All is well in the Keweenaw.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Tamaracks & LES
The Tamaracks - they are a-changin'.
We have 2 Tamarack trees in our Calumet backyard. You've seen them in many of my backyard photos, but I have more for you today.
Did you know that Tamarack means "wood used for snowshoes" in Algonquian? I just learned that little tidbit. Tamaracks have small cones (less than 1"), and they lose their needles in the fall.
Here's how they looked on August 7th - the 2 tall trees on the left.
This is October 15th.
October 21st:
Finally, this afternoon:
In other news, we have LES (lake effect snow) in the forecast - possibly 2-4 inches by morning. We've had a stray flurry here and there this month, but this could be our first measurable snow for the 2014-15 season. It's raining right now, but I'll let you know what happens.
All is well in the Keweenaw.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Sneak Peek Friday - Master Tub
It's bathtime on Sneak Peek Friday! You get a peek at the tub in the master bath today. It's an air jet tub (not a water jet) dropped into a platform.
Even though I purchased the faucets years ago, I'm still totally smitten with them.
The tub surround hides the plumbing/electrical/air jet tubes.
OK, those things aren't hidden yet, but they will be when it's finished! The faucets are sitting in place right now, but we have purchased mosaic glass tile that will go on the top surface of the tub surround and up the walls as a backsplash.
Even though I purchased the faucets years ago, I'm still totally smitten with them.
All is well in the Keweenaw.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Monday, October 20, 2014
My Basement Project
After other things in the house are finished, Steve will take his time to make our permanent cabinets out of the black walnut wood from our property in Saginaw. We'll then move these interim cabinets to our basement.
The unnamed project I blogged about back in September was painting the unfinished cabinets.
I removed all the doors and drawers and numbered all the pieces. I then painted the frames in the barn on our property - 1 primer coat + 2 coats of white paint. The name of the paint color is "snowbound." Appropriate!
Since these were stock cabinets, the "fit" won't be as precise as with our permanent cabinets, but they'll do for the time being.
I also painted the drawers out in the barn.
Steve brought the toe kicks and all the doors back to Calumet for me, so I was able to paint those in the basement.
Again, 1 coat of primer. . .
and 2 coats of paint.
The doors are still in our Calumet basement at the moment, but Steve & our buddy, Josh, moved the frames and drawers from the barn up to the new house on Saturday. Steve isn't ready to set them in place yet, but they're in the building!
By the way, it was 3 years ago yesterday that we made the big move to Calumet from Saginaw - with Cocoa in the back of the pickup truck with her doghouse the whole way! It was 3 years ago today that the movers arrived with our furniture. Time flies!
All is well in the Keweenaw.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Saturday, October 18, 2014
In Da U.P.
Marty & Donna, our friends from Bay City, recently purchased a home in the U.P. - just 11.5 miles from the driveway of our new house to their driveway.
Isn't that a fantastic wraparound porch? It's an older home that has been totally remodeled - inside and outside. It's really nice.
Marty and Donna aren't moving up permanently just yet, but they recently made the trip from Bay City to spend some time in their new house - getting a little taste of what it feels like to live in the Keweenaw.
Anyway, they noticed a sign they found humorous while passing through Marquette on their way home. Since we had to make another trip to Menards in Marquette last weekend, we made sure to have the camera ready to get a shot of the sign they had mentioned to us.
The sign was at the Frei Chevrolet dealership (pronounced "fry").
Only in da U.P., eh!
Free Deer Corn with a test drive! Frei Chevy has been running TV commercials about this promotion, too. You can test drive a new car or a used car. Either way you get a free bag of deer corn. How appropriate that the sign was done in "hunter orange."
All is well in the Keweenaw. You betcha!
Isn't that a fantastic wraparound porch? It's an older home that has been totally remodeled - inside and outside. It's really nice.
Marty and Donna aren't moving up permanently just yet, but they recently made the trip from Bay City to spend some time in their new house - getting a little taste of what it feels like to live in the Keweenaw.
Anyway, they noticed a sign they found humorous while passing through Marquette on their way home. Since we had to make another trip to Menards in Marquette last weekend, we made sure to have the camera ready to get a shot of the sign they had mentioned to us.
The sign was at the Frei Chevrolet dealership (pronounced "fry").
Only in da U.P., eh!
Free Deer Corn with a test drive! Frei Chevy has been running TV commercials about this promotion, too. You can test drive a new car or a used car. Either way you get a free bag of deer corn. How appropriate that the sign was done in "hunter orange."
All is well in the Keweenaw. You betcha!
Friday, October 17, 2014
Sneak Peek Friday - Amish Bench
For today's sneak peek, we're moving into the laundry room of the new house. The laundry room will usually serve as the main entrance/exit to our home, since it has a door leading directly to the attached garage. The laundry room will obviously house our washer and dryer, but it will also have a coat closet and a pantry. There's a window between the coat closet and the pantry, and the spot underneath the window is the perfect place for bench. We purchased this Amish Buggy Bench in the Clare area years ago with that particular spot in mind.
It will be a great place to sit while putting on or removing our shoes.
It will be a great place to sit while putting on or removing our shoes.
All is well in the Keweenaw.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Saturday, October 11, 2014
It's Color Time!
I'm not talking about interior color. I'm talking about exterior color. Yes, I know the siding has been on the house for a long time now, and you've all seen photos of it. I'm not talking about the man-made colors on the exterior of our house. I'm talking about the God-created autumn colors all around us at this time of year.
On a trip in late September, I took the opportunity to snap some photos while we were driving down the road. Here's some of the beauty we saw that day.
That view heading down into Hancock/Houghton is lovely at all times of year, but I think it's especially gorgeous in the fall. OK, the trip continued.
I know what you're saying now. "Hey, Julie. That last photo looks familiar, but I don't think it's a photo of Hancock or Houghton, and it's definitely not Calumet. Where were you that day? I thought Steve was too busy working on the house to take a color tour."
That's right. Steve is too busy for a color tour, but we needed to run an errand for the house project. The color tour was just a bonus. Here's where we were headed.
Menards in Marquette!
And. . . as long as we were in Marquette, we decided to make a stop at one of our old favorite places from our Saginaw days.
Breadsticks! Mmmmmm! BLT pizza! Mmmmmm! Mmmmmm! We feasted like kings, and Steve had leftovers to take to the property the next day.
Another extra bonus that day? The guy at Jet's Pizza in Marquette told us they're going to build one in Houghton in the next 6 months or so! That new location obviously won't be delivering as far away as our new house, but it will be great to know that delicious pizza is only 30 miles away.
The sun came out as we headed back home.
Then, the sun started setting.
We always enjoy our trips to Menards. Something tells me we'll be making another one very soon. I'll take some more shots, so we can see how much of that beautiful fall color we have left.
All is well in the Keweenaw.
On a trip in late September, I took the opportunity to snap some photos while we were driving down the road. Here's some of the beauty we saw that day.
That view heading down into Hancock/Houghton is lovely at all times of year, but I think it's especially gorgeous in the fall. OK, the trip continued.
I know what you're saying now. "Hey, Julie. That last photo looks familiar, but I don't think it's a photo of Hancock or Houghton, and it's definitely not Calumet. Where were you that day? I thought Steve was too busy working on the house to take a color tour."
That's right. Steve is too busy for a color tour, but we needed to run an errand for the house project. The color tour was just a bonus. Here's where we were headed.
Menards in Marquette!
And. . . as long as we were in Marquette, we decided to make a stop at one of our old favorite places from our Saginaw days.
Breadsticks! Mmmmmm! BLT pizza! Mmmmmm! Mmmmmm! We feasted like kings, and Steve had leftovers to take to the property the next day.
Another extra bonus that day? The guy at Jet's Pizza in Marquette told us they're going to build one in Houghton in the next 6 months or so! That new location obviously won't be delivering as far away as our new house, but it will be great to know that delicious pizza is only 30 miles away.
The sun came out as we headed back home.
Then, the sun started setting.
We always enjoy our trips to Menards. Something tells me we'll be making another one very soon. I'll take some more shots, so we can see how much of that beautiful fall color we have left.
All is well in the Keweenaw.