Joy List Monday

 Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly ritual ♥

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day

Ferns, tulips, lily of the valley and chives make up this spring bouquet that I created in 2022.

♥ cookies

"Today me will live in the moment, unless it is unpleasant... in which case me will eat a cookie."  Cookie Monster

♥ crackling fireplace keeping me extra toasty on cold nights

♥ pink sunsets

♥ winter walks

♥ hot tea

"I have never been a millionaire. But I have enjoyed a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a walk with a friend... there are plenty of life's tiny delights for all of us. Jack Anthony 

♥

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

Carla

 

My Word for 2023

 

Pretty -n- Pink, one of my bouquets from 2022.

Hello Friends,

Year 2022 my husband encouraged me to choose a word of the year. I decided on sunshine.

Sunshine

brightness or radiance 

cheerfulness or happiness

a source of cheer or happiness

I had a few words come to mind for me as I tried to narrow down my word for 2023. And some of you may be asking why even pick out a word for the year. For me the reason I did it was to check in during the year to see if I was spreading sunshine.

This year I have decided on truth.

Truth 

agreement with reality: the eternal principle of right or the natural law of order: 

fidelity constancy

I want to be sure I am a person who is sharing truth. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to learn and research topics. I recently learned that when someone is demanding they know what is truth, smile and reply with, "that is interesting." Afterward you can research and decide if that something is true. 

In other words, think for yourself. 

During the course of 2022 I shared how I was spreading sunshine. I will do this again with truth.

 

How about you, did you decided on a word for 2023?

♥

Carla

 

 

 

On The Road Friday ~ Snowshoeing at Crex Meadows

 Hello Friends,

It is Friday and it is time to hit the road. Today I am taking you to Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Grantsburg, Wisconsin.

Saturday January 7th the sun was shining and we headed off to Crex Meadows.

 

We enjoyed the sun, snow and beauty of it all together.

 

 

We had a long stretch of cloudy days. When the sun comes out and makes diamonds on the snow you cannot help but smile.  

 

 

I was going along when I noticed something on the side of the trail. Everything is white and full of sparkle, then I see a patch of something dark.

Oh goodness! I have a feeling the trail groomer and this little fella had a collision.

 

 

 

RIP 

Little Mouse of Crex Meadows

 

 

Into the Winter Wonderland we go snowshoeing.

 

 

 My blog friend Sheri asked what our snowshoes looked like and how we use them. The above photos are of my husband on his way into the Winter Wonderland.

 

 

 Another Snowshoe Kiss

In case you missed our New Year's Kiss click here to find it. 

♥ 

Thank you for coming along with me today.

Carla

 

 

Microgreens

 Microgreens

Hello Friends,

 I am sharing the article I wrote for the January issue of the Cameron Chronicle "The Little Paper With Personality." 

This photo is not of Microgreens.. but of green.

Microgreens

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

Happy New Year!!

It is January and we are in full blown winter in Wisconsin. Are you getting ready to get your hands in the dirt. A fun way to garden and eat tasty greens is to grow microgreens.

Microgreens are a variety of edible immature greens. They are harvested with scissors less than a month after germination. Usually the plants are up to 2 inches tall.

Salad seed, radish seed, sunflower seed and cabbage seed are tasty mircrogreens. You can also find microgreen seed mixes for sale.

Start with a warm, sunny windowsill. Direct sunlight from a south-facing window works well. A small container for planting is best. Plastic take-out dishes are perfect. Clear fruit or salad boxes or even a disposable pie plate.

It is time to get planting!

1. Read the seed packet to see if there are any special instructions.

2. Cover the bottom of the container with an inch or two of moistened potting soil or mix.

3. Scatter seeds evenly on top of the soil.

4. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil. Dampen the surface with a mister. If you prefer, you can skip this step and instead cover the container with a clear lid or plastic wrap until the seeds are sprouted.

5. While waiting for sprouts to appear, usually within three to seven days, use the mister once or twice daily to keep the soil moist but not wet.

6. Once seeds have sprouted, remove the cover (if you've used one) and continue to mist once or twice a day.

It is time to eat microgreens!

Depending upon the type of seeds you planted your microgreens will be ready to harvest in about two to three weeks. Look for the first set of "true leaves" as a sign of readiness. Then grab your scissors and snip the greens just above the soil line.

To serve, wash the microgreens with water and dry with paper towels. Serve them immediately for the freshest flavor. Microgreens work well added in soups, salads, sandwiches or main dishes. Store remaining cut microgreens in a plastic bag in your refrigerator.

A fun activity to do with children and microgreens!

Save and wash out some eggshells. These eggshells will become planters. Decorate your eggshell planter with a smile face or other fun ideas. Place the eggshell planters in the carton. Add a tablespoon of soil or a little less inside the eggshell planter. Sprinkle some seeds on the soil. Sprinkle some soil on the seeds. Use a mister to water the eggshell planter. In a few weeks time your eggshell planter will have grown hair/microgreens.

Have fun eating and playing with microgreens. Until next time happy gardening!

 

 

Joy List Monday

 Joy List Monday

♥ a weekly reminder ♥

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

 

♥ forced paperwhites .. gardening in the winter

 

 

♥ a funny sent to me by a friend

she is going through her cookbooks and found this Elephant Stew

 

 

♥ blog friend requests .. Julia asked to see some more of our cookie decorating 

♥ puzzle fun .. completing two 500 piece puzzles with our son when he visited over the weekend

 

♥ passing on the puzzles to loved ones to do next

Note.. my sister and husband and my parents completed the two puzzles above and passed them on to our family with instructions that when we were done to pass on. 

 

 ♥ a photo of a friends door who has chalked the door

Note.. I did not know what chalking the door was all about, so I learned something new from my friends photo too.

 ♥

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

On The Road Friday ~ First Day Snowshoe

 

 

Hello Friends, today we are taking a road trip. On New Year's Day my husband and I went on a snowshoe. We visited Interstate Park located in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. The trail we decided to do for the day took us along the St. Croix River.

Trails we took along the river..

Quarry Trail and Point Trail.

 

 

A sweet little bird nest.

 

 

A New Year's kiss! 

 

Thank you for coming along with me today on our First Day Snowshoe.

♥ 

Carla

 

The End of December ~ This and That

 Hello Friends,

I will share a few more happenings from December with you. 

 

For several years now we host a cookie decorating party. My dad gets very creative with his decorating. 

 

Looking down at the table.

A sugar cookie dog decked out for the holidays and ready to be eaten. I will admit, I ate this cookie.

 

Speaking of dogs, my dad found a puzzle that had the face of our dog Molly. 

We put the puzzle together as a family. 

RIP 

Molly

Her memories are always with us, we usually have a Christmas Molly story we reminisce.

 

 

I will show you my homemade luminary. We had extreme cold weather over Christmas weekend. I change the water for our hens several times in the day during this time, because of how cold it is. The ice forms around the water can and as I  tip it out, it forms a luminary. Above I have a candle burning during the evening December 31st as we ring in the New Year, 2023. 

♥

Carla

Word of the Year

 

Hello Friends,

Last year I decided to create a word of the year. I know this has been something people have been doing for many years. I thought I would give it a try.

I decided on the word sunshine.

Sunshine

brightness or radiance or cheerfulness or happiness

a source of cheer or happiness

Looking back at 2022 I think I did very well in living up to my word. I try to spread some cheerfulness daily, in some way or another. I plan to continue to do so in 2023. And at the same time I am thinking of a word of 2023.

How about you? Have you played along with a word for you for the year?

Do you have one picked out for 2023? What is it and why?

♥ 

Carla

 

December Rewind

 

 

Hello Friends, it is time for December Rewind. 

The following photos are of our annual Village Christmas Parade. I think next season my husband and I are going to have a float from The Little Garden That Could.

Everyone is so creative and full of the Christmas spirit.

 

 

A few of my husband's co workers participated in the parade. 

 

 

I love that pig on top of this truck.

 

 

 Rewinding to Irvine Park's Christmas Village.

 

 Each year a new display is added. The Meat Market was the new cut out display for 2022.

 The Friendly Beasts

Jesus our brother, kind and good,

Was humbly born in a stable rude,

And the friendly beasts around Him stood;

Jesus our brother, kind and good.

"I", said the donkey shaggy and brown, "I  carried His Mother up hill and down; I carried her safely to Bethlehem town." "I", said the donkey shaggy and brown.

"I", said the cow, all white and red, "I gave Him my manger for His bed; I gave Him my hay to pillow His head;" "I" , said the cow, all white and red.

"I" said the sheep with curly horn, "I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm, He wore my coat on Christmas morn." "I" said the sheep with curly horn,

"I", said the dove from the rafters high, "Cooed Him to sleep, that He should not cry, We cooed Him to sleep, my mate and I." "I", said the dove from the rafters high,

"I", said the camel, yellow and black, "Over the desert, upon my back, I brought Him a gift in the Wise Men's pack." "I", said the camel, yellow and black,

Thus, every beast by some good spell, In the stable dark was glad to tell Of the gift he gave Emmanuel, The gift he gave Emmanuel.

 

 

Happy New Year ~ Hello 2023

 Hello Friends,

Happy New Year and Hello 2023!

Before we jump into 2023 I am planning to do a few Rewind to December posts. I will be starting with the snow, wind, more snow and more wind.

Our neck of the woods was dumped on with a wet heavy snow. It was beautiful, but caused a lot of trouble. Friends and neighbors were out of electricity, some for several days. High Fives to all the brave linemen from our state and all the other states that came to help. ROPE - which stands for "Restoration Of Power in an Emergency." 

We lost four large branches on our big pine and lots of other branches down. The lights flickered on and off. Thankfully our power was not disrupted, just five miles from our home it was a different story. As we plowed and cleaned up snow, neighbors helping neighbors, I had to smile because this is what kindness is all about, and honestly there is a great deal more kindness out and about then what the media likes to share with us.

Sit back, relax and get ready for photos of ... SNOW!

 

Snow storm #1.

Our hens are in a Winter Wonderland

 

Making paths to the hens and the snow keeps falling.

 

 

A wet heavy snow that broke several  tree branches causing power outages and other damage. 

The snow started on December 14th - December 18th. Then the cold set in freezing the snow on the trees like frosting.

It is beautiful, the snow just started to melt off the trees on December 29th. It was a true white Christmas for two weeks.

 

Our friends had traveled for a Christmas party  and we were taking care of their cat, Bud. During our evening stop to peek in at Bud, we were greeted with this lovely scene out our friends french doors.

 

Then the winds picked up and the negative temperatures where here to stay. This photo is from our friends who have a long driveway along two farm fields. The drifting started and they could not drive out of the driveway on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. 

 

After the storm everything had "hats" or "muffin  tops."

Below are a few more photos of the beauty after the storm.

 

The above photo is after the snow storm before the winds arrived.

Below is a photo of the same birdhouse, look at the design in the "muffin top" from the strong winds.

The warmup is here, we reached over 40 degrees yesterday and will be in the mid 30's for the rest of the week. My friend Deb sent me the following funny...

Look at this weather being all springy and cute like it didn't just try to kill us last week.