Joy List Monday

 Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly reminder ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day 

 

 

♥ cookies and more cookies

 ♥ Christmas cards and letters from family and friends

♥ Christmas movies and music

 

 

♥ a white Christmas

 ♥ Christmas tea with friends

 ♥ a Christmas ham from my husband's company he works for

 

 

 ♥ surprise Christmas packages

♥  belly laughs with family

  ♥ time with family and friends

 

Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile. 

♥ 

Carla 

Good Eats and The Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends, it is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. What's worth standing in line for? 

Good eats are worth standing in line for. 

I did not have to stand in line for the good eats below, all that goodness you see with that salad came from our garden. Half the green bean - mushroom tart came from the garden, the green beans.

 

 

 2. Tell us about a favorite food related memory.

I love my mom's Thanksgiving dressing/stuffing. Watching her make it as a young girl is a memory that will fill my mind and heart on Thanksgiving day when we all gather for Thanksgiving and my parents still host the special meal.

 3. What are some things you find particularly peaceful or calming? 

My garden.

 Can you see the HUGE butterfly?

We are enjoying our best butterfly year yet in our garden. We have so many different kinds of butterfly and moths. It has been a real joy to work in the garden and be surrounded by butterfly, hummingbirds, bees and moths.

4. Is there something you do now that gets you just as excited as it did when you were a child? 

Spending time with family. I would get excited to ride my bike to grandma and grandpa's house. I would get excited when extended family would come for a week long visit to the farm. I am the same today. I get excited when my kids come to visit. And other family.

 5. To what degree are you in touch with friends from grade school? high school? college if you attended college? 

I am still in touch with a friend I attended high school with and college. 

No one from grade school.  

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am waiting for something ... this is a good reminder.

 

Memorial Day ~ We Remember

 

 

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Colonel John McCrae

 

Conversation

 

Conversation

I started something new here at The River, I ask a question to spark conversation.

"We need never be ashamed of our tears" Charles Dickens 

When's the last time you cried?

 

One of our boys best friends is leaving for basic training next week. My son Atticus' best friend will leave for Fort Jackson. Fort Jackson, the same place our son, Sam back in 2018 completed his basic training. 

Tears of pride.

Tears of worry.

Tears of memories... oh the many adventures our boys had when they were little and still do today as they are grown men. 

Tears of happiness... this is what our friend has wanted to do for a long time, it is coming true for him, he is an American Soldier. 

 Godspeed for C.M.H

 ♥

March On and It is the Hodgepodge

 

 

March On ... looking out at our garden, the snow is just about melted.. but guess what? We are under a Winter Storm Warning for tonight. 

We shall march on to the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. What do you love most about March? 

I love that we start to have more daylight, stronger sunshine and SPRING!

And it is this young ladies birthday in the month of March. Our son Sam's girlfriend, Cate. We will plan a fun outing to spend time with them.

2. Hey! Did you know March is National Celery Month? Do you like celery? What's something you make (or like to order out) that calls for celery? 

 I do like celery, my son Atticus does too. 

I just made chicken noodle soup and I put in a nice amount of celery in the soup.

 

 3. _______________ is the soundtrack to my life right now. 

 

I am going to pick the movie .. Cars soundtrack. 

Life Is a Highway

Song by Rascal Flatts ‧ 2006

 

The phrase "life is a highway" is a metaphor that suggests life is a journey with many experiences and paths. It can also imply that life moves quickly and we should enjoy the ride.

 

4. Share a favorite motivational quote for overcoming challenges. 

 

Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.

Anne Frank

 

 5. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday this year. Do you participate in Lent in some way? If so tell us more. 

 

 My husband and I will start a study this evening, The Paschal Mystery, reflections for Lent and Easter.

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here.  

 

My friend J made these mittens for me out of a sweater. They have been lifesavers during our cold, cold weather this winter. Negative temps... no problem with my mittens made with love!!  

 

 

 

A Duel with Fear

 

Someone painted hearts on trees along our river walk.

 Hello Friends, today I am going to share some news with you. Monday, January 13th my husband and I attended our local caucus at our village board meeting, I was nominated to be on the ballot to run as trustee for our village board. We have been attending our local board meetings for a year now. We decided we wanted to know more about what was going on in our village. As we started to know more, we saw that some ideas of change in our village are not going in the direction that we would like. We started to talk about running for trustee in the 2025 election. 

My husband is already the treasure of our local Sportsman's Club. He also is the keeper of the website for the Sportsman's Club. He really did not feel he could add more to his schedule and still have the free time for family, friends and hobbies that he would like.

We talked about me running for the position. I asked him his honest opinion, because he knows me best.  He told me I ask good questions about things that "no one on the board" ask. You are a thinker and you feel passionate about our little village. 

This was all in December. With that I asked my dear friends to pray for my decision.

I met with our village clerk to find out just how do I get on the ballot. I had to be nominated at the caucus, I could nominate myself if I wanted. And I needed a second.

I asked my neighbor Dave if he would be willing to nominate me, he was and he did. He was happy I was running. He said, "Yay, about time we had some representation on the South Side." And my friend Kathy seconded the nomination.

I completed my paper work Friday January, 17th. I am going to be on the ballot. 

I do not know that I will win. I am running against two fellas that are born and raised in our village and they have been on the board F.O.R.E.V.E.R.  I am not born and raised in our village or am I from the county we live in. We are transplants, but we have lived here going on 28 years. We raised a family here and work here in the village. 

Because of my flower business, I am known as The Flower Lady. 

So here it goes... The Flower Lady for Village Trustee.

 

To duel with fear and walk away champion. 

To remember the last always goes first, the servant before the crown and humbly take my place in line. 

Help me pray the ultimate words of faith... thy will be done.

 

 

 

Holly Jolly Christmas

 

Each December our little Village has a Christmas parade. It is always well attended and full of creative floats.

 

 

I love all the creativity.

 

 

I love all the twinkle lights!

 

 

Our friend Larry.. see his smile. He loves driving in the parade. 

 

 

Our local garbage service .. I liked Oscar the Grouch waving out from the garbage can.

 

 

Here comes my favorite float of the night. The Cameron Fire Department had HUGE blow ups. Well as you can see they are getting away. No worries, people jumped up to help hold the extra ropes so Santa and his Elf would not move around so much.

 

 And who is last to come.. Santa..riding on a firetruck.

 

 To finish the night Santa sits for you to come visit and receive a bag full of treats.

 

 

 Merry Christmas!!

 

If Ornaments Could Talk

 

Hello Friends, for our family, unwrapping each ornament and sharing the memory behind it makes decorating our Christmas tree a family tradition that we try to do together each year.

 

 

Homemade ornaments always bring back memories of school days.

 

 

Three Cheers ... for favorite sports teams.

 

 

Ornaments passed down from generations.

Ornaments rescued from a trash can. 

Oh this little angel could share a story, she was destined for the trash can at a place of employment years ago, I scooped her up and brought her home with me.

 

 

Ornaments that are gifted to us from friends and family, they all tell a story.

♥

Carla 

Anxious for Nothing

 

Hello Friends,

My friend Judy gifted me a study written by Max Lucado.  The study focuses on setting aside anxiety and fear in this ever - changing world.

I will be honest, I can get anxious. Living in an upside down world,  I think if each one of us is honest with ourselves, we can  say we feel anxious every now and then. Max shares that one way to replace your "anxious" thought is to replace it with "already". Look at what you already have. Treat each anxious thought with a grateful one.

 

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Abraham Lincoln

 

Joy List Monday

 

Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly ritual ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day

 ♥ the above kitchen towel, paper weight and message are gifts from a friend... for no reason but to spread kindness

Kindness Counts ... Pass It On!

Go plant a seed of kindness and watch the world bloom 

So, plant a seed of kindness

And  we'll chase away the gloom.

 ♥ text messages from friends and family 

♥ watching my seedlings start to pop up

♥ a friend stopping in for a visit and bringing my favorite sweet roll

♥ visits with our neighbor over the fence and yes it is just like Wilson...  from Home Improvement

Watch here 

 Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile.

Joy List Monday

 

Joy List Monday

♥  a weekly ritual   ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day

 ♥ enjoying the garden

grasses

morning glories

and more

morning glories

 

♥ apples and pears

a dear friend let us pick apples and pears at her brothers orchard

 

 ♥ making crab apple jelly 

 

 

 ♥ dehydrating pears

 

 

♥ another fun flower year

closing the Flower Shack for the season

 

 

♥ a few more bouquets from the season

 

♥ wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile ♥

♥

Carla 

On The Road Friday ~ Devil's Lake, Wisconsin

 

Hello Friends,

This is not a tall tale.. nope it is a true adventure of our time on Devil's Lake.

We will start from the beginning, our friend Bonita lives in Florida most of the year. She use to live in Wisconsin all year around, but her son lives in Florida, so she moved to Florida to be closer to family. 

Each summer she comes back to Wisconsin. Each summer we have a kayaking adventure. Last year we kayaked the evening of the Summer Solstice and stayed out as late as we could during the longest day of the year.

We planned this years adventure for July 16th. Looking at the weather forecast, it said sunshine and a bit breezy. Oh my, a perfect day to be on the water. 

As we headed out on to the water, my husband noticed a dark cloud. Could this cloud be coming our way? No, it looks to be blowing in the other direction. Besides, the weather forecast says .. sunshine and a breeze. 

Well the breeze turned into a high wind, the cloud turned into thunder and we paddled to safety on the shoreline. We huddled under some brush. Our dear friend Bonita is deathly scared of snakes. Snakes were all  she could think about while huddled under the brush. Do you see any snakes? Then we started to ask, do you see poison ivy or poison oak? It thundered, the wind blew and then it was all over. And as we started to dry off the kayak seats we noticed the No Trespassing Sign on the other side of the brush. Oh Bother!!

We got back into our kayaks and paddled on to our destination to the Big Devil's Lake. We were in between Little Devil's Lake and Big Devil's Lake,  in the channel when the breeze decided to become wind and the dark could became thunder. And one does not look for No Trespassing signs when paddling to safety.

We had a great explore on Big Devil's Lake and paddled back to Bonita's  .. to no power. 

To end our evening we went to the Campground Club House and enjoyed a bowl of ice cream.. with every one else because we all  had the same idea.. with no power .. we don't want the ice cream to melt in the ice cooler. 

Hee Hee!

And that is our adventure with our friend Bonita. It is not our first adventure with her. No, we ended up in another storm years past. We were heading home from spending the day with her. We got caught in a terrible storm we had to unload our canoe at a complete strangers because the wind was so bad to travel with it. Thankfully the stranger was very kind and let us leave the canoe to pick up the next day.

No tall tale.. just another adventure with our friend Bonita.. I wonder what next summer will bring?

♥ 

Carla

This and That

 

2021 TePaske Easter Cake

 

Hello Friends,

A little of this and that going on this past weekend and week. 

We visited Catie for her birthday. If you are new to The River, Catie is our deployed son's girlfriend. 

It was great to catch up with her. And we all are marking X's on our calendar's as we wait for Sam and the 157th to return to the United States.

 I started seeds.  

We cooked down our first batch of maple syrup. The syrup is dark this year, my favorite.

Easter of 2022 I missed out on making our TePaske Easter cake. Again, if your new to The River, we started a tradition of the TePaske Easter cake.

 Click here to see some of the past Easter cakes 

Lemon Bundt Cake Recipe 

I am happy to report I am back in business. We will be hosting a Palm Saturday gathering and we will be enjoying the 2023 Easter cake for dessert. Stay tuned.

 ♥

 Carla

 

2021 Easter Cake

One of my past favorites.