"Lab - Adore"

This pillow made me think of our Chocolate Labrador, Cocoa.

She had to go to the Vet last Monday with an eye infection. We believe she gouged her cornea with a stick in the woods while sniffing around on our property. Steve has to put drops and ointment in her eye 3 times a day until she sees the Vet again in 2 days. (He's a good dog daddy!) Cocoa's eye seems to be healing very well, but we'll see what the Vet says. In the meantime, she has been grounded from the property and from the beach (and she's not happy about that). 

All is well in the Keweenaw.

A Little Teaser

I'm running out of time tonight, but I wanted to let you know that we did participate in the July 4th parade in Copper Harbor. Here's a hint of things to come.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

It's Not Too Late

It's not too late for you to join us on the 4th of July in Copper Harbor. Steve and I will be in the parade at 10:00 a.m. Here's a photo of a few of the items we'll be using to decorate ourselves and our golf cart, but we won't show you everything yet.

We're going to pass out the "GOD BLESS AMERICA" flags. Oh, I just realized that the Uncle Sam hat left glitter on my floor. I wonder what it will do to Steve's head? Shhhh, let's not tell him!

It rained again last night, so we don't have a basement floor yet.

All is well in the Keweenaw anyway.

Summer Firsts

It wasn't raining last evening, so Cocoa excitedly jumped into the back of the truck, and we drove to the Calumet Waterworks Park.

Pollen was floating on the water, but she enjoyed her first Lake Superior swim of the summer.

All the rain we've had has given us a healthy mosquito crop, but we enjoyed our first Lake Superior sunset of the summer.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

P.S. The Construction Page was updated on June 27, 2013.

Rained Out

We had a fairly steady rain today, so the cement guy couldn't pour the basement floor. It looks like it may continue to rain off and on through Tuesday or Wednesday. Well, we're not going to worry about it, as we know the Lord is in control. He has proved that to us many times through the years.

I was able to get all our frozen thimbleberries made into jam. Did I mention it's our favorite kind of jam? Yum.

Lastly, Cocoa had her annual checkup yesterday. She weighs 95 lbs., her teeth are amazingly clean, and the Vet said she is very healthy. She had to have 2 shots, but she handled it like a trooper. I always feel bad that her checkups tend to happen when she's shedding, so she never looks her prettiest when she's there. Her coat will get darker as the summer progresses. 

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Goodbye, Old Friend

When I was still working, a friend of mine gave me a coffee cup as a Christmas gift. It came in a cute little box that I still use as part of our Christmas decor. It wasn't just a coffee cup. It was the perfect coffee cup. 

It was the perfect color - not too dark inside, so it was easy to see how much coffee was in the cup while pouring. It was the perfect size - not too small and not too big. It was the perfect weight and a little larger on the bottom, so it wasn't easy to knock over accidentally. It never stained or chipped - the perfect coffee cup.

I used my perfect coffee cup every day while I was still working, and I made sure to bring it home with me when I "retired." Since that time, I have used it every morning for my coffee. There was a snowman on it, but that didn't matter. I used it during every season of the year, because it was. . . the perfect coffee cup. You'll never know how many times I've looked at that cup and thought of my friend. It often caused me to send up a quick prayer for her while I was using it. Beginning tomorrow morning, I'll have to use a different coffee cup.

Goodbye, old friend. I'm not sure a suitable replacement will ever be found. Don't worry, I'll keep praying for Barb. She would be impossible to replace!

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Counting in the Keweenaw

The cement man is planning to work on the property on Thursday! We'll keep you posted as to the progress.

All is well in the Keweenaw.

Keweenaw Gold

Some folks refer to thimbleberries as "Keweenaw Gold." I guess we would have to agree, as we both love the jam made from these berries, and it sells for about $10-$14 per 9 oz. jar. Since we first tasted thimbleberry jam and realized thimbleberries were growing in abundance on our property, we've talked about making our own jam. That was impossible until we moved here, as our trips never seemed to coincide with picking time. We were thrilled with the crop we harvested last year. We even had a little help from some of our friends who were visiting and from Steve's granddaughter, Grace (although she ate almost all the berries she picked!).

The thimbleberry plant develops beautiful white flowers first.

The pink berries grow in clusters.

They're ready to pick when they soften and turn bright red.

You gently pull the hollow cap of the berry off the stem - it looks sort of like a thimble.

We were really busy during thimbleberry season, so I cleaned the berries and got them in the freezer. 

Since Steve stays away from sweets and breads after the first of the year, I was in no great rush to get the jam made. He has allowed himself the occasional bran muffin since the end of April and will now begin indulging in the occasional slice of homemade bread or burger on a bun. Thus, it was time to get started with jam production.

It doesn't take very long to make a batch of jam. I somehow managed to thaw the exact amount of berries to fill the 24 jars I had in the house. I know I have more jars somewhere - probably in one of our storage units - but it could take hours to find them! It was easier to stop at the store after Church this afternoon to buy 24 new jars. We'll need them if we pick a bigger crop this year anyway. I should have enough frozen berries left to fill all the new jars with this crop, so jam production will continue tomorrow. 

We're really going to enjoy our first batch of thimbleberry jam, and we'll save a lot of money by not buying it from the local shops this year. Now, here's what you've been waiting for - the money shot!

I'll have more construction news for you soon. All is well in the Keweenaw.