Moomers

Our time here in NW Michigan is coming to an end for yet another season. Next Monday September 20 we will depart for the Southwest to escape the revenges of another Michigan winter.

However, we could not leave without a last visit to our favorite summer "watering hole", Moomers Ice-Cream parlor.

Voted "Best Ice-Cream in America" in an ABC "Good Morning America" contest, Moomers specializes in homemade "farm fresh" Ice Cream from their adjacent creamery and dairy farm.
In our frequent trips to Traverse City from our summer home here in Cedar we usually take a route that will take us past their store. In the dead of summer there is usually a line snaking out the door but the wait is well worth it. With over 100 flavors to pick from the most difficult part of the visit is deciding what flavor to try. At the beginning of last summer I vowed to try every flavor but in the last two years I haven't made much progress. Reasons being that...
1.  I keep going back to my favorites.
2.  They keep adding to and/or changing the flavors.
3.  The calories, OMG the calories.

Oh well, It was a noble aspiration.

Here we are on our final stop of the summer of 2010 on our way back from a Traverse City grocery run.
Me with German Chocolate and Teddy with Butter Pecan.

Following is a listing of their advertised flavors
In addition they will make custom flavors by request.

Flavor Descriptions

• Amaretto Cherry - amaretto flavored ice cream with real halved Northern Michigan black sweet cherries, cherry swirl and chocolate chips
• Apple Crisp - dutch apple pie flavored ice cream with chunks of fresh homemade apple crisp
• Apricot - Apricot flavored ice cream with fresh apricots
• BPSwirl - peanut butter flavored ice cream with peanut butter swirl and pieces of Reese's Peanut Butter cups
• Banana Bread - Banana flavored ice cream with homemade banana bread pieces
• Banana Peanut Butter - Banana flavored ice cream with peanut butter swirl
• Bear Paw - chocolate ice cream with a caramel swirl and chocolate covered cashews
• Black Cherry - black cherry ice cream with halved Northern Michigan black sweet cherries
• Black Raspberry - Black Raspberry flavored ice cream with a black raspberry swirl
• Blue Moon - blue moon flavored ice cream
• Blue Raspberry - blue raspberry flavored ice cream
• Bubble Gum - Bubble Gum flavored ice cream with pink bubble gum flavored dip swirl
• Brownie Batter - brownie batter flavored ice cream with brownie pieces
• Butter Brickle - Toffee flavored ice cream with toffee brickle pieces
• Butter Pecan - butter pecan ice cream with halves & pieces of butter roasted and salted pecans
• Caramel Apple - caramel flavored ice cream with a caramel apple swirl
• Carrot Cake - carrot cake flavored ice cream with pieces of carrot cake and cream cheese frosting swirl
• Cheesecake(blueberry, cherry, raspberry, caramel apple, pumpkin, lemon, strawberry, turtle) - cheesecake flavored ice cream with the fresh fruit pieces or swirls throughout and chunks of real New York cheesecake
• Cherry Brandy - Cherry brandy flavored ice cream with a cherry swirl
• Cherries Moobilee - black cherry flavored ice cream with chunks of black sweet cherries, red tart cherries, chocolate fudge swirl and chunks of homemade brownie pieces
• Cherry Pie ala Mode - Vanilla ice cream with pieces of our made from scatch cherry pie pieces
• Cherry Praline Pecan* - cherry flavored ice cream with local black sweet cherries and candied praline pecans
• Chip Chocolate - chocolate ice cream with white chocolate chips
• Chocolate - Moomers homemade premium chocolate ice cream
• Chocolate Almond Brownie - chocolate ice cream with chunks of homemade brownies and pieces of fresh butter roasted and salted almonds
• Chocolate Cabernet - chocolate ice cream with a bottle of local Cabernet wine
• Chocolate Caramel - chocolate ice cream with creamy caramel swirl
• Chocolate Caramel Nut - chocolate ice cream with fresh roasted and salted Spanish peanuts and creamy caramel swirl
• Chocolate Cherry Pecan - chocolate ice cream with chopped chocolate covered dried cherries and roasted pecans
• Chocolate Chip - vanilla ice cream with miniature chocolate chips
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough - vanilla ice cream with pieces and chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough
• Chocolate Chocolate Chip - chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips
• Chocolate Chocolate Waffle Cone - chocolate ice cream with pieces of broken chocolate dipped waffle cones
• Chocolate Cookie Monster - chocolate ice cream with Oreo cookie crumbs and chocolate chip cookie dough
• Chocolate Malt* - chocolate ice cream flavored with malt extract
• Chocolate No Bake - chocolate ice cream with homemade pieces of no bake cookies
• Chocolate Nuts To You - chocolate ice cream with loads of roasted almonds, butter roasted pecans, pistachios, walnuts, spanish peanuts and cashews
• Chocolate Orange - chocolate ice cream with an orange juice background
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk - chocolate ice cream with pieces of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and creamy peanut butter swirl
• Chocolate Raspberry Cabernet - chocolate ice cream flavored with a bottle of local cabernet wine
• Chocolate Raspberry Chunk - chocolate ice cream with raspberry swirl and chocolate flakes
• Chocolate Silk - a light chocolate/caramel flavored ice cream
• Chocolate Turtle - chocolate ice cream with swirls of chocolate and caramel and pecans
• Cinnamon - cinnamon ice cream
• Cinnamon Bourbon* - cinnamon ice cream with 1/5 bourbon per 10 gallons
• Cinnamon Pumpkin Crisp - cinnamon ice cream with pieces of pumpkin crisp
• Coconut Almond Delight - coconut ice cream with flecks of sweetened coconut, miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips and pieces of fresh butter roasted and salted almonds
• Coffee Caramel - coffee caramel ice cream with a rich caramel swirl
• Coffee Toffee - coffee ice cream with pieces of Heath candy bar
• Coffee Fudge Swirl - coffee flavored ice cream with a chocolate fudge swirl
• Cookie Monster - vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookie crumbs and chocolate chip cookie dough
• Cookies & Cream - vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookie crumbs
• Cosmo - chocolate ice cream with swirls of chocolate fudge, marshmallow and caramel
• Cotton Candy - cotton candy flavored ice cream (color may vary)
• Cow Tracks - vanilla ice cream with pieces of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate fudge swirl
• Cranberry Walnut - cranberry flavored ice cream with cranberries and walnuts
• Creamsicle - vanilla ice cream swirled with orange sherbet
• Cupcake - cake batter flavored ice cream with pieces of "cake pieces" and rainbow sprinkles
• Double Chocolate - (raspberry, cherry, chunk) a dark double chocolate ice cream can be used for a base for any chocolate flavors, with the fruit swirl
• Egg Nog - egg nog flavored ice cream with nutmeg
• French Vanilla - french vanilla ice cream
• German Chocolate - chocolate ice cream with chunks of homemade brownies, caramel-praline swirl, butter roasted and salted pecans and flaked coconut
• Ginger* - ginger flavored ice cream with grated gingerroot
• Ginger Snap - ginger flavored ice cream with pieces of ginger snaps
• Grasshopper - crème de menthe ice cream sprinkled with pieces of Oreo cookies
• Green Tea* - green tea flavored ice cream
• Irish Coffee - Irish cream flavored ice cream with irish cream liquor
• Just Caramel - caramel flavored ice cream with caramel swirl and pieces of chocolate covered waffle cone
• Lemon Custard - lemon custard ice cream
• Lemon Dream - a refreshing lemon flavored ice cream with lemon zest
• Lemon Poppyseed Muffin - lemon dream flavored ice cream with lemon poppyseed muffin pieces
• Licorice - black licorice flavored ice cream (white ice cream)
• Mango - mango flavored ice cream with mango puree
• Maple Walnut - Maple flavored ice cream with walnuts throughout
• Marshmallow - marshmallow flavored ice cream
• Mint Chocolate Chip - crème de menthe ice cream sprinkled with miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Mocha Almond Fudge - mocha ice cream with fresh butter roasted and salted almonds and chocolate fudge swirl
• Mocha Mudslide* - mocha flavored ice cream with caramel swirl, chocolate swirl and chocolate flakes
• Mooberry - vanilla ice cream with red raspberry and tart cherries swirled throughout
• Mr. Monkey Tail - banana flavored ice cream with crushed peanuts and a chocolate swirl
• No-Bake Cookie - vanilla ice cream with chunks of homemade no-bake cookies
• North Star Hat Trick* - white marshmallow, wild cherry and blue raspberry ice creams swirled together
• Nuts To You - hazelnut ice cream with loads of roasted almonds, butter roasted pecans, pistachios, walnuts, spanish peanuts and cashews
• Oatmeal Cookie - cinnamon flavored ice cream with homemade oatmeal cookie pieces
• Orange Pineapple - orange pineapple ice cream with bits and pieces of orange and pineapple
• Oreo Mint Meltdown - mint flavored ice cream with Oreo cookie bits and chocolate fudge swirl
• Peach - peach ice cream with bits and pieces of peaches
• Peach Reisling - Peach ice cream with bits and pieces of peach and a bottle of local reisling wine
• Peanut Butter Oreo - peanut butter ice cream with Oreos cookie pieces
• Peanut Butter No-Bake - peanut butter ice cream with no-bake cookie pieces
• Peppermint Stick - white peppermint ice cream with pieces of red and green peppermint candy
• Pink Peppermint Fudge - pink peppermint flavored ice cream with a chocolate swirl and red and green pieces of peppermint candy
• Pistachio - pistachio with fresh roasted and salted pistachio nuts
• Play Dough - blue moon flavored ice cream with pieces of brightly colored sugar cookie dough
• Pralines and Cream - french vanilla ice cream with fresh butter roasted and salted pecans and creamy caramel-praline swirl
• Pretzels Plus - vanilla ice cream with pieces of yogurt and chocolate covered pretzels and a caramel swirl
• Pumpkin - pumpkin ice cream made with canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices
• Pumpkin Chip - pumpkin flavored ice cream with chocolate chips
• Pumpkin Roll - pumpkin flavored ice cream with a cream cheese frosting swirl and cake pieces
• Raspberry Chocolate Chip - raspberry ice cream sprinkled with miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Raspberry Truffle* - Vanilla ice cream with a raspberry swirl and raspberry filled chocolate cups
• Raspberry White Chocolate - white chocolate ice cream sprinkled with miniature white chocolate chips and fresh raspberry swirl
• Red Pop - red pop flavored ice cream
• Rice Pudding - vanilla ice cream with real homemade rice pudding, golden raisins and cinnamon
• Rocky Road - chocolate ice cream with marshmallow swirl, miniature marshmallows and Spanish peanuts
• Rum Raisin - rum flavored ice cream with rum soaked gold raisins(made with real rum if requested)
• Russ' Cookie Jar - vanilla ice cream with pieces of broken cookies
• Sherbet - flavorful orange, lime, cherry lemon or red raspberry sherbet
• Smore - vanilla ice cream with a marshmallow swirl, graham cracker pieces and cream filled chocolate cows
• Sorbet - red raspberry, peach, orange, strawberry, lemon, lime, cherry, a non-dairy product)
• Spumoni - an exquisite combination of chocolate rum, pistachio and cherry ice creams, swirls of marshmallow and plentiful chunks of pineapple, maraschino cherries, mixed nuts and pistachios
• Sticky Bun - light cinnamon ice cream with chunks of homemade sticky buns and cream cheese swirl
• Strawberry - strawberry ice cream with pieces of fresh strawberry swirled throughout
• SuperMoo - blue, red and yellow flavored ice cream Flavors may vary
• Sweet Tart - vanilla ice cream with local black sweet cherries and local tart cherries
• Toasted Coconut - toasted coconut flavored ice cream with toasted coconut and macadamia nuts
• Toffee Heath - toffee flavored ice cream with Heath candy bar pieces
• Vanilla - Moomers homemade premium vanilla ice cream
• Vanilla Fleck - Moomers homemade premium vanilla ice cream with vanilla bean fleck
• Vanilla Malt* - vanilla ice cream flavored with malt extract
• Very Cherry - wild cherry flavored ice cream with chunks of Northern Michigan black sweet cherries, red tart cherries and maraschino cherries
• White Chocolate Oreo - White chocolate flavored ice cream with pieces of Oreos

Next May when we return for another summer, Moomers is sure to be one of our first stops.  ;-)

Summertime is tomato sandwich time!

One of my favorite summertime treats is a big sloppy, with juice running down your arms, tomato sandwich made with fresh ripe tomatos straight from the garden.
Through the years I have perfected what I consider to be the ultimate tomato sandwich as follows:


A. The Ingredients

1. Tomatoes: You must start with a summer-ripened tomato. Any color will do, but it has to be dead-ripe, succulent, and bursting with juice. It should never be refrigerated. 

2. Mayonnaise:  You need mayonnaise, NOT ‘Miracle Whip’…Miracle Whip is a nice condiment for making potato salad but should never be used on sandwiches as it’s strong flavor overpowers the other fillings. I f you don’t have any mayo on hand, STOP now and go to the store and get some. Mayo is part of the magic of a perfect tomato sandwich.

3. Bread: Two lightly toasted slices of that soft and squishy bread that you never admit buying. You don’t want highly flavored bread that detracts from the filling.  

4. Onion: Sweet onion sliced, preferably Vidalias if in season.

5. Last but not least, salt.

B The Assembly:

While the bread is toasting, use your sharpest knife (if you don’t have a Cutco #1721, you should get one it is the best tomato slicing knife in existance) to slice it vertically in 1/2 inch slices & then cut off the tops of the slices that have bellybuttons where the stem was. Peel the onion and slice it horizontally in 1/8th inch slices. Slather the mayonnaise on both slices of the toast, making sure it flows all the way to the edges, perhaps with an artful drip over the edge. Artfully fit the tomatoes onto the toast cutting it to fit the best you can. Lightly salt, put the top on and VOLA!

C The Eating:

Sandwich in hand, you may now move to the sink and start eating. Grasp the sandwich with both hands, shielding the backside as the tomatoes sometimes try to escape by squishing out the back. Have plenty of napkins or paper towels handy, as the juice will run down your chin or your hands. Optionally put your sandwich on a plate and eat at the table, don’t forget the paper towels.

The first bite is all about texture—the soft bread, the velvety emulsion of mayonnaise, the luscious tomato, bursting with juice – a unique and wonderful sensory experience. By the third bite, be ready for the harmony of flavors in which yeasty bread, creamy mayonnaise, crisp onions and tart-acid-sweet tomato come together, accentuated with the salt. Don’t hurry. Savor the flavors.

Tomato sandwiches are about as basic as you can get, every one of them is delicious. In the summer I eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or in between. And every last one of them is perfect. At dinner the perfect accompaniment is a cob of fresh buttered & salted sweet corn.

A Prairie Home Companion

Getting ready for the show

Last Tuesday evening, Aug. 10, Teddy, Teddy's sister Deb, and I had an entertaining date night at a "Prairie Home Companion" show with Garrison Keillor at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. It was a sold out crowd of us an 3,997 other (mostly over 50) folks at Interlochen's 4,000 seat Kresge Auditorium. 



It was the first stop in their month long, twenty-three city "Summer of Love Tour".

Shuffling scripts

We joined host Garrison Keillor, Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins, the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, and sound-effects man Fred Newman for tender duets and ballads, poetry (Poe, Shakespeare, Anonymous), stories of passion and marriage.  

Garrison Keillor & Nickel Creek’s Sara Watkins

 During the intermission Mr. Keillor entertained the audience with a walk through sing-along of “Unchained Melody” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” All this and favorite elements of A Prairie Home Companion — Guy Noir, Dusty and Lefty, the News from Lake Wobegon.


It was a fun evening and bought back many memories of when I was on the staff of Interlochen in the 60s, both as a recording engineer and ultimately Chief Engineer of their Radio Station, WIAA. I left in 1968 when I became "The Director of Broadcasting" at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.


Teddy and I have decided that from now on we will make sure to attend at least one major venue at Interlochen each summer.

Wha's Up

Now that we are done with the inside remodeling, at least for this season, our attention is now directed toward our outside activities. 
Couch potato that I am...hey, I do run the garden tractor to mow the lawn but anyone that knows us knows that "outside activities" means Teddy's outdoor activities and busy she has been. When we began moving into the farmhouse last summer Teddy set about cleaning up the yard and flower beds and as these photos show, this summer she went at in full attack mode.  (Click on photos for larger size)

One of her first projects, started last summer, and continued this May was covering the cistern mound with iris bulbs. Although now done blooming they were in full bloom in late May.

Next she cleaned up this old rock garden that had been neglected for several years as her aging parents could no longer tend it.
Teddy's dad never threw anything away, he just stored it. She found a lot of old farm relics in one of the farm outbuildings including several old tractor seats, wagon wheels, an old kitchen sink, a hand pump, hand tools, & a hand cultivator  and has themed her gardens with them.

She also planted a variety of flowers along the front of the house.
These marigolds have been blooming all summer.

On the north side-yard of the house she made another flower garden and populated it with some more of her picks.
She isn't done, by a long shot, she scours the country side with her sister, Deb for old abandoned ghost farms where vintage flower bulbs might be ripe for transplanting. I often look out the window and there she is digging up another section of lawn.  ;-)

My outdoor efforts on the other hand have been more utilitarian.
When we arrived here in May we found that our cell coverage out here in the country was not reliable enough for internet use so I subscribed to HughesNet satellite internet and it works well. I am on a 24 month contract but can put it on time out winters when we are not here. (Oh..oh that means that it'll be about five years before I complete the 24 months)

Secondly, Teddy had been wanting an outdoor clothesline for some time so I had a welder make up this post from 3" pipe.

I told him that I wanted the cross section to be 4' long but neglected to specify the vertical length and when I got it it was 10' long which meant that I had to dig a 4' deep hole to plant it.

This did not turn out to be an easy job as he had welded two 12" cross members on the bottom to stabilize it. With Teddy's help we got the hole dug but it took about three hours. I mixed up a 50 lb. bag of concrete mix to set the pipe and this baby isn't going anywhere. Teddy spray-painted it green while  I lagged a 2 x 6 between two trees for the other end and we now have a first rate solar clothes dryer.

A visit from Dick & Jen

This past weekend July 16 - 19, we were honored with a visit from our good friends Dick & Jenny Orr from our old home town of Appleton, Wisconsin. They arrived  Friday evening around 5:00 and stayed until Monday morning when they had to return to their busy life in Appleton.
Dick and Jen had never been to this area of Michigan so we had no trouble showing off the area's many points of interest. On Saturday we went for a long drive through Leelanau County showing off the many cherry orchards and wineries that Leelanau is famous for. We circled the county on M-22 which winds its way north on the western side of the county along Lake Michigan to the village of Northport and then doubles back on the eastern side next to Grand Traverse Bay ending in Traverse City.
Along the way we visited a winery, made the obligatory stop at "Fishtown" in Leeland, and visited the numerous gift shops in Leeland and Suttons Bay.

After a lunch of deep fried smelt  at "Dick's Pour House" in Lake Leelanau we drove to Moomers famous ice cream shop near Traverse for a diet busting afternoon treat. (We did skip dinner Saturday evening as no one was hungry...I wonder why?)
Exhausted we fell into bed early for a "long Summer's nap." Sunday morning arrived right on time as it always does following Saturday night and we were treated to a breakfast of Teddy's famous "Swedish Pancakes". On Sunday we had planned to take them to visit the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Teddy, Jen & I went but Dick wasn't feeling well and elected to stay home and rest.

We first visited the famous Sleeping Bear Dune climb and I was astounded to see Teddy & Jen climb all the way to the top.





From there we drove the 7 1/2 mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive which winds through both dune and wooded areas of the park with many point of interest stops along the way. Although the drive in itself is only 7 1/2 miles long it takes about 90 minutes at a minimum to complete it due to all the stops along the way.

At one point it looks out over Lake Michigan on a dune with a 450 foot drop to the lake.
You can climb down but signs warn that it is a very strenuous climb back up. (3 minutes to go down, 30 minutes to climb back)

The next morning we bid farewell to Dick & Jen with hugs & kisses and promises to visit again as they departed for the drive back to Appleton.
We sure enjoyed their visit and we will see them again in September when we pass through Appleton on our annual winter sojourn to the Southwest.

Kitchen Final

Two momentous events occurred over this past weekend. We finished with the kitchen remodeling on Saturday and I turned 73 years old on Sunday. Both were celebrated with much gusto and many hurrahs. 

This is a view of the completed kitchen

taken from the dining room.

Quite a difference from this pre-remodeling pict

taken from roughly the same perspective.

And here are  comperable picts of the south end of the kitchen.

New

Old

And the North end.

New

versus Old

We are very pleased with our new modern kitchen. and our heartfelt thanks goes out to our builder, Gerard Belanger for his attention to detail and his many suggestions throughout the remodeling.

If anyone here in Leelanau County or in the Grand Traverse area of Michigan needs a reliable and conscious builder we highly recommend him without reservation.

As for my turning 73 on Sunday, I'm afraid that the before and after picts are just reversed in that as the years go by the before picts seem to always look better than the after. ;-)

My left knee update

My knee replacement appears to have been successful and I seem to be progressing satisfactorily (at least that's what they tell me).
These x-ray photos show how the titanium knee joint is attached to the leg bone. It appears that they actually seat the new joint into a drilled out a cavity.
With both knees now looking like this I am truly a bionic man. Ain't science wonderful?

It has now been four weeks since the surgery and as this pict shows the incision has healed nicely. I am now walking sans cane, albeit with a bit of a limp. The home visits from the therapist have run out as have the weekly visits by a nurse/phlebotomist to draw blood. Since my pacemaker was installed in February I have been on a daily dose of Coumadin  taken as a precautionary measure to prevent blood clots. Normally it is checked once a month but after surgery they check once a week.

So...I appear to have survived another of life's little traumas and am ready once again to do battle against the world.
Now, it's back to the kitchen remodeling of which my only involvement thus far has been with my checkbook. We are hoping to wind that up by next weekend just in time for the 4th of July and my 73rd birthday.

Kitchen Progress Report. (the build - part 2)

Today, Teddy got an early start on the painting. She was wielding brush and roller well before 8 o'clock and was finished by 10. Since the appliances are going to be black we decided that a light grey would be a good color for the kitchen. Last week with that thought in mind Teddy went to Lowe's and bought paint, however something got lost in translation and when she started today it turned out to be a light lilac. Actually we like it so it turned out to be a non issue.

Then at about 4 pm two stout fellows in a large delivery truck arrived with the cabinetry and countertops which they proceeded to load into our entry/utility room.
The poor room is so stuffed that we couldn't get at anything if we wanted.

It's hard to believe that all of this will fit into the new kitchen.
Tomorrow our builder will start installing them.

Kitchen Progress Report. (the build - part 1)

Drywalling & seaming

The teardown complete, Gerard, Jim & Jason undertook to drywall the walls and ceiling of the entire kitchen.

Following that came the seaming & taping which turned out to be a three day job, a primary application, the next day a reapplication and then after drying, a final sanding.

Following that Jason installed new Pergo laminate flooring.

Then today, June 23 Teddy applied the primer as a prelude to the final painting which she will  do tomorrow.

Tomorrow will also be a big day for us as the cabinet company in Indiania  emailed me yesterday that they have shipped the cabinetry and countertops.  Delivery here to "The Farm" is scheduled for sometime tomorrow.

We are beginning to see the proverbial "light at the end of the tunnel". Barring any unforeseen delays, by sometime next week, we just might have our kitchen back.
Happy happy joy joy!    ;-)

Kitchen Progress report (the teardown).

Here are some before and after picts of the kitchen progress.

Teddy grew up in this house as did her father.

This is the old cast iron and porcelain sink. Teddy can remember that it was a wonderful upgrade when it was installed. Before that there was no indoor running water. Water had to be hand carried into the house from the cistern which was filled from a well powered by the windmill.

Needless to say the bathroom was an outdoor outhouse.

The refrigerator stood next to the left end of the sink next to a narrow steel cabinet, taking up most of the space to the front wall.

This shows part of the steel cabinet set which was a wedding gift to Teddy's parents.

There were three six foot tall cabinets, the short cabinet shown suspended over a metal countertop.

Across from the steel cabinets was this electric cookstove nestled between the back wall and the chimney.

As there wasn't room in the kitchen, Teddy's mom had a small microwave sitting on an end table in the dining room.

Last summer I built the shelf over the stove, shown in this pict. for a full size microwave. We soon found out that because of electrical inadequacys we could not microwave and make toast at the same time without blowing a fuse.

So, this summer we decided that it was time to bite the bullet and bring the kitchen and electric service up to modern standards as this is going to be our summer home for the foreseeable future and most likely our permanent home when we can no longer RV.

This is the NE corner after the sink and plywood walls were removed. Also shown here is a new window already installed where the new sink will be. 

Note the paper glued to the old framing boards, apparently to stifle wind drafts. Teddy found that some were old newspapers dated in 1906.

This part of the house is purported to be comprised of an original "log cabin" with the present structure built around it.

The far wall appears to have been the north end of the house and you can see an old boarded up window. The other side of the wall is now the south end of the living room.

This is the south end of the kitchen. 

The chimney has been removed. It was unused as we now have a modern direct vent propane furnace.

The stove stood on the far end of the right wall. The new stove will be installed against the far wall facing this way.

The little alcove on the left will be boarded up. It is a small crawl space about four foot high at the highest under the stair. Teddy's grandmother kept her pickle crocks there and her mom kept an assortment of kitchen paraphernalia and supplies in there as she was cramped for storage space.

We also enlarged the kitchen entrance from an ordinary doorway to a larger kitchen entrance. That should open up the kitchen and make it a more welcome adjunct to the dining room.

Next step: Drywall

My left knee

Well I had to take some time off of my remodeling activities and check into the  Munson Medical Center here in Traverse City to get my left knee replaced. , "Take some time off", isn't exactly right as the remodeling is continuing right along without my valuable assistance.
But I digress, my knee has been progressively getting worse since I had the other knee done three years ago. The doctors then said that I should have the other one replaced as well so I think that I did well holding out this long. As my friends in Lake Havasu will attest it was giving me a lot of trouble while we were there last winter. The reason for the procrastination is that although the surgery isn't so bad, the therapy afterward is quite a long ordeal. The surgery was two weeks ago on Tuesday June 1st. and I am coming along quite nicely. This time my surgeon was Dr. Andrew S. Boyce from the same clinic as Dr. Peters who did the other knee. I now have a hospital therapist, Rod Ranger that comes out to the farm three times a week and puts me through a regimen of exercises to get the knee moving again. I am now to the point that I can walk without the walker, using only the cane and can bend the knee about 80 degrees; my goal is 110 degrees which I finally reached on the other knee. I had the staples out last Friday and the scar already looks better than the other one looked at this stage.
Meanwhile, the rehabbing of the farmhouse is coming along quite nicely. We decided to go ahead and gut the whole kitchen and replace it with a modern kitchen. Our builder/contractor, Gerard Belanger has been hard at it and as of now the entire kitchen is down to the bare walls with new cabinetry set to arrive around June 25th. We have already purchased a new refrigerator, range and microwave but are cooking on a hotplate. The fridge is temporarily sitting in the dining room, plugged in and running.

Remodeling The Farm

As soon as we got here on May 7 we resumed our rehabbing the farmhouse from where we left off last summer. See: '09 #1;     '09 #2;     '09 #3

The very first thing was to paint the living room a light cream color. As seen here getting rid of the dark paneling brightens it up emmensely. We also added the oval rug shown under the coffee table.

I found this antique spring driven pendlum schoolhouse clock on eBay and luckily, being the only bidder, snagged it for only $9.95 plus $14.00 shipping. We think it fits the living room feng shui perfectly.

EBay also rewarded me with this weight driven skeleton clock which we mounted in the dining room. I wasn't the only bidder but I still got it for less than $50.00 including shipping. It's a Chinese knockoff of the $400.00 German skeleton movement but so far seems to work well.

The dining room also received this much needed chandelier.

Moving on to the bedroom, Teddy had her heart set on this antique style iron bed. We had ordered it last fall before we left for the west. All we had to do was pick it up from the furnature store and set it up.

We also added a new ceiling fan/light fixture and the lamp in the corner so that we can read our Kindles & iPads in bed...

...and at a used furniture store in Traverse City we found this vanity.

There will be more coming in a subsiquent blog as we are now beginning an extensive kitchen remodel.

But Teddy will have to carry on by herself for a while as I am going into the hospital on June 1 for a total knee replacement on my long suffering left knee.

I had my right knee done three years ago and it was only a matter of time until the left also had to go.

Oh well...at least I still have all of my own teeth.  ;-)