About The River

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Thoughts

When George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation, he said: "It is the duty of all the nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefit, and humbly to implore His protection."



Happy Thanksgiving
Enjoy this special time to gather with family and friends, share a delicious meal, watch parades and football.

As you share the holiday with those around you this year, take a few moments to focus on God and all the blessings we have.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Thanksgiving Blessing Mix


Thanksgiving Blessing Mix
This is a fun mix to give to family, friends or children in your class at Thanksgiving. 
This year we are giving it to our Sunday School class.

What do you need?

Bugles
Small Pretzels
Candy Corn
Dried Fruit or Raisins
Peanuts
Sunflower Seeds
M&M's
Hershey's Kisses

In a large bowl gently mix all ingredients, except Hershey's Kisses.
Place 1/2 a cup or more in a treat or snack bag. Add one Hershey's Kiss to each bag. 
Attach the following explanation:

Bugles: shaped like a Cornucopia or Horn of Plenty, a symbol of our nation's abundance.

Pretzels: arms folded in prayer, a freedom sought by our nation's founders

Candy Corn: the sacrifices of the Pilgrims' first winter. Food was so scarce that settlers survived on just a few kernels of corn.

Nuts & Seeds: promise of a future harvest, one that will reap only if seeds are planted and tended with diligence.

Dried Fruit: harvest gifts from our bountiful land.

M&M's: sweet memories of those who died for our freedoms and promise of a blessed future.

Hershey's Kisses: the love of family and friends that sweetens our lives.


Happy Thanksgiving

Friday, November 22, 2013

On the Road Friday - Red's Big Bear Lodge - Connors Lake - Lake of the Pines

During the month of June, we took the boys to Red's Big Bear Lodge. My husband grew up helping his parents. They owned Big Bear Lodge, fine dinning, canoe and cabin rentals.
I worked part time  at the Lodge as a dishwasher after college...that is another story, ♥ a love story ♥.
We thought it would be fun to show the boys where dad grew up.

So off we go.
First stop, Connors Lake, located in the Flambeau River State Forest.
My husband grew up in the woods. His childhood home and the Lodge is located right in the Flambeau River State Forest.
We stopped to show the boys Connors Lake.
 
 



 Connors Lake is a beautiful spring fed lake. Clear and cold, perfect on a hot summers day.


 Connors Lake offers a beautiful playground, picnic area, bathrooms, changing rooms and lots of room to play.


For more information click here Connors Lake


Next stop, Lake of the Pines.
Look who decided to come along.

Painted Turtle
Named for its bright colors 
 Peaceful painted turtles
Basking in the sun,
You'll see them perching piggyback 
Or lined up one by one.
 

Lake of the Pines is a beautiful lake for canoeing and kayaking.


For more information click Lake of Pines
 

Lake of the Pines has a beautiful hiking trail. We went about 1/2 way because it was getting dark.
On our way back out to the campground, we could hear " who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?" We started to look up and right up above us was a Barred Owl. He continued to talk to us and then flew away. 
For more information on Barred Owls click here
 
We enjoyed showing the boys both lakes and hope to spend more time at both of them in 2014.


The Big Bear.
My husband was excited to see that the Big Bear was still standing proud.
He has many memories of climbing it and cleaning it. Mildew or a moss would start to grow on it.
To get more information about Red's Big Bear click here

Thank you for coming along with me.
How about you, have you gone on a trip with your family to visit places you explored or worked at as a kid?

Have a great weekend.

Taking our dear friend Irma out for supper, at Red's Big Bear.
   

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Putting the Garden to Bed and Planting for Spring

We officially have put the garden to bed.
Cleaned the flower beds.
Cut the Raspberry bushes back and put lots of mulch on them for winter.
Tilled the vegetable garden and put compost into the soil.

And we dream of spring!
"In the spring; at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."
Margaret Atwood


 We planted garlic.
Thank you to Our Neck of the Woods  Tammy shared 5 easy steps to planting garlic.
I also asked Judy of Cranberry Morning  to help me out, because she lives in Northwest Wisconsin and knows about the wild weather we have to endure.
Both did a great job explaining how to go about planting garlic.
I always wanted to try it. 
Here it goes...I will tell you more about it this spring.

 Cutting back the hostas.



"Tis merry, merry in the spring, And merry in the summer time, And merry when the great winds sing through autumns woodlands brown~And in the winter, wild, and cold. Tis merry, merry too.
William Howitt


 Planting daffodil bulbs.


 And more daffodil bulbs.


And more daffodil bulbs. Did I ever tell you daffodils are my favorite flower?

  
Dreaming of Spring

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.
Albert Einstein


How about you? 
Do you put your garden to bed?
Did you plant any bulbs for spring?
How about garlic? Have you tried to grow garlic?
 
  Happy Wednesday!
  

Monday, November 18, 2013

The Money Tree

Our phone company sends us a monthly online newsletter. It has hints for using the computer, fun web sites to visit and some cool video to watch.

This month they shared this fun one about a Real Life Money tree.

Real-Life Money Tree
What happens when 100 one-dollar bills are pinned to a tree on a busy city sidewalk? Watch this video to see the various responses to this interesting social experiment. Spoiler alert: most people walk by without noticing the money!



It is 5 minutes. 
Let me know what you think.
Have a great Monday! 
 

Friday, November 15, 2013

On the Road Friday - Living Thanksgiving

Hello, we are on the road today.
Today, we are going to visit Thanksgiving.

Last week our family attended a Living Thanksgiving presentation. It was an all day event. We went to four different stations and learned different things about the Pilgrims and the Indians. We also all ate together, a big potluck meal, just like the first Thanksgiving.

 Items that were used during that period of time.

 Mary, she was great. She taught us about the chores we would have. Lots and lots of hard work.
We got to dye fabric and make candles.
 Natural dye.
Blueberries, pineneedles, coffee and  onion skins to name a few.

 Tools of the day.
This was a hands on event. The boys each got to take a turn using the tools.

 This one was a favorite.

 Using the two man saw took concentration and strength.

 The actors and actresses were amazing.
They were great with the children and loved to teach.
We all went home learning something we did not know about the Pilgrims and the Indians.
It was a great event.

 Wearing clothes of the day. 
The actors also spoke from that time. It was so much fun.

What do love about Thanksgiving?

 Do you know an interesting fact about Thanksgiving you would like to share?


And the winner of our Studio206 giveaway is... Pat from Gypsy Heart

Thank you to all for entering.
 


Have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Craft Time - Autumn Leaves....made out of glue?

This craft is easy, fun and can be used for so many decorating ideas.

What do you need?

One protector page
Leaf patterns traced on a blank piece of paper
Glue
Food coloring...yellow, red, orange, purple

1.  Put several drops of food coloring into your glue to create the color of leaf you would like.
Shake Well
Add as much coloring as you need
Shake Well

2. Place your patterns into the protective paper sleeve

3. Outline your leaf with the glue

4. Fill in the leaf with the other colors you desire

5. Let dry in a safe place for 48 hours

6. Ta Da - You have just made beautiful autumn leaves


 My boys could not believe we did this craft with glue. It was so amazing and fun for them.

Ideas we came up with to do with our leaves...

Make an autumn garland.

Write family members names on the leaves and use as place settings at Thanksgiving.

Hang in the window as a suncatcher.

We had lots of fun with this craft. We are thinking of doing some Christmas designs too.

Have fun crafting!

 

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Autumn Sunshine

 I can not endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house.
So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.
Nathaniel Hawthorne

 Don't forget to enter my giveaway.
Enjoy the Autumn Sunshine.
Have a beautiful day.

Monday, November 11, 2013

As Winnie the Pooh would say "Oh Bother!"

"Oh Bother!"
That is what I said two weeks ago when I found out I was a no-reply blogger.
I switched to Google+ back in the spring of 2013. I had no idea when I did that, my profile changed and I became a no-reply blogger.
Annoying! I know.
Many of you told me too...And I thank you.
Each time someone mentioned it to me, I peeked at my settings and all looked okay.
"What is going on?" I would say!

Think, think, think.
I finally fixed my no - reply blogger problem. 
I am sorry it took me so long.

Thank you to all of you who were patient with me during this time.
If you are a no - reply blogger - or  you would like to check out if you are...check out the following blog Venus Trapped: Google+ The Ultimate No-Reply Blogger 
this is a helpful post to see if you indeed need to check mark that box. It takes you step by step.


A Big Thank You to All, for being patient with me. Let's celebrate with a giveaway!
 Spy Cat
We will be giving away one of our posters from our shop.
Spy Cat - a fun way to decorate your entry...to keep an eye on things.
11x7 poster

  How to enter?
Leave me a comment on my blog for 1 entry.
Invite a friend to follow The River for a 2 entry. Have them leave a comment below and be sure to have them say you invited them.

Good Luck!
The winner will be announced on Friday, November 15th!
And be sure to leave me a way to get a hold of you for shipping information!

Thank you again for your support of The River!
  

  

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Funny on Sunday

 
We visited the orthodontist this week. Look who was greeting us.
I thought this was so fun and clever of our orthodontist.
Come to find out, this was going to be his last day out...he was starting to look kinda of done inside.

Happy Sunday

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Giant Puffball

  Giant Puffball is found in Wisconsin
On our daily walk we noticed an odd looking thing in the woods. At first I thought it was an old ball. To our surprise we found a giant puffball. We have found several little puff balls. And they are always fun to poke and watch the smoke come out of them. I had no idea they could grow the size of a basketball!

Did you know you can eat puffball?
When its meat is solid and white, it can make a very good food! Come to find out, my grandpa use to eat them. How about you, have you come across a giant  puffball? 
Have you eaten  puffball?



 
My aunt Sally shared with me, she found a giant puffball when she was little, with her sister. They decided to kick it. It was all green inside and it squished out all kinds of icky green on to her shoes and socks. 
Something I know my boys would love to do with this giant puffball.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review - One Small Farm - Photographs of a Wisconsin Way of Life

Book Review

One Small Farm
Photographs of a Wisconsin Way of Life

Author - Craig Schreiner

In One Small Farm, Craig Schreiner captures one family as they maintain the rhythms and routines of small farm life near Pine Bluff, Wisconsin.

"People's lives are written on the fields of old farms." 


"It is a routine that has gone on here for decades. Most of the things that are important to my friends in the city and on Facebook, things that are worried over, and debated, written about, satirized and analyzed, are not on the Lambertys' radar. Here there is harmony and sweetness and things that need doing over and over every day. In the summer of 2012, I asked Gordy if he had seen any of the Republican National Convention on the television that week. No, he replied - he had given up on following politics because it had become too bitter. It occurred to me that if our politicians have lost the attention of thoughtful, earnest people like this, we are in big trouble."
Craig Schreiner

I enjoyed this book. I grew up on a small farm and my parents are still farming today. It is a hard life, but full of so many rewards. 
Looking at the photos brought back many memories of growing up and helping my parents.
My favorite photos in the book are of the farmers hands.

"It's often said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but I think the hands, especially the hands of working people like Gordy Lamberty, have just as much to tell"
 Craig Schreiner
 
Faith in God. Personal responsibility. Making do. Pulling together. Avoiding debt. Relying on one's own manual labor. The value of an educated guess. Nurturing the land and the animals. Do all of these add up to success? For the Lambertys, they did.
                                                                                                                                          Craig Schreiner



Monday, November 4, 2013

10 Minute Cranberries

10 Minute Cranberries
2 cups water
1 1/2 sugar
4 cups cranberries

Boil sugar and water for 5 minutes.
Add cranberries, boil for 5 minuets.
Let cool or eat warm. My son Sam loves to eat his cranberry sauce warm.
Enjoy! 


 This is an easy recipe to help you add cranberries to your meal.
Cranberries are a superfood!
One cup of cranberry juice can deliver up to 100 percent of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C - just look for the label that says "100 percent juice"

Bacteria don't stand a chance against these guys:
Several studies show that cranberries and cranberry juice can help ward off urinary tract infections.

Juiced
Take advantage of cranberries high acid content and use fresh juice from the berries in place of vinegar in salad dressings and marinades.

Dried
Toss 1 to 2 Tbsp. into oatmeal, spinach salad, or other salad.

Cooked
Cranberry relish really perks up  sandwiches. The berries also add a bright accent to baked goods,wild rice, and meat dishes.
 

Friday, November 1, 2013

Welcome November

Welcome November
Wisconsin November Fun Facts

November is the cloudiest month

November 3 Daylight savings time ends

Dig out your blaze orange to wear...hunters in the woods

Last migrating waterfowl and swans

Snowfall is possible


And the best one of all
Thanksgiving Day
November 28th

Have a great weekend!