TePaske Easter Cake

 

2023's Easter Cake

 

Hello Friends, it will be that time, the 2024 Easter cake reveal. And this year all of our family will be together to celebrate. Our son Sam has missed two Easter's with us due to deployments. When he is able to be with us, it makes it extra special. Both of our son's enjoy the Easter cake reveal, we make a big deal out of it.

 

 

Next week I will reveal the 2024 Easter cake... until then...

At Easter, we remember a love that sacrificed all... a power that conquered all... a hope that reaches out to all.

 ♥

Carla

 

Rhubarb

 

Hello Friends,

Today I will be sharing the article I wrote for our local newspaper, Cameron Chronicle, "The Little Paper with Personality."

I started writing for the Cameron Chronicle June 2021. This may be the last article published in print form. Marty the owner of the paper informed me the March issue may be  the last printed issue of the Cameron Chronicle. She is having trouble locating affordable printing. 

There will be NO printed April issue of the Cameron Chronicle. Marty will share my April article on the Cameron Chronicle Facebook Page

in the meantime, here is the article I wrote for March.

 

Rhubarb

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

Rhubarb is an early bird surprise for us gardeners. It is cut and come again. We use it in sweet and savory dishes. Rhubarb is incredibly long lived. Once established, it grows happily in the same spot year after year.

Rhubarb is good for us. It is particularly high in vitamin C and fiber.

The best way to plant rhubarb is to plant rhubarb crowns. Rhubarb is greedy, work mulch into the soil and around the planting. Wait two or three years for the plant to get established before harvesting.

If you spot a towering flower plume, pick it, the plume may reduce your crop.

The best way to harvest rhubarb is to run your finger down the groove of the stem until you reach the root. Give a gentle tug and it will come off in your hands, leaving any buds forming just below your mature stem to develop into the next crop. For the plants sake, do not over pick, leave some of the stems. A general rule is pick ⅔ of the stems, leaving ⅓.

Until next time, happy gardening!

Garage Sitting

 

Porch sitting?

How about garage sitting?

Our neighbors cat likes to watch me do my outdoor chores. And she likes to tease Ernie while she enjoys her garage sitting.

Ernie!

 

It is time for an Ernie update.

Several of you have asked about how we came up with Ernie to be the name of our little copper dog. We stuck with the name that Little Red Barn Dog Rescue gave, Ernie.

Ernie enjoyed a big adventure to the winter shores of Lake Superior. It was a grand day of adventure for the little copper dog.

Ahoy Matey!

Anxious for Nothing

 

Hello Friends,

My friend Judy gifted me a study written by Max Lucado.  The study focuses on setting aside anxiety and fear in this ever - changing world.

I will be honest, I can get anxious. Living in an upside down world,  I think if each one of us is honest with ourselves, we can  say we feel anxious every now and then. Max shares that one way to replace your "anxious" thought is to replace it with "already". Look at what you already have. Treat each anxious thought with a grateful one.

 

"In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

Abraham Lincoln

 

It is a Carla Hodgepodge

 

Happy March and today is Wednesday, time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

1. Has March come in like a lion where you live?Living in Wisconsin the weather can change in the hour. It is rather difficult to say. I can say this, on Sunday we enjoyed 65 degrees and sunshine. On Monday we had a snowstorm and over an inch of snow floated down in the form of huge flakes. If not a lion then what animal would you use to describe the weather in your area this first week of March? Turtle... sunshine days peeking out of his shell... winter days going back into his shell. Does the weather affect your emotions?I like sunshine days. If we have days and days of cloudy weather I might get grumpy.  When did you last feel 'under the weather'? Thankfully we have been healthy this season.

 2. Do you know what your name means?Free Woman Does the meaning of your name fit with your personality? Yes, I enjoy my freedom.  Do you like your name? Yes! If you have children did you consider the meaning of their names before choosing them? No, we did not. We chose names that meant something to us as a couple.

3. It's National Sauce Month...what's your favorite sauce? Roasted Tomato Sauce Last thing you ate that used a sauce? Eggplant Parmesan ... note we froze eggplant this season to make Eggplant Parmesan during the winter, it worked out fantastic. I was worried it would be soggy, but it is not, just about perfect as fresh from the garden.

4. Something you've seen, tasted, done lately that you'd describe as 'awesome sauce'?

 

  We went on an adventure to Lake Superior and stopped at two waterfall along the way.

 

5. What kinds of things do you love to collect? 

Plants

Heart shaped rocks

Sea glass

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Meaning:Free man

Carla is a feminine name of German and Italian origins. This name derives from the male "Carl," of the German "Charles," meaning "free man." Borrowing etymology from a male-given name has always been the norm among romantic languages though. In old Latin and Italian, female names typically emerged from classic male titles, using an added "a" to soften the sound. This linguistic phenomenon makes Carla pleasing to the ear, much like the countless other feminine names we know and love today. Free-thinking baby Carla borrowed an exciting definition and will no doubt use it to make the world her own.

 

This and That

 

 

Hello Friends,

A little of this and that from me to you. 

Our weekly newspaper has a YesterYear section. I had to chuckle to read the February 22, 1884 entry.

 The first bounty ever paid to a woman in this county by killing a wild animal was paid this week to Mrs. Louisa Demars of Stanfold for dispatching, with a club according to the law, a wildcat that was bent on destruction for Mrs. Demars' chickens.

 I shared this with my friend Judy, who commented... " Don't mess with those chicken lovin' mamas!!!"

Our Wisconsin weather has been going from This to That... above you will see Ernie going for a walk with his friend Charlie and it was 55 degrees in February. I have Spring Fever and set out our lawn furniture and look what happened.

 

My husband enjoys tapping our maple trees and cooking down the sap. The start of our 2024 syrup season, dark sweet syrup. Yum!

 

 

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

 ♥ the above kitchen towel, paper weight and message are gifts from a friend... for no reason but to spread kindness

Kindness Counts ... Pass It On!

Go plant a seed of kindness and watch the world bloom 

So, plant a seed of kindness

And  we'll chase away the gloom.

 ♥ text messages from friends and family 

♥ watching my seedlings start to pop up

♥ a friend stopping in for a visit and bringing my favorite sweet roll

♥ visits with our neighbor over the fence and yes it is just like Wilson...  from Home Improvement

Watch here 

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