On the Road Friday to Old World Wisconsin...part 1

On the Road Friday takes us on a trip to Old World Wisconsin.

Welcome to the 19th and early 20th century rural Wisconsin, a time of different cultures and locations came to Wisconsin in search of a better life.

Old World Wisconsin

Eagle, Wisconsin

Old World Wisconsin

 

What do you get to do at Old World Wisconsin? You have the fun opportunity to explore historic buildings that have been relocated from around the state, heirloom gardens, heritage breeds of animals and paths through the Kettle Moraine landscape.

 Grotelueschen Blacksmith Shop

 We all enjoyed watching the blacksmith.

 Do you know why a Blacksmith Shop is dark?

Well, a blacksmith could tell what kind of heat a flame would provide. I was surprised to find out that there are over 27 different colors of flame!  Amazing!

 The Benson House...a fancy house.

 And all the staff are dressed from the time period.

 The shoe shop!

I would take a homemade pair of shoes, please. Made to fit my feet.

Sisel Shoe Shop

 The work area of the shoe shop.

Thank you for coming along to Old World Wisconsin. We have much more to see, so next  week we will be on the road to Old World Wisconsin to visit the German, Danish and Norwegian Areas!

Enjoy your weekend.

Live like someone left the gate open!

I found this on Catastrophy ... Atticus just loved this. 

Smile!

Black and White Bean Salad with Peas and Radishes

I found the following recipe at Barefeet In the Kitchen 

Barefeet In the Kitchen is a great blog. 

I have found so many fun new recipes. It is fun to be able to make the changes to fit your family or  for what you may have on hand in your pantry.

I made a few changes and will share the recipe I made.

Black and White Bean Salad with Peas and Radishes

12 - 14 ounces frozen peas

2 cans black beans, rinsed very well

2 cans white beans, rinsed very well

1 bunch of radishes, about 6-8 radishes, halved and sliced as thinly as possible

1/2 bunch of Italian or curly parsley, about 1/2 cup chopped

3 green onions or 12 chives, sliced very thin, about 1/4 cup

juice of a lime...about 1/4 cup

1/4 cup of olive oil

 

 Place the peas in a colander and rinse under cold running water until they have thawed. This should only take a few minutes. Place rinsed beans, peas, radishes, parsley and onion. Stir in lime and oil.

Chill until ready to serve. Add seasoning as you like.

Enjoy!

 

Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and The Winner of Our Giveaway

 Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

3 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 cup of sugar

1 1/2 cups pureed, strained raspberries

1 cup of whipping cream

1 cup of whole milk

In a large bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth; add sugar and continue whisking until combined. Whisk in raspberries, followed by cream and milk, until fully incorporated.

Pour mixture into ice cream maker

Enjoy!

Atticus received good news...he needs to wear a brace for two weeks. We go back to have things checked out and pray all will be healed. Thank you for your prayers.

Atticus pulled Lynn's name of of the hat! Lynn is the winner of our weekend giveaway. Lynn please e mail me at studio206wi@gmail.com with your address. I will ship out your package. Thank You!

Close your eyes...

Close your eyes and listen to the sounds of nature, crickets chirping, doves cooing, geese honking and bees buzzing.

It is quite a performance and it is all for free.

Don't forget to enter our giveaway! Click here

Weekend Giveaway from Studio 206

 It is time for a Studio 206 Giveaway!

You will have several different ways to get your name in the hat! 

1. Leave a comment...tell me who you would send one of the cards. And anything special you would say or add? Maybe a fun Chicken Casserole recipe?

2.  Become a follower of The River!

3. Pin one or more of our cards on Pinterest! Just stop over to our shop Studio 206 and pin your favorites.

4. Stop over at our Etsy shop and favorite our shop.

5. Favorite a few cards too.

6. Invite a friend to follow The River.

Lots of fun ways to get your name in the drawing.

The winner will be picked by 

 Atticus on Monday August, 26th.

The lucky winner will win the three cards above.

Romance Under the Bridge

Monarch Butterfly

and 

Handsome Rooster

Good Luck!

Fresh Green and Yellow Beans

It is that time...time to can, freeze and eat fresh beans.

4 Bean Salad

Judy of Cranberry Morning  shared this recipe. The only change I made was, instead of a can of green beans, I added fresh from the garden yellow and green beans. 

1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can chick peas, rinsed and drained

A cup of fresh from the garden yellow and green beans

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1/3 cup Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing

Stir. Cover and refrigerate. Marinate several hours, at least overnight. If you serve this before it has a chance to marinate, it just tastes like beans.

Enjoy! 

 

Silver bells? And blessings!

If you guessed Okra...you are right.

Have you ever just met someone? Well, I just happened to meet Marv, my 85 year old garden friend, going on three years ago. And I really can not tell you how it happened. But it did. And it is a true blessing. His wife died a few years ago. He spends his time gardening, walking, reading and sharing his love of life with others. He is a Veteran of the Korean War. My boys love to listen to him tell stories about the war. He has stories about snakes, climbing rope ladders, and combat. He will share a little, and then just kinda of stop talking about it. We understand, it makes him sad. We just listen to what he wants to share and do not press him further. What he loves to talk about are plants. He has taught me so much about gardening the last couple of years. Yes, he grows Okra in Wisconsin. He was so excited to show me the flower, he just knew I would love it. And I did. 

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockleshells, And pretty maids all in a row. Now can you tell me what this plant is?

 

Boys + Tree House = ER

Sam and Atticus have been working on a new tree house this summer. They checked out some books at the library and designed what they wanted to build. An amazing tree house, with a rope ladder.

But with that amazing tree house came this! Sam is looking sad, because Atticus fell off the rope ladder and fractured his wrist. And Sam was the one who built the rope ladder. I told Sam it is no ones fault, it was an accident. It happens.

Next Friday we head to Eau Claire to find out what the next step is. Atticus had wonderful care in ER. His ER doctor was great. And I loved how he told him, "Ya, know, you are going to give your mom gray hair!"

A few more baby photos

What's up Doc?

It is a BIG world...should I try to sneak out for an adventure?

I am cute!

Yummy, this is good stuff.

Let me freshen up before the photo op.

Romance Under the Bridge

Romance Under the Bridge

 One of our new cards at Studio206

Romance Under the Bridge

A beautiful photo taken at Amnicon Falls

And some inspiration on what to write...

Hours fly 

flowers die

new ways

pass by

Love stays 

 

NOTE: All orders made during August 10th thru the 13th will be shipped on August 14th!

 

Thank You!  

On the Road Friday...The Wisconsin State Fair...part 2

Today I thought I would share some of the photos my sister shared with me from the Wisconsin State Fair.

And yes she ate some good food.

She enjoyed her  Wisconsin Cream Puff ... and said "when all is tasted ... you still can not beat the cream puff"

Some of her friends tried the deep fried Snickers and Milky Way and said it was good.

 

Almost all donkeys have a "cross". A dorsal stripe running from the top of the donkeys back and extending to the rear and down the tail. There is also a shoulder stripe that intersects the dorsal stripe at the withers running down each shoulder. The "Legend of the Donkeys Cross" states that Jesus rewarded the donkey for his loyalty to Him when he carried Jesus into Jerusalem and staying with Him at the crucifixion by placing the shadow of the cross across the donkeys back for all to remember the importance of God's humblest of creatures.

My sister would love to have a donkey as a pet.

Wisconsin!

WOW!

Amazing!

I want to create this!!

I love this idea!

Thank you for coming along today!

Baby Bunnies

Our Baby Bunnies.

For my new readers...read here for the full story. 

Last summer we decided to have baby bunnies. The boys enjoyed it so much, they asked if we would do it again this summer. Our first litter did not happen. So we had to put Rex and Fuzz together again.

Yay, this time all worked out well.

Fuzz was the proud mother of six babies.

One died.

The boys were very sad. And they were very sad for Fuzz.

Thankfully, she has five healthy bunnies.

I am thankful we have been able to do this for the boys. It has been a great learning experience for them.

Now comes the hard part...saying "Good Bye".

Last summer all the babies went to good homes. We do a full interview with the folks that come to look at the babies. Again, the boys help with this, and I am thankful they learn so much from it.

I love you!

Sweet!

From Flanders Fields to the Land of Oz

 Beautiful Poppies

My poppies are just starting to take over a section of my flower garden. I love it. I am excited for the years ahead as the seeds spread.

Do you like poppies?

Here are a few fun facts about poppies.

Color is usually, but not always brilliant red with a black base.

 Each flower produces an abundance of pollen that is considered pure gold by bees, an additional plus when bee populations seem to be in crisis and farmers are experiencing lower pollination of their commercial crops, including tree fruits and forage crops. Perhaps the agriculture community and vegetable gardeners alike should launch a new mantra "Plant Poppies!"

On the Road Friday .... Wisconsin State Fair

 Wisconsin State Fair - August 1 - 11

We actually have not been to the Wisconsin State Fair as a family. We hope to visit next summer. I think the boys will enjoy it.

 I grew up going to the State Fair because we have family that live down in Southern Wisconsin.

I have many fun memories.

My sister has been working a food booth at the Wisconsin State Fair, this will be her third year in the Baked Potato Hut.

She says it is crazy busy, but so much fun.

 

I always think it is amazing how they can set up the Fair...and get the animals into the city.

 

 Fair food is always the talk of the fair. This year about 70 new foods will be featured at the fair.

A sampling:

Beer battered macaroni and cheese bites with Jack cheese and bacon.

Beer battered bacon wrapped Cheddar hot dog on a stick.

Beer Doughnuts.

Cajun frog legs on a stick.

Dippin' Dot's float.

Garlic buttered new potatoes on a stick.

Pizza nachos.

Reuben brat on a pretzel roll.

Spicy white Cheddar popcorn.

 Cheesy Mexican tortilla fries.

Chipotle ranch chicken sticks.

Cuban coconut ice cream sandwich.

Deep fried peanut butter and bacon nuggets with Berry Weiss Jelly.

Deep fried taco cheesecake.

Hot pretzel with bacon and chocolate sauce.

Iced Irish coffee float. 

Krispy Kreme burger with spicy Pig Candy.

I am excited to hear about what my sister decided to try.

I think the Garlic buttered new potatoes on a stick sound good. Not sure about the deep fried taco cheesecake...just writing out the name gave me belly ache.

How about you? What do you like to eat at the fair?

Thank you for coming along today...to sample some Wisconsin State Fair food.

Have a great weekend!