Raspberry Jam and Nisu

Whew, got step one done on my bedroom. Still need to go through and organize my knitting bins, wash windows and go through the drawers but that will be step two another day.

I did get Nisu made yesterday. Trying to find something the kids will eat before heading out to school. They did eat Nisu today so at least they got their sugar and carbs for the morning! Every time I make Nisu I think of Pam. She was the BEST nisu maker ever. And because of her, I now make the cinnamon swirl loaves instead of braids. She also passed on the tip to leave the dough a little sticky so you don't have dry bread. That, along with my Mom's tip of raising and punching the dough down in the bowl twice, makes the softest nisu! (that is, let the dough raise, punch it down and then let it rise again, punch it down then form into loaves and of course, let it raise again.)

I made raspberry jam this morning. Nobody much likes it in this house except Fred and I so I only made one batch. I love Ritz crackers with homemade raspberry jam. Yum!

Okay, Amanda, I'm trying to post every day too. Hopefully boring is better than nothing.

September

I never did get pictures for August. The raspberries are doing great and the pears are exceptionally sweet this year. Even though I never did get the jugs hanging to kill the worms last spring, they have very few worm holes.

The Zoo

Went to the Zoo Sunday after church. Made a stop at Star Deli for the world's best corned beef sandwiches. It was a beautiful day and the place was packed.

First Day of School

Today was Jeanie's first day of middle school and Dan's first day of high school. Jean was up well before she needed to be. Danny had a hard time getting up. He said he was too tired and wanted to stay home. Oh boy, I hope that's not going to be a problem. He's been so excited and nervous about high school. He was pretty sober this morning, even for the pictures. I finally got him to show how he's been acting the last few days. Hopefully his high school experience will be as good as the middle and elementary was. I have yet to meet any of his teachers. Hard to believe Molly Jane is a junior already! It feels pretty good to have all the kids out to school by 7:00, now I'm off for my walk.

Need Spices?

I've either been having the UP girls pick me up spices from their local co-ops or stocking up myself when I'm up there. When you buy them in bulk, they cost pennies compared to the store. I decided to check out a local spot that had "Bulk Spices" on their sign. (Thanks to Laura K. for her heads-up on this place.) You can't pick your amount of spices like the co-op but they have different size bags for very low prices! For example you can buy a bag of basil that is equivalent to about 2-3 bottles from the grocery store for less than $3.00. They have ground cardamon and cardamon in the pod. I told him that I like to buy just the seeds and grind them myself. He said they could order them but I'm set on cardamon right now. I also bought some homemade Bratwurst from there. Now, I'm not a Brat's fan but those were excellent! They make all their own sausages and have a lot of interesting seasoning mixes, sauces, etc. So check them out! It's called Great Lakes, Butcher Supply. It's on M-59 right next to where the Country Store use to be. (I noticed on their website, greatlakesbutchersupply.com that they even make Potato Sausage! I will have to try it.)

The Goof Loves to Swim at Night

The house mouse sits in the nice cool house all day long. Listens to his music and books at top volume, driving everyone nuts! Then when it's time to go to bed, he wants to go swimming. He tries to get Jeanie to go with him but she said she gets "creeped out" swimming in the dark.

Okay, I'm going to try to update this blog more. Gretchy has moved to the north country. I know as time goes, she will be getting lonesome for home. Brett left today. So we will try to let them see what's going on here. (okay, for the rest of you kids, too.) Crazy......we only have four kids at home. As soon as Kaitlin gets a new car or her current one running, she'll be gone also.