OK November was the last post - maybe because November was a horrible month for us, I lost track of it all. We lost one of our very very dear friends to suicide. IT was heart-wrenching, shocking, just absolutely insane. I won't go into details about it. But it was just devastating to our family and to just a ton of other families. RIP Oros. The boys (my boys, Tony and Asa) went hunting out at his AFrame in mid and late November. They saw their first deer out there in 2 or 3 years. Thanks, Oros, for that. But no shots.
Christmas we spent traveling, again. Saw my brother and his fam, which I love because I just don't get to see my siblings enough and between the 5 of us, 2 are in one state, the other 3 are in all different states. We are quite spread out. SO we did the circle. We saw his dad, his mom, my stepdad and my brother. It was a nice time, and always nice to get back home. Would it be rude one year to just say we are not traveling this year and invite anyone up by us??? I think I am going to bring that up to the old man and see what he thinks. Let's stay home for Xmas. We will ship presents out if people cannot come to see us (shipping or gas in the car.....). Would the family get in an uproar? Mine would not, we hardly see each other anyhow. I think folks would be ok. :-) :-)
New Years we stayed home again, drank, listened to music. We like doing that. Dancing in our living room. At least I think that is what we did. Haha.
February was also a bit emotional as our 17-year-old moved out of the house. That lovely age law that the state of MI has where a 17-year-old can go out into the big bad ugly world and live on their own. They are not ready for that!!! They are still kids!! So they can leave, drop out of school (depending on credits and age), live on their own, but we are financially responsible for them and medically responsible. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the parent having to take on health care and stuff. What a system, huh. So anyhow, he moved out, is apparently doing ok. We don't hear from him much. Life will go on and he will grow up. Either with luck, by hard work, or the hard way.
The past winter was not too bad. There were only a small handful of times I drove my Sable over to the shop at Oberstar and parked it, jumping into the old man's 4wd truck waiting for a ride home. Yep, I don't like driving in that crap.
The Noro-Virus went thru our house, Asa and I got it. I wish I had Tony's immune system. He never gets sick. He hardly gets mosquito bites. And yet here I am, with asthma, severe allergies, arthritis, bursitis, aches and pains, and whatnot. And I get bit by every little thing. LOL> I think after the weekend at his mom's cabin, I came home with about 2 dozen bites from those flying little bastards (mosquitos). Well, at least they are not as big as they are up here. I am still sending my friend downstate at HBAM a giant yooper flyswatter. Too funny. With all of these health issues, I may whine and complain a little when I hurt but I have accepted it as part of life and getting older. I don't smoke anymore, haven't in a very very long time. (OK almost 2 years maybe but it seems like a long time). I go to Physical therapy twice a week. So I deal with it. Allergies are kickin me right where it hurts this week. I am tired and groggy and stuffy and just feel like I could sleep for 24 hours. LOL. And I always remember...somewhere out there, there is a kid who can't walk. An old woman who cannot remember her child's name. A Veteran who cannot function due to severe PTSD. Thousands dying from cancer. I think I can handle a little bit of sneezing and blowing my nose and itchy eyes. Ok and sometimes peeing.
We did make our little jaunt up to Big Bay. I do love Big Bay. It is one of my top 5 places to go. Black Rocks is up in the top 3, the little pebble beach at the end of Wright Street and McCarthys Cove are my other top 2. The sun is my enemy though, so if I do go, I can't usually stay too long. The sun, and tourists. Don't get me started. If the beaches are full, I will keep on driving. Back to Big Bay. So last year we went up to the Lumberjack Tavern, met Jack, heard the story of the infamous Anatomy of a Murder, saw some cool memorabilia and ate the UPs BEST burger ever, The LumberJack Burger. So we set out in the next year to find the best burger. If there was one out there, in MY humble opinion, that beats it. So I asked online and got a ton of responses. Pats Bar on Washington Street in Marquette was one and Big Burger in Harvey was the other. OK so in Feb, we met friends at Pat's for Tonys birthday. Had burgers. GREAT burgers. GREAT bloody marys. Small, way too small for a Bloody, but GREAT. Still....mmmm... it did not hold up to the mighty Lumberjack. So another time we stopped in Harvey and decided to try this Big Burger place out. We had to wait, there is not a lot of room in there and it was lunch time. We finally got a seat and got our food. It was messy. And it was good. Very good. Great actually. Buuuuuut....STILL did not hold a lighthouse lantern to that mighty Lumberjack. Sorry guys, in my book, the Lumberjack is STILL the UP's number one burger. When I took my family there - me, Tony, Asa, Jon and his girlfriend Lili.... well, I just ordered one for everyone. I didn't even ask them. They all loved it. Even Lili, who is probably 100 lbs soaking wet scarfed it down. I have pictures of Jack...let me see if I can find them...
OK that guy bartending is Jack. He is a good shit. Head up there and tell him you saw his bar on this blog and you want to try the Lumberjack Burger!! The crowd just shows you that it is a happening spot and kids come and everyone has a good time. His Captain Morgan's and cokes are mighty fine as well. Always great service, great food, and great drinks!
Fast forward - March Builder Show was crazy and insane and a huge success. After that Tony and I took off to Virginia for a nice getaway and it was fun.
April and May were super busy for me at work. The weather in the UP was doing exactly what it does in the late winter, early spring. It rains, it snows, the sun teases you with her warm touch, maybe even for a couple of days... possibly making the silly thought of planting things and yard work seeps into your head. DO NOT LET HER FOOL YOU!!!! IT'S A TRAP!!! DON'T DO IT!! I fell for it. Well, because I had spring fever and it was may after all. Silly me. I had a few beautiful plants freeze and wither away to a cold lonely flower death. Silly me. All my fault. I am the Begonia killer.
So now it is June. I have 10 birdfeeders in my yard. I have become the bird nerd. I have an app on my phone to log what birds I see. You are supposed to log every sighting but shit, that would take forever, there are several birds there every day. I would not be opposed to hunting in my front yard. As long as the victim list included chipmunks, red squirrels, grackles, starlings.......you know. Thos pesky things. I am waiting for a bear. That would be sweeeet. But if I get a bear, do I have to remove all of my feeders? My goal is to feed the birds all summer and through the winter for those who stay here. Hell this winter, my front yard will look like Snow White's playroom with all of her furry little creatures there. :-) Hey, they gotta survive. Except for the red squirrels. They don't.
Going to my mother in laws cabin (for sake of argument and it's just easier to say) in the White Lake/Lakewood area in Wisconsin was great fun and relaxing. I was sick as hell. Allergies just KICKED my ass all weekend. It was great seeing all of his family, especially his niece and the nephew on the way :-) But it was time to go home. Like Sunday morning I was like Honey, you have taken me out of my habitat, I need to go back home. The smirk on his face and his comment of "That sounds pretty funny coming from a ....cheesehead." ........ Hmph. I am a proud cheesehead. Not a Yooper. But a Yooper has my heart. He has it wound tight 'with mighty cables that only omnipotence can break' (thank you, Sullivan Ballou, for that). My heart only knows a few things anymore. It holds the love for my children - both of mine and all of his. It holds the mighty love for him, the man who is my whole reason for being up here. I say mighty because it is. Like the Mighty Mac, it can hold anything, it towers over all else. It gets shaky. It powerful and strong. Of course, it holds a love for family, all of our families and friends. But it holds a dear love for the Upper Peninsula. Where you can breathe in clean air. Where you can process your thoughts on the lake (with our without tourists). Where you can walk down the street and strangers will all say hello. Where you can sneak a rock (or two or 3 or a bagful) into your pocket. Where you can live.
Thats my long-winded catch up for June. I will try to write more often and share my experiences more often. And not keep them all to myself. :-) Until then, the lake is calling, I must go.
All my UP love,
S
