It’s hard work!

Putting the property to bed is quite a chore each November.  As you remember, this last spring we had a mess on our hands because the snow started falling weeks too early.  We had mountains of wet, nasty leaves to clear away which we usually don’t because the wind bows them all across the street into Sis’ field        

Last Sunday, we happened to see an infomercial  that sold an electric leaf blower/shredder/mulcher   <—not a word, I know.  I made Mike order it.  It came last Wednesday and I put it together.  They didn’t lie, it is lighter than a gallon of milk.  He came home from work, his eyes lit up, he went outside and gave that new toy a try.  After about 20 minutes he returned to tell me that it’s not all fun, it’s hard work actually!   uhuhhhh…

Here he is right now,  blowing, mulching, shredding;  has been for hours…
Don’t tell me he’s not having fun with the music blasting in his ears and the sun shining like it’s another summers day.

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We are almost ready for our trip!

Smokestack update

Now all the buildings have come down.  I took these pictures yesterday as the sun was going down

 

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The Smokestack – snuffed out!

As some of you know, the Smoke Stack was sold to a developer who is going to build an affordable housing complex, including a park.  That is very exciting for the citizens of Frankfort and Elberta, for shoppers it’s a sad thing.

The Smokestack was a consignment warehouse. It must have started off as a storage facility though, because it was called Smokestack Storage.

In the summer time you could find treasure there that came from some of the swankiest addresses in the area.  When we first moved here, the Smokestack was in its hay-day.  You could find handmade French dining room furniture, gold pocket watches, old irons, used paint,  screws, dressers, lamps, plates cups, skis, accordions, doors,  shelves, toys, books as well as the sailboat that won the 1925 Chicago to Mackinaw Island race and more and more and more.  The building was pretty dilapidated. It would rain in there, there were critters living in the old sofas and upholstered furniture and you always felt like the roof was going to cave in at any moment.  It didn’t matter, everyone went there anyway.

In winter they would store your boat or car or both there, if you have both   
Everyone was so excited when spring came and the doors to Sesame would open again.  Year after year and season after season it was fun to dig in there.  We actually had quite a few guests who came to stay at the Wayfarer specifically to go shopping there.  Nancy L. would come with her girlfriends on the last weekend of the season because then everything in the store would be half off.

So, now it’s gone. They tore it down yesterday.

The Smokestack how it looked a few weeks ago

And how it looked this morning at 7:54 am.

The brown building in the middle-left and the long building on the right need to come down still. I bet when I go to school this afternoon to deliver 100 cookies to the football team ( yikes)  those buildings will be gone.

Happy Friday everyone.
Tonight’s football game will be played in Frankfort against Manistee Catholic.  Not going to be easy, but we can do it.

Go Panthers!!

16

Today is TheBoyzz

16th Birthday

Not much more to say other than

Happy Birthday boys

and

Good thing it’s today because I do not feel like cooking

We’re going out to dinner.

I sure hope they pick a good place to sit and enjoy some good food.

Small Town Elections

Election party at LuAnn’s house!  The usual suspects were at hand ready to have a drink and to demolish the hors d’ oeuvres.
Mind you, we do not live in Frankfort, Mike cannot vote there.  I can vote only in Germany because I am still not a citizen in this country, which is a surprise to many people and it raises several eyebrows now and then. But there you have it.  Things that happen in Frankfort effect all of us, so this was an exciting party to be at.

Myra brought  a bottle of cyanide and some cool aid (for those of you who remember way back)  in case the wrong people were re-elected

Thankfully we could drink champagne instead.

This morning I stopped by LuAnn’s  after dropping the boys off at school, to re-hash last night’s goings on and on my way out, I saw the sky dark gray in the west – the promise of snow is very real

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Those clouds must be bringing in the fish because the pier and the beach were busy with fishermen.

No Lights, no Problem

Yesterday, as I was standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, half way through my stuff, the power went out.  The generators kicked in but the phones were dead, including ATT cell phones.   I could not pay for my stuff – they took my signature and let me go on my merry way.

The power didn’t come on and the entire town was wondering about this all important Friday night football game.  Playoffs are upon us and we cannot miss a game!
Not to worry, this is “small town U.S.A”, as you all know, and the game went on only a little later than scheduled.  That may have been due to the ambulance getting there late.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle had the following to say:

” Darkness dominated Benzie County on Friday night due to power outages, but light was shining on a Frankfort 21-14 Division 8 football playoff victory over Mio.  …
Cummins Bridgeway of Traverse City had generators to Lockhart Field by 6:30, a half hour before kickoff and Olson electric of Frankfort had the field’s lights up and running.”
In the article Coach Stapleton was quoted as saying: ” Pretty incredible, the only place in the county that had power was at Lockhart Field…”.

Even with all that rain coming down sideways, the stands were loaded with fans.
For me the reason to go was that Tyler and the JV team, who have now moved up to Varsity, were suited up and may have a chance to play.  But after a quarter and a half of getting rained on from the south side, I made my way back to my car and moseyed ( <—–my spellcheck says that’s not a word)  on home to see how Marc was getting on all alone in the dark house, with only Bear to keep him company.

 

Pumpkins on Parade

I decided to go and see what Ed Moody is up to this week, with Halloween coming and all.  Ed Moody (google him) is the premier pumpkin carver around these parts of the world.

The rain has finally stopped, so this would be a great opportunity to take some pictures.    Ed was actually working on one of the pumpkins as I drove up.

I asked Ed if he ordered the pumpkins or if they were offered to him and he said “neither”.  He goes to all 5 weigh-ins here in Michigan and gets them there.  The 5th weigh-in is right here in Frankfort during Fall Festival always the second weekend in October.

Ed and his wife live on Leelanau Avenue and he estimates that about 15000 visitors come by during the season.  Also he says that they give out a little over 1000 full size candy bars on Halloween night

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He fashioned the teeth from the white pumpkins laying in front of the big head and he sticks them in place with toothpicks. Ed says that they swell with the moisture from the pumpkin and therefore really hold the “teeth” in place.  Oh and he works with only a fillet knife and a boning knife, nothing else.

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And then, across the street from Ed Moody’s house, there is this haunted garden full of headless creatures:

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Back again in Ed’s front yard there is a big pumpkin that Dr. Franke started to carve. Not bad for only his 2nd. pumpkin, but for a dentist, the teeth leave a lot to be desired, heheh

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And all this carving gets done under a golden canopy and with woodpeckers looking for food

 

Get out your pumpkin carving tools and get to work people.  Email me the pictures of your works of art, I’ll post them here on the blog

Sold!

Really?  Yes, last Saturday, October 24th, was the last day/night to enjoy a great meal with or without friends at the Coho Cafe’  in Frankfort under Steve’s management.  He sold the restaurant.
Last week we saw the add in the paper, where he offered this quaint restaurant for sale and when I talked with him on Saturday, he told me it had sold.

Steve and Mike

We will miss him although he promised that he would be there for the first year and that he’ll help them through the transition. It will not be the same. But, there’s always room for something new and exciting.  I wonder, of course, how things will change, because in the end I am that creature of habit.

A group of 9 of us went to the last seating for the last of what was in the kitchen and we were not disappointed.  What fun we had, the food was outstanding as usual and the company was great.  The place was stuffed – everyone was there, and in this town – everybody knows everybody, it was a great party.

Farewell to the comfortable and familiar and welcome to a new show in town!

Small Town U.S.A.

November Elections in Frankfort.
No, this is not a political statement or rant – it is an observation.

My friend Art Schneider sent this picture this morning.
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That’s interesting because I have been driving past these and other, very similar, signs  all last week, thinking that it is funny that there are no last names.  So, I am not the only one that scratched their head about this.

Isn’t it cool?

I’ve been told

I have had several emails in the last few days and 2 phone calls today about not keeping up here.  Soooooo, I am going to go outside and show you what it looks like here behind the house on October 23, 2009.

It rained so hard about 30 minutes ago, that I actually stopped what I was doing to see what the commotion outside was all about.

This is the view from the bay window

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The other day, Mike said the falling leaves were making an awful noise.  He was right.  It was quite noisy.

Today is the perfect kind of day, I think.  It is wet, cold and gloomy. Just right for getting outside and being rained on and all cold and frozen, only to come back inside have some hot cocoa with a shot of rum and some whipped cream on top.  We call that Russian Chocolate.  Or maybe an Irish Coffee?    Or a Pharisaer?  num, num  One of my all time favorite drinks.

Recipe:

Pour strong black coffee into a regular sized coffee cup, add one lump of sugar,  add a shot-glass full of braun Jamaican rum and on top of that a good sized dollop of  homemade whipped cream.  Do not stir but drink the coffee with the rum through the whipped cream.

Beware!! If you are drinking that in a restaurant or a bar and you stir it,  you are obligated to buy a drink for everyone at the restaurant!  The bartenders are going to make sure to let you know that they have caught you in a “no-no” , heheh