Below I posted a pic of the pigeon.

Well we hope everyone has a great weekend and to all you moms HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

Bill

Busy Busy Busy

2009-04-29T21:41:00.002-04:00

Well Hello Everyone,

We just do not seem to have enough time in our days right now to blog. I did break away last weekend to go fishing with the boys. Only caught a 24 inch cat fish. The weather would not cooperate. The winds were 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40mph. It made it very hard ot anchor. It was still nice to get away.

I have been working a lot of hours 10-14 hours a day. So it does not leave a lot of time for anything else. Denise is at the cabin as I type this. Her Mom and Grandma are back from Florida. So Denise has been helping them settle back in. She will be home on Friday and I am thinking about going up to the cabin after work which could mean we will pass each other on the freeway. My trip will depend on work.

We are also trying to by a rental property. We will keep you all updated on all the happenings as they come about and time allows.

Take care
Bill

It's been a long time!!!

2009-04-08T20:19:00.010-04:00

Hello everyone,

Well it has been a long time since I have posted, but as Denise stated in her last post we have been extremely busy with work. Which is a good thing because here in Michigan if you have a job you are truely blessed.

A couple of weeks ago we were up north, Denise posted some pics but I am going to share some others with you as well as some she took this last weekend.

First we start with her Royal Highness Cleopatera, Queen of the Backyard and Cabin grounds. Cleo was enjoying a warm day in the sun by lying in Denise's garden, that is fine until the tomato plants go in.

A view of Houghton Lakes west shore. As you can see the ice has melted away from the shore. Did that stop the ice fisherman from going out?

You guessed it, no it did not. These fools, oh!!! I mean the ice fisherman were out there doing their thing. Now as many of you know I love to ice fish, however when the ice is melting away from the shore it is time to give up the adventures on the ice.

Whats that you ask? How did they get out on the ice if the ice is not connected to the shore? A fine question. The answer is below.

Why you build a bridge out of 2x6. I do give these die hards credit for going out but personally I think it is not safe.

Back at the cabin these seagulls stopped by for awhile but thankfully they left. This is the first time we have seen seagulls on or near the lake.

This a pic of a bunny statue Denise had in the garden at the cabin. It basically has disintegrated under the three feet of snow and ice.

A view of our lake looking north at the cannel that connects the two parts of the lake. The ice is moving out.

This is a view from the front of the cabin. It is so good to see open water, I cannot wait to go fishing in a boat.

I spent this last weekend at my friend Tom's house putting his dock in. It was windy and a little on the cold side. Thank God for waders. We got done with that and we watched Michigan State beat UConn. We all had good time.

Monday I got a call from my friend Mark and another friend of ours Tom (not the same Tom whose dock we put in) was in town from New Jersey. They were going up to a local bar to watch the Michigan State vs. North Carolina final game. Tom and Mark are both graduates of MSU and were disappointed with the lose. But we had a good time anyway.

Well I have rambled on long enough. From Denise and I we hope everyone has very safe and blessed Easter.

Bill

Leaf burning and Avian Salmonellosis

2009-04-03T20:31:00.005-04:00

It's leaf burning time again. I'm not avoiding everyone, we are UNBELIEVABLY busy at work. Very strange, but hopefully this is a sign of the economy trying to rise back up again. International cargo is on the move! But, I am soooooooo exhausted after working 12-16 hour days without breaks or lunches. We do eat, we just order in. I cannot maintain this pace much longer, I'm getting tired.

Bill and I did manage to get to the cabin last weekend and I am heading up myself tomorrow morning. We were able to burn some leaves last weekend, but we have tons more to do. And, we had a hot water line break in the ceiling, so we didn't have water until late Saturday afternoon after Bill fixed it. Yep, that's me in the photo below. Got my hair cut and no one, including me, likes it. Oh well, it will grow.

American Tree Sparrow on the move northbound for breeding season! Unfortunately, I just heard today that there is a Salmonellosis outbreak in our area and people have been advised to remove their feeders for a couple of weeks. We seem to get this about every April. Since, I'm familiar with what it looks like, I'll remove my feeders if I see a sick bird and I'll take them down when I leave to come home. Salmonellosis is very easy to spot. The birds puff up and are easily approachable and they don't fly away when the others fly away. Unfortunately, the finches are hit very hard by salmonellosis.

The purple finches are back in town for breeding season! This is one of a gazillion males that were at the feeders last weekend. I like to call them Raspberry finches and House Finches as Red finches.

Magic Kingdom

2009-03-16T21:26:00.002-04:00

There was a family that rode over on the boat with us. The Mom wrote in a sharpie marker on her sons arm: If found, please call -----------. It was really funny. He even liked his 'tattoo'. The Mom said she had lost him once.

Space Mountain. One of the kids working there asked if I was '29'...LOL I said that I had ridden Space Mountain the year it had opened. Well, that was 1974!

A topiary near Cinderella's Castle.

This is where they used to have 2000 Leagues Under the Sea, but they haven't had that attraction in a long time.

A holograph in the Haunted Mansion. Bill took this. I'm surprised it turned out in the dark! He has such great luck.

Cinderella's Castle from the boat to the Magic Kingdom.

Homosassa State Wildlife Park

2009-03-13T20:58:00.002-04:00

More pics on the 'Nature Coast' of Florida at the Homosassa State Wildlife Park, just down the road from my Mom's house.

A male Wood Duck in his spring mating colors:

Some 'gators sunning themselves:

This is 'Lucifer'. He is the only non-native species in the park. He is 49 years old. He is the oldest hippo known in captivity.

Manatees

2009-03-13T10:29:00.003-04:00

We're back from vacation, we had a WONDERFUL time. Now I need to go catch up on my favorite blogs and get my blog list back up. I don't know how it disappeared. I'll be posting pics all week from our vacation. Today is dedicated to the Manatees.

The area where my Mom lives in winter is known as the nature coast and is well known for their Manatee population, both in the wild and in captivity (in kind of a hospital for manatees). Bill and I were going to swim with these gentle giants, but we simply ran out of time on vacation! Too much to do, so little time.

Here are some pics of manatees at the Homosassa State Wildlife Park just down the road from my Mom's. They are all females, some have young, and they all have been injured, mostly from boats. They eat romaine lettuce, lucky gals!

I would recommend Homosassa State Wildlife Park to anyone visiting Florida. It only cost Bill and I approx. $8 each to get in.

Vacation

2009-03-02T21:19:00.007-05:00

Hello Everyone,

It has been a while since we have posted. Sorry about that but we have been extremly busy with work. We are on the eve of our vacation to Florida. We are going down to see Denise's Mom and Grandma. We will be doing the tourist thing as well as going to the magic kingdom to the mouse. We will have a good time no matter what we do. It is going to be nice to get away from work and the winter weather.

This last weekend I went to the cabin with my good friends Tom and Jeff. The plan was to ice fish. That plan got side tracted when a pipe burst. Our bedroom got pretty wet. We got it cleaned up and the I fixed the pipe. Below is a picture of the burst pipe. You know you have good friends when they stay with you and help fix the situation instead of fishing. I felt bad and told them to go fishing, but they refused. It truely was blessing that they were there.

Once we got this plumbing problem fixed and then we fished. We didn't catch anything but we fished. The temps were single digits on Sunday with wind chill in the negative numbers.

On Denise's bird feeders were a flock of common red polls. They must be migrating back to Canada. There must have been 30 or 40 red polls on our feeders. Here are som pics of them.

Hope you enjoy the pics and we will try to blog from Florida. We wiah you all well.

Bill

Fish Video

2009-02-21T21:48:00.006-05:00

Good evening everyone,

Of the fishing equipment I have my favorite is my Aquaview camera. It gives a view of what the fish are looking at. Some considerate it cheating but just because you can see the fish does not mean you are going to catch them. Having the camera can be very frustrating because you can see the fish but cannot get them to bite. I thought I would share some video of some pike that I was able to video.

These videos are courtesy of my lovely wife Denise who bought me the DVR for my Aquaview so that I could record these fish. I hope you enjoy these videos.

Right after this Northern Pike went off camera my friend Tom caught him. He was a 28 inch fish. We threw him back. It was a lot of fun catching him and seeing him on camera before he was caught.

This is just long video of a pike. We did everything we could to get him in then boat but he did not want to cooperate. He will be there another time.

Hope you enjoy these.

Take care,

Bill

Great Backyard Bird Count

2009-02-18T16:30:00.003-05:00

I always like to count our cabin birds during the Great Backyard Birdcount. I'm always hoping for something rare or new-to-me to show up in the yard, and I was not disappointed!

Here is the species list for our cabin, this year:

Mourning Dove 8
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Tufted Titmouse 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
White-winged Crossbill 1
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch 87

The White-winged Crossbill was a new-to-me yard bird this year. In fact, I had the camera in my hand, he showed up and I flung the camera in the air and fumbled it because I was so surprised. Hence, the photo didn't come out well. I am checking with my pals at Northern Michigan Birding to confirm my White-winged Crossbill. At first, I thought that he was a Pine Grossbeak, but then I noticed the hooked bill. Normally, I have some of the highest numbers in the State of Michigan for American Goldfinch, but I don't think that I did this year. However, if they were doing the count today - I counted nearly 200 American Goldfinch in my yard this morning, before coming home.

Here are some pics...

Goldfinch 'dripping' from the trees waiting to get to the feeders.

There are 17 American Goldfinch on the ground by this feeder. I have 3 different feeders that the Goldfinch can get on. Plus, I have a woodpecker seed feeder, but the Goldfinch can't get on it.

Mr. and Mrs. Hairy Woodpecker, involved in a little pre-season mating ritual. They dance around the trees with each other and stick their necks out straight. It's amusing to watch.

Mrs. Hairy on the no-no feeder. All the birds that can 'cling' love this feeder. I love it because the squirrels can't destroy it.

And here he is, the White-winged Crossbill. He was only in the yard for a few seconds.

Snowing again!

2009-02-14T11:08:00.003-05:00

***But first - Bill and I will be going to see my Mom and Grandma in Florida at the beginning of March. YAY!!! Can't wait to see them!***

Bill has been on the road since 6:00am with Cleo. He JUST got to the cabin at 11:00am! He said the roads are terrible.

I am at work right now and heading to the cabin around 4:00pm today. 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. Unfortunately her website is down today.

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.

Ramblings

2009-02-10T20:25:00.004-05:00

Well hello everyone

We had a nice weekend. Got just about everything on my list . Denise saved big money at the grocery store. The total was about $140 after all her coupons she walked out with a total around $ 80.00. She is very proud of herself and I am proud of her as well.

The weather has been very nice the last couple of days. It got into the 60s today. Short sleeve weather here in Michigan. But Mother Nature is going to bring us back to reality by the weekend, back to the 30s.

I got this pic in an email from my wonderful Mother in law.

The snow can get a little deep here. I think they may need snow shoes.

Not sure if I am going up north this weekend I'll decide by the Thursday. Hopefully the ice will be OK, if so I may be able to get some more fishing in.

Well just some general ramblings. Have a good rest of the week.

Bill

Weekend at home

2009-02-07T07:27:00.008-05:00

Hello Everyone,

This weekend Denise and I are staying at home. This will be the first weekend home for me this year and after last weekend with the guys it will be nice to be at home. We certainly had a good time last weekend. I didn't take a lot of pics but here are some.

Looking out at our shanties from Tom's place. It was about a 5 minute walk out to the shanties.

A pic of the inside of my shanty. I take a lot of ribbing for how much stuff I have. What can I say I really like my eletronics.

Here is view out my shanty window. Sorry about the blurry image but its a plastic window. That is my friends Rick's shanty on the left and the colored things on the ice are some of our tip ups.

Here a few of the perch I caught. It was a tough fishing weekend. The only thing biting were the perch. Got enough for a nice meal for Denise and I. My friends were also generous enough to give me thier catch as well.

After a hard day of fishing it is back inside to eat well, watch the Superbowl (Good job Steelers) and play cards. This pic is of my Friends Jeff, Chris, Tom and Craig playing cards. As the eveing went on the game got louder. They were all having a good time. A little side note. Chris (the bald guy facing you) just got back from Iraq where he served at a field hospital. He is a trauma nurse. We are all glad he is back safely home to his wife and 4 kids.

So anyway back to this weekend.

I cleaned house the last two days and today I am going to start cleaning the basement. Denise has spent the last two days trying to undo my laundry opps. I washed the whites and did not realize there was a red sock in with them. All those whites are now pink. Should be interesting at the next fish camp with the guys.

I will also be going up to our cities recycling center to take up the glass, plastic, tin and cardboard. I take our newspapers up to the church, where they have a bin. By doing that it helps the church school out. I think recycling is important.

Deinse is going to the Motor City Casino today for a birthday party for one of her friends she worked with who just got laid off (come on lucky 7).

We also plan to get together with our friends Bob and Cheryl tonight. We have not seen them in long time.

Tomorrow will be fixing the leak under the kitchen sink and also fixing the bathroom fan, which does not want to turn on.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Bill

Saturday afternoon at....SHELLEY'S!

2009-02-02T18:28:00.003-05:00

You all know Shelley! Shelley's Log Cabin Blog She invited me up to her place for lunch on Saturday. All I can say is WOW! You should see her beautiful new log home, in person. It's everything you dreamed it would be, and more. But, of course, I forgot my camera...sigh.

I had no trouble finding her place. As soon as I walked in the door, I was greeted with Marvin's presence. He was lounging around, happy and content. Next I got to meet Greg. Ladies, he really is good looking. Shelley was gracious enough to make me some coffee and give me the grand tour. The pictures on the internet do NOT do it justice. She has a huge double closet in her bedroom. And, if you don't know anything about log cabins, closets are a luxury. She has great taste and everyting looks bright and happy...just like Shelley! You cannot imagine the size of the loft. Enormous! And those views!

Just after the tour, we had some lunch and got to know each other better. I felt so much at home, you'd think we knew each other forever. You have to get her Rigatoni recipe, she has it on her blog.

After lunch, Shelley took me to a couple of shops. I'm lucky to only get out of both places buying a candle. There were so many things that I wanted.

We got back to her place and I got ready to head back to my cabin. As I told Greg, I like to get to the woodshed before dark, because I don't know what lives there after dark...LOL Bill and my Mom were both excited to hear about my day with Shelley and Greg. We can't wait for them to come to our place. Maybe on my next set of weekends off toward the end of February.

Here are some pics from our place with all the snow.

The entrance to our peninsula. You can hardly see the garden bench beneath the snow.
Look at the drift near the shed. Pretty deep.

The drifts near the front porch are about 3 1/2 ft tall.

Snow on top of the little shed roof. That is my swing hanging from the buck pole.

These drifts are from the plow. With us being at the end of the road, there is no turnaround. They plow the snow onto our property. In return, they make us a really nice parking area. I won't complain.

Super Bowl Weekend

2009-01-28T19:25:00.002-05:00

With the Superbowl coming up this weekend. I was wondering what everyone is doing for the big game. Let us know how you spend it and who you will be cheering for.

I will be at my friends house on the Indiana border ice fishing this weekend. This is something we do every Super Bowl. I will be cheering for the Steelers. I have been a Steelers fan since the days of Terry Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain.

Denise will be going up to the cabin for the weekend. She is not a football fan at all. She will probably watch the game but only for the commercials.

Take care and Go Steelers!!!
Bill

The weekend

2009-01-26T21:21:00.012-05:00

Well, were back from the frozen up north cabin. It was great weekend. One of the rare weekends where Denise and I get to spend time together at the cabin. I got to the cabin on Friday night. Denise had fried up some bluegill bites as a snack. They were really good. I had a couple of adult beverages and it was bedtime.

Saturday we got up and it was cold. I got up on the roof to shovel some of the snow off. The ice on the edge of the roof in places was about 10 inches thick. This would explain the leak in the utility room from the ice dam.After shoveling, Denise wanted to go to Tip Up Town up in Houghton Lake. So off we went. Tip up Town is an annual two weekend festival in Houghton Lake. It started years ago as an ice fishing tournament and over the years has grown into a major event with carnival rides, games and helicopter rides. One of the big attractions is the polar bear dip. A bunch of crazy people get into their favorite summer swimwear and dive, belly flop or cannon ball ino the frigid waters of Houghton Lake. There were probably three hundred people in line to take part in this event.

This is a pic of the rescue divers who check out the area for foreign objects or ice shards. There was also a paramedic team standing by.

This is a pic of the first participant getting ready to take the plunge. Her skin was bright red after standing in line in the single digit weather waiting for the event to begin.

Here is pic of me and Denise at Tip Up Town. Notice that we are dressed appropriately for the weather. Denise reminded me of Ralphie's little brother in the movie 'A Christmas Story'. We had a good time. Most of the fishing takes place farther down the lake. We would have taken more pics but the batteries died on the camera.

After leaving TIp Up Town we stopped at the crafts fair that is also part of Tip Up Town. Denise purchased some spices from a Mennonite woman then we headed back to our cabin for dinner and a nap. The events coordinator (Denise) got us tickets to a comedy show. The Irish Comedy Tour. They were three comedians who are Irish Americans and my gosh were they funny. I would tell some of their jokes but we do try to keep this blog family friendly.

Sunday, we slept in a little. It was -3 degrees outside. A good day to stay inside. I took some pics of some of our daily visitors.

A Pine Siskin, one of the 'winter' finches. We had some Common Redpolls, but too far away to get photo's.

One of the many squirrels that love Denise's suet feeders.

A Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

A male Downy Woodpecker on the no-no feeder.

This is a pic of the very rare orange and black chimney bird. OK , its just me cleaning the chimney flue. The chimney is nice and clean now. After this we headed home.

Hope all of you had a great weekend. Take care.

Bill

Heading North!

2009-01-21T23:37:00.004-05:00

It has been far too long!

I am missing...

Standing in front of the window drinking a cup of hot coffee...

Filling my bird feeders...

Snuggling up with Cleo in our bed, with the feather bed, mattress warmer and down comforter...

The chill in the air early in the morning, until you can smell the pancakes and coffee...

The brisk feel and cleanliness of the air and my complete sense of peace when I escape to my heaven on earth...

I can't wait to get there tomorrow. I'll certainly be up an running with pics as soon as I get back on Sunday!

Denise

PS I like the new PC, but I'm not looking forward to changing over the files....including pics....I've been putting this task off.

New Computer and the weekend

2009-01-19T21:23:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone,

Well we got the new computer up and running. It's great. We are still playing with it to find out what it can do. Denise will post more about the computer since she is the computer wizard in this house.

I went to a friends cottage this last weekend. Mark's cottage is about 2 hours west of of our house. It is on Dragon Lake in Kinderhook Michigan. It was a duel purpose weekend. Ice Fishing and drywalling. Mark had a pipe burst a while back, which pretty much wiped out the ceiling in his one bedroom. We got over to Mark's place Friday evening. There was Mark, Jeff, Rick, Tom and Myself. We had a couple adult beverages and relaxed.

Saturaday we got up and I got the shanty set up. I was the only one in the group who brought a shanty. I figured with as cold as it was that whoever wanted to use the shanty could to get out of the cold. Mark was really the only one who fished Saturday morning, the only one who was brave enough to fight the sub zero weather. When Mark came back in we started the drywall. We only had to do the ceiling as he is going to panelthe walls. We were done by 10:00 am. We had lunch and napped. Around three we all started to migrate outside to fish. We only stayed for a couple of hours We came back in and Mark cooked up steaks and we watched basketball.

We had tip up outs and Rick caught a pike. It looked like it was leagal but we put it back to grow bigger. Mark caught some bluegills and cleaned them up. That was the extent of the fishing on Saturday.

Sunday we got up and I headed out on the ice. I could not get the fish to bite. That is the way it goes sometimes. Just as we were getting ready to pull the tip ups out when the flag on my tip up went up. I caught a 30+ inch pike. We were not going to keep him for dinner and he is not big enough to put on the wall so back in the hole he went. So with that we packed up and headed for home. A quick weekend it was, not much fishing but a good time with good friends.

Hope your weekend was as good as mine.

Bill

New PC

2009-01-15T12:46:00.004-05:00

Bear with us as we change over PC's. We bought an HP last night with 8GB, it will be ready for pick up in a couple of hours. This old PC will move downstairs into our living room where we will also (hopefully) have an internet connection. I don't have any CDRW's yet to changeover the pics from this PC to the new PC. Now the process of shutting this one down and putting the new one in....and all the cleaning involved in that process! Dust bunnies, here I come. In the meantime, enjoy some cabin pics!

Winter view looking to the northwest out the front window. That is our lake association swim dock, down at our shoreline.
Winter view looking west, that is our front dock.

Remember the dry well post? Well, I found a pic of the pipe that Bill took out, no wonder my kitchen sink wouldn't drain.

A winter walk around the lake

2009-01-10T22:41:00.019-05:00

When I was at the cabin last weekend I took a walk around the lake. It was a good way to check the ice. Here are some pics. Hope you enjoy.

A veiw of our snow covered cabin.

Could be a little cold sitting around the camp fire unless of course you really like sitting in the snow.

Looking south on the lake from the ice in front of our cabin.

As I was walking I came across a couple of downed trees. I thought at first that maybe the wind had knocked them over on the ice. After taking a closer look I realized the beavers have infact been busy.

A close up of the stumps and the wood shavings left behind. The Beavers were coming up from under the ice right at the shore line were it was basically slush as opposed to solid ice.

The beavers started working on this one, I am sure they will be back to finsh the job.

Looking north from the south end of the lake. This end of the lake has this marsh area were these pine trees have flourished. I believe this marsh may have been created by our beavers over the years.

Our neighbor has found a way to beat the beavers. He has wrapped all the trees on his property with aluminum.

I saw this snag and thought it would be a cool pic. Then I saw something blue in at top of the snag.

The blue thing I saw was this fishing lure that one of my neighbors lost over the summer.

A pic of our neighbor Ron ice fishing in his usual spot.

The dogs got chance to come play on the ice at the end of my walk.

Hope you enjoyed the pics.

Bill

Ice Fishing

2009-01-08T19:17:00.007-05:00

Hello Everyone,

Well, I finally have sometime to let you all know about last weekend at the cabin, after New Years Eve at the Elbow Lake Bar. I got up New Years Day, Denise cooked breakfast and I went out and set up the shanty.

Jimmy and I went out to fish after Denise left for home. Yes, we were in Denise's favorite fishing spot. We caught 13 fish in about an hour. We were both pretty tired, so we did not fish long. We headed back inside and had dinner. I fell asleep on the couch and Jimmy played his video game.

Here are the bluegill that we caught. Very nice 'pumpkinseed' in the middle.

Friday we ran up to Houghton Lake. I bought Jimmy a fishing rod and some tackle as he had lost his fishing equipment in a house fire last March at my brothers house. We then went over to Lyman's on the Lake. It is a little fishing store on the west side of Houghton Lake. We bought two dozen minnows, some maggots and waxworms for bait. We then headed back to the cabin. We had lunch and Jimmy wanted to play Uno. So, play Uno, we did. Not sure who won, but we finally went out to fish and caught several more. I cleaned them all up. We have to restock the freezer, don't you know? We came back in, had dinner and I went back out to fish. No luck at night, but I did take a nice nap in the shanty.

Saturday we fished and caught more. Jimmy out-fished me, but only because I gave in and let him have the side of the shanty that the fish were on (well thats my story and I'm sticking to it). Some of our cabin neighbors were out on the lake snowmobiling and playing with their kids. One of our neighbor's was pulling his kids on sleds. They were out there all day long having fun. Don't you love the 'mohawk' helmets?

When it was all said and done, we had caught about 40 fish. They are all cleaned up and in the freezer. Jimmy took some to give to his dad. We had a good time and I enjoyed the time with my nephew.

Fall and Winter

2009-01-06T10:52:00.003-05:00

Bill took these identical shots standing precariously on a log in a wooded wetlands across our lake. We actually won a prize for the Fall photo over at Log Home U. It is a leaf blower and is on it's way to our home!

My favorite place to sit in summer.

2009-01-04T20:04:00.004-05:00

Bill is home and took a few pics. He will blog tomorrow night (I hope).

This is my favorite spot to sit all spring and summer long. Ah, imagine...shorts, a good book with your barefeet feeling the warmth of the wood on the dock and the sun setting directly in front of you...and the glow of the dock tiki torches after dark.

We forgot to put the adirondack chairs away...oops.

Brrrrrrr! New Years

2009-01-01T19:26:00.005-05:00

Well, as Bill said, I got to the cabin just fine on Monday....to no power. Not a big deal at the cabin, except the fire went out in the middle of the night. Brrrrr, down to 39.

When I got there, I got the fire started in the wood burner. Headed into Houghton Lake to get some lamp oil. Headed back to our place, where I stopped at Elbow Lake Bar, knowing they wouldn't have any power either. But, they have old propane lights and are able to cook with a generator. I had my choice of either a hamburger or chili. I opted for chili. The owner asked if we were going to be there for the New Year, I said yes. He said, bring a dish, we are having a party. He would be supplying the ham. So, I headed back to the cabin to come up with a couple of menu items...hoping that I would have power so that I can cook using the electric range, instead of the grill, which has about 12" of snow on it.

The power came on at approx. 1:30pm on Tuesday afternoon. I opened the fridge for the first time. We lost everything. Shucks. I had planned on making 'Bluegill cakes' for the New Year's party. We had a lot of bluegill in the freezer, that and melted ice cream make for a gagging good time cleaning out the fridge.

I ended up making Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts, a cold Crab Dip and Jalapeno Popper Dip for the party at Elbow Lake Bar. The party was a great time! Lots of great food and nice folks, we were stuffed.

I have to wait for Bill to come home to show pics from this week. He will be home on Sunday with our nephew Jimmy, they have been ice fishing. They have been using MY secret fishing spot! Hmmmmm, I'll have to get them back. In the mean time, here are some other pics.

Cabin mantle lit up with oil lamps.

Cleo, she's exhausted after opening gifts for Christmas.

This is what Bill made for me. It's a memory box for Brittany, my Standard Poodle, she passed away a couple of years ago. It has a couple of pics of her, her last collar, and her paw print. Bill usually makes me something for Christmas and my birthday. I'll share pics of those in future blogs.

Of course, I can't leave Bill out. This is him with a Journey CD that he wanted for Christmas.

This is an older picture. These are 2 of our nephews ice fishing at our place in one of Bill's shanty's. He has a couple of them. Jimmy is in the front, and Sean is in the back. Jimmy lives close by and comes up north quite a bit. Sean lives in Texas and doesn't get to come up as much. Sean LOVES fishing as much as his Uncle Bill.

Heading up north

2008-12-30T22:55:00.002-05:00

Good Evening Everyone,

After work tomorrow I am driving up to the cabin to spend New Years Eve with Denise. I am taking our 16 year old nephew Jimmy with me. We plan on ice fishing and just hanging out at the cabin. I do have to go check on my wonderful Mother in Laws place in Houghton Lake. I will probably have to rake the snow off the roof.

Denise did make it to the cabin OK, however when she got there there was no electicity. It was 36 degrees in the cabin. She got the fire going but with no power the blower wasn't working so she only go the temp up to about 55 degrees. The fire went out during the night so the temp dropped. She slept on the couch covered by several blankets and she had to cover the hounds up as well. Fortunately the power came back on today so all is well in cabin land. We did lose everything in the fridge, so time to restock.

We are going to the Elbow Lake Bar for New Years Eve. They are having a pot luck. Not sure what Denise is making but it should be a good time.

What is everyone doing for New Years?

We wish all of you a Safe and Blessed New Year and may 2009 be the best year ever for you.

Bill

Whats missing in our cabin kitchen?

2008-12-29T11:06:00.005-05:00

YAY, I have internet again! ...and my car back. I'm about to take a shower and head to the cabin!

In the mean time...do you notice anything MAJOR that is missing in our cabin kitchen?

Yes, there is a peel and stick tile missing on the backsplash next to the sink. I'm not going to worry about that until I redesign the kitchen....some day...
OK, hmmmm what seems to be missing? It's something needed in every kitchen. And no, it's not the cook! I took the pics! This is a pretty good view of the entire kitchen.

Here is a hint -- We have it hidden behind that door into the utility room.

No Internet and No Power

2008-12-28T11:02:00.002-05:00

Good Sunday Morning to All,

Well I type this blog note from my desk at work. Since Christmas Eve we have had no internet service and being the holiday they could not come out until tomorrow. This maybe delayed even more because Mother Nature has decided to use her mighty leaf blower today in our area. The winds are anywhere from 20mph to 60 mph, so needless to say the power was out when Denise got up for work this morning. Nothing like getting ready for work by flash light.

Denise does have her Trailblazer back. I believe we have paid for someones summer vacation with what it cost us to get it fixed. Denise will be heading up to the cabin tomorrow after the the internet is fixed.

No internet at home has been driving my lovely bride crazy. She misses all her Bloggy friends. So please be patient with us and we will be back posting about our little cabin as soon as possible.

We would like to Thank all of your for Chrsitmas wishes you have posted.We hope everyone had a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas.

Thanks Mom for keeping everyone up to date for us.

Take care of yourselves.

Bill

Still bored, Christmas things

2008-12-23T16:58:00.003-05:00

My Mom made this in ceramics. It's beautiful in white with it's blue lighting.
Mom made this one, also.
Better close-up of our Thomas Kincaide village.
Thomas Kincaide church.
Santa on our dining room table.

FLIPPIN BORED, part 2 same day

2008-12-23T16:19:00.003-05:00

I am a captive in my own house. I shoveled snow about 2 hours ago...now our neighbor has come over with his snow blower. More random photo's....

I have one of these here at home and one at the cabin from Cabin Life magazine. YEESH, I'm clicking my red glitter heels together...I'D RATHER BE AT THE CABIN!
Cleo and Louie (our nephew dog) on our front porch. They would rather be at the cabin, too.

Our wedding photo. 5/15/1993.

A pic out of our sunroom into the backyard.

I'm trying to save this plant. It is an annual. It is Diascia or Trailing Antique Rose hybrid. Anyone know if it might survive? It's been hanging outside and still has green on it. It was frozen solid. It's been defrosting for a couple of days, but it's looking worse.

BORED, part 1

2008-12-23T13:57:00.003-05:00

Remember how I said that my car had to go to the dealership because my speedometer isn't working?

Well, it's at the dealer, and I won't have it back until tomorrow. I can't go up north. I can't go shopping. I can't go to the grocery store. I can't go to the poultry market. I can't visit friends. I can't go anywhere. I CAN'T GO! HELP ME!

I'm flipping out, bored out of my mind. So, I'll post some random pic's.... As green and as frugal as I may try to be, I have found...I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT A CAR! Banging head against the wall.

My Mom sold her house near our home here 'downstate' last year. She is now an official 'snowbird'. She lives in Florida in the winter months with my Grandma, then she comes 'up north' and lives in her home in Houghton Lake during the summer with my Gram. My Mom was going to leave this clock in her kitchen. Granted, it's nothing special. But, I grew up with it in my Mom's kitchen. I told her that I wanted it. It goes really nice with our sage green kitchen, here downstate.
Our 'powder room' here downstate. I cleaned it this morning. It has the Santa feel.

My laundry room. The clothes should be put away, but Bill said that I cannot open his closet in the computer room....

A red squirrel awaiting a feast at my tray feeder outside of our sunroom.

American Tree Sparrow. We have tons of them all winter at the cabin. They are not usually city birds, but they are here today.

Cabin Heat

2008-12-23T07:46:00.003-05:00

We heat our cabin with a woodstove, a very old propane furnace that heats the utility room only and occasionally electric space heaters. So, how warm does it get? The question is...how hot do you want it? I've had it up to 90F. When I'm there, I keep it around 65. I still have to get up in the middle of the night to stoke the fire. Our woodshed is 'down the hill and around the propane tank'. Coming back up the hill with wood in the sled, is the challenge! In winter, we keep a large plastic bin outside by the utility room door to keep wood in. It stores enough for about a day and a half. During summer, the bin is emptied and moved away fromt the cabin. Carpenter ants and log cabins, don't mix.

Here is the 'woodshed' behind one of our other sheds. That is a robin nest platform near the top of the shed that Bill made for me. That's our blue canoe. I have the orange sled all ready with wood on it. Best $7.00 I ever spent. Obviously, I took this pic in the fall. That sled gets a lot of use for winter. I drag the sled around the propane tank and up the hill to the utility room door.

This is the bin that we keep at the utility room door. It holds about a day and a 1/2 worth of wood.

Even Princess Cleopatra has to be wrapped with a blanket until Mommy has the cabin warm enough, otherwise she shivers.

Bill has the woodburner torn apart for a good cleaning. He does this about every 3 months. See the arch in the fireplace? You can't see it when all the trim pieces are on the wood burner. Shucks, it's so pretty. The original stone firebox is approx. 3-4 ft. deep and it has the original cast iron liner. Our fire tools aren't for show, they are for hard use, but I bought the set because they are pretty. They are hand forged, individual pieces. I also have extra brushes and shovels because they always come in handy.

Not a fire for 'watching', the glass door gets a lot of smoke and crusted with creosote, but it sure is toasty! My bloggy pal Margy over at http://powellriverbooks.blogspot.com/ cooks in and on her woodburner. I can't cook ON mine, but I'm going to try and cook in it. I need to buy a fire brick to set inside the door.

Albino Deer

2008-12-21T18:46:00.008-05:00

Hello Everybody,

Sorry we haven't posted in awhile, we have been very busy with work and getting ready for Christmas. I thought I would share this Email my wonderful Mother-in-Law sent to me a couple of weeks ago. ( I have to say she is wonderful because she reads the blog, Hi Mom).

I have not been back up north since my last post. We were going to go hunting last weekend but my friend Rick was sick and this weekend we got hit with a snowstorm on Friday. I didn't feel like driving up in that weather. Let the ice fishing season start!!!!

I have been working in the garage on couple of gifts for Denise. I will post about those after Christmas.

Anyway here is the Email. Albino deer are not something you see everyday in the wild. They are pretty rare. These are some incredible pics. Enjoy!!!

'Behind the Gray Rock Cafe in Grayling, Michigan Tim Gillette made the deer feeder with the 'Browning' logo. These twin Albinos have been coming into the back of Gray Rock Cafe since they were fawns in 2006. We have been trying to capture a digital pic of them for Awhile, but they arrive at dusk or even later and the pics don't turn Out. On Friday about 10 am they arrived. It was a beautiful Morning and they came for their photo op.

On one pic you will even notice their breath.'

Victorian Christmas, part 2

2008-12-17T19:54:00.003-05:00

Thomas Kincaide village. No pic's will ever do this justice.
Santa that my Mom made in ceramic class, when I was little.
Wall tree. The Santa topper is very old.
My small collection of "Mercury Glass" ornaments. They are so shiny and colorful. Each ornament is approx. 8-10" tall.
More of Aunt Martha's homemade ornaments. They were difficult to photograph.

Victorian Christmas, part 1

2008-12-16T16:22:00.005-05:00

We didn't decorate the cabin this year, although we have some great woodsy ornaments. I have to work on Christmas day this year. Bill is the head Christmas decorator...in fact, he did ALL of the decorating here, downstate, this year. Our home, downstate, is a Victorian farmhouse. No farm here though, we are in a city...LOL Bill decorated our tree this year with my Great Aunt Martha's Christmas ornaments. She willed them to my Mom when she passed away. She was my Grandma's oldest sister. She was a WILD one! In fact, she looked like 'The Clapper' lady in the commercials. Bill does NOT care for ornaments, but my Mom and I do. They sure put a lot of color on the tree. We have lots of ornaments, but he chose this theme this year.

This is the 'greenest' gawdy ornament on the tree.

This is one of my favorites. A cherub flying on a white disk. Could this be....a UFO?

My Mother-in-Law made this beautiful cross-stitch tree skirt for us. God rest her soul.

Our tree topper, this light up Santa number. I just love him and don't know why.

Our fireplace mantle, all decked out for the holidays. I'll share more pics tomorrow.

Bill's Christmas List

2008-12-16T14:46:00.003-05:00

Bill left me his Christmas list this morning. Let's just say, it tugs on my heart strings. I have comments.

1. My lovely wife gets her stress test done.
It's been a year and a half since I had a heart attack at age 40 and I have yet to have a stress test. I'll make sure this happens just after the first of the year.

2. For the love of my life to exercise and lose weight so that we can grow old together, and yes, I will join her in this endeavor.
Yes, we need to get back to the YMCA so that I work on my cardio and lose the weight to take the stress off of my heart. Who would have thought that smoking accounts for 25% of your metabolism? Not an excuse, just a fact. Also, since stress was a major factor in my heart attack, I am on anti-anxiety medication. Sigh - more added weight. I promise, we will work on this.

I love it when Bill and I go to the Y together and take walks around the lake.

3. Electric razor heads
Maybe

4. New slippers
We'll see

5. Journey's new CD
I dunno...

I think more trips to the cabin and snow shoeing is just what the Doctor will order for a happy healthy wife! I really want to go snow shoeing. There is a trail near Higgins Lake that I'd love to walk.

The drive north, final part - landmarks

2008-12-10T20:01:00.003-05:00

Are you ready? STRAP IN! I'm a fast driver. Here we go again! Let's check the speedometer...102, is that fast enough for you? Pretty good for being in Park. My speedometer is broke. My Trailblazer is headed to the Chevy dealer on Monday.

This is a detour through the City of Detroit. That is the Detroit skyline in the distance. Yes, I am the freak who took these pics while driving.

Old Tiger Stadium. There was an emergency order to stop demolition a couple of months ago. Nothing has happened since.

Chrysler World Headquarters. I've heard that there is a big board room in the penta-star. Does anyone know if that is true? I took this pic one handed. Aren't I talented?

This is the Zilwaukee Bridge. We call it the 'Little Scary Bridge'. This bridge has been notorious for having structural problems. The first, being a segment of this bridge tilting several degrees during construction and took years of lawsuits to correct. This was the first ever pre-fabricated concrete bridge. There is all kinds of weather equipment on this bridge detecting wind speed, etc. I never get the warm and fuzzies driving over this bridge. Of course the 'Big Scary Bridge' is the Mackinac Bridge that connects the lower peninsula with the upper peninsula. Those of us that live in the LP are known as 'trolls' (get it, under the bridge?). Those that live in the UP are 'Yoopers'.

Painless Frugal Ideas

2008-12-09T20:10:00.002-05:00

We interupt this cozy warm cabin to talk about frugal ideas. Bring them on! I'd love to hear some of your frugal and/or 'green' ideas. My Mom is the Matriarch of Frugality.

Sometimes it takes the fear of being furloughed to re-assess your finances. It's good to take an inventory every couple of years to see what you are spending your money on and how you can cut out some of those costs.

Here are some of the painless frugal things that I already do:

Laundry:
I'm a regular poster at a laundry room forum. I'm a bit of a freak over laundry. You could almost say that I'm into laundry voodoo....LOL I'm familiar with all sorts of concoctions to clean clothing. Ask me about STPP, TSP, vinegar, washing soda and borax. STPP and TSP contain phosphates, they are my last resort cleaners. I prefer the last 3 for all kinds of things including handwashing dishes.

I use Charlie's Soap, you'll see the link in my list of favorites on the right. I bought their 1280 load, 5 gallon container. This container will last approx. 3 years or more doing 8 loads per week. We don't do that many loads per week. I used Charlie's in my old top loader and in my new 4.7 cu. ft. front load machine. It contains no brighteners, which is perfect for hunting or military clothing. There are no scents. This is a no nonsense detergent. I would recommend trying the smaller containers to see if you like it. I've got my Mom using it now. We used to be Tide girls. This product not only cleans, it's 'green', which makes it even better.

I don't use fabric softener or dryer sheets. I will occasionally add 1/4 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle for towels, but that is it. I set my dryer to ring when our clothes are damp dry and I pull them out. If I end up furloughed, I'll start hanging clothes outside in the summer and in the basement during winter.

Bar Towels:
As of April 15, 2008, I stopped buying paper towels. I purchased 2 - 12 pack of white bar towels for $4.56 per set. We use bar towels exclusively for everything that you use paper towel for. Since they are white, I toss them in the wash with Oxy or Bleach, if absolutely necessary. Need a napkin? We have cloth.

Dialing Down:
We have a digital thermostat. We have it set for 65F when we are awake. We have it set for 60F at night. We didn't turn on our furnace until around November 10th, it was a struggle, but we made it!

Once A Month Cooking (OAMC):
Have you heard of Dream Dinners or something similar? This is where you go to a center and put meals together and take them home to freeze them, and cook them later. Well, you can easily do this at home much cheaper and I know how clean my personal cooking utensils are. I have several OAMC meals in my freezer. If I'm furloughed, I will do even more. Here are some things that I have in my freezer ready to pull out the night before and cook. Chicken Pot Pies, Stuffed Green Peppers, Ham and Swiss Stromboli, Green Beans with Ham and Potatoes, Pot Roast, Lasagna, various homemade soups.

Compact Florescent Lamps (CFL's):
We are replacing all of our incandescent bulbs with CFL's as they burn out. This is a big money saver on electricity.

Kerosene vs. Citronella oil:
I love having outdoor torches. Have you seen the price of Citronella oil in the stores? YIKES! The Citronella doesn't work to keep the bugs away, anyway. Kerosene is half the cost. OK, so this is one of those 'wants' not 'needs'. I just love the way the cabin looks with the torches lit.

Buy store brands, use coupons:
The only thing I insist on is Heinz Ketchup, nothing else compares...LOL I am vowing to use more coupons.

Credit Card:
We only have one and we pay it off every month, but we will greatly reduce using it.

Here are some of the things that we plan on doing over the next month or two.

Get new estimates on car insurance, house insurance, cabin insurance. Our cabin insurance is outrageous, since we are 17 miles from the nearest fire department. We have no fire hydrants, they would have to draft off of our lake if there was a fire.

Reduce clutter - we will be starting a garage sale area in our basement and plan to have one in the spring when our city does a city wide garage sale. We are going to go room by room and see what items we don't use anymore and put them into the garage sale area.

Telephone - keep land line and eliminate my cell phone? Or, eliminate the house phone. Cancel long distance? I have a car phone (On-Star), so do I really need both a cell and car phone? Hmmmm....

Look at alternatives for our current basic cable. Is a satellite dish more economical? We don't have either at the cabin. Cable is not available and we are in a valley and have too many trees for satellite TV. We have 3 channels and I like it that way, Bill? Not so much.

Cancel one of our 2 internet providers. One is our DSL and the other is AOL. We are going to eliminate AOL since you can now keep your email addresses.

I know there are more things, but this is where we will start! Don't worry, we won't be getting rid of the cabin. It's our Heaven on Earth. Tomorrow, back to our regularly scheduled cabin program.

The drive up north (part 1 - food)...

2008-12-08T17:17:00.005-05:00

But first. I had planned to have a bloggy giveaway, but I am unable to do it at this time. Sorry! I have recently found out that the company that I work for is planning furloughs beginning in January. My company has now been affected by this economy. The effects are being felt around the world. I work in international cargo - aviation. I don't know if I will be part of the cuts yet, I am non-union. But, don't worry about us, we are doing fine. We will just go down to one income for a while. I'm quite frugal - I'll do a blog about that this week, as I will be asking for more frugal ideas. :)

On to happier things... The drive up north. Since not all of you live in Michigan, I thought I'd share some pictures of the things that I see and pass on the way up north. Some of these places you may not have ever seen...or hadn't seen in years. So, here is the drive northbound on I-75 from south of Detroit to the Midland area.

White Castle - home of the 'slyder'. Don't let them fool you on Top Chef, this is the original 'slyder'. Tim Allen has it right! We have lots of White Castle's in the area, I like the jalapeno cheeseburgers! They truly are hangover food. This stuff is not good for you!
Tim Horton's. GREAT coffee! I stop on the way to work there all the time. It is a coffee and doughnut chain in Canada and they are heading south. Tim Horton was a hockey player in Canada.

Halo Burger. This is a small chain of fast food in the Flint area. My Mom grew up in Flint. This used to be known as Q.P.'s when she was a little girl. They are famous for putting green olives on their hamburgers. Even at home, I put green olives on my burgers. YUM.

And, we can't leave out Frankenmuth's Freeway Fritz. Frankenmuth is a small German community but well known for their world famous chicken dinners. Freeway Fritz is part of the Bavarian Inn and they have this little to go place right off of the freeway if you can't sit down for their family style meal. I prefer Zehnder's over Bavarian Inn - just a personal preference. It had started to snow when I got to Frankenmuth.

What does your shed look like?

2008-12-04T19:28:00.003-05:00

We have 2 sheds on our property, one that is a boring barn style...and this FABULOUS old cinder block building...but, it used to be boring.

One of my neighbor's granddaughters came over one day last summer and asked if I would mind if she painted windows on my shed. I thought about it for a moment and said 'sure, no problem'. Of course, I was thinking that it's only paint and I can just paint back over it. Or, I could wait until next spring when I plan to uncover the plywood off of the old windows and re-glaze them. This little shed has been boarded up for years, it appears that someone shot the old windows with a BB gun.

Well, I was truly surprised when she matched the 'mullions' to those on the cabin. Bill had noticed that she was really trying to get them right. She was using a ruler and pencil lines. When she was done, I had no interest in painting over her work. She did a darn good job!

Later on, she asked if she could paint some flowers on the bottom, again, it's only paint. I told her that she could paint anything that she wanted on the shed, but Bill has already named it.....get this.....MOTHER-IN-LAW'S QUARTERS! I asked if she would mind painting a little sign for my Mom. She didn't disappoint my husband. It is the first thing he showed my Mom when she came over!!!

Didn't she do a fabulous job on the shed? It is also known by the kids as 'The Clubhouse'. Maybe she will paint that on the back of the sign next spring. I love my little shed so much, I wouldn't change a thing...except reglaze the window's next year.

We have a door bell and vines. A half moon. This may have been a 2-holer at one time, we aren't sure, there is a solid concrete looking seat. Could have been a pump house. Any other ideas?

Flowers, butterflies and curtains!

Every clubhouse needs a 'Welcome' rock.

...and here is the sign that she painted for my Mom - courtesy of Bill, her favorite (and only) Son-In-Law.

Back from the Holiday Weekend

2008-12-01T22:04:00.016-05:00

Hello Everybody,

Well, we have made it back home from the cabin. We always hate to leave, but work calls. We had a really nice weekend. Denise cooked an awesome Thanksgiving meal, which she will post about. A turkey breast, mashed potatoes and her world famous stuffing. You can forget the bird and the potatoes just give me her stuffing, it is to die for. Thanksgiving morning we had to run to Houghton Lake for some items for dinner. The rest of the day was Denise preparing dinner, she refused any help from me and I watched the Lions get their backside handed to them by the Titans. Oh, there is no doubt that the Lions will not win a game this year.

Friday morning I got up and headed out to my hunting spot. Saw nothing. Around 1000 am I called Denise and asked if she wanted to go to Wally World (Walmart) to see what they had on sale. She did, so we headed up to shop. We bought a hand mixer for $4.00. We'll see how long it lasts.

Friday evening we headed over to friends Shawn and Tracy's. They own a 3500 square foot log cabin. We could fit our cabin in their living room. Their place is awesome. They have several mounts. Shawn is the most avid hunter I know. Below are some of the mounts they have.

We were there until 230am, needless to say I did not get up early to go hunting. I did not get into the blind until 1100am on Saturday. What a great day to be in God's country. The sun was shining, there was no wind it was just a great day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been seeing a deer. Nothing moving all day long. After shooting hours had ended, I saw three doe's. One gave me a great profile, would have been a great shot. Only one problem I don't have a doe permit, they were sold out. There are signs all over this hill, including a couple of beds but during the day no deer are moving.

One of two deer beds near my blind.

The hunting day ended with a really nice sunset.

Denise had dinner ready for me, Turkey Shepard's Pie. It was very good and topped off a great day in the great outdoors. Later we went up to the Elbow Lake Bar to have a drink. The Elbow is also a log cabin built around the same time ours was built. They have really good food and the folks that own and work there are the best. 'Everybody knows your name'

Early Sunday, I was back in the blind. Nothing moving and did not see anything. At noon I packed up and headed back to the cabin. We got everyting ready and headed for home. All in all, a great weekend.

Since this hunting thing does not seem to be working, I do have ice fishing to look forward to. Our lake is frozen over, but it is not safe to walk on yet.

We hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving!!

Take care,

Bill

2 for Thanksgiving dinner

2008-11-24T20:37:00.006-05:00

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?

2008-11-22T09:11:00.005-05:00

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

2008-11-21T15:22:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-21T11:17:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-20T11:20:00.003-05:00

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.

2008-11-18T20:52:00.005-05:00

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

2008-11-17T19:48:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-15T20:05:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-14T17:31:00.005-05:00

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

2008-11-12T22:16:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-10T20:08:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-07T20:06:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-06T14:33:00.006-05:00

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!

2008-11-05T16:47:00.004-05:00

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?

2008-11-04T09:37:00.005-05:00

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

2008-11-01T20:07:00.002-04:00

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.

Weekend at the Cabin

2008-10-31T16:26:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone,

As soon as Halloween is over and the kids are all home working on making their dentist rich... Me and the hounds will be heading to the cabin. Hope to get some hunting in. I'll update on the weekend next week.

Happy Halloween to everyone.

Bill

Log Cabin Woman Cooks: Halloween Chili Contest

2008-10-31T07:26:00.007-04:00

UPDATE: I WON 3RD PLACE! I honestly didn't expect to even place. I won a gas card. There were far too many entries to even taste. Everything that I tasted was absolutely fantastic.

I'm entering a chili contest today, and of course, I made it for dinner on Wednesday evening as a test run with lots of leftovers to take to the cabin. I'm not expecting to win the contest, but I'll let you know how I did. This is a recipe that is easy to modify for your tastes and is kid friendly. You can halve this recipe to fit into a 3qt. Crock-pot. The original recipe was from Taste of Home, but I've changed it so much, the original recipe is unrecognizeable. This is a fantastic recipe for the cabin, it can be put together in the morning and be ready for a hot dinner after a day of fishing. This is great to eat while putting together a puzzle.

Deluxe Pizza Chili with extra Pepperoni

1 lb. of ground beef
1 lb. of italian sausage (sweet or hot)
2-16oz. cans of kidney beans, drained
2-15oz. cans of pizza sauce
2-14 1/2 oz. cans of Italian stewed tomatoes
2-8oz. cans of tomato sauce
3 cups of water
1-16oz. stick of pepperoni, sliced thickly
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper

Brown ground beef and Italian sausage in a large pan, drain. Put drained beef/Italian sausage into 6qt. Crock-pot with remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 3 hours. Serve with shredded mozzarella, parmesan cheese and garlic bread. Here are a few other things that can be added to your taste, fresh mushrooms, garlic, black or green olives.

Peninsula Life

2008-10-29T09:52:00.006-04:00

Life on the peninsula is as great as it gets. Our log cabin was the first cabin on the lake. It is almost 3/4 acre with 566ft. of frontage. Our front door faces West. The sun rises in the back of the peninsula, where the bedrooms are, and sets in the front. Our lake is in a valley, there is no cell service here, and barely any TV. The OnStar in my car does work, but we do have a land line in the cabin. It is generally much cooler on the peninsula, sometimes as much as 10F from our neighbors. The wind runs right across our place, making it feel cooler on hot days. We are one of the lowest cabins on our lake, meaning closer to the water. Many of our neighbors are up on the hill that makes the valley. They have steps going down to the water. We are on a hill, but not near as steep as some of our neighbors. Where the road ends, our property begins, there is no turn-around.

The peninsula

Our front yard

Side yard

Back yard

Entrance to our peninsula

Happy Birthday Bill!

2008-10-28T10:06:00.005-04:00

a.k.a. 'Mr. Wonderful'. Are y'all gonna puke yet? Here is Bill with Cleo and his fishing boat. If he could wax his boat, he would. Bill is all fishing, all the time, especially ice fishing, it's his favorite. We have our own fishing village in front of the cabin when the ice comes in. He also likes to birdhunt. He has a bow, but isn't going to bow hunt this year. Actually, I think that he just likes to be out in the woods, with me and without me. Oh, he has this fishing shirt that says, "I fish because I can't hear my wife from the boat." Hmmmm, should I buy some walkie-talkies? Luckily, I have a good sense of humor. If you know of any good fishing websites or blogs, let me know.

I'd also like to give a shout out to Shelley and her husband over at http://www.logcabininmichigan.blogspot.com/ they are celebrating a wedding anniversary today. Happy Anniversary! If it wasn't for Shelley not minding me shadowing her for about a week, I'd have never figured this blog stuff out. Thanks Shelley!

Preparing Food for Hunting or Fishing Camp

2008-10-27T15:29:00.009-04:00

When my husband takes his buddies up to our place for hunting or fishing camp, I like to pre-prepare some items so that they can be more focused on being buddies than on cooking duties. Some of his buddies and their wives are FANTASTIC cooks and like to make things also. Here is a meal that I prepared yesterday, here 'downstate', but I prepared it as if I were prepping ahead of time for hunting or fishing camp. First, here is a recipe for beef stew from Better Homes and Gardens 1989 New Cook Book. This happens to be my second favorite beef stew recipe. My first is for a recipe that can be made in the crockpot. This one is just as easy to throw together, but is cooked on the stove. Here is some recipe shorthand, capitol T's are Tablespoons. Small t's are teaspoons. C's are cups.

Beef Stew (stovetop) - I double this recipe in an 8qt. stock pot.
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 lb. beef stew meat
2 T. cooking oil
3 1/2 C. vegetable juice cocktail
2 t. beef bouillon granules (I use 2 t. beef soup base)
1/2 C. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. dried basil, crushed
1/2 t. dried thyme, crushed
2 1/4 C. potatoes, cut-up (I leave the skins on)
2 C. sliced carrots
1 C. sliced celery

Here is where I have to change the directions to be transported 'up north' for cooking.

Put the beef stew meat in a container that can be sealed, put flour into a small plastic bag/seal and put on top of the stew meat. Seal these 2 items together.

In another container, combine onion, garlic, bouillon granules, basil and thyme. Seal this container.

In another container, combine the sliced carrots and celery, add water to cover. Seal this container.

In another container, put in the cut-up raw potato, add water to cover. Seal this container.

Put these containers in a large paper bag with a large jug of vegetable juice concentrate and drop the instructions in the paper bag. Fold this bag up and put into the fridge. The pictures above make a lot more sense.

Here are the cooking instructions that I give to Bill for this recipe.

- Add the flour to the stew meat, seal container and shake.

- Heat 2T. of cooking oil in the 8 qt. stock pot. Add a few pieces of flour coated meat to the stock pot, brown on all sides, remove the meat to a bowl.

- After all meat is browned, return all of the meat to the stock pot.

- Add 3 1/2 C. of the vegetable juice cocktail.

- Add the container with the onion, garlic, bouillon granules, basil and thyme

- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

- Drain the water from the carrot, celery and potato containers and add the drained vegetables to the stock pot.

- Cover and simmer for 30 more minutes.

- Serve in bowls with bread and butter.

Our Dogs

2008-10-26T16:16:00.005-04:00

Denise told you all that I would post about our dogs. Our first dog was a German Shorthaired Pointer. We got him from our friends Shawn and Tracy, who had bred their GSPs. We got him in the summer of '94. He was this little liver and white colored pup. We named him Caesar, keeping with a biblical theme. His mom and dad were Samson and Delilah. Caesar was very busy pup as most GSPs are. He ate our couch once, luckly it was a forty year old couch from my mother in laws basement. Having no money at the time, we fixed the couch as best we could and used it for many more years.

If you have ever read the book Marley and Me, there are many simularities that it was scary.

As he got older, Caesar turned into a very realiable watch dog, hunting partner and friend. Where ever I was he had to be. In the field I did not have to give him verbal commands. He would stop and look at me and I would simply point the direction I wanted him to go and he would go that direction. The last bird he kicked up was a ring necked pheasant which my friend shot.

Our beloved hunting dog, Caesar. May you Rest in Peace big dog!

We had been wanting to get a female GSP. Denise had been looking on Petfinder.com when she found this white with liver ticking female GSP. She called the Hillsdale County dog pound and inquired about Stella. This was the name they gave her. They told Denise that she had kennel cough but was being treated. Denise kept tract of Stella over the next few weeks. The weekend of Denise's birthday I called the pound and asked about Stella and was told that she was ready to be adopted. I told them I was on my way.

When I arrived at the pound they took me back to the kennel they let me take her out to the play yard. She was not interested in playing, than she started coughing. I advised the worker that I was told she was not sick anymore and wanted to know why she was still coughing. She told me that a volunteer had taken her for a walk and she was not supposed to. Well I could not leave this dog there. She was sick and emaciated, she only weighed maybe 40lbs. I signed the paperwork, loaded her up in the truck and brought her home. She coughed all the way home. We decided to change her name to Cleopatera, after all you cannot have Caesar without Cleopatera.

We did our best to keep Caesar away so he did not get sick. On the following Monday Denise took Cleo to our Vet. Who got upset with us for bringing a sick dog home. He put her on stronger antibiotics and she did very well. I knew she was feeling better when one morning when I had taken her out to go potty at 5:30 a.m. she spotted a rabbit and the chase was on. Cleo chasing the rabbit and me chasing Cleo down the street, around the corner and back through the alley ending back in our yard. I got her inside and as I honestly thought my lungs where coming out of my chest as I informed Denise that she was all better. Cleo since then has been healthy. She is definitely a pack animal and always has to be near you. When we are at the cabin it is squirrels and chipmunks all day and all night. She never wanders off the property and she loves going in the field with me. She is the princess of the cabin.

Cleopatra lounging around at the cabin.

And last but not least, Brittany the PITA (pain in the A**) poodle. Denise got Brit before we started dating. As our realationship grew and I spent more time with Denise, Brit would not leave me alone. I would sit down and she would pester me endlessly. She would not come when you called her and when you tried to corral her it became a game of tag and we always seemed to be it. One time when we were dog sitting Brit the neighbor kids were playing with her and Caesar in the backyard. Than there was knock on the door. It was one of the kids telling me that there was "something coming out of your dogs butt". I went out to investigate and ended up pulling a intact wash cloth out of her backside. I felt like a magician who was doing a very bad trick (look theres nothing up my sleeve). Brit did like eating everything and anything. it was always interesting cleaning up the doggie landmines because you never knew what you were going to find. She loved eating aluminum foil.

When Denise and I bought our house in Wyandotte. I told Denise that Brit should stay with her Mom so her Mom would not be lonely. This strategy worked for several years. When Mom moved to Florida to take care of her parents we got Brit back. She had calmed down but was still crazy. I know it sounds like I didn't like Brit but I did she was good and loving dog just crazy. Mom and me agreed that the breeder saw Denise coming and gave her the brain damaged pup.

Brittany the CRAZY Standard Poodle. She's waiting at the Rainbow Bridge. Rest in Peace, Brittany Blaze!

We now have Cleo and having been keeping my brothers dog Louie. He is a Weimaraner, also know as the gray ghost. My brother had a house fire in March and they are still in an apartment so we have been watching Louie since. He loves going up north and loves to swim out in the lake and chase the geese. He comes when you call him and he, like Cleom stays on the property, most of the time.

This last July 4th weekend we were at the cabin and we decided to take the dogs for a walk. We had them on leases. There is a ravine about half way around the lake. We let the dogs off the leases and Louie took off down the ravine. I heard a splash and he was gone. We called and called and could not find him. We started searching with no luck. We asked neighbors if they had seen him, they had not. As it was getting dark we called off the search. I tossed and turned that night worrying about Louie and how I was going to tell my brother and his family that his dog was missing. The next morning I went and asked our neighbor across the lake if I could walk his property. He and another neighbor own a lot of land on the north side of the lake he said yes and gave me a ride around the property. I than took cleo and we went Louie hunting to no avail. I went back to the cabin and we made up fliers. We posted them at the corner store, the gas station and the Elbow Lake bar. After we left the bar I decided we should drive north on Athey Road to look. We asked a couple of people if they had seen him and they had. They said they tried to get him but he would not come to them. We drove up the road a little more and I looked to left and saw these eyes staring at me from the front porch of a house. It was Louie. He was scared of me at first but then realized who I was. The lady of the house came around and said that he laid down and he seemed freindly enough and she figured someone would coming looking for him. We loaded him up and took him back to the cabin. Thankfully he has not done that since.

Juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker's

2008-10-24T20:29:00.006-04:00

No red heads, you say? That is because these youngster's were my first brood of the season this year. I've had 2 broods of Red-headed woodpecker's on my property, twice in the last 4 years. The other years, I've only had one brood. The years that I have had 2 broods, juvenile RHWO's have shown up at our place during the winter and got started right away with their broods earlier in the spring. They have a favorite Maple snag on our property. Red-headed woodpecker's are on a severe decline, but they are going strong on our property and around our lake. They happen to be my FAVORITE bird, and woodpecker's, in general, are my favorite birds. My husband also bought me a red-headed woodpecker painting from a local wildlife artist, Nancy Byrum, that I LOVE and happily have displayed. In fact, I like all things red-headed woodpecker. I'll eventually show some of my other RHWO stuff. I belong to a birding group that affectionately knows me as the lady with the red-headed woodpecker's. :)

You can see a smidge of red around the eye on the RHWO on the left. I've got to tell you. When they are juvie's like this...it's like giving keys to a fast sportscar to a 16 year old on their birthday. They are reckless and don't pay attention to what they are doing. Silly birds! :)

This is a terrible photograph of this beautiful painting by Nancy Byrum. When you see it in person, the colors are extraordinary! Do not copy this photograph or any photographs on this blog, thank you.

"Dry Well" aka "Kitchen Basin"

2008-10-23T20:07:00.006-04:00

Soon after we bought our cabin, in fact the first day, we discovered that our kitchen sink drained excrutiatingly slowly. We had no idea where the kitchen sink actually drained to and we actually feared that it may run directly into the lake...but, we were lucky, it did not. We knew that it couldn't possibly run to the septic, because it is on the opposite end of the house, physically impossible. My husband is very handy, so we elected to not having a home inspection prior to buying our cabin. We knew what to expect and Bill can do the majority of the work, so this was his first major project at the cabin.

Here is a series of photographs when my husband and his brother replaced our old 'Dry Well' with a new one. The septic guy calls them 'Kitchen Basins' or 'Kitchen Septic'. It does the same thing that our regular septic tank does. Due to the location of our kitchen sink, it does not drain to our regular septic tank for several reasons. 1. It never has. 2. There isn't any way to get the proper pitch or angles that would allow it to drain into our septic tank. We are on a slab, not over a crawl space. 3. The only way that our kitchen sink could feasibly go to our septic, is with a pump under the sink that would pump the 'gray' water up into the attic, pitch down at a steep angle and drain into our septic. Not only is the cost prohibitive, it would require unsightly plumbing and it totally grosses me out to think that if there were ever a leak in the attic, it would drip or worse yet, pour greasy icky water onto my ceilings. If anyone has a better solution without revamping the entire septic system, let me know. This was the only solution that we thought was available. In this first photo, this is the original cast iron angle that comes out past the house and makes a sharp turn toward the dry well. This is 4" cast iron and in excellent shape. My husbands plan was to follow this pipe to whereever it ended.

That hot guy on the right, you know, the pale one??? LOL He is my dear digger husband, Bill. The guy on the left is my brother-in-law. This is where they had dug up the yard to the old 50 gallon drum in the front yard. Just after this pic was taken, they lifted the lid off of the 50 gallon drum which shredded in their hands.

Here is the PVC pipe that was attached to the 4" cast iron. This pipe had drain holes all over it and tree roots and grease had taken up the majority of the pipe. They had to cut the tree roots away from the pipe with an axe. This was the only way to get the pipe out of the ground. Really gross, eh? In the mean time, I had called the septic pumper out and they pumped the old 'dry well' out and also the septic tank.

This was after they removed the old 55 gallon drum and started digging to put in the new 'dry well'. The PVC pipe there is new and does not have drainage holes. My husband did put in a clean out so that it can be pumped and cleaned without digging again. In fact, he said that he would NEVER do this again....in his lifetime. This was really hard work for the 2 of them.

Here is Bill fitting the new 55 gallon drum. The hole would eventually become approx. 6-7ft. deep. There are 1" holes for drainage and is seated on and backfilled with river rock. My husband also put copper rods in the drum to discourage tree roots from entering the drum and PVC drainage pipe. The septic guy also recommended putting a cinder block in the bottom to help prevent frost heave or collapse. The entire thing was covered with hay, a thick layer of topsoil and another layer of hay. Unless someone told you, you would never know what the small hump is in the yard. Having a 'natural' front yard, we have lots of humps and slopes anyway. We were thrilled that we were able to fix the sink problem and also know that we weren't destroying the environment by dumping gray water into the lake.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

2008-10-21T14:37:00.006-04:00

Well, I can't believe the first recipe that I am putting up is from Martha Stewart. This is probably the only Martha recipe that I have in my collection. Just in time for pumpkin carving with the kids, here goes!

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds.
Pumpkin seeds must be completely dried out in the oven before combining with spices. Whether for cooking or carving, choose an unblemished pumpkin that feels heavy for its size; it will store well, uncarved, at room temperature, for up to a month.
Ingredients
Makes 1 cup
1 medium pumpkin
5 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cut pumpkin open from the bottom, removing seeds with a long-handled spoon. Separate flesh from seeds. Pumpkin should yield 1 cup seeds. Spread seeds on an ungreased cookie sheet in an even layer. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Let cool.

In a medium bowl combine 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook until sugar melts and pumpkin seeds begin to caramelize, about 45 to 60 seconds. Transfer to bowl with spices, and stir well to coat. Let cool. These may be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Since all recipes need some sort of adjustment for my limited cabin kitchen, I omit the cumin, I don't have any. And, I use a full 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. These are a great Fall treat at the cabin.

Let me introduce you to Cleopatra, Queen of the Cabin. She is our German Shorthaired Pointer. Technically, she is a 'bird dog'. But, she is not very 'birdy', good thing or my bird feeders would never get a rest! She prefers 'prey' that is on the ground including Chipmunks, Squirrels, Rabbits. But, she is a FREAK over Chipmunks. Sometimes I call her Chippy Girl. I give her a lot of pet names. She loves to kiss and snuggle up. Bill and I rescued her, and we believe her to be about 8 years old. I'll let Bill tell you more about Cleo and our beloved Caesar, Bill's best friend and hunting companion, who passed on to the Rainbow Bridge last year.

Log Cabin Woman Cooks!

2008-10-21T13:43:00.002-04:00

...gardens, cans, takes hikes and other various activities. But, I do love to cook and I have a quick and easy recipe that I'm going to put up later this afternoon that is just perfect for Fall and Halloween and sitting around a campfire or snuggling up under a down blanket on the couch. So, go grab your favorite recipes and join me for a Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seed snack. I'll post the recipe and some pics later this afternoon.

A quick peek inside

2008-10-17T19:52:00.005-04:00

I'm heading up north early tomorrow morning, but I thought I'd share a quick photo of our stone fireplace just after we bought the cabin. The fireplace is SOLID rock, which were split to give you the illusion of identical sides. Most of the stone is granite, some marble and other various fieldstone. The part that you cannot see is the actual arch in the fireplace that I'll show at a later date with pic's that we have after temporarily pulling the insert out to clean and maintain it. The opening in the fireplace itself, is approximately 3-4 ft. deep and about 3 ft. high at the middle of the arch. It has the original custom cast iron floor. This is one HUGE fireplace. The insert is an 'Earth Stove' Heat-O-Lator (sp?). This is our main source of heat in the winter. The 'mantle' portion, if you'd like to call it that, is solid concrete - painted black. It is approximately 3ft. deep. The deer head came with the cabin :) We call him 'Bob'. You can tell by his mount that he was custom sized to fit in this space. I'm not sure how old the curtains were, but they shredded when I tried to wash them, very dry-rotted. My Mom made us new curtains that you will see in future photographs. Every window in the cabin are original 1948, except for the 2 front windows. The windows that you see on either side of the fireplace are original. They are single pane 8 lights made of cedar...yes, I said cedar window's, probably why they have lasted 60 years. They are in need of replacement, but that will happen over time. Anyway, anyone know how to clean the grout between the stones on the fireplace? I'd really like to know!

Fall Peak: A walk around the lake

2008-10-16T20:13:00.005-04:00

Last weekend was absolutely gorgeous, sunny and in the 70's on this peak fall weekend! Bill and I took a walk around the lake. While taking the trail between our road and the road on the other side of the lake, we spotted a young doe that had not caught our scent. She got within 20ft. of us before she caught a glimpse of us and headed into the tall brush. As we left the trail and onto the road, here she came with her Mom and another young doe in toe. Mom gave the signal and they ran across the road, but not before I got a couple of pictures. Here are some pictures from our walk around our small lake, which is only about 1 1/2 miles.

A trail into the woods.

Below is a photo of the backside of our pensinsula.

How we found our cabin

2008-10-15T20:19:00.003-04:00

July of 2004, Denise and I took a weekend trip up north to look for a weekend get away. We stayed in Harrison and picked up the local real estate books and went looking for a place. We looked at a couple places around Lake George and Shingle Lake. Denise saw a listing for a cabin on small lake about 17 miles north of Harrison. We went and drove past the cabin. It looked like a nice enough place but we decided not to stop. As we drove out to the main road to head back to Harrison we saw a couple more for sale signs on the next road over, so we drove down the road. There was blue cabin for sale. We got out and looked around and we really liked the cabin and the property. We then drove down to the end of the road and there sat this red log cabin. It was on a penisula. We got out and looked around, it was love at first sight. There was a Common Loon fishing right in front of the cabin. I told Denise that I did not care what we had to do but I wanted this little red cabin on the penisula.

We contacted the realtor and got a walk through of both cabins. Once again, the blue cabin was very nice but we absolutely had fallen in love with the log cabin. We figured out the finances and put a bid on the red log cabin. The bid was accepted and the cabin was ours.

Over the last four years we have enjoyed our piece of heaven on earth. And we look forward to many more years. We hope that you enjoy reading about our endeavors around the area.