The next time I write, the Dee’s will be living in their “Forever Home”. We close next Friday, the 22nd. Move all the stuff from the storage lockers and shop into the house on the 23rd and get ready to host Nora’s brother and his wife for Thanksgiving. No pressure! Actually, there really is not too much pressure. They are laid back and we do not need to impress them. Plus, most of what we want to do to the house will happen down the road a bit. At least after the holidays and some of the things not for a year or more.
We have a group of friends to help us move the things from the two storage units and there is not much to move from the shop into the home. Nora is absolutely climbing the walls to be able to get into her grandparent home. I am excited too! It’s a really cute and older home. Not old by the standards up here, but built in the early 60’s.
It’s been one heck of a journey to get this point, but I know if we had to do it all over again, we all would without hesitation. I’ve always said that there is something magical about the Keweenaw and I can say the same for Jacobsville. I think for me, the magic comes from the remoteness of the area, combined with the character of the folks that live here. Many are snowbirds, leaving for a warmer climate in the winter, but there are also a few hardy souls that stick around all year long.
One such group is the friends who we went to last Sunday to have breakfast and take a hike. They, like us, did not grow up here, but were equally drawn by the magic of the Keweenaw/Jacobsville. The fact that they have a daughter the same age as Grace, a younger son and that both sets of parents get along so great with each other is something to look forward to for a long time. I will feel good about being able to reciprocate all the hosting they and others have done for us.
It’s been a slower paced week. I cannot even the work I did on the shop, but know there was at least a bit. I did get the rest of the tools out of the temporary shelter I had put up by the camper we stayed in while the shop was getting underway. On Friday I was able to take down the shelter so that worry is gone. I also pulled a few things from the storage lockers, mostly shop related.
The builders finished up with the siding and thus their work on the shop is now done. Nora and I were very pleased with their work and I actually get a little sad when they are packing up. Between this job and the help they gave me on the addition to the Mohawk home, I got to know all of them really well and consider them all my friends.
Today, Nora, Grace and I picked up all of the scrap pieces of roofing and siding and piled it into the bed of my truck. Tomorrow I will take it all to the scrap yard, so it can be recycled and out of our worries. I also burned the rest of the scraps of lumber from the build. At least those that were outside. I have two large garbage cans full of scraps that we will use in the fire pit that will be relocated to the soon-to-be ice skating rink in the back yard. It will be fun to be able to skate anytime we want and have the ice sheet to ourselves! The main challenge will be determining when it is safe to start it.
In my last entry, I shared a pic and story about the heavy snow Nora had to drive through on her way to work. I got my own taste of driving through some heavy snow this past Monday evening. As I was driving through this snowfall, with a fair amount on the ground for early November, I began to wonder if perhaps the reputation that Jacobsville has as being the banana belt was false! Or perhaps the heavy snows of the Mohawk area decided to follow us on the move! We’ll see, but I am still anticipating noticeably less snow down here than we had in Mohawk.
Friday was a Yooper holiday, the opening day of firearm deer hunting season. I do not hunt, but I did cross paths with a rather sizable buck on my travels Thursday afternoon. I wonder if he will survive the hunt?
Yesterday, Gracie took advantage of the early season snow cover and milder temps to build her first snowman of the year. It is not likely to be her last either. I was very impressed, as I was out picking up a few things and came home to her rolling out the head. She had also managed to roll out the two lower sections all by herself and even lifted the middle section into place all by herself. She sure is growing up fast!
While we all enjoyed living in a house completely surrounded by trees as the Mohawk house was. It is nice to have a bit more openness to things down here. We have better views of the sky and Grace has been enjoying looking up into the night sky to gaze upon all the stars. A few weeks ago, she called Nora to the window in the dormer to see how beautiful the night sky was. I listened into the conversation and could hear Gracie not only calling out the different constellations, but constellations that I had never hear of in my life! I have no idea what path she will choose in life as a career, but I can’t wait to see her rock it.
It is not only the night sky that gives us treats in our new living locale, but the sunrises and sunsets are very beautiful as well. Yesterday morning, I was laying in bed and caught a glimpse of a beautiful sunrise, but was too lazy to get up and look at it from a better viewing spot. Nora was already up and saw the sunrise in all of its glory.
That just about does it for this one. I have just one more picture to share with you. Although we live in the Lake Linden school district, Michigan has a school of choice program, in which the parents of a child can choose which school district their child/children goes to. Since Grace has already been attending Calumet schools for 5 years, it was a no-brainer to have her continue to go there. The main issue with school of choice is that the school does not have to be responsible for transportation of the student to and from school. That can be an issue, but Nora works in the Calumet schools, so Grace just continued her routine of driving into Calumet with Nora and then coming home with her when school is over. Nora has to work 15 minutes longer than Grace is in school for, so she just goes to Nora’s office and waits.
Typically Grace will just hang out, read a book and/or chat with any school employees that come in to Nora’s office. Lately, it has become her thing to climb onto Bleau’s cot and read while laying next to him. The other day, they cuddled up with each other and Nora snapped this picture of the two of them. I love how he has his leg over the top of her and looks to be reading along with her! We sure have been blessed with great dogs and he is for sure keeping up the tradition!
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
