Creekside Grains

For your sweetheart!

2012-02-03T16:49:00.003-05:00

We just shipped mixes to ten Hallmark stores in west Michigan.
They will arrive on Monday.

Along with several of our most popular mixes,
we also shipped, just in time for Valentine's Day...

Sweetheart Sugar Cookie Baking Mix, with an adorable red heart cookie cutter!

If you need a unique gift idea for Valentine's Day,
go to any of the Di's Hallmark Stores
in Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Grandville, Kentwood,
Byron Center, Caledonia or Grand Haven.

You can also visit Mariellen's Hallmark in Ludington.

Di's Hallmark in Caledonia received their mixes today,
so visit them tomorrow before the Sweethearts are all gone!

I am sure you will find the perfect gift for your sweetheart!

Jumping Juncos

2012-01-26T20:29:00.002-05:00

As I watch the birds around our feeder, I am amazed at the Northern Juncos.

One minute, they are hopping around our deck.

The next minute, they are jumping off the deck to get at the seed below.

Our deck is about twenty feet off the ground,
so it is a big jump for the tiny juncos.

They remind me of my skiing days.
For six winters, I lived in Truckee, California, near Lake Tahoe.
I became a really, really good skier, which happens when you live there all winter.
I used to stand at the top of the double black diamond runs,
lean over
and JUMP!

The juncos remind me of how I used to ski!

Take Flight

2012-01-24T17:49:00.001-05:00

This afternoon, I looked up and saw a bald eagle soaring overhead.

We have seen two eagles flying over our property for the past few years,
and we are pretty sure that they live nearby.

What a beautiful sight!

Cinnamon Roll Cake debut

2012-01-20T22:22:00.003-05:00

It's ready!
The Cinnamon Roll Cake will make it's debut tomorrow morning at the Farmers Market!
It will debut on the web sometime tomorrow afternoon.
You are going to love this cake!

And One More Snow Day

2012-01-19T21:45:00.003-05:00

I said I would post the image and here I am!

I am not covered in snow as much as I thought.

I took my jacket hood and sweatshirt hood off and cleared my goggles,
so some of the snow is gone.

I have to wear the bright orange hat so I can be seen at the edge of the driveway.

I do not want to be a statistic as I clear the drive!

I wore way too many layers of clothes.
Because it was very windy, I thought I would be chilled.
I was wrong.
I was roasting, especially when I shoveled by hand!

Today, I had a dentist appointment and did not have time
to clear the drive before I left.
When I came home, it was done!
Michael knew that I would not be very comfortable
after the visit to the dentist, so he cleared the driveway for me.
What a great husband I have!

And Another Snow Day

2012-01-18T20:38:00.003-05:00

When I posted on the blog yesterday, the snow was flying.

I made a last minute decision to snow blow the driveway yesterday afternoon,
in anticipation of Michael having an early morning appointment.

Good choice!

I removed about four inches of snow yesterday,
then discovered four more inches of snow this morning,
along with the snow banks at the edge of the driveway from the snow plows.

Michael would not have been able to get out of the drive
this morning if I had not gotten a head start on it yesterday.

Michael photographed me right after I completed the
snow removal task this morning.
I have not seen it yet, but I was covered in snow.
I will post tomorrow!

I have a dear friend who lives in Connecticut.
She posted on Facebook that her wonderful husband cleared the driveway,
while she got to sleep in.
I posted back that my husband cooks and bakes for me,
so the least I can do is clear the driveway!
What great husbands we have!

Another Snow Day

2012-01-17T12:42:00.002-05:00

What a gorgeous snow storm we are having right now! Great big snowflakes are falling (or blowing sideways) and blanketing the ground and trees.
We are so blessed to be able to look out the windows to watch the storm from our warm warehouse.
I look forward to snow blowing the driveway tomorrow morning. Snow blowing ranks right up there with splitting wood. I love both activities!
Stay warm and safe!

Winter Wonderland

2012-01-15T21:52:00.006-05:00

When I was supposed to be painting my bathroom closet yesterday,
I was doing everything I could to stay outside.
I hand shoveled the driveway, then spent some time with the camera.
It was way too beautiful to be inside.

This is our bridge over Beitner Creek.
You hear the creek and all of the birds on our website.
Yesterday, I got to enjoy the real thing in full color and surround sound!

This is one of our sunflowers from summer.
I really wanted sunflowers, but Michael did not have time to plant them early last summer.
One day, we looked in our planter, and there were about five sunflowers!
The birds had dropped seeds and they grew into very tall, very pretty flowers.
I still think this one is still pretty, with his snow hat on!

This is one of our blue spruces that we transplanted
just after we bought our Creekside property.
He is growing into a very lovely tree.

This is the view from our kitchen/warehouse.

Who wants to work inside when I get to see this view every day?

I am making up for lost hours yesterday,
by working tonight,
but it was worth it!

Monster Cookies are here!

2012-01-09T18:07:00.002-05:00

I have been taste testing and taste testing and taste testing
Monster Cookies
for the past few weeks and they are so good!

Michael has been tweaking and shrinking the recipe
and finally got everything to fit in the box.

His original recipe made about 36 cookies,
but it would have taken three boxes to hold the mix!

The mix makes about twelve monster size cookies.

As soon as I create the label, the cookies will be on the web.
I will have a great time drawing and coloring monsters.

Keep checking the site for their grand arrival!

Late Bloomer

2012-01-06T17:24:00.004-05:00

Michael's aunt had a Christmas cactus on her very old freezer that generated a lot of heat.
It lived on her porch year round.
Before she died, she said that we had to take it.

This plant is very, very old.
It lives in an old clay pot, with very old dirt,
but it blooms every year.

This year, it was a late bloomer.
The first blossom opened yesterday.
It is so pretty, that I do not mind that it did not open in time for Christmas!

Lunch Line is for the birds

2012-01-06T17:14:00.002-05:00

Yesterday as I was eating lunch, I looked at our suet feeder. It is on a wooden pole on our deck.

At the feeder was a male Red Bellied woodpecker. Just below him on the pole was a male Downy woodpecker, waiting his turn. At the bottom of the pole was a female Hairy woodpecker, waiting for the males to finish dining.

They were all polite and patient while they waited to get to the feeder. While humans wait in horizontal lines for lunch, the woodpeckers wait vertically!

Let It Snow

2012-01-01T17:01:00.001-05:00

Lots and lots of snow coming our way

makes for a great New Year's Day!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T16:01:00.008-05:00

I am wishing everyone a Happy (Tappy) New Year, in honor of all of our woodpeckers!

We have about five different types of woodpeckers,
from the smaller downy to the larger hairy,
red bellied and the giant pileated woodpecker.

The pileated is my favorite. He is soooo big.

The woodpeckers are so gentle when they are at the suet.

It is hard to believe that they are so loud when they are hammering the trees!

They all tap on our 125 year old maple tree, so HAPPY (TAPPY) NEW YEAR!

WE DID IT!

2011-12-27T21:13:00.005-05:00

A great big thank you goes to White Drug in Perham, Minnesota for their order today.

This order put Creekside Grains over the top for our 2011 sales goal!

We hit our original number of mixes goal on November 4,
but also made a monetary goal, which was surpassed today.

We are so excited that we made the goal with four days to spare in 2011.

Thank you God, White Drug and everyone who helped make our goal possible.

We are so blessed to be in a business that we love,
creating mixes that so many people love.

God has blessed our "funny little business!"

With your help, we are looking forward to an even better 2012!

Christmas Eve Services

2011-12-23T22:14:00.002-05:00

Please join us to celebrate Christ's birth on Christmas Eve at Bay Pointe Community Church.

Services will be 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 PM.

Michael will be at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons
for the Saturday Farmers Market
from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM,
but I will be greeting at Bay Pointe for all four services.

If you need a last minute gift or gourmet goodies for a dinner or party,
Michael will be able to find the best mix for you.

Once you are done shopping, come on over to Bay Pointe.

We would love to see you there!

Have a blessed Christmas!

Melvin the very smart kitty!

2011-12-20T18:44:00.001-05:00

This came in an email from Tim, my friend and Creekside Grains fan. He has two very curious kitties. This is Melvin the curious kitty story.

"In the a.m., I was preparing to start in on the new Creekside Grains order. Then I noticed I still had 1/2 package of sourdough pancakes left from the last order, so I made them instead.

I had some done, and stepped out of the kitchen very briefly. Upon my return, there was Melvin, with a pancake in his mouth!! Cute, but..........

Then last nite, I made the whole wheat blueberry ginger cookies. They were "cooling" on top of the stove, and I stepped out of the kitchen very briefly. Upon my return, there was Melvin with a cookie in his mouth!! Cute, but...........

So Melvin's feedback has a high rating, and mine does too!!!"

This story is very similar to Tim's neighbor's dog a few years ago. Tim put a package of hamburger to be grilled on the picnic table to get something from the kitchen, very briefly. When he returned to the picnic table, the neighbor dog was smiling at Tim and thanking him for dinner. The dog had eaten the entire package of hamburger!

There is something about Tim and his magnetism for four legged critters who like his food! I am so glad that they like Creekside Grains!

Monster Cookies and Christmas orders

2011-12-19T20:12:00.003-05:00

As I pack five cases of mixes to ship to Vincent's Village Mercantile in Marshall, Michael is baking his first test batch of Monster Cookies! It is a good thing that we just finished dinner, or I would be heading for the bowl of dough! Michael is keeping me out of the dough by dropping five or six M & M's and some chocolate chips in my hand every now and then.

Those cookies smell so good and I cannot wait to taste one, or two or five (I have to make sure that they are really taste tested). I hate waiting for them to cool, but I can be patient, just so I will not burn my tongue. I will update when they are ready for production.

Every day for the past five days, we have received a phone call from Tassier Sugarbush in the Upper Peninsula town of Cedarville. They order Buttermilk Pancakes and "Sourdough" Pancakes. As soon as I ship a case, they run out and have to call to order more. I am having so much fun answering the phone every day to know that they have just run out, again! I cannot wait for tomorrow's phone call!

Michigan Mitten Cookies

2011-12-08T16:31:00.004-05:00

On Monday, I received fifteen dozen Michigan Mitten cookie cutters.

Today, I have six dozen left.

This has been the week that all of our retail stores have ordered dozens
of the Michigan Mitten Sugar Cookie Baking Mix.

I am so excited that our cute little Michigan Mitten Sugar Cookie
will be shipped all over the country to go into stockings,
under the Christmas tree, as a hostess gift
or all kinds of creative Christmas gift ideas.

I love the idea of not working so hard on the frosting.
Just use white, and pretend it is snow
(although I am still waiting for that to happen here!).

Vincent's Village Mercantile

2011-12-02T12:08:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to Vincent's Village Mercantile
in downtown Marshall, Michigan,
on their Grand Opening
this evening from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM!

They will be featuring our Root Beer Cookies.

If you are in downtown Marshall today,
stop in and say hi and have a Root Beer Cookie!

What to Give for Christmas Gifts

2011-11-23T14:49:00.007-05:00

I just had a delightful conversation with a client from Louisiana. She loved the Blueberry Crunch and Apple Crisp so much that she ordered more and will give them as gifts. She wanted to know how to determine who to give which mix.

The answer is...if your friend or family member cannot bake or does not like to bake, then the Blueberry Crunch, Cherry Crunch or Peach Crunch is the easiest mix to bake.

The Heirloom Applesauce Cake, Dark Chocolate Cabernet Cake, Bourbon Brownies and the Super Chocolate Brownies are also right up there with easy to bake. Most of our mixes are so easy to make, that they are all good for gifts.

The beer breads are extremely easy to bake, too. Place the mix in a bowl, pour the beer (or I like Vanilla Cream Soda), stir, plop it on a cookie sheet and bake.

Of course, the Root Beer Cookies are our best seller, so giving them something unique is so much fun! I love the Mega Mint Chocolate Cookies, so any chocolate and mint lover will love you for giving them a box of the best cookie mix.

I cannot cook and am not much of a baker (Michael is the best at both - that is why I am Director of Taste Testing), but I can make all of the pancakes, the breads, the brownies and cookies. If I can do it, anyone can! You can take full culinary responsibility for creating the mix from scratch. We won't tell!

Don't forget to buy mixes for stocking stuffers, mixes for your child's teacher, your delivery person and for your hostess at all of the Christmas parties that you will attend. You are so thoughtful!

Have fun shopping! Happy Thanksgiving!

Tipping Over Chicadees

2011-11-21T20:56:00.002-05:00

Last evening, I was making salad for dinner and realized that we were out of carrots.

Michael volunteered to go to the garden and pull a few for me.

On his way to the garden in the dark of night,
Michael walked by one of our spruce trees
and was startled by a rush of chickadees!

They had been soundly sleeping,
so were just as startled by Michael as he was of them!

They flew away in a buzz of wings.

I wonder how long it was before they came back to bed?

If we get bored at night, Michael suggests that we go chickadee tipping!

Kevin the hero

2011-11-20T15:26:00.004-05:00

It was a dark and stormy night.

We were at Meijer, buying our groceries for the week. We unloaded our cart and put the cart in the cart corral. We drove home, unloaded most of the groceries and received a phone call from my mother to call a man who was at Meijer.

My mother lives in Jackson, but a very nice, honest man named Kevin, called her and told her that he found my purse in the cart. Kevin had to do some sleuthing to find mom's phone number, but he found it and called mom and she called us and we called Kevin and we went back to Meijer and gave Kevin a box of Root Beer Cookie mix and a surprised Kevin gave me my purse, not knowing why I handed him a box of Root Beer Cookie mix.

We are so grateful to Kevin for finding my purse and taking the effort to find me and for meeting me at the entrance, just to give it back to me. God Bless Kevin!

Kevin, enjoy your Root Beer Cookies!

The Goat Coat

2011-11-17T18:20:00.010-05:00

A few weeks ago, Michael and I were walking past our neighbors house and saw a goat.
It was not just any goat. It was Oden the goat with a coat. It was not just any coat.
It was Oden the goat with a blaze orange coat.
It was originally a dog coat, but it fit Oden the goat very well, so it became a goat coat.

Oden wore the blaze orange goat coat to protect him from hunters who might think
he was a deer while he was in the pasture.
I think Oden is a very handsome goat with a coat.

Last week, we we took another walk and found a new goat with a coat.
This is Oden's sister, Ally. Ally has a blue goat coat.

I am so glad that our neighbors goats are fashionable!

It's A New Record!

2011-11-04T22:27:00.003-04:00

I am so excited to announce that we sold our 16,000th baking mix today!

Last year, we were 90 mixes away from that goal on New Year's Day. This year, we are two months ahead of last year!

This year, our goal is 20,000 mixes! I cannot wait to see when that will happen!

Thank you to all of you who ordered on line, bought mixes at the farmers markets or craft shows, or purchased them at retail stores around the country. We are so grateful for your continued support and for God's blessing on our "funny little business." That is what Michael calls Creekside Grains when we pray every night.

We are blessed!

Poor Little Girl

2011-11-03T20:05:00.004-04:00

I was enjoying lunch today, when POW!!!, a female goldfinch crashed into our window.
She hit so hard that I was sure she had died.
I grabbed gloves in case she was alive and went out to check on her.
She was very sad looking.
She looked like she had broken her neck and I saw damage on one foot.
I accessed the situation, and chose to do the "when the bird hits the window" routine.
I lined one of our small coolers with several paper towels, picked her up and put her in.
We usually use a shoe box, but the cooler was closer at the time.
I kept the lid open just enough for her to get air, but closed enough to keep her warm.
I brought her into the office and waited.
After about an hour, she was still shivering, so we covered her with a bubble wrap blanket.
Bubble wrap is very warm when you are a very little bird who needs to be warm.
I went to Fed Ex and when I came home, Michael said she had made a remarkable recovery.
She was ready to fly!
We took her outside, opened the cooler lid very gently and she was gone in a flash!
First she flew to one tree, then to another, then we lost sight of her.
Michael could not believe that this very sad bird could make such a quick recovery
and fly as if she had not injured herself at all!
I hope I can see her at the feeder, so I can see how she is doing.
Today, God's eye was on the Goldfinch, and I know He's watching me.

Firewood for Winter

2011-10-31T21:07:00.004-04:00

Saturday was my first Saturday off since early May.
It will be my last Saturday off for the next five weeks.

Michael went to Burritt's to sample mixes and I stayed home.
It was a beautiful fall day.

I started the wood splitter and spent the entire day splitting and stacking wood.

For the first time, EVER, since we bought Creekside,
I completed splitting and stacking the wood
that we will need this winter!

Until this year, I was splitting wood throughout the winter,
because I never had time to complete the task before the snow fell.

We like to heat our home as much as we can with wood,
so we use about ten to twelve face cords per winter.

The carport, which has never been used for a carport,
is stacked top to bottom, front to back and side to side with firewood.

I am so excited that this project is done!

I have a new large stack of about 100 feet of pine that we just obtained last week,
after it fell on and smashed in our friend's roof.

He wanted it off his property (which I totally understand why)
and we needed firewood, so the pine is now on our property.

My winter project will be to split and stack that pine for next year's burning.
It will be so nice to actually be ahead of the firewood project!

Trees

2011-10-30T17:12:00.004-04:00

As I was packing mixes to ship on Friday afternoon,
I looked out the window and saw this beautiful tree.

I hurried outside to photograph the very bright tree
against the dark, dark background of clouds.

Just I walked outside, the other trees were also bathed in sunlight.

As soon as I took the photograph,
the clouds behind me stole the sun away
and it was dark again.

It was beautiful while it lasted.

Isn't She Adorable?

2011-10-07T17:26:00.002-04:00

Welcome our newest doggie of the week.

We forgot her name but we cannot forget her adorable face!

If we meet her parents this weekend, we will find out her name again.

Have a great weekend! Looks like it will be the best beautiful fall day we have had in years!

Lone Apple

2011-09-28T20:36:00.003-04:00

We have a Honey Crisp apple tree.

The tree is about six years old and has produced two apples so far.

Last year, we had one Honey Crisp apple on our Honey Crisp apple tree.
We picked it too soon and it was not sweet enough.

This year, we had one apple on our Honey Crisp apple tree.
I talked to Al at Bakkers Acres who knows his apples.
Al told me when to pick that apple for the best taste.

Here is the "official" apple picking ceremony.

We had the solo Honey Crisp apple for dessert tonight.
We have to say that it was the best apple we have ever eaten!

Welcome new Hallmark stores

2011-09-21T21:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to a new family of Hallmark gift stores in West Michigan.

Di's Hallmark has three locations in Muskegon.

Di's Hallmark also has stores in Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kentwood,
Byron Center, Caledonia and Grand Haven.

Mariellen's Hallmark has a store in Ludington.

Three stores carry six of our best sellers.
The others carry twelve different flavors of our mixes.
You will be sure to find a taste for everyone!

Be sure to tell them that I sent you!

Double Doggies of the Week

2011-09-16T21:17:00.004-04:00

Here are our latest doggies of the week.

Meet Peter Pan and Celia Tiffany.

They come as a team, so we get to say "Double Doggies of the Week."

They ride very nicely in a backpack when they visit the Frankfort Farm Market
and get so much attention!

Sooo cute!

Castle Farms Craft Show

2011-08-31T14:24:00.003-04:00

Join us this Saturday or Sunday at Castle Farms in Charlevoix for the Royal Craft Show.

Hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday and 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Sunday.

If you want to buy something unique and creative for Christmas gifts,
Castle Farms is the place to be.
There will be over 125 artists and craftsmen, with all kinds of handmade items.

We will offer our usual mixes,
plus some very pretty Christmas cookie cutters with our sugar cookie mixes.

We look forward to seeing you this weekend!

10,000 down, 10,000 to go

2011-08-28T13:26:00.001-04:00

I am not sure when it officially happened, but we sold over 10,000 mixes so far this year. Exact total is 10,762! Yippee!

Last year, the official 10,000 mixes sold date was September 17. Looks like we are a month ahead of schedule.

We are still working on the 20,000 goal for 2011!

Thank you to all of you who purchased mixes at the Farmers Markets, on the web, or at a local gift or food store. We appreciate you!

We love our "funny little business!"

Double D Day

2011-08-25T18:04:00.006-04:00

Friday is Double D Day.

First, we celebrate "Doggie of the Week."

This Doggie of the Week came from the Northport Farmers Market,
a few weeks ago.

Meet Joey, the very shy dachshund who did not want to be photographed.
He is still cute, even if he did not want to smile.

Friday is also "Doughnut Day!"

My market neighbor Melissa Drake from Cherry Beach Orchards
walks a block to Barb's Bakery in Northport
and brings back a yummy custard filled chocolate doughnut for me.

Every few days, while we are at the other Farmers Markets,
we talk about "Doughnut Day"
in anticipation of the Friday Farmers Market.

I confess, we do not really "talk" about it.
We yell "Friday Doughnut Day!" when we discuss the event.

It is the little things that amuse me!!!

Ingredients

2011-08-22T16:57:00.002-04:00

In case you want to know what goes into your chocolate mixes, here it is!

Sugar on the left, cocoa on the right and chocolate chips on top.

More ingredients go into each mix, but this is a good start!

The kitchen smells so good when Michael mixes chocolate!

Today, Michael is making me two kinds of chocolate cake to taste test for new recipes.
This is my birthday cake.
I have to work as Director of Taste Testing even on my birthday,
but what a great job it is!
I will let you know the results.

Doggie of the Week

2011-08-21T16:59:00.003-04:00

Finally, I am getting to our First Annual Doggie of the Week program. We see so many wonderful dogs (and their owners) at the Farm Markets, so we decided to show you as many of them as we can.

Here are the first two of many doggies. Welcome Chelsea and Trevi. I introduced Trevi last week, when we were celebrating Stuart and Susie's anniversary.

Chelsea and Trevi have their PFDs on. When they jump off of boats, Stuart and Susie always have them wear these, as it is easier for helping them get into the boat. I think they are adorable.

If you come to Northport or Frankfort Farm Markets, Michael and I will be there, camera ready, to make your pup a blog star!

We Saw It Again!

2011-08-18T22:46:00.001-04:00

We were still working, so outside we went to see the International Space Station again!

It was so amazing!

It passed through the Big Dipper, and made us feel so small
when we saw the tiny space station in an enormous group of stars.

God does good work!

International Space Station

2011-08-18T21:26:00.003-04:00

Guess what we saw this evening? The International Space Station!

It is traveling at more than 17,000 miles per hour.

It is over 220 miles up in space.

It takes 92 minutes to orbit the earth,
so if we are still working later this evening,
we will get to see it again.

Michael thought he saw a sign in the window
that asked if we could set out a plate of root beer cookies for the next pass by.

He is baking them now, just in case they can pick them up!

Home Grown Tomatoes

2011-08-14T21:59:00.002-04:00

As soon as the tomatoes are ripe in our garden, I start singing one of my favorite songs.

Check out this link and sing along!

http://youtu.be/g0C4FOL1qIw

Goat Stampede

2011-08-11T21:19:00.003-04:00

Have you ever been to a goat stampede? We have! Michael and I went to the Northwestern Michigan Fair tonight to watch the goat stampede. It was hysterical! Lots of children and their goats got their evening exercise in the arena. On the count of three, the children ran and the goats followed...except for a few of the goats who would rather stay in one spot, all four feet firmly planted in the ground. One baby goat cried all the way. She was adorable, but so scared!

If you have never been to a goat stampede, we highly recommend it!

Happy Anniversary to the Brontman's

2011-08-08T21:51:00.003-04:00

Happy Anniversary to Stuart and Susan Brontman! They are a lovely couple with two great daughters and two adorable dogs (I have not met the newest member of the family - Trevi, who is pictured above, playing with Pluto).

Stuart surprised Susan with a weekend up north to celebrate their anniversary. It was a great weekend to be here.

The Brontman family spend as much time as they can in northern Michigan, and I get the privilege of seeing them at several farm markets when they are in the area. They love our mixes and I love sending them home with Michael's latest inventions.

Farm markets are so much fun. We meet the nicest people there!

Hope Stuart and Susan have a wonderful day!

Salads

2011-08-03T20:37:00.001-04:00

We just heard that the average American family eats 36 salads per year, or about one salad every ten days.

Boy, are we different than the average family! Michael and I eat a salad almost every night. We may miss one salad every ten days, instead of eat one every ten days like everyone else.

Since June, we have eaten salads fresh from our garden. First, the spinach, then the leaf lettuce, with the second run of spinach almost ready to eat. Now we have carrots, peas, squash and beans. Soon, we will enjoy our tomatoes, corn on the cob and cucumbers. If a veggie was not ready from our garden, we could always pick up something fresh from the farmers markets!

Dare to be different and try a salad every night! It tastes so good and is so good for you!

Sad Day

2011-07-23T00:53:00.003-04:00

I received notice yesterday afternoon that my sister Marsha's husband died unexpectedly in the morning, while he was at work. Rich was only 45 years old, so our family is in shock and disbelief.

Yesterday was my father's birthday. He died in 1995. He would have been 83. Rich and my father celebrated Dad's birthday together with Jesus.

I will be going to Jackson tomorrow to be with my family, so will not be at the Farm Markets or available to ship any orders until next Wednesday.

Prayers would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Seven Bourbon Brownies

2011-07-15T22:09:00.001-04:00

Well...I see I have not blogged in two months! Shame on me! Must be the nine farm markets each week. The eighteen hour days are catching up to us and I am not finding time to blog (or anything else!).

There is so much news to catch up on, including our new doggie of the week. More about that, later.

Today, Michael baked seven Bourbon Brownies for the Father Fred Benefit Run and Bake Sale. The volunteers suggested that he take them in the back door, so they could eat them directly, instead of selling them tomorrow at the Bake Sale.

More to come, I promise!

New Mixer

2011-05-10T17:12:00.002-04:00

This space age looking thing is Michael's new mixer.
It can make about fifty mixes at a time.
That is going to make his production time so much better!

It sure looks funny, but as long as it works,
it will be a fun new way to make mixes.

Snow Flowers

2011-04-26T20:39:00.007-04:00

Last week, when the snow was horizontal
and we ended up with about eight inches of heavy, wet snow,
my poor little hyacinth flowers were shivering from another dose of winter.

These flowers were sheltered from much of the snow at the front of the house,
so we can see bare ground in this image.

That still does not give the flowers the warm spring that they would prefer.
Snow is cold and wet, whether it is eight inches deep or just enough to cover a blossom.

The flowers have been basking in the rain today.
Let's hope they get some sunshine soon
so they can really bloom and show us their beauty!

Opey Visits

2011-04-20T17:49:00.004-04:00

We have a new visitor to our bird feeder. Michael calls him Opey (O-Possum, get it?). I call him creepy!

A few nights ago, I looked on the deck and let out a scream! Mr. Opossum was dining on some leftover bread, saw me (or heard my scream), and squeezed himself into one of our old feeders. He stayed there for hours. Was he comfy or scared or bored or sleeping? I do not know.

He only has half of his tail. I am not sure where the other half went.

Michael was amused. I was not. Who knows what else will show up for midnight snacks at the bird feeders?

Blizzards to Flowers and Birds

2011-04-10T15:29:00.003-04:00

Last Saturday, I was in Jackson for a funeral. I drove home on Sunday in one of the worst blizzards I have even been in! I was in the center of the storm for two hours! First came the freezing rain, then zero visibility as six inches of snow fell on the roads that were not plowed yet. I drove 25 mph for two hours on icy, unplowed, unsafe roads. When I arrived home, my fingers had to be pried to straighten them up.

Little did I know that within a week, we would be outside raking and taking a wonderful evening stroll and watching the hyacinths peek out of the ground and listening to the birds!

Michigan weather!!! I cannot wait to see what is next!

Raccoons and Robins

2011-03-31T20:12:00.002-04:00

We have had visitors every night to our bird feeders and it is not a bird! It is two big fat raccoons.

For some reason known only to them, they think that the suet and sunflower seeds are for their dinner, so they have eaten all of it every time they get a chance. They have to climb out onto the edge of the deck to reach the bird feeder, but it does not seem to stop them.

I finally fooled them and took the bird feeders and the suet inside every night. Of course, the nights that I forgot, they had a nice midnight snack.

A few days ago, Michael stopped at McGough's to pick up more suet. The salesperson asked Michael if it was for the birds. Michael replied with, "it is a box lunch for the raccoons."

Tonight as I was walking back to the office, I heard a very noisy bird. I looked way up into our maple tree and saw a robin, the first one I have seen at Creekside this year! Maybe spring is around the corner, but you would not know it from looking at the foot of snow still on the ground.

The crocus flowers just poked out from under the snow and I saw about an inch of a hyacinth in the flower bed this morning, so there is hope!

New Moo Cow Cookie

2011-03-10T18:51:00.003-05:00

In honor of my wonderful dog Annie, we named a sugar cookie in her honor. Annie died four years ago and we still miss her so much!

Since Annie was a puppy, she loved cows. We started calling them Moo Cows. Every time we passed a dairy farm in the car, and said, "Moo Cows, Annie, Moo Cows," she would get so excited! She would visit with the cows when we took walks, and would bark really loud when we drove past the dairy farms. Annie loved Wisconsin! The dairy farms were so much fun for her!

We found a cute dairy cow cookie cutter, so decided to add a Moo Cow Sugar Cookie to the list of baking mixes.

Be sure to have a large glass of milk with your Moo Cow Sugar Cookies!

Thanks again Kate

2011-03-08T19:41:00.002-05:00

Wow! After one tv interview, Creekside Grains was busy! We received several emails, phone calls and web orders. I finally got all of the orders shipped today. Thanks everyone, for supporting our funny little business!

Michael is on his way home from the Lansing Gift Show, so I expect several more wholesale orders will be arriving shortly.

At the show, Michael sampled the root beer cookie, the brand new maple cookie, several of the beer breads, the new Aebleskiver and a whole lot more. He was a busy boy, baking and serving! He gets one day to rest, then off to Minneapolis to do this again.

More later!

Thanks Kate!

2011-03-03T21:32:00.002-05:00

We had such fun watching TV 7 and 4 News today.

The interview aired at the 5:00 PM news,
so if you saw the 6:00 PM interview, it was a shortened version.

Kate did a great job!

We had calls and emails asking about stores outside of Traverse City that carry our mixes.
We have over ninety stores from as far east as Pennsylvania
and far west as North Dakota that carry Creekside Grains.

As soon as I can figure out where I can post it on the web site,
I will put a list of all stores that carry our mixes.

Michael is going to Lansing for a gift show this weekend, so hopefully,
there will be more stores to add to the list when he returns.
As soon as he gets back to Traverse City,
he will leave for Minneapolis to attend a five day gift show.
I can only guess how many more stores that will be added to the list!

I am going to Muskegon for the weekend,
with our new Miss Heart of Michigan, Missy Brown,
to join the Miss Michigan contestants for Orientation.

I will be back to work on Monday, trying to get all information posted for you!

Have a great weekend!

TV 7 and 4 Interview

2011-03-02T17:05:00.005-05:00

Today was television interview day!
Kate Fox from TV 7 and 4 filmed Michael for Made in Michigan.
The interview will air tomorrow on TV 7 and 4 at 6:00 PM.

Kate is a beautiful young woman,
with great interview skills and a wonderful personality.

It was great meeting her today!

You can barely see Kate behind the camera on the left.

Thanks, Kate! We cannot wait to see the results!

I Love Winter!

2011-01-26T23:24:00.005-05:00

This is the view from our deck.

Sometimes, it is very hard to go to work when I see this scene
and listen to the soothing sounds of Beitner Creek.

This is me, without my beekeeping shield.

It fell off when I was snow blowing on Sunday.

You cannot see them, but I have ice crystals on my face.

It looks like I am wearing sparkle makeup. Not makeup, just God sparkles!

It was so cold out that Michael would only walk just outside the office door to take this picture.

He decided against a pretty snowy tree background and took the shot
and ran back into the warmth!

Yesterday, as I was preparing to shovel the drive,
I decided against an extra sweatshirt under my jacket.
I said, "I don't need this. It is warm out!"
All relative, considering it was 22 degrees.
I was comparing it to the below zero temps from last week!

Good thing I really LOVE winter! We seem to get a lot of that lately.

The Beekeeper Snowblower

2011-01-18T14:59:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, I spent the day snow blowing the driveway.

The wind was so strong that I could not see,
so Michael gave me his grinding helmet
to shield my face and help me see where I was going.

When I walked in the house, Michael sent me right back out
so he could take a picture of me, covered in snow.

One of our friends said I looked like a bee keeper.
I told her I was glad that it was snow that I was keeping out of my face instead of bees!
I prefer windy, cold snow much more than bees.

I felt like the little boy in the soup commercial
who was so bundled up that he could not move!

I am heading out to do this again.

Good thing I LOVE winter!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:26:00.002-05:00

I am so excited to announce that we were only ninety mixes away from selling 16,000 mixes in 2010! We were so close, but could not figure out a way to get a giant wholesale order or a whole lot of retail orders in just a few days (we discovered we were that close on Thursday afternoon).

This year, our goal is 20,000 mixes! I cannot wait to see when that will happen!

Thank you to all of you who ordered on line, bought mixes at the farmers markets or craft shows, or purchased them at retail stores around the country. We are so grateful for your continued support and for God's blessing on our "funny little business." That is what Michael calls Creekside Grains when we pray every night.

We are blessed and pray that your 2011 will be, too!

Christmas Services at Bay Pointe, plus lots of updates

2010-12-21T11:33:00.003-05:00

Please join us to celebrate Christ's birth on Christmas Eve at Bay Pointe Community Church.
Services will be 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 PM.
Michael and I will be greeting at all four services, so we would love to see you there!

We can still ship in time for Christmas delivery!

Go ahead, order some mixes for gifts or for Christmas gatherings!

Our new Kahlua and Cream scone
can be a wonderful addition to your Christmas goodies.

We are finally, fully moved into our new facility.
We cannot see one end of the building,
because the boxes are so high,
but we will get everything sorted and in it's place
and it will be a happy facility!

If I do not blog before Christmas, have a blessed Christmas!

No Internet

2010-11-28T10:24:00.003-05:00

In case you tried to contact us via email in the past four days and did not receive a reply from us, our internet was shut down. We discovered it on Friday morning.

Since we are moving, we have to disconnect one internet service and open another (since the first one is not available at our new location). We have new service at the new facility, but had not moved the computers yet. We decided not to disconnect the first service until we had all equipment moved. However, someone in sales decided that Friday was a great day to end our internet. When I called to find out what happened, the sales department was closed for the holiday.

All this comes down to...we have no internet connections and may not have them for a few more days, until we can make the switch. You will hear from us as soon as we can respond.

Sorry for the inconvenience! We hope to be full speed ahead very soon!

P.S. I am at a remote computer so I can write this, but have no access to our email accounts.

What's New at Creekside Grains

2010-11-01T13:37:00.003-04:00

Last month, we started construction on a new commercial kitchen/warehouse. Hopefully...we will be moved in by the end of November. We are waiting for electric hook up, which will now be delayed by at least two weeks, thanks to the powerful wind storm keeping Cherryland Electric busy last week.

We have been in a temporary facility for the past six months, but that will soon change. Our current commercial kitchen is in one building and the warehouse is in another, about ten minutes apart from each other, and about fifteen minutes from home.

We are so excited! The new building is in our back yard, so we will get to walk to work, every day! No more driving to the warehouse, then to the kitchen, then back to the warehouse, then back to the kitchen again, then back to the warehouse, then home at night. Time saved from driving will help Michael invent new recipes, so I can taste test them.

We live on a beautiful piece of property, with Beinter Creek running through it, so it will be a nice change of pace to actually enjoy the creek during daylight hours, instead of only hearing it when we get home at night.

Michael has been taking progress pictures. I will post them soon!

Great Couple!

2010-10-12T13:34:00.002-04:00

Michael and Carole Steinberg
have visited the Farmers Markets
for the past few years
and stock up on Creekside Grains when they visit.

Carole had her camera ready,
so Michael and I got to be the subjects at last Saturday's market in Suttons Bay.

It was a beautiful autumn day!
We had a great time visiting again.
I look forward to seeing Michael and Carole next summer!

Gift Store Shoppers

2010-10-05T11:43:00.004-04:00

One of our Miss Heart of Michigan contestants, and currently Miss GVSU,
Morgan was a great shopper at Gull Meadow Farms in Richland, Michigan.

She always finds the Creekside Grains mixes!

Morgan should be the Creekside Grains spokesperson.

She seems to find the mixes wherever she goes!

We only have about ninety more gift stores to cover,
so Morgan had better take a road trip.

She will have to go as far west as Montana and and far east as Pennsylvania.

Thank you Morgan! Happy shopping!

New letter from a happy chief cupcake

2010-09-29T17:39:00.000-04:00

Dear Creekside Grains,

We made your garlic and cheese beer bread this evening to go with our split-pea and ham soup. Turned out very nice and everyone loved it.

Best,

Bridget

Bridget Coffey, Chief Cupcake
www.meganscupcakes.com
Copyright © 2010 Megan's Cupcakes

I have never had a chief cupcake send us a letter before. I am the Director of Taste Testing and Bridget is the Chief Cupcake. I love our titles! Thanks Bridget!

Ten Thousand!

2010-09-17T21:06:00.003-04:00

Creekside Grains sold over ten thousand mixes so far this year! Woo hoo! Looking forward to the rest of the year to see what we can do!

Thank you everyone, for believing in us!

He Did It!

2010-09-01T18:01:00.000-04:00

He Did It!

Michael holds the World Land Speed Record for Motorcycle Alternative Engines at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Combined average time (two way run) was 97.98 mph! There was a cross wind on the second run, so that slowed him down to under 100 mph.

I am so proud of him! He is so happy!

Miss Heart of Michigan has a beautiful titleholder with Kaley Schroeder and Miss Heart Racing has the World's Fastest Alternative Engine Motorcycle with the RE5. What a combination!

Here at Last!

2010-08-29T19:00:00.002-04:00

Michael is staying in a five star hotel in the tiny town of Wendover, Nevada.
Even though it is five star, the rates are wonderful!

I wish I could be there!

He has lots of images that I get to post soon. He has lots of stories about his adventures so far.

He will try for his first run tomorrow.

More, later....

Six States

2010-08-25T21:59:00.003-04:00

My traveling husband covered six states yesterday - Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska.

Michael stayed in the great little town of Syracuse, Nebraska in a great little motel. This morning, when he was getting fuel at the nearby gas station, he saw a group of older men with suitcases. Being the inquisitive man that he is, Michael asked them if they were all homeless and needed a place to stay. They told him that they were on their way to MACKINAC (they pronounced it MACK-IN-ACK) ISLAND!

Of all places in the country, Michael found a group of travelers from a tiny town in Nebraska, going to northern Michigan for vacation. He told them to buy lots of fudge!

Michael just called a few minutes ago, with a little dilemma. The nice little motel that he stayed in Rawlins, Wyoming last year (where he was stranded for a week) was booked to capacity, along with every other motel for sixty miles! He had to keep driving for another two hours, hoping that the next town had rooms available. Since there is no cell phone service in Wyoming, I have to wait until tomorrow to find out how far he had to drive to get a place to stay. Lets hope he is not homeless tonight!

The saga continues tomorrow! Night!

Ready to Race

2010-08-23T22:03:00.002-04:00

Michael picked up the RE5 at Rotary Recycle,
the RE5 hospital in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Jess Stockwell did a great job repairing the bike.
Jess is the #1 RE5 tuner in the world!

The bike is tucked safely in the van
and it is ready to race at Bonneville.

Michael has an official RE5 hat and t shirt.
He is also ready to race at Bonneville!

More tomorrow!

Michael is racing ready.

2010-08-22T17:28:00.002-04:00

If you happened to follow the blog last year, you will know that it is time for Michael to go racing again. If not, here is the scoop...

Michael will be racing the Miss Heart of Michigan Suzuki RE5 motorcycle, in an attempt to beat his own world land speed record that he made last year.

He is on the road, heading to Tennessee to pick up the motorcycle at the RE5 hospital. It needed a few adjustments, but it is now racing ready. From Tennessee, he heads northwest to the Bonneville Salt Flats.

I will update daily with his adventures.

I would appreciate prayers for his safety and that of the other racers.

Thank you!

Look what we found!

2010-08-16T17:51:00.002-04:00

As Morgan Lind, one of our lovely Miss Heart contestants
(currently holds the title of Miss Grand Valley State University),
strolled through Keewanau Gem and Gifts in Houghton, Michigan,
she spotted a familiar bag.

Morgan had to take a photo of it so we could see how adorable she is
and that she is holding a great cookie mix!

Thanks Morgan!

Lola is Missing Again

2010-08-10T19:00:00.001-04:00

If anyone sees a little Bantam chicken named Lola, please let us know! Lola escaped again and Heidi has not seen her for two days! Lola's wings were clipped, so she must be escaping on foot, but she has not been found yet.

We will give Lola updates when they happen.

Happy Clients

2010-08-09T22:06:00.001-04:00

This came in an email from one of our clients. I love happy clients!

Hi -

We purchased the Garlic and Cheese Beer Bread mix on Saturday at the Farm Market in Suttons Bay. It was fun to prepare and so delicious! Not only do we need to stock these in our pantry, but I think they'll make special "Up North" gifts.

I have to agree! Thanks for the great input!

Lola Update

2010-08-04T21:51:00.002-04:00

Michael gave me more details about missing Lola.

He just came back from our neighbors house to let them know that he found Lola. Little did we know that Lola's mom (our neighbor Heidi) had been crying for four days because Lola disappeared. Lola was Heidi's favorite chicken. Heidi and Dave had spent the lasts four days searching for Lola in the fields and the creek and everywhere else in between.

We still cannot figure out how Lola got to our mailbox. The assumed way of travel was in a very big field with very high weeds and wildflowers. The only clear way to travel would have been the railroad tracks next to our home and even those are not easy to navigate!

It was such a blessing that Michael came home at that time. Within a few moments, Lola would have been in the road and gone forever. No wonder Lola jumped into Michael's arms to be taken home!

We are all so glad for a happy ending and one happy chicken!

What's Happening at Creekside

2010-08-04T19:37:00.002-04:00

I am so far behind in Creekside updates! I guess that the ten Farm Markets each week are catching up with me. There is so much to say, and so little time to say it.

I have really enjoyed meeting new clients and seeing previous clients come to the Farm Markets for more Creekside products. It has been a wonderful summer at the Farm Markets!

Just a few notes from the past few days...

On the way to the Glen Arbor Farmers Market yesterday morning, I saw a very big buck and two tiny fawns hanging out by the side of the road. They were so pretty!

Today, I pulled into the driveway for the Grow Benzie Farmers Market. I looked into the neighboring field and saw hundreds of spider webs dripping with dew, sparkling in the sun. Each web was nearly perfect in shape. I wish I had my camera. There were so many and they were so beautiful!

I just got a phone call from Michael. He said that when he pulled into the driveway at our Creekside home, our neighbor's chicken Lola met him by the mailbox. Lola was inches away from being hit by a car! When Lola saw Michael, she jumped (or flew, I am not sure which) into Michael's arms and said "take me home!" He walked her back to the safety of her coop. We are still not sure how she got to our mailbox. It is quite a hike for one small chicken to travel that far!

Time to get ready for the next six markets in three days!

Glen Arbor was flying

2010-07-06T19:40:00.002-04:00

The mixes were flying off the table today at Glen Arbor! I could not get them from the car to the table fast enough!

It was a very fun market. I got to meet many, many people who were visiting from all over the country. From Idaho to New York City and Kentucky to California, Glen Arbor had lots of visitors.

Even though the mosquitoes were awful and it sprinkled a few times, we still had a great time. I got to see the rest of the Brontman family and get reacquainted with the adorable family dog. They were my best sales people. When they suggested a mix to someone, that person bought it! Thanks for the help!

Off to pack the car for the Grow Benzie Farmers Market in Benzonia tomorrow!

Blue Angels

2010-07-05T14:40:00.002-04:00

After five Farmers Markets in four days, I wanted a break, so Michael took me to see the Blue Angels on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day to watch the millions of people in town for the National Cherry Festival and enjoy the Blue Angels. The show was wonderful and it was nice to get away from work.

A few hours later, when we got back into work mode to buy some supplies at Sam's Club, we looked up, noticed three Blue Angels, then two more, then the last, as they flew on to their next show. It was a fun way to say goodbye and send them on their way. It was really fun to see a little boy wave to them and yell goodbye in the parking lot of Sam's!

All week, I loved to see and hear the Blue Angels practice. Our office is very close to the airport, so we could hear them take off, watch them get into formation and head into the skies. When I was driving home from the Leelanau Peninsula Farmers Markets, I got to see them fly over West Bay for practice. I really enjoy watching them! I am so glad we took the break to see the "official show."

Back to packing for the Farmers Markets. Glen Arbor, Benzonia, Leland, Northport, Elk Rapids, The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, Crystal Mountain, Suttons Bay and Frankfort are on our plate this week and every week throughout the summer. See you there!

Welcome back Brontman family!

2010-06-30T15:53:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-28T11:14:00.003-04:00

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!

2010-06-24T18:05:00.001-04:00

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

2010-06-14T22:14:00.001-04:00

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!

2010-06-03T17:10:00.002-04:00

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!

Suttons Bay, Frankfort and The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

2010-05-28T10:54:00.002-04:00

If you are out and about on Saturday morning, stop by the Farm Markets and pick up a few mixes for the weekend.

I will be at Suttons Bay, Michael will be at Frankfort and Kelsi will be at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. The weather looks great for the weekend and the mixes will be a great addition to your weekend gatherings.

Michael's newest Black Bean Beer Bread is so good! Get some dip and you will have a great snack combo!

Don't forget the pancakes! Holiday weekends are the best time to have a leisurely breakfast with pancakes and local maple syrup.

Have a great weekend! Hope to see you at the Market!

Turtles

2010-05-25T15:46:00.002-04:00

I got to visit mom at her cabin on Sunday afternoon. We decided to take a Sunday drive to check out the countryside and it was a turtle convention!

Only a mile from the cabin and here was turtle #1. He was a big boy - about a foot long. He was in the middle of the road, taking a leisurely stroll. I stopped the car, stood behind him and told him to get moving, so he would not be squashed. He stepped up the pace and made it across the road safely.

One mile later, and another turtle was in the road. I had a truck close behind me, so I could not stop. I drove around him, but the truck had to go over the top of him. I wonder how Mr. Turtle felt when he had a giant vehicle drive over him? He was between the wheels, so did not get hurt. I still wonder how a turtle feels when someone drives over him?

When I left the next morning to come back to Traverse City, the second turtle was not in the road, so I have to hope he crossed the road safely.

Turtles are such neat creatures! God does good work!

Farm Market Time

2010-05-25T15:28:00.002-04:00

Michael has been at the Farm Market at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons for the past few months and has really enjoyed meeting new Creekside Grains clients.

I was at the Suttons Bay Farm Market for the past two weekends. It was great seeing my vendor friends from last year and meeting new Creekside Grains clients.

Many of the Farm Markets will be starting up in a few weeks. By mid summer, we will be at about nine markets each week. I look forward to enjoying the beautiful summer weather and dining on fresh produce from the vendors!

Speaking of fresh produce, Michael is growing a small garden this summer. He has an 8'x8' plot started. The lettuce has already peeked out from under the dirt and looks promising. I grew up on a farm with a two acre garden (8'x8' is not two acres, but it works for me), so I am ready for fresh veggies from our own backyard, just like when I was growing up!

See you at the Markets!

Spring Craft Show

2010-04-23T20:11:00.003-04:00

If you are in the Traverse City area on Saturday, stop by and see us at the Spring Craft Show, located at First Christian Church (behind Best Buy). The crafters were setting up tonight and the show looks like it has some great items.

I will be at the Craft Show from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Michael will be at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM for the Farmers Market.

We hope to see you!

Another Great Letter

2010-04-13T17:13:00.002-04:00

Creekside Grains donated a gift basket for Cherry Knoll Elementary School fundraiser. This is the thank you letter from one of the students. We left out his name for safety reasons.

Dear Creekside Grains,

Thank you for the baking mix basket. We appreciate your generosity. You helped Cherry Knoll raise $8,000 dollars. Now we can go on field trips.

Sincerely,
******

We love it when we receive these letters! We love it when they can go on field trips!

Great Letter

2010-04-03T11:19:00.008-04:00

While we were in the process of moving, we received this great letter in the mail. We are using stars to protect the writer's identity. I am writing this letter exactly as she wrote to us.

To Whom it May Concern:

I am ***. I'm in 4th grade and I go to *** Elementary. I am learning how to write business letter's so I chose you to write to.

My mom loves your coffee cookies! The reason she loves them is because then she doesn't have to make coffee at 6:00 in the morning.

If you don't have any bread products, I think that you should make some banana bread mix because my whole family loves any kind of bread. I was wondering if I could have a coupon so that my family could try more of your other products.

Keep up the good work,

***

What a great letter! We will see what we can do to get a banana bread mix made. Michael has a great recipe. I will give him a little nudge to get it started!

We have lots of other new bread products. I will try to get them on the site soon, so her family can enjoy Creekside Grains breads.

Final Moving Day!

2010-03-25T11:35:00.000-04:00

If you do not hear from us for a few more days, it is because the phone lines and computers and internet are moving to our new office.

If all goes well, we will be back in action on Friday afternoon. If the normal glitches occur, you will hear from us on Monday.

Back to final packing and moving!

Bye!

Almost Moving Day!

2010-03-17T10:54:00.002-04:00

Next Friday, we will be officially out of this office and into a temporary office.

Lots to do and little time to move it all!

We had wonderful friends who helped move most of the office furniture
and files and shelves and lots of boxes on Saturday,
but my office is still very full.

I leave town for five days on Friday,
so poor Michael has to clean up after me.
He can do it! I know he can!

On Saturday, March 20,
I will be going to the Keepsake Collection Folk Art and Craft Show
at Saginaw Valley State University on Bay Road in Saginaw.
Hours are 10 AM to 4 PM.

I will be sampling Michael's newest invention...
Double Chocolate Hazelnut Espresso Cookies!
Our taste testers raved about it!
Join us and try one for yourself.

If the blog is empty for awhile,

I will fill it up when I return and unpack!

What a Story!

2010-03-01T12:32:00.005-05:00

This was sent to me by a client who wanted to share her Creekside Grains story...Please keep the family in your prayers. Thank you.

Two years ago my friend was diagnosed with cancer, shortly after finding our she was expecting. She was unable to do the traditional treatments until after the baby was born.

Now with a healthy baby girl and an amazing husband, they started a new life of her being in remission. God had other plans for her. Just a few weeks ago, she went into emergency surgery and was unable to see her daughter for days.

When her little girl did get to visit her, Grandma had purchased a package of Princess Pancakes or Crown Cookies (not sure which mix, because I didn't get the entire story) for a "Get Better" gift. Her little girl walked into the hospital room with the mix and said, "You're still a princess to me Mom."

God's grace, mercy and love is unfailing and faithful and continues to bless my friends. Everything went great in surgery and we'll shall see what the weeks ahead hold for them.

Miss Heart, then off to Lansing

2010-02-18T16:32:00.002-05:00

It has been over a month since I blogged? Guess why? I will tell you!

Michael is the Executive Director of Miss Heart of Michigan, which is a Miss Michigan, Miss America preliminary competition. I am the President.

Last Saturday, Miss Heart 2010 was crowned at the Leelanau Sands Showroom. Kaley Lynn Schroeder also took home a $10,000 scholarship! Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund was the co emcee with our Miss Heart 2009, Katie LaRoche. Kirsten and Katie did a wonderful job entertaining the crowd and helping to make the evening go smoothly.

Kaley is now preparing for Miss Michigan in June.

For the past two months, I have been planning the event, from ticket taking to Lodge room reservations, to script writing, to making sure contestants paperwork was correct, to answering over fifty emails per day, to preparing judges books, to you name it, I did it.

Whew, the pageant is done and we are starting to plan for next year.

We are also preparing for the Lansing Gift show which starts on Sunday. Michael is busy packing mixes and preparing products and I am polishing up the brochures and order forms. We heard that over 600 people attend the show, so we are looking forward to a great weekend!

Have a great weekend! I know we will!

Amazing brownies!

2010-01-10T17:48:00.003-05:00

I just received this email...

"Hey Loretta!

This is Terri (Jenn's mom).

I don't have a facebook, so I am "borrowing" Jenn's!

Michael's brownies are AMAZING!

They didn't last very long at our house!

Tell him "Bravo!" from all of us! :)"

I love it when a client loves our brownies so much that
they have to borrow Facebook to get the message to me!

I have to agree with Terri.

The brownies are soooo good!

Christmas Eve Services Update

2009-12-29T16:45:00.001-05:00

A quote from Pastor Nick...

How did things go on Christmas Eve?

If you were not able to be with us, I'd encourage you to check out the podcast at www.bponline.org

We had over 2,800 people attend the four services and I am still receiving emails from people who were deeply moved. In fact, I spoke with two Bay Pointe families on Christmas Eve who said it was their one-year anniversary – their first service was Christmas Eve 2008.

My hope is that many who attended will come back and continue a journey that will lead them to the cross of Christ.

I cannot agree more!

Christmas Eve Services

2009-12-23T17:39:00.001-05:00

Just a reminder that you are invited to join us for Christmas Eve services at Bay Pointe Community Church. Services will be at 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 7:00 PM. Michael will be baking for the volunteers and we will both greet at all services. Pastor Nick has a special message planned and the music is always wonderful. Come alone, come with family, come with friends, come join us! We look forward to seeing you there.

What We Are Missing

2009-12-13T15:12:00.003-05:00

Michael went shopping a few weeks ago
and checked out the brownie and cookie mixes on the shelves.

He bought two mixes.

This is what he brought home.

This stuff sounds disgusting!

Since I am the Director of Taste Testing, I had to try them.

They did not taste very good.

They had a cardboard, non flavorful taste to them.

They should, considering what they are made of.

One of the ingredients is cellulose.
Humans cannot digest cellulose. Cows digest cellulose.
It is referred to as 'dietary fiber' or 'roughage.'

This is not what Creekside Grains puts in our mixes!

Thank You Pathfinder

2009-12-12T17:50:00.001-05:00

Michael and I spent a lovely day at the Pathfinder School Craft Show. The children were a delight to talk with! Many Traverse City families were able to sample root beer cookies, chocolate chip cherry chipotle cookies, mega mint cookies and whole wheat cherry ginger cookies. Lots of mixes were purchased for stocking stuffers!

Thank you Pathfinder friends and families and craft show attendees!

Vrooommm...

2009-12-03T16:17:00.003-05:00

As fast as the Cruiser Cookies came into being,
they raced away.

We ordered plenty of Cruiser Cookie cookie cutters,
but sold them all
as soon as we took them to a craft show.
When we called to order more cutters,
we were very disappointed to learn that
they will be out of production until spring.

Just like Michael's Harley Davidson,
they will not be available
until after the snow stops
and the roads are clear.

Check the web site in the spring
for Cruiser Cookie delivery dates.
Until then, think snow
and enjoy the other baking mixes
that warm your kitchen and are fun to make!

On the Road Again

2009-12-03T12:56:00.002-05:00

I will be heading to Lansing tomorrow morning for Shipshewana on the Road. If you need any mixes and live in the Lansing area, please let me know today and I will pack extra just for you!

The show will be at the Summit Sports Complex, off I-496. Hours are Saturday from 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM.

Hope to see you there!

What a Great Weekend!

2009-11-30T10:31:00.003-05:00

Michael was in Frankfort for the Holly Berry Christmas Craft Show and I was in Jackson for the Rose Festival Craft Show on Saturday. Both shows were well attended, with lots of smiling shoppers! I ran out of double chocolate chip cherry cookies at the same time that I ran out of the samples, so the timing was just right.

The root beer cookies were a smashing success, again! I would love to be able to videotape expressions when our clients taste a root beer cookie for the first time. The expressions are priceless! They range from smiles to disbelief! "Wow" is a popular expression, along with "different" and "tastes like root beer!" The disbelief expressions come from clients who cannot believe that we can make a root beer cookie and that it tastes so good!

Since I am from Jackson, my mother helped me at the show. It was fun to see friends and clients and to hang out with Mom for the weekend. I took a snapshot of Mom at the booth. When I find the camera (buried under milk crates and tablecloths from the show), I will post it on the site. We had a great time!

Back to preparations for this weekend's show. I will be in Lansing for Shipshewana on the Road. Michael may join me! Wherever we are, it will be a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving - Popcorn Pancakes

2009-11-26T10:30:00.004-05:00

Michael made me incredible popcorn pancakes

for Thanksgiving breakfast!

He ground the popcorn in his new grinder

and out came corn flour.

Creekside Grains has a new mix!

Michael is so talented!

I am so blessed!

Mr. Rooster woke me up with a smile again this morning.

He was exceptionally loud today.

I think he was cheering that he was not a turkey!

Also, I was driving to the office

(we work every day - just less hours today)

and saw at least forty wild turkeys in a front yard.

I know that they were doing the turkey dance,

boldly,

knowing that they are not dinner!

A Six Pack of Beer?

2009-11-25T20:58:00.002-05:00

If you knew Michael and me, you would know that we do not drink alcohol. So when he came home from the grocery store today with a six pack of beer, I had to ask. His response was...I am going to drink it and watch football all Thanksgiving Day. Well...since we do not have a television, I knew he was kidding about watching football, and I could not imagine him drinking the six pack!!!

The real truth is that Michael will be inventing new beer breads tomorrow, so he needs beer to put in the beer breads.

I really liked the other story, even if it was not true!

I will update with the beer bread results.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!