Here is to the Red, White and Blue and the Hodgepodge

 

A red, white and blue pot along our daily walk. I snapped this photo last year. We are just starting to plant out our flowers. Last week we dipped down to 35 degrees, but I think we are finally going to be frost free... fingers and toes crossed, this is Wisconsin.

 I too have gotten in the red, white and blue spirit for America's big birthday.  My planters are just getting started, I will share them with you soon.

On to the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 1. Do you like your name? Are you named after someone (grandparent, etc)? If you have children how did you choose their names? 

 Yes, I like my name. My middle name is Jane, that is the same as my grandma Vida. She was Vida Jane and I am Carla Jane.

We are blessed to have two boys.

Our first son, Samuel Charles. Samuel is named after my grandpa Samuel. And his middle name is after my father.

Atticus Roy is our second son. I will let you guess where the name Atticus came from and Roy was my grandpa Lepke's first name.

 2.  A piece of red velvet cake, a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a slice of blueberry pie? You can only have one...which will you choose? If you could pick any red, white, or blue dessert other than those listed here, what would you choose? 

I will have a slice of blueberry pie please.

I would pick strawberry shortcake as my second red, white or blue dessert.

  3.  What's a job you'd like to try for just one day? 

I would like to be a Lineman for a day. I think it is fascinating how it all works, not that I really understand it all, keeping our power grid going in all weather. 

I am sure there is a rush of energy that comes when they are called out after a storm to get that grid back up and running. 

 4. Any patriotic decor in your home currently or coming up this summer? 

Yes, I have our front deck all decked out in red, white and blue. I am just waiting for the flowers to bloom a bit for photos. 

Our American flag is flying proudly and I have some small flags in my pots. 

It is a big birthday for America!!

We are ready to celebrate!!

 5. It's the end of May, so let's exercise our brains. Sum up your month with an acrostic using the word MAY. We can do it!!  

Mother's day fun,

Amongst the busy of spring,

Yes, said years ago, brings a little boys birthday cheer too. 

 I am not good at this.. Hee Hee...

We started our May with  Mother's Day. We are full of spring garden clean up and planting.  We celebrate our youngest son's birthday and on May 31st is our wedding anniversary. 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

From Columnist Harvey Mackay

Time is free, but it is priceless.

You can't own it, but you can use it.

You can't keep it, but you can spend it.

Once you have lost it, you can never get it back.

 

 

 

Memorial Day 2026

 

Hello Friends,

I am sharing a post I wrote in 2024. 

It is a good reminder to read about the bravery of our men and women. 

This is a story about a World War II soldier from Wisconsin. 

Enjoy...  

Today I am going to share a story I read in our Wisconsin Outdoor News. The author of the story is Dean Bortz. 

The Wisconsin Outdoor News 2023 Person of the Year, Rueben Kolpack. He is 103 years old and is the oldest licensed Wisconsin deer hunter.

Oh he has many milestones, I will share a few with you..

World War II soldier.

Recipient of the Silver Star for gallantry in action, the Purple Heart, African/European Medal, Victory Medal, and a Belgian medal on the recommendation of the French government.

Married 77 years to his wife, Lucille, who passed away in March at age 97, just five days short of her 98th birthday.

Father to six children.

 Successful farmer.

 

 

I want to share a few things from the article that Rueben shared.

Rueben grew up speaking German. While he was at basic training at Fort Riley, Kansas an officer asked if anyone could speak German. Once Uncle Sam figured out Kolpack could speak German, he was sent to radio school and then to the 2nd Armored Division where he was a radio operator and interpreter in a tank battery.

It was a tough duty. He saw a lot of things he'd rather not have had to witness - the huge cost of human lives on the beach of Normandy, the tank ahead of him getting blown to bits by a German Tiger tank and its 88 mm cannon.

"If it weren't for the grace of God, I wouldn't be here today. It was a miracle anyone survived the mortar attack where I was wounded. The stronghold was just 200 yards away on the ridge above us. Those mortar rounds just kept landing around us and the command tank. When people say there isn't a God, they're lying to themselves.

He was struck by a mortar that damaged his right leg. He spent four months in the hospital and was not fully recovered when he was forced back into war for the Battle of the Bulge because of losses in his unit.  

 ♥ ♥ ♥

 

 

Sound Off!!

 Hello Friends, 

Today is going to be a sound off, just to get some stuff off my chest.

I first will start with the USPS. 

I do have to say, my grandma was a rural mail carrier for 40 years. I rode with her on her route. We had so much fun together. I would ride in the back with all the mail. She was loved on her route and she took pride in her work.

I am not sure what is going on with today's USPS, but it is a mess. I wonder if we are going backwards instead of forwards.

 

For several years I have ordered our onion sets from a fantastic grower in Texas. I have not had one bit of trouble with receiving our order in fine condition, until this year.

I received confirmation our onions shipped. A week went by, still no onions on my doorstep? I was looking at the tracking and it looked like our onions where stuck in Ohio.

I contacted the company I deal with, they said they noticed the USPS is no longer updating the tracking information on the sight. WHAT??? CRAZY??

The next week our onions came... 

Our box of onion sets came soaking wet, when I opened the box the onions had mold all around them and smelled awful. 

They had gotten wet, left to sit and rot. 

 

 Thankfully the grower we order from sent out a replacement order for us immediately. 

The reason I am sounding off on the USPS is something honestly has happened to the service we once had, I do not know what the trouble is?

Short staffed?

Our carrier is a sweetheart, I know she does the best she can. Is something going on higher up making the USPS crash and burn? We no longer get mail daily. 

Any thoughts?

Next up...  

Below is a peek of just a wee bit of the mess behind our fence from our backyard neighbor.

Click here to get the rest of the story  

I shared the story about our backyard neighbor in the above post.

Sadly, he broke one of our fence panels moving more junk, a freezer, into his backyard along our fence this past week.

My husband fixed our fence and reinforced it to be ready for whatever may come next.

 

 

Keeping it real here my friends. The blog world can look all pretty and perfect, but in honesty we all are dealing with ups and downs. 

  Keep Calm and Carry On!!