It is the Hodgepodge and we are featuring the letter V

 

 

Hi Everyone! This is me, on a recent spring hike. It is still cold here in Northwest Wisconsin. Our temperatures have been below normal. Today on the Hodgepodge, I am going to share some about me featuring the letter V. 

Joyce asks the questions.

 We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

1. What does the word values mean to you personally? Values are a standard that I live by and find important. Where did your values come from? My parents taught me my values. What are some of the values that have guided you throughout your life? Honesty, Respect and Kindness.

2. Your favorite vanilla flavored something? Soft Serve Ice Cream!

3. What's something you've seen/done recently that you found to be very difficult, very confusing, very helpful, very interesting, or very special. Elaborate. 

Very Difficult

We recently found out that our National Guard Son will be deployed. I will be honest, I always knew he would be deployed. Yet, when I received the news, it gave me a shiver. As we prepare as a family for his deployment, I am finding moments that are very difficult.  

 4. Something you own and love that is violet in color? 

 Lilacs ~ they are just budding, it will be awhile before they bloom.

 5. Do you have vacation plans on the calendar this summer? Tell us more. 

We do not at this time, but have tossed a few ideas around. All our ideas are adventures that are in our state of Wisconsin.

 6. Insert your own random thought here.  

 Me and my Mother

We have hosted a Mother's Day Dinner for my mom for over 20 years. It is tradition for my husband to grill a turkey and we make fun side dishes each year. I am starting to plan the menu and thinking of ways to make the day special. Each year we change it up a little to create new memories.

Soaking in Spring

 Soaking in Spring

My husband and I  recently went for a spring hike in the Blue Hills of Rusk County.

It was a cool, crisp, windy spring day.

Enjoy the photos that my husband took of some of the beauty we enjoyed.

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods. There a rapture on the lonely shore. There is society where none intrudes. By the deep sea, a music in its roar: I love not man the less, but nature more.

George Gordon Byron

April Article for the Cameron Chronicle

 

Hello Friends,

Today I am sharing the article I wrote for our little newspaper's April issue.

 Cameron Chronicle 

"The Little Paper With Personality."

 

 

April in the Garden

By Carla TePaske of Cameron WI ~ The Little Garden That Could

With the arrival of spring, there is plenty to do in the garden. The days are getting longer and warmer. Seed sowing is underway and there are plenty of jobs to do.

Cut down old growth of perennials and grasses left over winter.

If the soil is workable, dig in a layer of compost or manure.

If weeds have started to grow, start to remove whenever you can.

Sow your cold hardy seeds. If you have a cold frame or pot close to the house, sow cold hardy seeds, lettuce, spinach or radish.

Prune grapes, roses and hydrangeas.

Watch for bare root sales at local greenhouses.

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.

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

 

♥ Our kitchen is done, all that is left to do is some trim work and I plan to sew some some curtains. I will share proper photos soon. We are so happy with the results. It was a big job for the two of us, it feels great to have it completed.

♥ Treats from the bakery.. we had a craving for donuts. 

 

♥ A thrift find.. a sturdy bulb planter.

♥ A Mourning Dove is nesting in our Wood Shed. She has laid two eggs. She is sitting on her nest. If you look at her nest she has used some hop flowers in her nest. I can see her sitting when I look out the window from my desk.

♥ Easter treats and spring flowers.

Happy Easter my dear friends.

Wishing you a beautiful week full of little things that make you smile.

♥

Carla

Durwards's Glen

 

 

 Hello Friends, today we are taking another  2021 trip. Durward's Glen is located in the heart of the Baraboo Hills of Wisconsin.  On a very warm, August, Saturday of 2021, our boys met us at Durward's Glen and we enjoyed the day exploring together.

 

Durward's Glen is Dedicated to its Catholic Heritage. 

When he and his family arrived in the Glen, Bernard carved a Maltese cross in pulpit rock at the opening of the glen and voiced sentiments that still ring true today: "We shall make our home on that shady slope, and I shall bridge the stream so our children may play in the valley. With the tranquility of solitude and the sweetness of growing life, we shall breath the pure air of the hills, drink the fresh water of the stream, eat the fruits of the valley and rejoice in the presence of God."

 

Log Chapel and Novitiate built in 1934 by St. Camillus Order.

 

I loved this moss growing from this pot and catching spent flower petals.

 

Cornerstone Hermitage

 

One of the great themes of Christianity is triumphant hope. Not just hope as in a distant dream but triumphant hope, the kind of home where all things end right. In the midst of the struggles and the storms and the suffering of life, we can advance our thoughts beyond today and see relief..triumph..victory.. because in the end, God does indeed win.

Charles R. Swindoll

 

I want zero reasons to cry.

I want the end of darkness.

I want the end of lies, hate and pain.

I want real unity between people of all colors, tribes and nations.

I want all that God promises in the new heaven and the new earth. We know what awaits us, but sometimes the terrain is unsure and the fog rolls in, so we strain to see and even wonder if we will ever complete the journey home.

Ruth Chou Simons

 

Spring Fountain

There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.

Seneca

Thank you for coming along with me today my friends. 

I know many of us have been dealing with many issues of late.. health concerns, busy schedules, family issues, financial issues, anxiety and so much more.

Let us build up one another.. life on life encouragement.

Love one another

Pray for one another

Forgive one another

Accept one another

Serve one another

Be at peace with one another

 

♥

Carla

Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Hello Friends, today we are going on a road trip that we did last summer. Our son visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2020. It was on my list of adventures for last summer.  We visited in mid September. It is about a two and half hour drive for us to LaCrosse, Wisconsin. We packed a picnic lunch and ate at the lovely picnic area.

The above and below photos are of the Mother of Good Counsel Votive Candle Chapel.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha .. with the help from the local Native American community, the sculpture depicts "The Lily of the Mohawks." in the authentic garb of her Turtle Clan. Her gaze conveys her thought: "Jesus, I love You."

Shrine Church ~ every detail has a special meaning. A prominent image of Our Lady of Guadalupe will direct your gaze toward her Divine Son, present in the tabernacle. The constellations in the dome match the constellations that illumined the night sky on December 12,1531 when Our Lady last appeared to Juan Diego.

The Memorial to the Unborn

Stations of the Cross ~ one of my favorite parts of the day. The Stations recall Jesus' final hours. In contemplation and prayer at each station, you are invited to walk with Jesus on His journey to Calvary.

As a Christian, Easter is thee biggest celebration. Even with the turmoil that surrounds us, and the dilemmas with ourselves, our families, an our world, we can confidently proclaim as Mary and the disciples did, The Lord is risen indeed!

The Shrine should be a place of pilgrimage, an extraordinary place to which the faithful might come at any time, but especially in times of special joy and of special need, to be renewed in faith and grace.