EXPAT REVELATIONS: The Seasons

Weather and the seasons, that age old tradition that us Brits love, love, love to talk about. As you might have noticed, it does frequently feature on my blog. Which is why I enjoyed putting together this topic for the Expat Revelation series with Holly. I didn't consider the seasonal differences before moving here I will be honest. Maybe if I had, I would have been mentally prepared for the differences between South East Michigan and East Yorkshire. 

Michigan is both warmer (yey) and colder (boo) than Yorkshire. Average temperatures hit a high of 82F (28C) in July to a cold 17F (-8) in January. It seems in the last three plus years that America has been home, all averages have been smashed. Especially the average cold temperature, -8C would be a pretty warm seeing I've spent most of 2015 in -20C. Luckily, Michigan is a lot dryer than good old Yorkshire, not that that's at all surprising it does like to rain in Yorkshire. Less rain, more snow, I can't win. 

So let's start as we mean to go on with the season right out my window, winter:

PHOTO: NOAA via The Detroit News

Right now i'm covered under that super cold whiteness. Yes it's that cold and wintry.  

I have to admit, I have never seen as much as snow as I have until moving here. In winter you're guaranteed a good foot or four or snow throughout the season with -20C becoming the new norm this year. In fact in 2013 we hit about 100 inches in total of snow. Around here winter is measured by how much the Great Lakes freeze over. Currently that stands at nearly 85% of the Lakes being covered by ice. Which is pretty awesome when you consider the Great Lakes is home to 21% of the worlds fresh water by volume (ta wiki for that fact). Unlike the UK, Michigan doesn't grind to a halt and just gets on with it. Wearing four layers becomes the norm, -8C feels warm, and snow shoveling is a nice winter work out.

Spring brings hazy days but not until late April and May. Temperatures are much like a warm British summer day. As  far as seasons go, it's pretty uneventful but lovely all the same. 

Oh summer with your long hot days around the high 20's into the 30's (C). Still a little hot for this Brit to fully enjoy. Sometimes we get a tornado watch or warning when it's the season (late spring through early summer). Sometimes one passes through, although rarely. Long warm days lead to stormy nights. The thunder is eerily loud and threatening enough that it use to scare me the first year or so.

And what's the result of those warm spring days, lovely summers and a mild autumn with it's colder nights? A beautiful colorful colourful autumn finale. The fall colours Michigan has to offer because of it's seasons is one of the reasons I love calling the mitten home. Burnt oranges, to crisp reds and dazzling golden yellows, the Michigan landscape comes alive. By the end of October the trees are naked and Thanksgiving always rolls around with a snow shower or three.

We're lucky in Michigan that we actually get to enjoy all four seasons with their quirks and charms. According to all the seasonal information out there, Michigan is more cloudy than the norm. It's one of the affects of being surrounded by all the Great Lakes. Many leave the mitten and it's surrounding northern states for the warmer climes of the south to retire, it certainly tests what you're made of. But those fall colours, having those of your doorstep, that makes it all worth while in my book.

TRAVEL: Lily Pads and Sunsets

Sometimes fresh air can heal you more then pills and sleep. That was the case on a Thursday evening we were in Bay City when after spending most of the afternoon feeling under the weather, Joe drove us out to the Quanicassee Wildlife Area just outside of Bay City. With spaced out houses, field upon field of crops, it took this Yorkshire lass back to her rural days. 

The wildlife area has a small boat landing in a pond filled with lily pads surrounded by wild flowers, a couple were fishing, some teenagers on bike rides but it was ever so peaceful. A canal stretches out with a footpath running alongside takes you down to Lake Huron. On a late summers eve the walk was the perfect time to catch the slowly setting sun with the echoes of frogs and crickets bouncing off the marsh grasses surrounding the bay.

When you live in the burbs, you forget just how quiet rural life can be.

Quanicassee Wildlife Area

Essexville, MI

FOOD: Simple and Sweet, Raspberry Jam

The smell of raspberry jam bubbling away takes me back to my childhood with my mam and my gran standing over a pressure cooker filled with fruit every summer holiday. It's a tradition I try to continue. While we only managed to freeze about six cups of raspberries - far too many were enjoyed with ice cream I confess, I knew I at least wanted to try and turn some of it into jam. 

Jam making, at least using the more traditional recipes is a lot easier than you might think plus this recipe doesn't even call for any setting agent. It's a recipe taken from Martha Stewart - one I skipped on a couple of steps because I could never drain seeds out of raspberry jam - for me that's a no no. I like my seeds damn it. This recipe will make you one jar - handy if you want to make a small batch quickly - plus it's easy enough to double, triple up the quantities if needs be.

So to the recipe we go. You'll need;

2 1/4 cups of raspberries
1 cup and 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
Zest of one large orange divided
1 1/8 of a teaspoon of lemon juice
Pinch of salt

Before you start jam making, take a saucer and place it into your freezer - you'll need it for testing your jam in a sec. Add your raspberries, sugar, salt, lemon juice and half of the orange zest into a pan and boil away. Once it reaches a roaring boil (when it really starts going for it) set a timer for 8 to 10 minutes. Make sure to keep stirring and you can even do some mashing at this point, although be careful because with such a boil it lets to spit out every so often.


Once it starts to thicken, take out your saucer from the freezer and stick a blob onto it, hold it to an angle and it should hold most of it's shape and look firm. When it reaches that point, throw in the remaining orange zest, give it a quick stir and pour into your jar. Cool it off before sticking it into the fridge. 

While we're talking about raspberries - if you want a great way to freeze berries of all kinds that won't make them all squishy - lay them on a freezeable tray and pop into your freezer for a couple of hours or over night. Then bag them up. They'll keep their shape and won't be all stuck together!


Now I just have issues of eating the jam straight from the jar!

How do you like your jam?

LIFE: The Summer Tag

After being tagged by Sam (a Michigander don't ya know) it would be rude to not tag (haha get it) along. Nevertheless with moving, this summer has been weird - the weather which is a little colder than normal, but still in the high 20's all the same, is throwing me off my mark. 

What's your favorite thing about summer?

Although we haven't had any - I love BBQs and summer shandy, being able to sit out into the evening, all the light for crafting. 

Do you have a favorite summer drink?

I wouldn't say I necessarily drink anything more because it's summer but I do enjoy brewing my own iced tea, adding in some lemon juice. Even adding some rum into on an evening. Oh how the Rachael ten years ago would frown at me for even thinking about drinking iced tea. How things change. 

Is there a location you prefer to go in the summer?

Back in the UK I'd say the beach, here it's more anywhere indoors with AC when it's a proper hot day. You can't really do too much when summer hits it's height. Saying that summer is the perfect time for hitting yardsales plus estate sales are everywhere on a Saturday during the summer which is always fun because you never know what you might find! 

Favorite make up look for the summer?

Makeup-less, is that a look? Urgh make up + my English heat levels + Michigan summer = not an attractive look.

Dresses or skirts?

Neither ... shorts at a push

Sandals or ballet pumps?

Actually normally shoe less in and around the house and garden, estate sales/work/gardening doesn't call for sandals, plus I hate seeing toes ewwww. 

Do you prefer to wear your hair up or down for the summer?

I vary between both - summer nights means I dry my hair naturally and it's natural curl kits back in which makes it nice enough for keeping down. But if i'm working and, or outside, it normally ends up being up, in some messy sort of way.

Deep smokey eyes or bold lips?

Even at 27, me and make up don't go well together, pass.

Favorite perfume for summer? 

Perfume actually tends to give me a headache so I stay away from it a lot of the time, but Daisy is always a winner if needs be.

Last but not least, favorite music for the summer?

Motown, summer is the perfect time for hearing those 1960's soul tunes.

I'd love to hear what your answers would be!

Littlewoods guest post - summer 2012

 Today I have a guest post for you provided by Littlewoods.com - although summer on either side of the pond has been complete polar opposites with the American heatwave and the English monsoon, fashion still has an important part to play.

Update Your Summer Essentials For 2012

If you want to give your summer clothing a fashion-forward twist then read our guide and discover how to update your summer essentials for 2012.

The sundress

This year the catwalks saw a wild array of clashing prints and fabrics. Choose a sundress that will nod to this trend and you’ll have an outfit that will be a go-to for the rest of the season. If your dress has a floral pattern then accessorize with a clashing belt featuring stripes or polka dots. If you want to go the whole hog, try a bold floral waistcoat that picks out a few of the colours from your dress.

The white vest

Most of us buy a couple of white vests at the beginning of the summer because they’re so versatile and can be teamed with a huge range of different outfits. This year’s most popular cut for vests is the racer back, which ties in perfectly with the sporty look. To tick off two trends in one, choose a neon vest that will add a pop of colour to any sports inspired outfit.

The denim short 

Denim cut offs are the perfect way to get your pins out in the summer. They’re comfortable and classic and they can be dressed up or down. If you want to bring your denim shorts into 2012 then adorn then with studs. Studs, beads and other embellishments are big news this year so rough up your cut-offs and embrace the rock chick look. You can buy studs online or from a haberdashery and they will look perfect teamed with black leather wedges.

The maxi dress

The maxi dress has been around for years and there are tonnes of styles and designs to choose from. If you want to hit this year’s hippy trend then team your maxi with plenty of beads and bangles and layer a couple of thin belts. Accessorize with a garland of flowers in your hair and leather flip flops to give an air of casual chic.

The blazer

A good blazer is a summer essential you can wear year after year and one of these classically cut jackets is the perfect way to complete any seaside inspired outfit. Nautical is one of this summer’s top trends and if you want to get the look then team tailored shorts with your blazer and choose red, white or navy accessories.

What are you key summer essentials, whether your home or aboard, rain or shine?

My first July 4th

Everyone knows that in America July 4th is a big deal, but what's it like experiencing these celebrations for the first time? Well Americans get all into it. In historical terms the date marks the point in 1776 when the 13 waring colonies declared themselves as independent from the British Empire [isn't Wiki great for learning all this?!]. We, the British were basically taxing the life out of the American colony - while the British thought America was and should pay its fair share the Americans started to disagree - the tax measures were a push too far in the political control coming from London. Now it's celebrated with fireworks and a fist full of patriotism.

So many toffee apples 

Food stuffs

Corn Dogs - random American food whereby you get a hotdog wrapped in a corn bread served on a stick.

Snow Cones - literally crushed ice with syrup flavorings poured on. Mine was lime and grape

I managed to do something I always wanted to do as a child - sand art! I may have been the oldest "kid" partaking but my that was that fun.

Our city had their July 4th celebrations the Sunday before hand in the Civic Park - filled with the typical festival greasy food. Luckily I got to try some new American food [well new to me] in a corn dog and a snow cone. There was bouncy castles and live music and plenty of people were sitting out having a BBQ before the fireworks started. We actually had a great view from our apartment so we headed back and saw the display from our doorstep but you'll have to excuse the light from the other apartment block in the photographs.

The last image is totally Photoshopped [I'm rather pleased with myself that I managed to edit it like that using this guide] but you could see it has capturing many of the fireworks that they had for the celebrations all thrown into one image.  My camera struggled with capturing the end of the display because of the imense light being thrown off - so this is my huge ending via editing. I wish the UK would get over their health and safety line and get back to doing displays for bonfire night. The way they bring a community together in celebrations can only be a good thing.

Photograph an hour: 28th June

I always love "a photo an hour" posts particularly those by the ultra cool Kaylah at The Danity Squid. I wanted to do something similar to actually prove to myself that although I'm not working I do actually do stuff. While I'm hunting for a job I don't search the net for one everyday - that would get at me too much and make me too depressed about trying to find something and not getting anywhere. I kinda forgot to take a photograph at tea time but you'll get the idea!

8.30 - Waking up and finishing off a brew in my fav mug. 

9.30 - Make up time.

10.30 - Baking peanut butter cookies.

11.30 - Writing out online recipes.

12.30 Dinner covered in brown sauce!

1.30 Checking the insane 36 degree heat

2.30 Taking the recycling out

3.30 Editing photographs for blog posts

4.30 Embroidering

6.30 Cross stitching

7.30 Walking our friends one eyed dog, Lugi

8.30 Chilling with Edmund

9.30 Reading the mail

Have you ever done a photograph an hour post? Leave me your links!

Strawberry Jam - A How To

I grew up with the women on my mums side of the family making jam in the summer months. My gran would come around and the kitchen would air that smell of stewing fruit. This has been a tradition that I've wanted to continue - nothing tastes better then home-made jam and making it yourself is pretty easy once you have the know how. This recipe is partly what I remember from my family way of making and random recipes found via google. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lbs of strawberries - the fresher the better
• 4 cups of granulated sugar
• Juice of 2 lemons

You should have plenty of glass jars at the ready [the above amount makes just short of three jars] - loads of people buy brand new ones but I'm all for recycling old jars we've come across, just make sure they are nice and clean.

How you cut up your strawberries depends upon how lumpy you like your jam. While some people opt to blend the life out of them in a blender, I love knowing that my jam has real strawberries in it, so I love mine nice and lumpy - therefore I don't cut up the strawberries into tiny pieces. You should bare in mind that the boiling process does melt them down anyway. 

After all your strawberries are cut up, add everything into a large pan and set the temperature on low. At first you only need a low heat to slowly start boiling the mixture. Keep boiling until all the sugar has dissolved.

Once all the sugar's dissolved the strawberries will start strewing and you'll start getting a lovely strawberry juice mixture going. Whack the pan up to high so you start to get a roaring boil - you have to be careful because sometimes it can spit, but you need to keep the heat up. Keep stirring so you can tell when it starts to thicken.

Sometimes this can take 5 mins sometimes a lot longer - that's the luck of the game when it comes to making strawberry jam and the more you make it the more likely you are to know when it's looking good enough to start thinking about checking if it's set. At this point I always put a saucer into the fridge - it's an important piece in checking to see if you're jams ready. 

Taking a dribble of your jam mixture, drop it onto your saucer and leave by an open window for a couple of minutes. If you can then tilt the saucer and the jam doesn't run off, and or it has a crust forming over it [say like lava would] then you're ready. There's no magic way of  pouring from the pan into the jars and this point is one of the muckiest and somewhat dangerous part of jam making. What I've been taught to do it use a glass jug and scoop up the jam from the pan and then pour it into the jars.

 
Leave to cool and you're all done. It's best to keep the jam once you've reopened it in the fridge and they can last stored for months and months.

Have you ever made jam?

Duck Lane

In his job Joe drives around a lot and see's random places he'll remember and drive me out to see whenever we get the chance. On a fitting road called Duck Lane out in the countryside he'd spotted these bird houses on wooden poles in the middle of an allege covered pond - apparently in someone's back yard. How the bird houses stand up is a mystery to me but it was a great sight to see and there were a few birds rustling around in the marsh grasses close by. Further along the same road came another couple of ponds and a careful eye spotted these amazingly coloured birds which we later found out to be wild Sandhill Cranes. Wildlife in America does seem to be a lot tamer or maybe they should be seen as more adventurous?

LIFE: Row Row Row Your Boat

On Saturday we took a trip back to Kensington Metropark to hire a rowing boat to get out onto Kent Lake. After my panics of getting into the boat [hate how it wobbles and moves and slides when you're stepping in] so much so that I clung onto the sides for dear life for the first couple of minutes it was rather a lot of fun. Joe rowed us out for an hour and a half across to one of the quiet bays, around an island and back into the dock. With it being another bright sunny day here in south east Michigan the reflections on the waters surface were amazing and luckily my camera was playing game in letting me capture some of it.

LIFE: Fireworks

Saturday night the Kensington Metropark held their Salute to America fireworks display. Being English I've grown up with firework displays although more often on a freezing cold November night [until like many bonfire nights they decreased in size or stopped all together because of councils refusing to shell out on something for Guy Fawkes night]. This display was their early July 4th celebration and masses turned out. We parked at Maple Beach and like many others, waited the two hours till 10PM and the display began taking our positions by the beach. These were like the fireworks you'd see on your TV that London put on on at New Years. They were insane, the colours were amazing, and was just non stop for a good 25 minutes. As the display was being launched from one end of the lake, the fireworks created amazing reflections over the water - that really added something. While we both took our cameras [I totally forgot my tripod] fireworks weren't the easiest thing to catch photographically but here's some to try and capture the event. In the end I took to videoing it with my camera to share with you the finale of the display.

And yes, American's even clap at the end of fireworks!

Random photograph post #2

Loosing the internet through me slightly off course with the blog for a day so I've felt like I've been playing catch up since Thursday. Nevertheless when I haven't been freaking out about my residency interview on Wednesday this is what I've been doing.

Re-homing our pet cacti into an old cup after it outgrew it's original container. After seeing this DIY use of a mason jar I did want to recycle one of our jam jars [even though I'm eagerly saving them for making some jam]. Nonetheless all the jars we had were a little too small and after been jabbed, stabbed and pricked countless times trying to get the said cacti in I reverted to using a cup instead, layering the bottom with stones for drainage, then filling up with soil and topping off with more stones for a little bit of decoration. Turned out well don't you think?!

For the first time in recent history I've gained a tan on my legs - temperatures haven't really dropped below 24 degrees [at least during the day] and we're normally reaching into the mid 30s daily. As a Yorkshire lass I'm slowly getting use to the weather just by making myself be in it more - I'm just glad there's always shade under our apartment windows!

Baking for me can be really hit and miss but these brown sugar cupcakes have been an extremely big hit with those that have tried them. Although it's hard to just get away with eating and walking away after one. Lastly I won a giveaway over at The Sasse Life for a canvas of my choice by Carolyn McNee Photography. All the photography is gorgeous and it was hard to pick one image to get made up but I opted for Ayres Rock - while we've never been to Australia ourselves it's one of our dream vacations and it's were my grandad back in the day [but my gran didn't want to so they stayed in the UK]. One of the reasons why I'd love to visit Oz is for him and while he died when I was a few months old I love looking at that canvas and thinking of him.

What's been rocking your world lately?

YORKSHIRE: Dalby Forest

So after the complete downpour upon the Yorkshire Moors (the story got slightly sidetracked by the visa letter appearing) we decided to hop over to the other side of the road and into a different valley to visit Dalby Forest - a Forestry Commission forest drive with pull ins, walks, mountain bike tracks and visitor places. Even though the majority of things are outside there's at least a tourist information centre to shelter from somewhat. Luckily the weather was totally different, even with the odd tiny shower we managed a good (yet steep) walk into the forest, caught sight of a gorgeous selection of butterflies and bees, wild flowers and bird song.

You could spend hours walking around the numerous trails, you can even hire bikes and have a tour around which I could imagine being excellent fun. Sometimes its just nice to stop and just hear the peace and quiet and watch the birds fluttering around. While it does get popular on the summer weekends and during school holidays on Tuesday it was nice and quiet, easy enough to escape the rest of civilisation.

Today I spent the afternoon printing off the countless visa forms I need to fill out. Last count was eight forms. Gah but i'll probably write much more about that in the near future!

LIFE: 28 Degrees

Looks like summer may have finally arrived - most likely only for a day but it was enjoyable being able to sit outside and freeze or get rained on. Even with a couple of  clouds in the sky it was nice just to watch the world go past and read. I think when we weather finally turns hot like this us Brits aren't really too sure what to do.

Has anyone else been watching the Glastonbury highlights? Mumford and Sons were fantastic - i've heard bits of them before but never sat down and listened properly to them but i'm a fan for sure. When I had my NME days Glastonbury was a fesstival I longed to go to - and still do in a way. I still would given the chance. We're been eyeing up Chicago's Lollapalooza festival for next year but we'll see what the headliner's are first, being in Grant Park next to Lake Michigan there's no camping and I can only guest at how busy all the hotels will get that weekend. 

My heads been stuck in Bill Bryson's Made in a America book this past week; its not really about American history as such but it tells it in passing in a very amusing way. It's the tale of the American language and how it forms it's culture, how and why America uses the words it does, the people that said things, invented things and wrote things down. From the instance of the term penguin coming from Newfoundland but no one really knows why; that side-walk is Colonial America and that fall for autumn is a term us English were using first. Who'd of thought.

Hope your all enjoying the sunshine wherever you are x