Sunday Reflections

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Keweenaw Perfume

One more thing this week:

The guy who finished the installation of our outdoor wood furnace told Steve to make sure he wears an old coat when he goes outside to replenish the wood in the boiler. Obviously, a new coat would soon be smelling like firewood smoke. He said smoke is "Keweenaw perfume!"

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Life in a Snow Globe

Many, many times this winter I've told Steve that it feels like we're living in a snow globe.

I'll be working on my laptop or walking through the house when I suddenly notice something outside.

I'll stop what I'm doing and look more closely.

Sure enough, it's snowing!

When the snow fills the air like it did when I took these photos on Wednesday, I'll often catch myself standing at the sliding doors in the great room - gazing at it all for several minutes without even realizing it.

Our house in Calumet is a small ranch house, and it's pretty dark inside during the winter months. Most of the windows aren't large and the windows on the front of the house have awnings. I often had to have a lamp on in the daytime during the winter, but I didn't mind. It felt cozy - like being wrapped in a warm quilt. 

You would think I would have the opposite feeling in this house with all the windows, but it still feels cozy. The crisp whiteness is outside, but the walls and even the windows shield me from the cold. I love it. When I stand in the great room, I see this:

When I turn to my right, I see this:

When I turn backwards, I see this:

And, if I turn to my left, I can look straight out one of our bedroom windows. Even when I go upstairs - I see this from the loft:

And, If I turn to my left or right when standing in the loft, I again see that whiteness through the guest room windows.

Occasionally, it even looks a little blue.

We're definitely living in a snow globe world!

Sometimes the snow is falling - like someone shook the snowglobe - and sometimes it's perfectly still. Either way - it's perfectly lovely.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sunrise - Sunset

Mostly photos today. These were all taken last Saturday - between snowflakes. We had a nice sunrise that illuminated the tops of the trees in back of the house and a lovely pink sunset. First, the sunrise as it came over the top of the house:

Now, the pink sunset - from outside. . .

and from inside:

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Dollar Signs

We had another exciting day in the Keweenaw yesterday. First, the barn roof was finished. Yep, it's all fixed. You would never know a tree fell on it, and the shingles now match the house perfectly! 

If that wasn't exciting enough, we had another guy working at the house. He was finishing up the installation of the outdoor wood boiler/furnace. Can you see something wafting through the air?

Is this better?

How about in this shot?

Yes, it's smoke coming from the boiler! Amen and Amen!

We also see something in that smoke that you probably don't see. We see this:

No, we're not burning money. 

Every time we see smoke coming out of that chimney on the Earth Outdoor Wood Furnace - Mountain Man model - we see dollar signs - because we know we're getting our heat - and hot water - from our own free wood - and we're using less LP! 

Hip Hip Hooray!

We now have 2 thermostats. 

The top thermostat is in charge when we're burning wood. If the fire dies way down or goes out, the bottom thermostat will automatically take over using the LP for our heat and hot water. So, if Steve is sick or we're out of town, the house won't get too cold and our pipes won't freeze. 

We still use LP for our gas stove and dryer, and we'll switch the hot water back to using all LP in the warmer months. 

It's so great to know that I can now have the thermostat as high as I want without any guilt at all. The only problem I do have is that my husband still feels too warm when the thermostat is set at 67° and I'm still too cold when it's set at 69°! Thus, Steve is still running around in a t-shirt and I'm still covered up with a blanket! (#DifferentInnerThermostats!) Ha! 

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Sunday Reflections

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Winter Wreath

Time for another winter craft project - a winter wreath. 

After I made the Furry Polar Wreaths for the Christmas tree in the great room, I decided to purchase another skein of that yarn to make a larger winter wreath that I could put up after Christmas. By the time I made it back to Walmart to get that additional skein, it was out of stock. I looked through all the yarn they did have in stock to find what I thought would be an acceptable alternative. 

That's when I purchased the skein of Bernat Pipsqueak yarn that I used for the snowballs. I actually made the wreath first and used the remaining yarn for the snowballs.

In the long run, I'm happy they didn't have the furry yarn that day, as this is much whiter and works better for a snow/winter theme. Remember the color? Whitey White!

I simply wrapped the yarn around - and around - and around the wreath form - tucking the loose end under a few of the "wraps." It took about 25 minutes to completely cover the wreath. Again, no glue necessary. Then, I looped a snowflake ornament through a burlap ribbon and looped the burlap ribbon through the wreath.

This is the handmade snowflake ornament I purchased at the Eagle Harbor Art Fair back in August. 

I thumbtacked the ribbon to the top edge of the window casing. . . 

and hung my handmade snowshoe ornament from the tack. I got the snowshoes at the Eagle Harbor Art Fair, too. The snowflake and the snowshoes were made by the same local basket weaver.

Fast? Yes. Simple? Yes.

The dining room window - decked out for winter.

On an unrelated note, the crew finished one side of the barn roof yesterday - completely - even the shingles! I know! It's amazing what 6 guys can accomplish.

All is well (and still whitey white) in the Keweenaw.