HEY NEW YEAR'S 2009

HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH MAKING YOUR

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS?

We haven't had any terrible storms ... just
some terrible weather. It normally snows a bit every day, just to
freshen up ... but ... this winter, it is often several inches at a
time ... just enough to have to plow again. On the CLICK HERE: Marquette T.V. station,
they announced that they are anticipating the 21st straight day of
snow. This is a wonderful website; it's a great source of U. P.
information.


We've had several days of "warm" (high 30's)
weather ... not the freezing rain/thawing predicted. My
family members in Wisconsin & Lower Michigan got that ... &
lots of thawing.




I made a trip to Crystal Falls for several errands ... plus down to
Alpha &+ was pleasantly surprised to find out that I could buy some
deer-corn at the new General Store in Alpha at a reasonable price, plus
save myself 20 miles of driving.

Click here: Village of Alpha, Michigan

Click here: General Store of Alpha, Michigan

For snow removal on the main street of Crystal Falls ... the procedure
is to first move the snow into a big windrow down the center of the
street. Then, in the next few days, when there is more time &
available equipment ... they scoop this snow from the middle of the
street into dump trucks.







I did go to the Library ... resuming my winter reading project of going thru the many books on history of the Upper Peninsula.

MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO YOU

My Christmas present to you ... click upon the small scene above: right
click upon the larger image ... choose "Set As Background" ...
THIS WILL PUT IT ON YOUR MONITOR AS A BACKGROUND (WALLPAPER)

This would be so appropriate for Christmas-time.

This scene is from a photo that I took on my road & made to look like a moonlight scene. This version is many shades lighter than the one that I printed for my Christmas card.



L o i s

A CHRISTMAS STORY

ON TELEPHONE TIME YESTERDAY ... there was a most heart-warming saga. A lady called in to say that an elderly man needed some help in this cold weather. He was running short of wood, and was running some electric heaters to keep the house warm. She asked if someone had a heater to donate ... or ... some wood to give him.

I couldn't get a hold of her right away; she said that she had so many calls. ONE FELLOW WAS GOING TO DELIVER A FREE DUMP-TRUCK LOAD OF WOOD! A town official helped with his frozen pipes & some people offered to fix his plumbing. .... & other winterization.

So many people offered real help so this man could stay in his own home with dignity ... instead of causing trouble for him because his home (at his age) becoming unfit ... or telling him to just give up & go to a nursing home. It just made me cry ... thanking that woman for being such a wonderful Christian ... & doing what she could to help. I just praised her over & over again!

THIS STORY WAS ESPECIALLY POIGNANT BECAUSE OF AN INCIDENT THAT HAPPENED TO ME WHEN I WENT TO CRYSTAL FALLS RECENTLY.
The temp was around zero as I did some errands in town & headed north on the highway. There wasn't much traffic because of the cold. There was an elderly fellow walking with his grocery bag ... I stopped to pick him up ... never dreaming that he lived another five miles up the highway.
I have no doubt that eventually someone else would have given him a ride. He had hitched a ride into the grocery store with a fellow coming down from Houghton. BUT ... HE LIVES AT LEAST A MILE DOWN A GRAVEL ROAD IN OFF THE MAIN HIGHWAY; SO, MUST HAVE WALKED OUT TO THE HIGHWAY WHEN HE WAS HEADED FOR TOWN.

So many older people don't have transportation .... live alone ... even if they live way out in the boonies. Grocery stores are closing up here ... lucky to be able to get something at a gas-station.

L o i S

YA GOTTA LOVE LUTEFISK!

See ... I REALLY am a BLOGGER!

I am making this entry .... because ... some of these treats that can be ordered online have to be ordered this week in time for Christmas. LUTEFISK is often only available at Christmas-time. Our local IGA grocery stocks it then. WHAT IS LUTEFISK? You either love it or hate it. The smell is overpowering ... like some cheeses are especially stinky. Basically ... fish (cod) is dried until it is about like a boot sole. To make it edible again ... it is then soaked in lye for several days to make it edible again. It needs lots of rinsing; the texture becomes really soft/gelatinous ... sorta like fish jello. It must be cooked gently. My Mom always cooked it in a casserole dish in the oven, in a buttery milk sauce, with cracker crumbs on top. That's how I do it ... sometimes with a Bisquick crust on top ... with chicken soup base for flavor ... maybe some grated cheese, too.

Some of the links below are for more data on LUTEFISK ... SOME HUMOROUS ... SOME WHERE YOU CAN BUY IT.

• It is said that about half the Norwegians who immigrated to America came in order to escape the hated lutefisk, and the other half came to spread the gospel of lutefisk's wonderfulness.- Norwegian-American saying
  

SOME SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

LUTEFISK STUFF

Where to buy Lutefisk

"We at Mrs. Olson's love to poke fun at this Scandinavian culinary oddity (see link to humor page).

CLICK HERE:Mrs. Olson's Lefse- Potato Lefse &

Scandinavian
Products Check out Mike's Fish and Seafood in Glenwood,
Minnesota. He will ship it right to your door!
Contact Mike's
at:Phone: (320) 634-5146

Email: info@lutefiskmike.com

Web Page: CLICK HERE: www.lutefiskmike.com

Tell them Mrs. Olson sent you!"

Click here: Lutefisk, Lyefish, Lutefisk History and Recipes
PHOTOS & MUCH INFO

Click here: Lutefisk Recipes

Click here: Finnguide: Finnish Lutefish / Lutefisk Recipe : Lipeäkala : Finnish foods, Finnish baking, Finnish cooking : Finni

Click here: Baked Lutefisk Recipe Recipezaar

Click here: Lutefisk, Lyefish, Lutefisk History and Recipe

Click here: Lutefisk Recipes

Click here: Finnguide: Finnish Lutefish / Lutefisk Recipe : Lipeäkala : Finnish foods,

Finnish baking, Finnish cooking : Finni

WE GOTTA HAVE SAFFRON BREAD OR BUNS!

Click here: Clusty Search » "saffron bread" OR "saffron buns"

xClick here: Swedish Saffron Buns - Allrecipes

Click here: RecipeSource: Swedish Saffron Bread

MY MOM, & GRAMMA, USTA MAKE IT AS A "POUND-CAKE" RECIPE ... LIKE A COFFEE CAKE. Saffron is so expensive now ... I always simmered the heck out of it to extract all the flavor ... then added to my batter.

EVERYTHING THAT YOU EVER

WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SAFFRON

Click here: Spice Pages: Saffron (Crocus sativus)
NOTE: I hear that, since saffron is so high priced, they are trying (somewhat successfully) to talk farmers into ripping up their drug-making plants & grow SAFFRON instead.

"Saffron Seen as Alternative to Opium"
A new initiative to plant the precious flower may help wean northern farmers away from poppies".

"Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world and India is set to cash in on the potential for profit.The farmers in the area are keen to grow saffron as the spice fetches a high price of nearly US $400 per kg. However, the quality of saffron depends largely upon the process of drying the stigmas and styles of the flower and you need 150,000 flowers to make 1kg of the spice."

Click here: Crisp bread - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AT OUR LOCAL SUPERMARKET, I BUY THE MODERN, PACKAGED VERSION OF THE TRADITIONAL SKANDINAVIAN "CRISP-BREAD" ... SORTA LIKE "RYE-CRISP" . This product is baked in Finland.

Click here: www.vaasan.com the Finnish bakery
USA DISTRIBUTER

Liberty Richter/World Finer Food

300 Broaddacres DriveBloomfield
New Jersey 07003USA\

www.libertyrichter.com

L o i S

MY NEW BLOGS:
Yahoo! 360° - Life as YOOPER.
Loisontheweb’s Blog at WordPress
http://www.myspace.com/yooperlois
Lois in Wonderland (the U.P.) AT BLOGSPOT

YA ... IT'S WINTER NOW

I STILL HAVEN'T BEEN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT ANY OF
THE NEW BLOG-HOMES THAT I AM TRYING. I like to do an entry over
the course of several days, using elements from past entries ... making
up an htm version to just copy when I am ready to post. Each new
blog site treats these differently ... as to font size, photos,
spacing. I HATE IT!
Blogspot seems to have improved a lot ... I have been able to add a lot
of junk in the other column that makes it unnecessary to put some stuff
into each individual entry.

MY NEW BLOGS:

Yahoo! 360° - Life as YOOPER.

Loisontheweb’s Blog at WordPress

http://www.myspace.com/yooperlois

Lois in Wonderland(the U.P.) AT BLOGSPOT

I made a trip down to civilization ... down to Green Bay for a visit to a
dental clinic. Here, in the U.P. it is rather a "survival-of-the-fitest". I usta live near Green Bay; most of my kids still do. So, I got a little visiting in, too. I
returned home with a new lower denture; now will get used to eating in
a normal way.

Mimi's boyfriend ... he's so handsome
... and comes to visit her. Hopefully, this week will pass ... he won't show up until next "time".



TIME TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF LUTEFISK .. I'll make a special entry on just LUTEFISK soon.

Lutefisk is dried cod that has been soaked in a lye solution to rehydrate
it. It is boiled or baked and served with butter and salt and pepper. The
finished lutefisk usually has the consistancy of Jello. So, imagine a hot, fish
flavored Jello and you can understand why Norwegians love it so much. It is
traditionly served in the U.S. for Thanksgiving and Christmas and avoided the
rest of the year.

Click here: Olsen Fish Company Links

Click here: Swedish Recipes, Food, Cookware, and Dictionaries

Here's a poem that I wrote many years ago ... I trot it out at this time every year:

Winter Now!

by Lois Haglund

Shhoooooooohh.......

Like Quick-silver, the icy breeze
slips thru the trees and across the creek......
Now, stopping for a brief
encounter with a finger or a cheek.....

Now, flittering out in profuse ripples
to chill one's deepest soul.....
Summer's tattered shawl... blown away... as
Winter blusters in to assume his role....

Wait ! The word hangs frozen... suspended.....
Wait ! I'm not ready... not Now, Oh No !
Not Ready, to face the interminable days of siege

With a merciless foe outside my window
!

Yes! It's Time, for the quicksilver blade of a breeze
To now be an awesome, deadly blow.... I Know... and remember\

Why I fear and I dread,
I Must... I Can... I Know!




See ... I REALLY am a BLOGGER!


I am going to concoct a "Letter-to-the-Editor" ... About anti-anti-logging. Locally, I saw a bumper-sticker that I just love: "IF YOU ARE
AGAINST LOGGERS ... TRY USING PLASTIC TOILET PAPER". In Crystal Falls, every day, every hour ... there are log trucks ... empty &
loaded. This means that the truckers are working, where they buy
fuel benefits, where they get truck repair or parts are
benefiting. This means that loggers are working & where they
also where they buy fuel benefits, where they get truck repair or parts
are benefiting. The loggers buy chain saws, etc. benefits.
The truckers, loggers, & the local businesses where they
spend money ... are more viable & these people in turn can spend
more money locally. We have so few ways to earn money in the U.P.
... it is great that we can count on logging. CUT A TREE ... SAVE
A JOB ... SAVE A FOREST!



ABOUT THE SIMPSON VERDICT: I hate O. J. ; I
hate this verdict. He's found that he gets ignored if he files a
complaint; what he & his friends did was stupid, but sorta
necessary to retrieve his own possessions from a greedy dealer.
At the most ... he should have gotten a year in prison. This case
was just so overblown.

Click here:Ghost Towns of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from the copper mining of the 1800s

L
o
i
S

After THANKSGIVING

Click here for my
weather(& yours)

xxx

For Thanksgiving, I opted not to drive down to family in Wisconsin; Maggie
had to work & couldn't come up. My good friends invited me
their big family get-together at their daughter's home with her BIG
family. THANKS ... GUYS!





The deer season is almost over ... then ... I'll probably start putting
out a little corn for the deer. The bear have probably gone to
bed? We have a light snow cover, but, the deer can still find
lots of grass to graze. They've probably eaten all the apples by
now.

I wish that someone in the neighborhood would get some
logging done ... that's the perfect way to have fat deer come thru the
winter1! "Managed Woodlots" ... that's the way to responsibly
maintain your forested land.

Click here: Clusty Search » "manage wood lot"

See ... I REALLY am a BLOGGER!

As we watch the news of the landing, think of my aunt, uncle, & cousin in Florida ... they are close enough to the Space Center to watch from
their own back yard!

From the website, here's the latest bulletin;
I hope that they don't have to change the landing site to TEXAS!

Final Full Day in Space for STS-126, Landing Set for
Sunday

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:52:07 PM
CST

The STS-126 crew spent its final full day in space Saturday. The crew tested
space shuttle Endeavour's flight control surfaces and reaction control system
thrusters in preparation for a Sunday landing. The two landing opportunities at
Kennedy Space Center are for 12:19 p.m. and 1:54 p.m. EST. However, an
unfavorable weather forecast in Florida called for two more landing
opportunities at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 4:25 p.m. and 6
p.m

Click here: NASA - Space Shuttle

Mission STS-126

Orbiter: Endeavour

Mission: STS-126

From the website, KIM KOMANDO'S computer advice, free downloads, MORE:

Click here: Komando.com, Website for The Kim Komando Radio Show®

Click here: USB Mug Warmer

USB cup warmer
keeps your drinks hot!



This mug warmer makes the perfect holiday gift for anyone who drinks
a lot of coffee or tea. It simply plugs into a USB port on a computer and it's
ready to go (no software required). Hot plate surface heats up to 150°F to keep
contents comfortably warm. It features an on/off switch so that it can stay
plugged in even when the warmer is not in use. 44" USB cord included.

From the website NEWSMAX:

Click here: Newsmax.com: Newsmax magazine Special Offer\

Get Sarah Palin's Book FREE

A $15.95 Value You Can't Miss . . .
The Authorized
Biography of Sarah Palin Is Yours Absolutely Free,
Just Pay Our Standard Shipping and Handling.

Get "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment
Upside Down"

FROM GLENN BECK:

Click here: Matthews: Palin talking about God is troubling

LISTEN TO REAL LIVE YOOPERS
TALKING:


Telephone Time!
Like "Yooper-Bay"

Streaming internet 6 days a
week

You can listen live
on-line to Talk Time Monday thru Saturday from 9am - Noon! Also listen live
on-line to WIKB Local Sports!

Click
here: WebStream Listen live to WIKB — 99.1 FMIron River,
MI

Click
here: WIKB 99.1 The Breeze!

The toll-free number is
800.562.7166 or locally at 906.265.9622.

You may fax them at 906.265.3486

or email with your items "for sale" or
"wanted."

L
o
i
S


MY NEW BLOGS ... NOT SURE WHICH WILL BE MY FAV, NONE OF THEM ARE AS EASY TO DO AS MY OLD AOL JOURNAL :

Yahoo! 360° - Life as YOOPER.

Loisontheweb’s Blog at WordPress

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Lois in Wonderland (the U.P.) AT BLOGSPOT

MY BACK IS MAD AT ME

5:47 AM 11/23/2008

It's been over a week since I drove back from my sister's in Wisconsin; my
back is really so bad. Even with lots of rest, I have to take more of my
prescription Ibuprofen than I'm supposed to.


5:22 AM 11/27/2008
I went to the chiropractor this week; what a relief! My Ibuprofen/aspirin
bottles are taking a hit. I need to pay my sister back for a favor ... this will
involve MORE trips down to her place in Wisconsin ... I can help her with her
business. It's been a long time since that one trip, but, my back is still mad at
me. THE PAIN IS GOING TO BE TERRIBLE; I MUST DO IT!

VISITORS

Click here for my
weather(& yours)

Click here: The Keweenaw Snow
Thermometer

YOOPERS REJOICE!

SNOW ...

Hope it keeps UP!

You see ...
if it "keeps UP" ... then ...
it's not coming DOWN!

Lots of fun winter outdoor sports....

Or, you can stay
inside... nice & cozy, & warm ... if you want, and look out the window
and see how beautiful winter can be ...

MIMI HAS AN ADORING BIG HUNK OF A "BOYFRIEND"..

Sometimes, he comes up the road to visit. They leave "love-notes" to
each other outside. On the way to town, we pass his home.

See ... I REALLY am a BLOGGER!

I heard my name on Click here: Upper
Peninsula News : TV6

THEY WERE COVERING THE TOPIC ABOUT WOLVES
IN THE U.P. ;THEY WERE QUOTING RESPONSES TO A NEWS STORY.

MY RESPONSE TO "LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR ABOUT
WOLVES.

• NATURAL IS NOT NECESSESARILY GOOD!
  
  Think about MOLD, FLU, BRA's. Wolves do not belong where we have people living.
  
  Most animals do not view children as humans ... rather as some sort of little animal/fair game.
  
  Last year, I lost all my flock of geese to
  predators. I worry about the little neighbor girl, & my little dog,
  & my cats.

LISTEN TO REAL LIVE YOOPERS
TALKING:

Telephone Time!
Like
"Yooper-Bay"

Streaming internet 6 days a
week

You can listen live
on-line to Talk Time Monday thru Saturday from 9am - Noon! Also listen live
on-line to WIKB Local Sports! DID YOU KNOW THAT CRYSTAL FALLS FOREST PARK TEAM IS GOING TO PLAY IN THE STATE FINALS THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING?

Click here: Listen live to WIKB — 99.1 FMIron River,MI


Click here: WIKB 99.1 The Breeze!

The toll-free number is 800.562.7166

or locally at 906.265.9622.

You may fax them at
906.265.3486

or email with your items "for sale" or
"wanted."

Click here: Glenn Beck Program

Click here:
Seventeen-point buck bagged : News : WLUC TV6

I just posted a comment on their web-site about hunting.

L
o
i
S


MY NEW BLOGS:

Yahoo!
360° - Life as YOOPER.

Loisontheweb’s Blog at
WordPress

http://www.myspace.com/yooperlois

Lois in Wonderland
(the U.P.) AT BLOGSPOT