Monk-y Business

Yesterday we went back up the Keweenaw Peninsula to Eagle River, so I could get some jam at the Poor Rock Abbey’s Jampot. The monks there make all kinds of jams & preserves, and baked goods. They are a part of the Holy Transfiguration Skete, Society of St. John. The store was packed with people and we slowly made our way past the shelves of jams & preserves up to the table where the candies and baked goods were displayed. Oh my! A whole fruitcake cost $50!! I sure hope it’s better than most fruitcakes, at that price. They had german chocolate cake, brownies, cookies, the biggest cinnamon buns I’ve ever seen, cupcakes and banana bread. I got some red cherry jam, a piece of peanut-butter & jelly brownie and 6 oatmeal-peanut butter-raisin-chocolate chip cookies. Jeanne got some german chocolate cake, honey, and a pumpkin muffin. Since we couldn’t find anywhere to eat lunch around there, we ended up having some of our baked goodies instead. REALLY GOOD STUFF! My brownie was super moist and chewy and those cookies were amazing. I’m thinking I’m going to have to go back again before I leave this area.

There’s a pretty waterfall just around the corner from the Jampot, so we stopped for a few minutes. There sure are lots of waterfalls around here!

We went to the park at Eagle River to eat and to look for pretty rocks but it was slim pickin’s on the rocks, everything there was red and not too exciting. We’ve actually had some of our best luck finding good rocks right in the driveways here at the campground. We also went to Allouez to Prospector’s Paradise, billed as a Rock Wal-Mart. There are rocks everywhere…in bins and dishpans and buckets, and just laying around on the ground. Then there’s also a big building full of rocks and even some dinosaur bones. I got a handful more pretty stones; small ones, of course, since I don’t have much space. Jeanne got some nice larger rocks for her rock garden at home, including a really nice big puddingstone. The guy was willing to dicker & deal with us, even!

The other day I took Roxie to the Do-it-yourself dog wash in Houghton. She was way past needing a bath, to the point of desperately needing a bath! She hadn’t been washed since May. It said it cost $8 and there was a machine that said it took $1, $5 or $10 bills. I put my $10 bill in, expecting to get $2 change but instead it gave me a few extra minutes, which I didn’t need! It was pretty slick though, kind of like a car wash, you could dial for rinse, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant. They also had a high-powered hair dryer that Roxie really hated. I had her all bathed and damp-dried and still had more than 6 minutes on the meter. Oh well, it’s done and I guess it was worth $10 anyway. She smells so nice now!

Very hot today….in the mid=80’s. So glad I’m hooked up to electricity! We are expecting thunderstorms later today and then the forecast for the next week is highs of low to mid-70’s and lows in the high 40’s. Yay!! Tomorrow we’re going to have a Labor Day dinner of brats on the grill, baked beans & corn on the cob.

I finally got to the Keweenaw Co-Op in Hancock today, got some good organic eggs, organic peppers and sweet potatoes and some grass-fed beef. Places to get organic food here in the U.P. seem to be few and far between.