April 1st

 

Hello Friends,

April 1st has come and gone. And if you are a regular reader here at The River, you may have remembered that I was running for village trustee for the first time. 

My first election. 

I will share a quick recap of how I got into this... I already am on a few committees with the village government. I decided to attend the monthly board meetings last year, because I started to hear rumblings about some issues that really bothered me. After attending the village board meetings, I decided that if I wanted to change things, I would need to get involved in our local government. 

One of the rumblings that really had me concerned was de-funding our police department.  That really bothered me. We raised our family here in the village. Our boys could ride their bikes up and down the street, stop at the local park and I did not worry. Why?

We had a village chief of police who knew the kids of the village and looked out for them. A side story here, one of our deputies retired, we recently bumped into him at a local function. He asked us what our boys are up to now after they flew the nest. He said, I just loved watching them ride their bikes and playing with friends. 

When I heard that current village board members wanted to de-fund our police, I decided to run in the spring election. 

It all has been a learning process for me. I met with the village clerk to learn how I go about getting on the ballot.  My neighbor nominated me, I completed all the paperwork and I was on the ballot. 

We decided to send out postcards with a photo of me and our dog, Ernie.  Ernie and I walk the streets daily, we thought that would be a good way to be recognized by those who do not know me.

 Others know me as the "Flower Lady" with my fresh cut flower business.

I was running against well known Cameron people. When I say this, born and raised here for generations. That is not me, we moved here, we are transplants. (I have a lot of stories about that too, I have shared some here on the blog.)

I know you are saying "Come on Carla, get to the results, did you win?" 

Jessica Larson 377 votes

Carla TePaske 297 votes

Randy Hill 361 votes

Dave Ebner 375 votes

I did not make it on the board. 

The village clerk called me today, she congratulated me on how well I did for my  first time in an election.  She also shared that if any of the board members resign in the future the spot will go to me, election law. 

She encouraged me to try again, she said you did really well for your first time. 

Many friends and family reached out to me during the day on Wednesday. Giving me encouragement or a hug. I am thankful for that, because I did feel sad, I wanted to try to make a difference... shake it up. Hee Hee!

I am so thankful for all those who cheered me on and also encouraged me that I should give it another try. "You were so close and you have good ideas, keep in the fight."

But there was one text message that gave me "Happy Tears" ...

 

Good Morning Mom!! Proud of you for trying!

Love, Sam

 

Sam is our oldest son. 

♥

Carla

 

Grab Your Hammer and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends, we have been busy cooking down maple sap into maple syrup. 

We enjoy a maple sundae after each cook-down.  

A scoop of vanilla custard.

Some cashews sprinkled on top of the custard.

 Warm maple syrup swirled on top of the cashews and custard. 

Enjoy! 

 

And now to the Hodgepodge. 

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

 

 1. No foolin'! April is here. What's one fun thing on your April calendar? 

We will be celebrating our oldest son's birthday, Sam will be turning 25!!

He sent me the photo below that he took with night vision during a recent training session he had with the Wisconsin National Guard. You can see the ridge, trees, grass, and look at the stars. Sam loves how the nigh vision highlights the stars.

 

 2. It's often said, 'A fool and his money are soon parted'...what's the last thing you wasted money on? 

Hair products, at my age I should know to just stick with what I already have, that works great most days. If I have a bad hair day, off I go, and buy a new hair product, that usually does not help the bad hair day. Ha!

 3.  April 2nd is National DIY day. Are you a do-it yourself kind of person or maybe you're married to one? If so, what's the last thing you DIY-ed. If you're not a DIY-er what's the most recent job you had to hire someone to complete?

My husband and I are tag - team DIY-ers.

Our largest project was gutting our kitchen and doing a complete re-do! We ripped out the tile floor, or more like had to smash the tile floor out. My husband started to say, "I am not 25 anymore, heck I am not 45 anymore." It was a job. In the end after the sore muscles heal, you smile and can be very proud of what you did.

Memories of the floor. Under the tile was the original hardwood.

 

 I will share our current DIY.. in the random.

 

 

 4. Do you eat lamb? If so do you have a favorite dish that calls for lamb? 

 

We do not eat lamb.

 

 5. Do you fit a stereotype in some way? Explain. 

 

I do not think so? I might need some help with this one? Ha Ha!

 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Our latest DIY.. a hot box. At least that is what I am trying to create here. My plan is this.. I do not have a heated greenhouse. During the day the greenhouse can get up to 90 degrees or warmer. My new little seedlings are so happy. And my greenhouse will soon be full of seedlings. My problem comes at night, when our Wisconsin spring temperatures can dip way down at night, and I cannot leave my plants out overnight. I have to haul them all inside, creating a jungle inside our house. My thought was to make a hot box, using my chicken coop shavings, putting them in a box lined with greenhouse plastic and putting water into the shavings. During the day the sun will heat the shavings and in the evening the box will release the heat slowly, keeping the greenhouse somewhat warmer than the true outside air temperature.

Now will my idea work?

 

 

 

  

 

Creamy Ravioli Soup

 

Creamy Ravioli Soup

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

1 small yellow onion diced

1 carrot large, sliced into coins

1 pound of Italian sausage

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon of basil

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 can (28 ounces) of crushed tomatoes 

4 cups of chicken broth

1 package of ravioli

6 cups of baby spinach

2 cups of heavy cream

1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese

 

Heat olive oil and butter in a large stock pot or Dutch oven. Add onions and carrots, cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the ground meat and cook until browned.

Add garlic, basil and oregano; cook for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Stir in the ravioli and cook for about 6 minutes or until the ravioli is just tender. Stir in the chopped spinach and cook for 2 minutes or until the spinach is wilted. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. 

Return the soup to a simmer and stir in the Parmesan cheese. 

Add salt and pepper to your taste.  

Enjoy!!