Jack Be Little

My sister gifted me these fun metal animals to create cute pumpkins.

 Mr.Owl

 Mr. Turkey

Ms. Squirrel

Who is your favorite?

Do you have plans for Halloween night? 

Will you be watching for the Great Pumpkin?

Trick or Treat

 

 

On the Road Friday ~ Cable Natural History Museum ~ Cable, Wisconsin

On September 16th my son Atticus and I did something new together. We took an art class at Cable Natural History Museum. Click here to learn more about the museum.

The museum was hosting a Developing Your Eye with Botanical Illustration in honor of Lois Nestel, the Museum's founding director and naturalist. Lois was a talented artist.

 

 We arrived early. Cable is about an hour and 20 minute drive from our home.

Our instructor was Janet Moore.

Janet provided us with a supply list. Atticus enjoyed picking up new art supplies.

Janet also provided some of her own supplies. She gave us the most amazing watercolor paper.

  

We worked on a single leaf exercise during the morning portion of the class.

 After lunch we went out into the garden and picked our next live plant specimen to watercolor with guided instruction.

 I decided on a Viola.

 Atticus did a member of the Aster family.

Atticus and I were both very impressed with the museum, the staff and the class.

 

 

Overnight Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast Casserole

My family and I are not huge fans of overnight egg bakes. When I spotted this recipe in The Country Today a weekly Wisconsin newspaper. I thought I would give an egg bake one more try. 

I am glad I did! Yummy!

Overnight Cinnamon Apple Baked French Toast Casserole

 1 lb loaf sourdough or French bread

cut into chunks

 3 cups chopped apples

 8 large eggs

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.

Combine the bread chunks and chopped apples and lay in the bottom of the dish. In a large bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients, pour evenly over the bread. Cover the casserole and store in the fridge overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the casserole for 40 minuets.

Pull from the oven and top with Streusel. Prepare the streusel while the casserole is baking.

Streusel Topping

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice

1/2 cup butter cut into pieces

combine the streusel  

mix all the ingredients until it forms a crumbly mixture

after the casserole bakes for 40 minuets top with the streusel and bake for another 10 minutes

Let the casserole sit for 5 minutes.

Serve with warm maple syrup.

Enjoy!

 

Flower Stories from The Little Garden That Could

As the growing season comes to an end my flower subscription service also is coming to an end for the 2017 season. 

My summer of doing flower subscriptions added more inspiration to continue next year. 

If you have not peeked at my website click The Little Garden That Could

With the flower subscription service I was able to deliver to a lovely lady who was very sick. Her daughter gifted her a weekly flower subscription. 

  

Each time I delivered we would talk about the flowers that I used to create the bouquet. We talked about the bold colors, the petals and the amazing creation of each flower.

A few weeks ago I received a Thank You note from her. She was thanking me for providing such a service. What a joy it was to her to receive flowers from the garden each week.

Her daughter contacted me last week to share that she passed away.

I shared with her about the Thank You note I received from her mom. Her mom, who was sick, very sick and in pain. How she took time to write me a Thank You.

 How the bouquets I created were to bless her. 

How she in turn blessed me.

"Be somebody who makes everyone feel like a somebody"

Anonymous

 

 

Funny on Wednesday

Funny on Wednesday

"I'm a king in the living nativity. I need some gold and a camel by Friday."

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 a aside time for gratitude each day

♥ a great adventure to Wisconsin's Capitol ~ Madison

 ♥ enjoying the best cheese curds ever at 

The Old Fashioned

♥ historic buildings

♥ friendly strangers

♥ safe travels on the highways

♥ Wisconsin way stations / rest stops  ~  nice and clean ... each one a unique park setting

Madison's skyline ... this photo was taken with my phone. As soon as I get the photos uploaded to the computer from our real camera  I will share what my husband was able to capture. I think you will like it.

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

♥ surprises ~ big and small things that you were not expecting

♥ flowers still blooming in October ~ in Wisconsin 

♥ eating the first soup of the Autumn Season ~ back to comfort foods ~ Chicken Wild Rice Soup

♥ listening to music I danced to as a teen and having my boys watch me and dad dance and hear the music ~ talk about some good laughs

♥ finding the perfect pumpkin

♥

 Have a great week my friends.

I will be away from the computer a few days. I will be back soon.

Three brown leaves danced with two yellow ones in a little whirl of wind. 

French Folktales

Some Good News

Some Good News

Thank you all for the support during the clean up from the lighting strike. Just when we got most of our devices and cables replaced, we received another scare when the power pole went crashing down. You kind of feel like "what next?" 

Not just in my own eventful days of late, but in the world as well. 

You never know what you will hear about next on the news.  To be honest, it gets hard to listen to another awful event. Hurricanes, fires, war and shootings. 

Our family had many a discussion this week. 

Courage, dear heart ... that was the main focus ... have courage. 

Monday left me feeling strange and reminding me, enjoy each day you have. 

Taking  the quote from my dad "Have the Best Day Ever" ... we reminded our boys we have to continue on. We honestly do not know what will happen. We have to be brave, love and press on, shine on with light.

Sharing GOOD news and happy times .... take a look at this ....

 My dad, who suffered a heart attack April 11th.

He has pressed on this 2017 with many changes. His heart attack and the decision to leave dairy farming. With his positive attitude and deciding to "Have the Best Day Ever" he keeps going.

Here he is helping with cranberry harvest at my sister's cranberry farm, Copper River Cranberries.

Having a sister who has a cranberry farm makes me lucky to get as many cranberries as I want. We do love cranberries. I am sharing our very favorite Cranberry Cake recipe.  This cake makes a perfect breakfast cake or a dessert.

Cranberry Cake

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups flour

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, thawed

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with sugar until slightly thickened and light in color, about 5 minutes. Add butter and extract, beat 2 minutes. Stir in flour. Stir in cranberries.

Spread into a greased 13in. x 9in. x 2in. baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Enjoy

My son Atticus loves this cake! It is his very favorite.

What is up Doc part 2

~source of photo~

What is up Doc part 2

How can there be a part 2? Things have got to have settled down over my way, right?

If you read my September 29th post also titled What is up Doc 

you will know that our birdfeeder was struck by lighting and the current from the lighting, struck our internet cable. The bolt followed the cable into our house. 

Over the weekend we got most of our electronics replaced. 

This morning I was ready to roll, when all of a sudden I heard this strange noise.

It was like a growl.  

Another growl and another and one last loud growl and the lights went out.
The loud growl was the sound of an electric pole slowly falling to the ground one block from our home.

One block from our home our electric company is changing out electric poles. Sunday evening we had a thunderstorm with heavy rain. The water saturated the ground the new pole was placed in. Timber! As the morning rolled in the pole came down.

LIGHTS OUT!!

All of a sudden you remember how much you love electricity!

 It has been an Electric few weeks over in this neck of the woods .