A - Z Monday - D is for "Denise!"

Today's A-Z letter is "D" and my "D" is for Denise!! As Jen at Unglazed correctly guessed, Denise at Vintage Log Cabin came over to visit me at our log cabin! To visit or participate in A-Z Mondays, please visit Jen at Unglazed.


I kept looking out the cabin door awaiting Denise's arrival. I debated whipping out the camera and taking a photo of her as she pulled up - but then I didn't want to scare her!








Denise is as nice as I thought she would be! And she was so sweet to bring me so many gifts! Check out these loon coasters and earrings that she got! She also brought me some jam, salsa and baked a chocolate eclair cake! I think Denise has to be the most generous guest ever!




I made Denise Rigatoni and after lunch I showed her downtown Gaylord and we did a little shopping. I had a great time talking with Denise and now we look forward to meeting her husband Bill!




Denise is like me and doesn't like her picture taken. Thanks Denise for allowing this photo! Isn't she a cutie?

Food for the log cabin guests

I've been perfecting my recipe list of "best dishes" for log cabin guests. While I do like to grill, we need other options in the winter (especially since our weber charcoal grill is under 10 feet of snow right now!)


Guess what's in my cute little birdy box? (No, not a bird!)













It's a recipe box I picked up at a little shop in Gaylord! Now let's make you something since you're my guest.













No, I"m not going to make you peanut butter pine cones! I like to think I'm a better host than that! Though I must say, the Hairy Woodpecker does like my "cooking"!



















Let's pull out the recipe for one of the best and cheesiest Baked Rigatoni dishes you will ever try! Yep - it lives up to the hype!










Look at this! Is your mouth watering? Do you want the recipe? I'm going to share it with you! Also, do you have any "winter" dishes you like to make for your guests? Share them here! I just love recipe exchanges! Okay Leedra, now pass the garlic bread and let's eat!

Shelley's Baked Rigatoni (well it's not mine, but I tweaked it!)

• 1 box Rigatoni noodles

• 2 large plastic jars of Ragu Traditional spaghetti sauce
  

• 2 lbs of either ground beef or turkey if you want to make it healthier


• 1 tbsp of butter


• 1 small onion


• 1 small container of sour cream


• 1/2 tsp minced garlic


• 6 slices of mozzarella cheese (enough for a single layer)


• 6-8 slices of provolone cheese (enough for a single layer)


• Fresh grated parmesan cheese (to sprinkle generously on top!)
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make Rigatoni according to directions, toss w/ butter and set aside. Brown beef in pan with finely chopped up onion and garlic. Drain. Add Ragu sauce and simmer until hot.

At bottom of deep casserole plan, pour a little of the sauce to cover the bottom. Pour 1/2 the noodles on top. Pour a bit of the sauce on top of the noodles to cover. Layer provolone slices in single layer to cover. Spread sour cream on top of provolone slices. Pour some of the sauce on top. Pour the other 1/2 of noodles on top of this layer. Pour some of the sauce on top. Layer mozzarella slice on top of this layer. Pour the rest of the sauce on top. Sprinkle parmesan cheese generously on top. Bake 25-30 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Guests at the Log Cabin - Part III

I have to say one of the best parts about having this log cabin is all the friends that want to come visit us! A log cabin on a lake is certainly more enticing than my suburban home downstate. I love showing them around my town. My friend Kim and her boyfriend Mike came to visit us for a couple days - and I think Kim is competing for best guest of the year. She brought enough food to feed Greg and I for the next several months! (Either that or maybe she wants to move in.......she did have a lot of luggage with her...hmmmm.....just kidding Kim!)


I'm constantly looking for new items to add to my guest room to make it more cozy and inviting! I think warm blankets and decorative touches help.














I had this little gift box filled with goodies for my friends when they arrived. I think they liked it!











I was happy we were able to take our friends to one of our favorite places - Hartwick Pines State Park. It's nice when your friends enjoy the outdoors as much as you do.

Christmas gifts from the Log Cabin

I know - Halloween hasn't even passed yet and I'm talking about Christmas! I am making Christmas CD's for our friends and family that come to visit us at the Log Cabin (The Loons' Nest) over the holidays. I have a membership to MP3 Suite which allows you unlimited music and movie downloads. To make it more personal, I'm pushing my skills to the max to make the CD covers for them too. The first Christmas mix I made was the Transiberian Orchestra - I just love their music!

But now I want to make another mix with your (my blog readers who aren't bored with me yet) favorite Christmas songs and the artist that sings the best rendition. For example - I like Bill Crosby's version of 'Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas.' Please post YOUR SUGGESTIONS here. Once I compile them with your input - I think I should offer these as a GIVEAWAY - what do you think? Or maybe you are already able to download your own music and I'm behind the times??

I bought scrap booking supplies from Michaels to make the CD covers.

I do like my xmas stickers!

Tomorrow's Wedding Anniversary

Tomorrow - October 28th - is our 3 year wedding anniversary! That is our wedding cake pictured above that Greg's aunt made for us. Our reception was at a log cabin on the grounds of a country club. That place was so perfect - the chinked walls, stone fireplace - we couldn't wait till we had our own log cabin back then. Greg asked me what I would like for our anniversary - did I want that digiscope for my camera? Jewelry? What?

I told him I would like to spend a long week together at our log cabin. And so my loving husband has obliged me. We leave this Friday and I'm already planning our days. Hiking, maybe some kayaking, hitting a Christmas craft show or two, have some friends visit and of course Greg's favorite - gathering rocks in his ATV - ha!

I can't wait till Friday! (Love you honey!)

Birdwatching at the Log Cabin

One of the best things about having a log cabin in northern Michigan is all the different types of birds we get to see. We have seen Bald Eagles, Pileated Woodpeckers, Black Capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches and so much more. Setting up bird feeders all over our property and seeing all the different feathered visitors have given us as well as our log cabin guests much enjoyment. I think it's great for the kids in teaching them about nature and wildlife. My 9 year old stepson can now identify every bird that visits our feeders.


If you do decide to feed the birds, I would recommend the following items:

• Buy a Field Guide for Birds so you can identify all your visitors. Amazon has a good selection here.
• Pick up a decent set of Binoculars. These are especially handy for those hikes in the woods and will also help you with bird identification.
• Bird Feeders - I have a varied selection - suet cages, tube feeder, platform feeder (not all birds will feed from a tube feeder) and thistle bag. I would highly recommend getting some baffles or squirrel proof feeders so your birds have a shot at the food!
• Good selection of Bird Seed. The quality seed will attract a better variety of bird - I stay away from the cracked corn and other cheap birdseed fillers. I get the Black Oil Sunflower seed - (many bird's favorite), suet cakes (woodpecker's favorite) and thistle for my finches.
• A heated birdbath - this was one of the best investments I ever made. This is such a popular place in the winter for birds who need water - it expends too much energy for them to eat the snow - plus they still like to take a bath in the winter. (In the summer, just unplug it and you can still use it.) It will also attract birds that won't necessarily come to your feeders. I had a Coopers Hawk drinking out of it last winter - of course no other birds joined him while he was there!
• Bird Houses - we got to experience baby Black-capped Chickadees being raised and learning how to fly this past summer - it was so precious! Not all birds will use a bird house and the birds that do use it have specific requirements sometimes and the opening has to be a certain size, etc. Consult w/ your bird supply store or online.
• Window decals or sun catchers to prevent bird strikes. Over a million birds die per year because of hitting a window. I had 4 chickadees bang their head on my cabin windows last week so I put up the sun catcher I have pictured below.

HAPPY BIRDWATCHING!!

I bought this sun catcher at a local gift shop and affixed it to my window with a suction cup holder.

Guests at the Log Cabin - Part II

A previous topic that popped up on the log home forum I belonged to was having guests at your log cabin / log home and how to handle all the people that want to come and expect it to be a hotel. This was also discussed on the Cottage Life forum in which members described funny and not so funny things that their guests did. I believe (as in any good relationship) that communication is the key. Let them know about all the special things about your cabin/cottage/home - for example if your septic system is "sensitive" or your shower is heated by a propane tank so taking hour long showers wouldn't be appreciated. And I think you already have a sense about your circle of friends and family and what you can expect.

As I mentioned before, one of the things Greg and I looked forward to most was hosting friends and family at our log home. Here are some things I have done hopefully to make them feel welcome and comfortable:


I picked up this Cape Shore guest book at a gift shop. We have guests sign their names and recount what their favorite moments were, what the weather was, etc. It's fun to read their comments afterwards!










The book states:
"Dear Guests,
We hope you enjoy your stay. Please feel free to share your thought, favorite adventures and wonderful things you did during your visit.
We've also included an envelope in the back for special mementos to share with others."







Hopefully I've made this into a comfy & cozy guest room! I have a basket in the closet filled with towels they might need.












I love putting up this free "educational" print I picked up at Hartwick Pines State Park. I think guests like to know about the area they are staying in.












When I go to hotels, I always save the shampoos, mouthwash and conditioners I didn't use and have them in a box for guests who might have forgotten some toiletries.












I have these moose napkins for guests to dry their hands. I don't like sharing a grubby towel with numerous people - no offense!












And of course the all important scented bathroom spray. Sometimes a bathroom fan just doesn't work.....

(P.S. Yes - I'm beginning to notice a theme here, I'm very concerned about my guest's hygiene. Ha!)





Is there anything you like to do for your guests when they visit? Please share!

Guests at the Log Cabin - Part I

Our log cabin has been completed since March of this year and already we've had several guests at the log cabin. Some of them have already been repeats! Part of the vision Greg and I had when we were planning our log home was all the friends and family we would have over. We've taken them fishing, kayaking, to a parade, State Park and even to the Stampede Saloon (best wings and beer list in Gaylord!)

Now what's really been very nice (and totally unexpected - really!) is all the gifts we have received from our log cabin guests! I feel like it's been Christmas all year! And not only tangible gifts, but we've had quite a few even cook for us! One person even brought their own towels (you know who you are, you don't need to bring towels - I have some for you!)

Here are some of the gifts we've received:



A Weber grill from my sis and brother-in-law. He's the pseudo Bobby Flay!













These decorative (well I'm assuming they are since they have polyurethane on them) log mugs - aren't they great?















A bird feeder that's very popular with my feathered friends!












And who can resist a stuffed moose??

















A big thank you to all our friends and family! Just having you at our log cabin spending time with us is all the gift we need! (But Jim & Brian - we do like having you cook for us...you just do it better.....)

Come visit our log cabin

It was clear and sunny up at our log cabin this weekend. We had a great time with my sister and my brother-in-law. We had a whole host of visitors....

Female Grosbeak
























Mr. Chipmunk hosting the birds at the birdfeeder....

The chickadee and housefinch having their own social gathering....

"Hey sis! Watch out for the snapping turtles!!!"

P.S. She wasn't fazed.

Another log cabin guest is coming

My sister and her husband are coming for their first visit to the log cabin. Why this is significant - my sister is not exactly an outdoors person (unless she's running marathons.) I have to laugh - she said when I met my husband, that I started dressing like I was going to gut a deer! (I wear suits to work, so it's nice to throw on jeans and t shirts on the weekend.) She likes to shop, run marathons and have quiet weekends. I love the outdoors, socializing and getting my hands dirty. I am hoping to show her another view of northern Michigan - to see nature's beauty at its best. Also, the imp is coming out in me so I am thinking wouldn't it be funny if I put a small painted turtle in her bed? Or wait until she is floating in the lake and yell "watch out for the snapping turtle!" Okay, okay - that might not go over well...but hey, we're sisters!