A Saturday Surprise!

Today for whatever reason we were up and at 'em by 6:30.  This isn't very unlikely for me, but for Tim, he doesn't even get up this early on the weekdays!  So, we decided that we would run our errands in Appleton this morning rather than later today.  We went in town for breakfast and then quickly realized that retail doesn't usually open until 9 or later.  When we finished eating breakfast it was only 8:30.   We ended up having plenty of places to go, including groceries, new glasses for Tim, and searching for a handheld GPS unit so we can use it while we navigate our new property.  

We came back home, had a yummy lunch, and then I had plenty of grading to do for my teaching gig.  I worked for several hours and completed my tasks so we decided to take advantage of the sunny day and take the dogs for a walk in the neighborhood.  On our way in we grabbed the mail.   To our delight there was a package in the mailbox. Since most the mail we get is bills or junk, we were fascinated....who could it be from?  To our surprise it was from the previous owners of the property in Michigan!  We weren't expecting anything from them so it caught us off guard.  We couldn't wait to get inside and open it.  I quick got in, changed into my slippers and took of all my winter layers so I could open the package.  Tim was just poking along, yet making me wait until he was with me to open the package.

We opened the package and out came 3 books, a handwritten letter, and a magazine article.  2 of the books are about Isle Royale, a National Park which has ferry access from the Keweenaw Peninsula.  We can't wait to go explore the island once we have been up to the property several times, or when we move there!  The Magazine article was also about Isle Royale.  The 3rd book is the History of Jacobsville (where the property is).  I am so pumped to read this!  I am intrigued to learn more about the history of Jacobsville, and possibly someday more history about the original use/owners of the property.    The letter, shared a bit of insight about their love and memories of the property (for the last 30 years I believe).  She also wrote "p.s. the blueberries are great in August."  We suspected their MIGHT be blueberries on the property because of the back bog, but didn't know for sure.  We are excited to search out the blueberries!  Blueberries are one of my favorite berries (nothing tops Strawberries), and the leaves can be dried and used for a delicious, all-natural, hot tea.   Yum!  

We are so excited and feel so blessed to have this property.  We are looking forward to visiting it throughout the seasons, and eventually, making it our full time home!   Thank you to our new friends, for sharing your great books with us!  It was a brilliant surprise and we look forward to having more letters or e-mail between us!

-Lisa

OUR Property

We are now the proud owners of 80 acres!  

I'll start from the beginning.  Last year some time we started looking for some land to relocate to in the future.  We were looking for a larger tract of land with no improvements so that we could build a new house and have some extra land as well.  We started looking in the same area that we live in now, but didn't find much in our price range.  One day we stumbled across some property on the internet in the Upper Peninsula and noticed that the property up there was much more affordable.  We were originally looking for at least 20 acres, but now realized we could probably afford more.

After months of searching, we hadn't found anything that really peeked our interest too much.  We were planning a trip in the early part of this year and were hoping to have a few properties to look at when we visited.   Then, one day we stumbled across 80 acres in the Houghton are of the UP and it looked pretty good.  It was mostly wooded and had some more open areas and some wetter sections.  We had just a few questions, so we promptly emailed the listing agent and found out that the acreage is on a dead end road and kind of in the middle of nowhere, yet still has electric by the road.  And, to top it all off, they actually plow the road during the winter.  Suddenly, we thought we might have found what we were looking for.

We did a little more investigation on the location and the surrounding areas.  The property is about 10 miles from the modern conveniences (gas, grocery, hospital, etc.) in Lake Linden and about 20-30 minutes from Houghton.  The property is literally in the middle of nowhere.  The dead end road that the property lied on was sort of the dead end of the area, there's nowhere to go beyond that.   What's very cool is that across the way is state owned land with a road on it that's about 1/2 mile long and leads directly to a beach on Lake Superior!  So, we get privacy, low traffic, and easy access to water! We had some concerns about the weather, as most of the UP gets lots and lots of snow.  Later we found out that the area where the property is doesn't really get all that much snow because of the land topography in the area....but, it still gets more snow than we're used to here!

Next thing to do was to motor on up to the UP.  We took a couple of days off of work and in addition to the weekend we had four days in the area.  It took us about four and a half hours to get to the general area and we found a cheap cottage to stay in for a few days.  We looked at the property on a Thursday afternoon and walked on about a 1/3 of it with snowshoes.  There are two open meadow areas and most of the rest is trees.  The south/north boundary of the property is a half mile long and the other side is a quarter mile.  We were in heaven (or as close as you can get on earth).  The property is just beautiful.  There are tons of white and red pine, some aspen, and many spruce trees.  There aren't really many hardwoods but there are some planted apple trees and one or two cherry trees.  As it turns out, the western quarter is a bog.  It is full of tamarack trees and, according to the former owners, there a pitcher plants growing as well.  We had about an hour on the property before it got dark and we walked the length of the property from north to south and that's about all we had time for.  On Friday, we drove around the area and got the lay of the land.  We also went all the way to the tip of the peninsula to Copper Harbor and saw all kinds of things.

When we got home, we had to decide what we wanted to do.  We found out that there was another couple looking at the property the weekend after we were so that created a really stressful week since we were very interested.  As it turned out, the other couple wasn't in a position to buy.  We put in an offer on the property right before Christmas and got a counter offer the same day.  We settled on a price and had an accepted offer for our Christmas present.  We decided not to close until the middle of February so we would have a little more time to save up some extra money before we had to start the payments.  We just got the closing all wrapped up on Friday and are really excited.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to visit until it gets a little warmer.  We will  go up to visit over Memorial day weekend (if we don't figure out some way to get up there earlier).  Stay tuned for some more pictures once we visit again and have more time to get around on the property.

- Tim

Here are some pictures that were taken by the realtor and then some that we took in December:

Apple trees in fall and building left from original homestead.

Part of the front 20, it's snowing!

The property is outlined in red and you can see how close Lake Superior is on the bottom right corner!

Organic Milk Does The Body Better

Organic IS better! When you drink organic milk you get more vitamins from it and less pesticides than non-organic. Although the price is higher, in this case, you pay for what you get! Tim and I have switched to organic milk. Although I'm not much of a milk drinker (not by the glass), Tim loves milk and says that organic milk is better tasting than non-organic. Give it a try next time your at the grocery!

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Snowshoeing

Well, another few weeks has past and I've been absent again.  It's been busy, we've been running around the state.  2 weekends ago we were down by Tim's Mom and I visited some friends, and then the next day my parents came up and we had some delicious Papa Murphy's pizza.  Mom made Pumpkin pie for Tim and Banana Cream pie for me - we are so spoiled!  This past weekend we got some stuff done around the house, went snowshoeing at my favorite local nature trail, and also took a trip out to Colby to see Tim's cousin perform in a community play called Bull in a China Shop.  It was the first time I've seen him perform and he was excellent.  The play was very funny!  

I wanted to share some pictures from our snowshoeing on Saturday, it was absolutely beautiful as the sun was setting while we were walking.  Here are some scenes for you to enjoy.

Moon over the path.

Sunset over the valley.

Sunset by the bird house.

Distracted...

I thought last night about the blog and I realized I hadn't posted in a while. I feel distracted by nothing. I know, that probably doesn't make any sense but let me explain. In winter, there just isn't much going on, and I get distracted by the fact that I can be lazy and let it take over me :) Let's just say, when it's -10 degrees outside, it's hard to muster up any motivation. The dogs have shortened their potty breaks to a mere minute long. When it's nicer, they will stay outside and spend some time sniffing around. Not lately! It seems like even some wildlife have disappeared into some warm spot. The bird feeder at home and at work have been rather inactive. The feeder here at work is next to the East River, and about 3 feet from where I'm sitting, just outside my window. Usually it has Downy Woodpeckers or Chickadee's getting at it. I have even seen a Red-bellied Woodpecker and a Hairy Woodpecker at the work feeder. Very cool! But for the last two weeks, nothing. I do agree with the birds though, it's just too cold to be outside! Yesterday, we took advantage of the cold weather and did a lot of cleaning at home. That felt nice. We are efforting to keep the house more "tidy." That helps with my mental state too. I like organization! I hope everyone is able to keep warm. This "arctic blast" is ridiculous!

What I like about Winter

This past week it was VERY cold out.  Negative 30 - 40 with the wind chill, and just plain negative 20 without the windchill!  Everyone complained.  I agree, that is too darn cold!  But, in lieu of the miserable temperature, but I'm going to come up with some good things.  I complied this list in my head on the way to work because I was inspired by the great things I was seeing.  I take the "back way" to work which allows me to avoid the highway.  This is a great thing for my sanity and my safety!

Thing #1 that I like about winter:  Getting bundled up!  Winter is a time of comfort food and warmth.  I like getting bundled up with my hat and warm scarf and sweater, it makes me feel so cozy (regardless of how I feel when I actually get outside :))

Thing #2 that I like about winter: Wide and open sunrise!  The sun rises over the river, and it is just beautiful.  Since the leaves are off the trees, it really allows for the colors and beautiful display to be seen.   There is also a great spot on my drive into work that has a view of the sun rising up over the Niagara Escarpment.  In the forefront is a farm homestead, and then stretches of wide open field.

Thing #3 that I like about winter:  Since there is less vegetation, you see more wildlife!  The other day I was driving I saw 2 eagles over the river, a hawk swooping out of a tree, and a red fox trotting through a barren corn field.  It was magnificent!  Even though I was driving, I felt like a silent observer of nature.

Thing # 4 that I like about winter:  Relaxing!  Sometimes it's just too cold to be out and about, and when that's the case, curl up to a good book or watching a movie!  

I figure, why complain when this weather is what we'll be dealt.  Might as well find a way to enjoy it!  I look forward to it warming up a little so we can go snowshoeing again!

-L

In this case, deer are people too.

Have you heard the story out of Waupaca, WI? Three deer were found dead in a field and 2 others needed to be euthanized because they were mortally wounded. The culprit - some idoits on snowmobiles who herded the deer on their snowmobiles and them proceeds to brutally kill the deer. What on earth is going on here? The fact that one person thought that it was okay to do this is just disgusting, but then you think of a group of people playing along with it? Warning, the article has explict details about the deer. Very sad. I hope that if these idiots are found that they can pull out every possible offense so that losers pay heavy fines and spend a ton of jail time.

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I made a flower!

So as a mentioned a few posts ago, I am resolving to craft, in particular - crochet.  I completed a plain 'ol scarf with single crochet stitch.  It is just one color, bland, and has some obvious areas that aren't quite right :)  Next, I wanted to learn the double crochet.  So, using the same yarn, I have made a long skinny scarf with the double crochet stitch.  I have to say, I was pretty happy with how quick I picked it up, and before I knew it I had my scarf done.  I looked back at it, and noticed one spot that I must have stitched a few too many across and it was wider than the rest of the scarf.  I wanted to make the scarf wearable since I worked so hard on it, so I decided that I would figure out a way to cover up the flaw :)  I decided to make a large crochet flower, and then cover that area of the scarf with it. I have obviously never made a flower, so I was a bit intimidated by learning it.  I followed the youtube instructions from a channel I subscribed to.  The lady who does the channel has dozen's and dozen's of helpful and easy to understand video's.  She also has a blog, which is very helpful. I followed the youtube video instructions and ended up with a beautiful flower to attach to my scarf.  The flower is finished and I have it attached now.  It's in the perfect spot of the scarf, where you can wear it kind of like a tie, and right at the top there is a beautiful crocheted flower!  I'll hopefully post a picture of me wearing it, but for the meantime, here is a picture of the flower only.  I am so excited about this :)  I can't wait to wear the scarf out.  Hopefully today we'll go to the craft store and I'm going to pick up some more hooks (different sizes) and some different yarns to try out.  I bought only 1 hook and 1 acrylic yarn just to see if I could figure it out.  I didn't want to waste a lot of money if I wasn't going to be able to figure it out.  So far, I have found crocheting to be fun and personally satisfying.  I like having something usable to end up with.   

Put Your Life on a Diet

Living with less stuff means living a better life. I like this. Let's be sensible...living in our means, not above them. A part of the article for your flavor:"To begin, let’s compare the American standard of living today with that of half a century ago. In 1950, the average household consisted of almost four people. Most new homes were less than 1,200 square feet (62 percent) and had one or two bedrooms (66 percent), fewer than two bathrooms (96 percent), and no air conditioning, according to the National Association of Home Builders. A “dishwasher” meant two hands in the sink; most families had only one car (if any); and television was a newfangled idea. Yet many folks thought they had achieved the American Dream.By 2003, the average household size shrank to 2.6 people. Only 5 percent of new homes built now are less than 1,200 square feet, but 37 percent have more than twice that—with at least four bedrooms. About 95 percent have two or more bathrooms and 88 percent have central air conditioning. And practically everyone who builds a house—93 percent—installs a dishwashing appliance. Americans own twice as many cars per person, plus multiple TVs, computers, and cell phones."

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Resolving to learn a craft

Have you made your New Year resolution, only to already fail it by day 7? I've never been much for resolutions. I feel like they are a good way to set yourself up for failure. I'm not sure if this is a negative, or realistic way to look at it! This year I am resolving something, but it's probably very different than most resolutions. This year I resolve to learn something new. I thought to myself that I would like to learn a craft. This really is stepping outside the box, because I don't really feel I'm very creative, and I have shown to myself that I am by no means a "natural" at crafts. After doing much research, I decided on 2 things. 1.) Get more familiar with the sewing machine and making useful things. Tim is so good at sewing (he may not be happy I just reported that here :) ). I just don't get it unless I think really really hard. On one of my holiday days off of work, I decided on whim to make a purse. There was a bit of trial and error, but I ended up making a cute small tote/purse. I was VERY happy with myself. Admittedly, I had to take a bit of advice from Tim. I don't want to be a master at sewing, I just want to understand the basics. I think I'm on my way. 2.) I decided I would like to learn to crochet. Like sewing, it is a practical and useful craft and not expensive to get into. I have officially learned 2 crochet stitches! Single crochet and double crochet, which seem to be the staples to crocheting. While learning the stitches, I made the obvious...a scarf! I have one thin scarf created with a single crochet and half of a scarf completed made with a double crochet. I am so eager to learn! I have two books that show the stiches, and I've found youtube to be a great help. There are many people who have posted their instructional videos of different crocheting stiches. It's just awesome! I hope that my practicing will lead to the ability to make useful items like hats, scarfs, mittens, socks, etc. Based on the research I've done on crocheting, I am amazed at the amount of things that can be made! Can't wait to make them!

Good luck to anyone who made resolutions. I hope that you will find yourself successful! Happy 2009 Everyone!