Naked Bread Making & Homemade Snow Caves

I suppose the title of this posting and the pictures speak for themselves.

Still More Fun In The Snow

When I went outdoors to join in the fun, there were several little people finding their way across the bay to explore the island.

When I got down there myself, I looked back to see the cabin in a pretty winter setting.

Sandy and sister Sarah had just donned their snowshoes and were planning to follow the parade out to the island.

Will decided to harness Kelso to one of the sleds.

Jake, Sarah's youngest, and Maia are the same age. They were the load Kelso was supposed to pull.

The snow is probably 30" deep and very difficult to walk in without snowshoes. Kelso pulled mightily, but his legs kept dropping down into the snow, making it difficult for him to pull, inspired and excited though he was. Later, when Will tried the same arrangement out on the plowed road near our cabin, Kelso was able to pull with no problems and easily outran Will and anyone else who tried to pace him.

This photo was taken at the edge of the woods on the island. Wandering around under those trees was a rather magical experience. Good thing no wind chose to come along and coax the trees into unloading their burdens of snow during these explorations.

More Snow

We got more snow two nights ago, heavy fluffy stuff that hung in all the trees and which created lots of pretty scenes.

It was a little hard on our cluster of birch trees, however. I eventually shook them to get the snow to fall off, and then with a little warming during the day, they stood right back up.

Will agreed to try out my other new toy. I broke down and bought a good-sized, self-propelled snow blower three or four days ago. We still have the help of our neighbor with plowing, but this machine does a good job too and lets us clear better around the garages and the parking areas.

Lots of time was spent outdoors yesterday enjoying the snow. Will helped the kids create a sliding area on the lake side of the cabin. They all liked the saucer sled.

Zach is helping Maia get started on a run while Mom and Tighe supervise.

Crashing at the end of a run is mandatory, along with lots of giggling.

Some of our guests ventured out on the lake on snowshoes and explored the little island across the way. Will said the depth of the snow made hard work for the leader--he wished he had brought his larger footprint snowshoes. Those who followed had an easier time.

Will helped me work on the woods-side roof too. The amount of snow piling up around the house is impressive, to say the least.

Barnebirkie

Today was the opening of the big Birkebeiner cross-country ski event held each year in Hayward, WI. One of the opening day events is called the Barnebirkie and is for children from ages three and older. They may elect to do a 1K, 3K, or 5K course. Grandson Anders entered the 3K event, so all of us were in town to cheer him on. Family members were waiting for him to approach the finish line, and lots of cowbell ringing occurred as the various participants skied toward the end. Here are Jessica and Leo.

Nana and Maia were ringing cowbells.

Sandy and her sister Sarah were ready to greet Anders, of course, along with cousins and Kelso.

These guys came by offering candy to the children and observers. Would you accept candy from them?

Finally, number 300 appeared at the entrance to Main Street, where all events finish.

He was in fine form, and I think he had a lot more fun than this picture might suggest. He seemed very serious. This was a no-nonsense athletic event for him, I guess.

And here he is with his medal to prove that he finished! We were all very proud!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

We are at our Wisconsin home for a few weeks. This weekend, the annual Birkebeiner cross-country skiing event takes place, and grandson Anders is participating in the children's event called the Barnebirkie. We'll be in town tomorrow to cheer him on, including ringing the mandatory cowbells as he skis by.

We arrived yesterday. Throughout the winter, we have watched weather reports for this region of the country, so we knew that there was lots of snow on the ground here. Our neighbor, Jerry, bless his heart, has been keeping the driveway plowed as best he could with his ATV, but there really isn't any place to push the snow anymore, so before we arrived, we had another neighbor widen the driveway and clear the parking area near the cabin with his tractor and snow blower.

It really is very pretty up here, so we thought we would share a few pictures with you. Mother Nature created this snow sculpture for us atop our hot tub.

There have been many individual snowfalls this season. You can almost see each one as a layer in the several inches of snow sitting on our roof.

The parking area looks like this. You can see the accumulation of snow around the new trees we planted. I won't point out the yellow decorations that Josey and Tighe thought should be added to the otherwise pristine snow.

The lake is very low, but at this time of year, it is all ice and snow anyway.

I was pretty concerned about the weight of all that snow on the roof, plus we also experienced a steady drip from the ceiling near one of the skylights once the cabin warmed up. (Unfortunate, since we just had them repaired and replaced two years ago.) So, I thought it best to pull the snow from the roof. We found a new gadget in town that claimed to be the best roof snow removal tool ever! Its unique feature is a long foot-wide ribbon of plastic that attaches to the part that cuts through the snow. Once a piece comes loose, the plastic provides a slippery slope insuring that the snow will quickly slide all the way off the roof. I quickly learned to avoid having it blast me off my step ladder. It was actually kind of fun.

Tighe watched, thought I wished he could operate a shovel so as to remove the falling snow from the deck. Alas, Kathie and I had to do that ourselves. Lots of exercise today! May have lost a pound or two.

Recent Projects

Not having others things to share with you, I thought I'd post some pictures of recent woodworking projects. I love spending time in my shop, especially at this time of year. Working with wood seems like such a privilege. Each piece is unique, with fascinating color, grain, figure, and texture. Each species has its own special character. Also, since wood comes from trees, which are all unique and interesting and which were once alive, it always seems important to treat each piece with a certain amount of respect and to avoid waste.

The first thing to share is this little table, one thing I actually made for myself. The design is for a display table--one that has a small footprint and is a bit tall (~35 inches) and intended for use in an entry way or space where one might want to display an art object or antique. I made this one of walnut, added an extra shelf, and built it to solve a problem I have at my desk, which is that lots of electronics were cluttering my desktop. Now I can keep our Internet cable modem, Internet-based phone connection, DirecTV interface, and Sonos bridge tucked away. The table is also a good place for my lamp, and now I have more desktop space that I can clutter up with all my other "stuff." Someday, someone else can use the little table for a better purpose, perhaps. I should have taken a photo before I put it into place. This picture doesn't really show it off very well.

For Christmas and birthdays, I made a couple of small boxes like the one below. They can be used for one's "treasures", or you could use one as a jewelry box or for photos or whatever. There are lots and lots of designs for fancy little boxes. This design involves a 4" decorative tile in the lid. I made this one of a wood called purple heart, which really does have a purple hue, and the tile I chose features a hummingbird. I have made three so far, one each for Maia and Leo, each of a different kind of wood, but I haven't yet decided what to do with this one.

Then awhile ago, Jessica asked if I could make a French rolling pin for her like the one you see here. I turned hers from walnut and finished it by repeatedly rubbing it down with mineral oil until it would not accept more. I'm waiting to hear how it works.

Finally, Kathie has wanted luggage racks for home and also at the lake. This is the second one I have made. If you come to visit, maybe you can try it out!

Whenever I Need Cheering Up...

Once in awhile, not often, I need a little extra cheering up. On those occasions, this is always good for improving my mood.

Another one that works well is famously called Anders Hats.

I guess I need to collect a few more of these featuring the rest of the grandchild roster! Then, I would have one for each day and an extra to spare!

See What I Have to Put Up With?

Typical evening at home for Kathie.