Welcome back Brontman family!

The Brontman sisters stopped by Glen Arbor on Tuesday. It was great seeing them again.

We met last summer and were able to visit at each different market during the week. They are a very sweet family (with a great dog, too!). They gave rave reviews about Creekside Grains (especially the root beer cookies) and we are very grateful! They visited from the Chicago area.

I got to show them all of the new products that Michael invented since last summer. There is quite a variety of new mixes.

I look forward to seeing them at the Farm Markets in Leelanau County this week!

Laundry in the tub

Why is it, when you are tired and ready for bed, that the strange things happen without warning? It was after 11:00 PM on Saturday night and I started to put my favorite khaki capris in the laundry. Guess who had two giant stains on the back of the capris? Me! I had been watering my flowers earlier that evening and the dirty hose brushed up against my capris. Great big black stains embedded themselves in the clothing. So...I threw them in the wash, hoping to get the stains out before they set in.

Halfway through the cycle, I started smelling burning rubber and the machine sounded funny. I opened the lid to see very wet and soapy clothes just sitting in the machine. The motor had stopped working and the rubber belts were starting to burn. Now what? I left the laundry, woke Michael and told him about it and went to bed...grrr...

Yesterday, I took all of the wet, soapy laundry and put the clothes in our bathtub for a manual rinsing. I can really appreciate the modern conveniences after I spent a lot of time rinsing and wringing each piece of clothing.

When Michael got a chance to look at the machine a few hours later, he took the machine apart, played with it for a few minutes and made it work again. This was way after I had dried the clothes three times, because I had not wrung them out enough!

Michael had it fixed and I was back in laundry mode!

I am so glad that it was not jeans that I would have had to rinse and wring!

We are so spoiled in the USA! If our washing machine breaks, we can go to the laundrymat or buy a new machine and have it delivered the next day! So spoiled!

It Gets Better and Better!

Michael's newest invention...Dark Chocolate Cabernet Cake!

Where else can you get dark chocolate and your favorite cabernet all in one? I gave samples to the vendors at the Leland Market and at Black Star Farms and they all loved it!

A few of the comments included, "Can I lick the pan?" and "Can I eat the entire cake right now?" Also, "There are so many wonderful flavors of wine and chocolate in one cake! Wow"

Visit us at one of the many Farmer's Markets and get your Dark Chocolate Cabernet Cake mix!

Glen Arbor, plus, plus, plus

So much to catch up, but I am off to bed. Early day at the Glen Arbor Farmers Market tomorrow.

I will update with my wonderful Upper Peninsula travel adventures, plus Miss Michigan, plus all of the great gift stores that I visited, plus Michael's new mixes, plus, plus, plus!

Bye for now!

Bye!

For the first time since our honeymoon nine years ago, I am taking a mini vacation! I have taken many trips for conventions, but they do not count as a vacation, since we only had a few hours to play on each trip. The rest of the time, we were in classrooms and trade shows...

This is a real vacation! My sister told me a few months ago to block off the time and join her on a trip through the Upper Peninsula. We both attended Northern Michigan University (over thirty years ago), so it will be fun to see how much the University and Marquette have changed in thirty years. We used to dine at the Villa Capri in Marquette and we are looking forward to going back. I hear it is still one of the best Italian restaurants! It gets rave reviews on the web! The butter used to drip off the garlic bread! I hope it still does, just for old time sake!

My sister was driving over the Mackinac Bridge in 1975, the night the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared near Whitefish Bay. She said it was a very scary storm and the bridge was closed shortly after she crossed. We will spend some time at the lighthouse museum at Whitefish Bay.

We will also visit my "neighbor." Jean and I played together in Jackson nearly every day when we were little. When we attended Northern, Jean stayed in Marquette and I moved back home. It will be nice to see her after so many years.

Big Bay and Grand Marais are also on our list. I have never been to Grand Marais, but it was one of my father's favorite places to visit. I will enjoy seeing the place that my father loved so much.

We have less than a week to play, so we will make the most of it. We will also visit several of the gift stores that carry Creekside Grains products. I cannot wait to meet the owners and see the stores.

Michael will be at Elk Rapids Farm Market tomorrow and Frankfort on Saturday. I will be back at the Suttons Bay Market next Saturday! See you then!

Bye!