Jampot!

In my previous post I told you about a portion of my recent trip back to Michigan. Included in this trip I went to the Upper Pennisula of Michigan. If you have never been to the good ole U.P. you need to make plans to visit! There are two foods I never miss when I am in the U.P. The first is the Pasty (pass-tee) and the second is Thimbleberry Jam (If you read this thank you for introducing me to this wonderful treat Deb!)

Thimbleberry Jam comes from the little-known, rare Thimbleberry. Why is this delicious berry so unknown? Because it is very tough to grow, and requires a very specific growing environment. Not only is this true, but the berries themselves do not ship well at all. Needless to say, this jam is difficult top find, not cheap, BUT DELICIOUS!!!!!!

How can you get this jam?

The monks in Eagle River, MI of course!

Check out their website:

Society of St. John


During college I had the privilege of attending their Eastern Orthodox Prayer service on Good Friday and later discussing their traditions, etc. with the monks after the service. It was quite interesting, and an experience I won't forget. In fact I remember speaking to the monks pictured on the page linked above, they are very nice.

If you navigated their website at all you probably noticed the store section of the site. You can purchase Thimbleberry Jam from them. The easiest way to find the jam is to use the search feature. It is delicious! And you will be supporting the monastery!

Surprize Birthday Celebration!

At the beginning of this month, as some of you already know, I took a vacation in Michigan with the fam.  This, however, was not your normal everyday vacation.  This vacation included November 4th, which in a previous post, I told you all it is my mom's and my birthday!  My dad and I did something special this year.  We didn't tell my mom I was coming.  I felt sorry for dad because it was much harder for him to keep the secret than me.  Here is the story:

Around summer my Dad and I began the preliminary steps to making the surprise happen.  This of course consisted of scheduling the week and booking the plane trip.  Thankfully this was really easy and the tickets didn't cost me much at all because Southwest had a fantastic sale!  The next step was finding an excuse for my Dad to use to drive 2 1/2 hours each way to pick me up in Detroit.  At first we thought maybe he could say it was a business trip.....but I was coming in on a Saturday...and the whole honesty thing was an issue as well.  Thankfully my Dad and Brother (Dean) came up with a great idea.  They would take a father-son trip to Cabella's (A great outdoors store that I highly recommend!!!!) while my sister (Jodi) took my Mom on a mother-daughter shopping trip.  My mom had no suspicions and the whole honesty issue was gone, unless you count sins of omission... but I think God will be Ok with this one :)  

When the time came everything went off without a hitch (including my plane!) and we did have a father-son trip to Cabella's.  The real fun began when we arrived at home.  I snuck out of the car and hid in the backyard, preceding to call my mom on the phone.  When she answered we greeted but then :

"Mom, I am kinda bored, could you send Dusty (dog) out to me?"  -Kyle

"NO!  I think North Carolina is a little far!" -Mom

"No it isn't, just send him to me." -Kyle

"He cannot have my dog!" -Dean 

"Come-on Mom just turn around.) ( stood into view and could see my Mom's back to the door)

-Kyle

"What?" - Mom

"Just turn around?" - Kyle

"Why?" -Mom

"Mom just turn around!" -Kyle

(She finally turns, drops phone, and runs outside)

I think she was happy.  After all I hadn't been home for our birthday since 2006, and before then 2001.  I did see the parents and brother during college but even that was the weekend before our birthday.  Over all it was a great trip with no major commitments, parties, etc. that so often plague trips home.  It was great to just a week with nothing to do, a trip to the U.P. and pasties, and Thimbleberry Jam!