Mike's Visit

Ginny dazzles the kids with the apple peeler.

 My friend Mike brought his grand kids over one day for lunch so I had to document the occasion. They were a little apprehensive at first but soon warmed up to us and we had a wonderful time.  

Nathan,Emily and Grandpa Mike

Kaitlyn 

After lunch they played out side around the tree swings and then I took them for a four-wheeler ride to the back.  They loved it and asked grandpa to come back.  We hope they do.  Maybe this winter so I can pull they around the back in sleds.  Okay Mike?
      

My grandson

Today Ben came to visit. The house was warm and he was very sleepy. He fell asleep at the table, a first . The funny thing is that Matthew used to do the same thing. We seem to have come full circle.
Going,Going,Gone.
I hope that everyone is well and getting ready for the holidays. This month is always crazy for us because of all the occasions we have with all of the birthdays,anniversary's (our 40th) and then getting ready for Christmas. This year is a little more nuts for me because I went back to work! My old employer called and asked if I wanted to come back for a few months. I started last Monday. The plant is being closed down in May or so and I'm in till whenever. Sad to see it go and weird to be back after nine years! More later.

Christmas in Ida Parade

Our little town of Ida has a great parade of lights every first Saturday in December every year and it has evolved into a pretty big deal. There is over 125 floats ,food vendors,events and about 40,000 people squeezed into little Ida. Even Disney gets involved.

The down side is that it is cold sitting along the route and you have to dress really warm.

Matt and Shell,Ben,Macy , Ginny and I went this year and had a lot of fun.

Here we are watching and trying to keep warm. We had two large pizza's and a basket of fries,and some hot chocolate .

Matt got Macy a light saber and she loved it. Next year I will have to come up with some heaters for sure.

Macy's cold feet at the end of the night were pretty cold. We came home none too soon. She fell asleep in my lap,sitting in the dark in front of the wood stove. For me The perfect ending .

Chard Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Well it is early November and I still have a lot of lettuce. We have had a few nights below freezing and it is still hanging on. I have been covering it at night trying to keep it alive and well. It is great so far.

The other greens are flourishing ! I have been picking a few turnips

and like them diced with eggs in the morning,Ginny not so much.

Our favorite is soup made with Kale. So here is the recipe.

I started with some Russian Kale as the main ingredient ,with a few other greens mixed in. Try this for some very good soup. We have been making a big pot and then freezing half for the winter. We find that it is best as a leftover. The flavors mingle better with time I guess.

I got this recipe from Urban Hippy

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Chicken ,cooked and shredded
• 1 Can(15oz)s Black Beans
• 4 Tbsps Olive oil
• 2 Whole Onions chopped
• 4 Cloves Garlic,chopped
• 6 Cups Chicken Broth
• 12 Cups Swiss Chard,Kale or what have you
• 1 1/2 Tsps Cumin
• 1 Tsps Cilantro,dried
• 1 Salt and pepper to taste
• 3 L Tomatoes,quartered

Directions

1. Sauté onions and the garlic in the oil until golden brown. In a stock pan heat the broth. Add the onions and garlic,the black beans,cumin,salt and pepper. Add the cooked chicken (and the liquid it was cooked in). Bring liquid to a boil and add the greens and the tomatoes and simmer until tender .( Add more broth or water if needed.)
2. Most any greens can be used for this soup. The original recipe called for Swiss Chard. Ginny pressure cooks the chicken until tender and then shreds it . Use the water from the pressure cooker for the stock. We like the dark meat the best,it's up to you. The greens measurement was just a guess ,use what you have and go from there.

The finished product! And did I mention that my cholesterol has gone down a lot since I started eating all of these greens! My doctor has me on a drug and it still was high until my last test. First time below 175 in a long time. I think that something is telling me" it's the diet dummy" !

Wine making

I started to document my whole wine making process but it got a little busy and before I knew it I was done. Making wine in bottles is relatively easy . I bought the concentrate and the other things needed not too far from home (Dundee) . Now is the waiting and watching until I have to rack it the first time to get rid of the sediments. I made three different kinds. Liebfraumilch ,Niagara ,and Sarah . Matt and Shell gave me a bottle of niagara that they make and I liked it a lot so that was an easy choice. We will see how these turn out before I make any larger amounts. I saw a nice vessel for making 6 gallons at a time but that will have to wait. Check it out here.. I think Kevin would like one of these!

Garden in late Oct.

I have in this bed Swiss Chard , Onions, and curly Kale at the far end just starting to come up. Hoping for Christmas dinner of greens and onions. I got this idea of covered beds from my Alaska magazine that had a story about someone in the far north growing plants and selling them to the locals. As I looked at those photos I was thinking that this is what I need to do and so far I am having some success . It is still a learning experience though and I need to get a good schedule and the right plants.
The garden is doing well. I planted in late August and most of the greens are flourishing . We still are not getting enough rain so I have been watering. From the left to right in this photo... Russian Kale,Beets,and Turnips.
This is a view into No. 4 bed. Spinach Mustard cross,with leek along the sides. The darn leek did nothing all summer but are starting to take off now. I am hoping that with the row covers they will have time to get some size. I can never get the giant stems that the markets have . I think because of the dry summer mine didn't grow. Some day I will get a water system going for the raised beds. First I need a hydrant in the garden and my well water fixed.
I have a lot of lettuce growing and it is doing great in this cool weather. This is just a peek under the covers.
Under all of that white row cover is the lettuce . The other rows are Mustard, more Mustard spinach cross, and a row of mixed greens.
All covered and buttoned up for the cold night we had last week. I think that all would have been okay anyway even though we had a hard frost. Over and out.

Hunting on some beautiful property near Marlette Michigan - heaven must be like this. This is from my tree stand using my cell phone. Click on the photo to enlarge.

I saw 4 bucks come by and let them pass. I may be sorry later,but am waiting for a bigger one. So far two 4 pts,one seven and a 6 . I'm sorry already.

Food and Friends

I must be hungry. This post is mostly about food ,friends and fogies (me). The picture on the left is of my old television antenna and tower. A while back my teenage neighbor was over and he pointed to it and asked "what is that anyway". I had to look twice before I informed him that that was the way we used to get a tv signal. He stared at it a while and said ...humm. That is the fogie part. Living long enough that the young generation can't relate.

Don't laugh,your turn will come.



We had some friends stop by. Linda and her daughter Jessica. They used to live a couple of houses down and I skied with them a lot out west. Linda's mom ,our neighbor, died so they are up from Florida. Good to see friends.

We had a great meal last week, fresh potato rosemary garlic bread,roasted chard with grated cheese, and chicken thighs with peppers and onions. Love cooking good food.

Lots going on now. Hunting season is in full swing and am hunting tomorrow in the Thumb. Hoping for that ten point before I get too old to see one.

The garden is doing great . I will get some photos of it soon. The greens are knee high and the lettuce is coming along well. Ginny says that I planted too much and see may be right this time. I have almost three 25 foot rows 18 inches wide! Someone is going to get some lettuce for sure. Ginny likes giving produce to the older ladies at church that can use the extra food. and I like growing it for them too. So it works.

I have started making some wine and will update on that soon. Nothing as grand as Kevin but it's a start. Later

The recipe for the greens.

I got this recipe from The Greens Book

Ingredients

• 3 Lb Chard
• 1 Tsps Salt
• 1 Pepper
• 4 Tbsps Butter
• 3/4 Cups Parmesan Cheese ,freshy graded
• 4 Tbsps Feta cheese optional

Directions

1. Wash chard well and cut off the stems. Trim the stems and cut into two inch lengths.
2. Cut the leaves crosswise into two inch strips.
3. Blanch the stems in salted boiling water for about three minutes. Add the leaves and blanch for another 1 1/2 minutes longer.
4. Drain the chard well and transfer to a oven- proof dish. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brown the butter in a sauté pan. Pour the browner butter over the the chard and toss well.
6. Sprinkle the Parmesan (and feta, if desired) cheese over the chard. Bake 10 minutes or so until the cheese is bubbling and pale golden brown. Serve hot.
7. Tomato slices ,cut thin, may be added before baking for a garnish. Sprinkle basil across the slices.

I'm back .

We had a great dinner one night at Jim and Nancy's house. Nancy made a fine feast for us and we enjoyed the evening eating and talking. We even got to see a movie with them from their video library. When all is said and done it is truly the friends that you have that make you happiest.

I have been remiss at posting this summer. I just didn't have the time or inclination to sit down and do it. Here is a little catch up. Our grandson Ben is almost walking(his mother keeps pushing him down). He loves getting into the cupboards,emptying the contents on the floor and back again. Although he is not as good at putting them back. He is a lot more work than Macy was. The boy thing I guess.
Speaking of Macy. This is her and Blake ,my nephew, last month. Two great kids and they play together well, despite the difference in age. I will have to post more often and will try. A few comments would help. These photos got all outta order..sorry.

Carrots and finches gone wild

I dug up my carrots and found that I had more than I thought...although most were small because of all the hot ,dry weather here this year. I had a four by four area or so in one of the raised beds that I planted. Man are they hard to keep free from weeds! What a mess I had but we still did pretty good. If I had taken better care of them I could have doubled my crop. Ginny peeled and then cut them up to be blanched and frozen. And they are good too!
The finches have been nuts lately . They must be getting ready to leave. So far the record is about 30 on the feeder at once! We have this feeder outside of our kitchen window and love watching and listening to them. One of life little pleasures. Finch feed is getting to be one of our major expenses.

Cooking out

Summer time and steaks on the grill....nothing quite compares in the food world. I don't cook on the grill too often but some things are just better done that way and steak is one of them. My big grill has long since bit the dust ..mostly from just sitting around. This little pack grill does works great for what I do.

Shell and Matt stopped by so it was a good excuse to grill. This photo and the one of Matt and Ben was taken by Macy. She has a good eye for photos and I think that her perspective is better at that height.

Ben seems to enjoy it too.

Macy had to take some photos too.

Cousins just hanging out at the fire. It will be fun to see them changing as they get older. Ben will out pace Macy big time. He is already half of her weight.

Taking the girls for a ride.

On our trip to Harbor Springs Macy saw a shooting star one night and made a wish that she could go for a ride in a car with no ceiling. She didn't know that my friend Darryl had a convertable and when I told him the story he insisted that I take her for a ride. It made her day.

The girls when I picked them up.

Brie is going on 15 (read 20)! and is becoming quite the young lady.

She loved the car and we both enjoyed the time riding together. She got the first ride so we put the car thru it paces . She wants one.

Macy was too cool for words.

She says that the movie stars wear these glasses.

She kept raising her hands and laughing like she was on a fair ride. Oh the joy.

This is for Darryl . A special thanks from Macy.