Happy Grandparents' Day and it is the Hodgepodge

 

My grandpa Sam and grandma Vida.

 

Hello Friends, it is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions

Click here to join the fun! 

 

1. Next Sunday is Grandparent's Day. Share a favorite memory, photo, recipe, or something you learned from a grandparent. 

 Our first born son is named Samuel Charles.

 Samuel for my grandpa Samuel and Charles for my father. 

Our Sam has that same curly hair as my grandpa Sam.

 

2. What's a quote from a book (besides The Bible) that has stayed with you? 

“But no one except Lucy knew that as it circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan's, and with the voice a delicious smell breathed in her face.”  

C.S. Lewis ~ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

 3. What's your number one food pet peeve? 

 

I need a separate dish for my cold salads and beans. If I am having a burger or a sausage and the sides are baked beans and cold salads. I am going to need a dish for the beans. They have to be on their own.

I will need a plate for the cold salads. 

I just do not like to have my hot food with my cold food.  

 

4. What's one thing about you that is still the same as it was when you were young? 

 I have to have short nails. I use to chew my nails when I was young, thank goodness I broke that habit very early in life. I broke the habit, but  I need to have short nails. I cut and file my nails every-other day.

 5. September is National Preparedness Month...does your family have an emergency plan? Do you have some sort of preparedness kit you keep on hand? If so, tell us one thing that's kept there. 

Our kids do not live in the same community as us. We would do our best to get together if something major happened. My husband and I have a couple neighbors we would go to for help. 

We have a kit in our car, blankets, wet wipes, kleenex, toilet paper, flashlights and first aid kits.

As far as in the house, we have flashlights, candles and bottled water.

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I have been waiting all summer for the morning glories to bloom. 

Hang on summer, enjoy the last three weeks of summer my friends. 

Leaving Coins

 

 

Hello Friends,

 

My husband and I like to visit cemeteries on our travels. We enjoy reading the stones. We often wonder why we see the items left on the gravestones. 

I am sharing a few unique to us gravestones that we have seen throughout our travels.

 

Bruce Wasielewski, we did not know him, but I was interested in what he had put on the back of his gravestone.. IT IS WHAT IT IS DARLING.

 

 

 I have always wondered why I would see coins. I found out the answer, please share with me if you know something different.

Leaving coins on veterans' gravestones is a common tradition meant to show the fallen soldier's family that someone paid their respects. Different denominations represent varying levels of connection:

A penny means you visited. A nickel signifies you and the deceased trained  together, a dime means you and the veteran served together, and a quarter shows you were there when the veteran died.

 If you know of any other traditions, please do share.

 

 

No Poker Face and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends, 

It is Wednesday and it is time for the Hodgepodge. 

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

 Click here to join the fun!

 

 1. When someone finds out what you do or where you're from, what's a question they always ask? 

 

I was born and raised in the woods. Really, I was and so was my husband. So when we say where we are from, most people will say, "Where is that"?

We will start with the largest city that is close to the community that we grew up, which is about two hours away. If they know where that city is, we start to head further North into Wisconsin. 

 It is always fun when we do meet someone who actually does know where we are from.

And they will usually say, "you grew up out in the boondocks"!! 

2. Did you participate in 'Greek Life' when you were in college, or have children who did? If so what was your experience like? Taking another tack...have you ever been to Greece? If not, is that a destination on your bucket list? 

 

No, I did not participate in "Greek Life" ... my kids did not as well.

I have not been to Greece. 

Visiting Greece is not high on my bucket list.

 

3. Do you like Greek food? If so what's your favorite dish?  

 

I enjoy many Greek salads.

 

4. What incredibly common thing have you never done?  

 

 I do not have a tattoo.

 

5. What is a telltale sign that you're upset?  

 

I do not have a poker face. You will know I am upset. 

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A few days ago I wrote about all the dogs wondering around in our neighborhood. I just returned from my walk with our dog Ernie. We met up with a lady walking her dog, she said, "Warning, there are two dogs roaming ahead, they seem friendly, I just want to warn you, because you never know."

Ernie and I carried on with our walk. Yes, we saw the dogs, but they did not come our way. Thank goodness!! 

Recipe ~ Tart

 

 

Hello Friends,  

Throughout the summer I have been sharing photos of the tart I have been making. It is a  quick and easy way to enjoy your fresh vegetables from your garden. I will share the recipe with you today.

The above photo I used radish and chive as our toppings.

In the below photo I used fresh green beans and mushrooms.

 

 

In the below photo I used fresh green beans, dill and made a mustard sauce to drizzle on top.

 

 

The below photo is the first tart I made using asparagus. 

Tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry - thawed

8 oz of mascarpone cheese 

sea salt

pepper

olive oil

fresh vegetables of your choice as a topping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Prep your vegetables.

Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet pan. Unfold the puff pastry and lay it flat onto the parchment. Spread the mascarpone cheese in an even layer onto the dough, leaving about a 1" border. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange your vegetables over the top of the mascarpone cheese. Season with salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Fold the edges of dough up and over the vegetables. Lightly press the creases together so that the pastry is secure.

Drizzle the edges with olive oil. Bake 30-35 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the vegetables are tender.

Enjoy!

This magical, marvelous food on our plate, this sustenance we absorb, has a story to tell. It has a journey. It leaves a footprint. It leaves a legacy."

Joel Salatin

 

 

This and That

 Hello Friends,

A little of this and that for the month of August.

August is my second favorite month of the year.

I love my August calendar page. That garden girl is me. 

 

My dog Ernie was listening to a podcast with me while I was doing dishes. I had to laugh at how it seemed to be he was soaking in the information right along with me. His "dolly" is close by too.

 

 

 

A summer bouquet for you, from me.

And now for a stroll in the garden.

 

Happy August my friends!

 ♥

Carla

 

Good Eats and The Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends, it is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. What's worth standing in line for? 

Good eats are worth standing in line for. 

I did not have to stand in line for the good eats below, all that goodness you see with that salad came from our garden. Half the green bean - mushroom tart came from the garden, the green beans.

 

 

 2. Tell us about a favorite food related memory.

I love my mom's Thanksgiving dressing/stuffing. Watching her make it as a young girl is a memory that will fill my mind and heart on Thanksgiving day when we all gather for Thanksgiving and my parents still host the special meal.

 3. What are some things you find particularly peaceful or calming? 

My garden.

 Can you see the HUGE butterfly?

We are enjoying our best butterfly year yet in our garden. We have so many different kinds of butterfly and moths. It has been a real joy to work in the garden and be surrounded by butterfly, hummingbirds, bees and moths.

4. Is there something you do now that gets you just as excited as it did when you were a child? 

Spending time with family. I would get excited to ride my bike to grandma and grandpa's house. I would get excited when extended family would come for a week long visit to the farm. I am the same today. I get excited when my kids come to visit. And other family.

 5. To what degree are you in touch with friends from grade school? high school? college if you attended college? 

I am still in touch with a friend I attended high school with and college. 

No one from grade school.  

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am waiting for something ... this is a good reminder.

 

Back to School Hodgepodge

 

It is Wednesday! 

It is Back to School!

 And soon it will be Christmas.. Gosh, that calendar will not slow down. 

It is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions. 

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

1. August is National Golf month...do you play? Do you enjoy following golf? Have you ever been to a professional tournament? 

I played golf once with my friend A. Her mom let me use her golf clubs. It was a hoot of a time. We played golf and drove around in the golf cart just having a good old time. It was a carefree golf day.

My husband works for a company that makes turf equipment for golf courses all over the world. It is fun to learn what courses use the machines that he helps design and create. 

No, I have not been to a professional tournament.

 2. Astronaut Jim Lovell of Apollo 13 fame passed away this past Thursday. Are you interested in outer space and what's happening today in terms of space exploration? I am not all that interested, but I keep up with a bit of it because our oldest son is interested in it and I like to be able to chat with him on topics he likes. If space travel became common in your lifetime would you go? Only if I had to go visit a family member who might be living on Mars. How do you personally relate to the idea of exploring something vast and mysterious...does the idea excite you, intimidate you, or something else? I do not mind going off to explore, but I DO NOT want to have to wear a special suit to keep me alive. I like earth.

 3. Describe your communication style in three words. 

Listen

Share

Digest

 4. Do you have a favorite cookbook? A favorite celebrity chef? Do you watch any cooking shows on TV? 

My favorite cookbooks change through out the year, right now I am enjoying many recipes from  ...

 The Prairie Homestead Cookbook

A favorite celebrity chef? Do you watch any cooking shows on TV?

Julia Child

I enjoy watching Julia Child cooking shows, I have learned a lot from Julia.

 

 5. As a child did you have any back to school traditions? If so, did you carry on those same traditions with your own children? Do you have any back to school traditions you've started on your own? 

 We would go back to school shopping. It was fun to pick out a new trapper keeper, folders, notebooks, pens, pencils and more. My mom took a photo of our first day of school. I carried on with that tradition.

 Do you have any back to school traditions you've started on your own?

We had our boys write out .. what are your goals for this school year. And then at the end of the school year, we would have our boys write out... what goals shifted during the school year, what goals did you accomplish and what are you looking forward to for the next school year.

  6. Insert your own random thought here. 

School seems to start earlier and earlier.. actually I do not think it ever ends in my neck of the woods. I walk past the Middle and High School of our local district and kids have been at the school all summer. 

 

Dog Days

 

Ernie, chilling on my mom's chair.

 

Hello Friends, do I have a story for you. Two weeks ago our neighbor stopped me to have me meet their new puppy, Lucy. I noticed Lucy had band-aids  on her sweet puppy face.

Lucy was attacked the day before by a pit-bull that lives down the street from us. I did not even know a pit-bull lived at that house.  The pit-bull got out of his fenced backyard and traveled down Arlington Avenue. Lucy the puppy was out with her 7 year old owner, when all heck broke loose. The pit-bull attacked Lucy the puppy, threw her up in the air. In the meantime, Stella our other neighbors dog sensed trouble, she got in between the pit-bull and the little girl. All the commotion brought all the adults out. They were able to get the pit-bull and called the police. 

The pit-bull was taken back to the home that it belongs and told to keep that dog in its fenced yard. 

YIKES!

This week I was out for my evening walk with Ernie. A white dog started to follow us from behind down the sidewalk as we did our usual walk around our neighborhood. A father out playing with his three children saw the dog and tried to catch it. This gave me time to get a move on and hightail it home.

YIKES!!

And for my final dog days story. The evening of Thursday of last week,  my husband and I set out for our evening walk. We see a women with a dog ahead, she does not have the dog on a leash. As we get closer, we are walking faster than she is, she says, "No worries, my dog is friendly." As the dog proceeds to run full speed, barking and  foaming at the mouth towards us. It happens all so fast!! That dog is after our Ernie, who is on a leash. I cannot pick Ernie up because the foaming at the mouth dog is pushing into me. My husband is trying to grab the dog. The women yells at us, "I will handle this." She turns on her shocker that she has in her hand to full blast, the dog begins to yelp in pain and is paralyzed.

We once again, hightail it home.

YIKES!!! 

We look over Ernie, he is fine. We look at each other and shake our heads. 

"What in the blue moon is going on with people!"

Summer Days and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Our favorite Northern Wisconsin lake to paddle and fish.

 

Hello Friends, Happy August and let us soak in the last days of summer.

It is Wednesday and it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. The midpoint of summer (believe it or not) is August 7th. Describe a perfect summer day. Have you had one this year? 

Yes, I have a few perfect summer days. 

In June, I went to a baseball game with my family. It was a beautiful summer afternoon for a baseball game.

The first weekend of August I spent with my family.

We fished on our favorite Northern Wisconsin lake. It was a bottle up summer day.

My dad commented, "it was perfect out on the lake." 

And it was. 

2. What's one thing you wish you knew before starting high school? 

When I was a freshman in high school, the senior class had some MEAN girls. I was lucky that my neighbor girl and friend,  was a junior and she was a tough cookie. As long as I had Paulette as my friend, those senior girls left me along. Not so for my friend Tracy. Those girls got her one day after class. 

I wish I would have known how mean some girls could be... this group was down right nasty, pull your hair, dump your books out of your arms and more. 

Me with my fishing gear. The only nasty thing while fishing was the mean old flies. Do you spy the big one on my pant leg.

 

3. What's something that bothers you if it's not done perfectly? 

The way I make our bed. I like it just so. 

4. What's the most overrated food you're convinced people are just pretending to enjoy? What's a trendy food you actually do enjoy and would say is definitely not overrated? 

I do not know what food is overrated right now. All my blog friends will have to fill me in on this question. If we are talking about cottage cheese, I do enjoy cottage cheese. My husband and I love a bowl of cottage cheese with fruit, peaches are one of our favorites to mix in our cottage cheese. 

 

5. Wrapping it up this week with five fun this or thats...

personal stylist or personal chef? personal stylist
dance like nobody's watching or sing like nobody's listening? sing like nobody's listening
unlimited tacos or free pizza? pizza

bookshelf organization-by size or by genre? genre
ten minutes late or ten minutes early? ten minutes early

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

A few more photos of a perfect summer's day... 

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

 ♥ sun-tea ... and a flower petal landing on the lid of the jar

 ♥ late summer bug song

 ♥ fresh tomatoes from the garden

 ♥ sunsets

 ♥ watching the moon rise

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

 ♥

Carla

Goodbye July and it is the Hodgepodge

 

 

Goodbye July and it is the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. On July 29th 1957 The Tonite Show premiered with Jack Parr as it's host. This marked the beginning of the modern day talk show. Do you watch any daytime or late night talk shows today? Do you have any thoughts on the hubbub surrounding the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, or are you more in the camp of 'who is Stephen Colbert? 

Last week I had to share with the world that I have never been on a roller coaster. This week I will share with the world I have no idea who Stephen Colbert is. 

No daytime or late night talk shows for me.

 2. What's the best part of your day?

 I love going for our daily walk. My husband and I walk together, we try to do this daily. We talk about current events, family, friends, weather and dreams we plan to reach for.

 3. What's something your generation does that you actually dislike? 

I do not know... hopefully I will learn something reading others answers.

 4. When you cook do you clean as you go, or clean it all up once you're finished cooking? What's the last thing you cooked/baked in your own kitchen?

 

 I clean up all at once. 

I made fresh coleslaw, with vegetables from our garden.

 

5. Sum up your July in ten words or less. 

 

Home Improvements

Home improvements the theme for our July 2025.

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

Our son Sam purchased his first home. 

We helped on moving day.

We helped with home improvements the weeks after moving in.

The house is located in a great neighborhood.  

I know many happy memories will be made here.

 

 

A July Prayer

 

 

This prayer is written by Farrell Mason, it has become my July prayer and I wanted to share it with you.

 

Dear God,

The River of Life is a winding mystery, shimmering with possibility. With your help, I will keep angling for grace, increasing goodness on my side of the bank, searching for silver linings in the pain, waiting faithfully for joy to tip the balance of sorrow, holding on to hope in the dark, and making sacrifices for the Good.  The story of the river is one of love. May my life be meaningful in your beautiful tale. Let me live to cast my line for another day.

Amen

 

It is a Blue Hawaii Hodgepodge

 

Footprints on the beach

Hello Everyone, it is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge. 

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

 

 1. When does time pass slowly for you? When does time past quickly for you? 

 

When I do not feel good time will pass slowly for me.

When I have time to spend with our kids, the time goes too fast.

 

 2. Do you have a favorite beach? What's your favorite 'beach' activity? Tell us what we'd find in your beach bag.

 

Wisconsin Point,  Lake Superior is my favorite beach.

I love to walk the beach looking for treasures.

In my beach bag you will find..

two beach towels, a bag for keeping treasures, water bottle, snacks and my camera.

 

 3. Your favorite book or movie with a beach setting? 

 

Blue Hawaii with Elvis Presley

I watched this movie the first time with my grandparents, my grandpa would sing along, it was great fun and fantastic memories.

 

 4. What's a food you love, but find it's a pain to eat? Is it worth it? 

 

Crab legs ... oh yes it is worth it. 

 

 5.  Do you like roller coasters? What's the best (or worst) roller coaster you've been on? 

 

I do not like roller coasters, I have never been on a roller coaster.

I know, how can I say I do not like roller coasters if I have never been on one. LOL!

 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

When two people love each other, they don't look at each other, 

they look in the same direction.

Ginger Rogers

 

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

 

Millions and millions of maple seeds fell this spring, I am still finding them and pulling them up. It is weird I know to put this on my joy list.. but here is why..

that little maple seedling

 ♥ is determined

 ♥ shows me the power of nature.. that little seed will find a way to sprout.. reminding me that I too just need to keep on trying

 

 

I will not blow this photo up.. gross enough.. why on my joy list?

♥ it is healing

I had a terrible reaction to a bug bite. 

 

HELP... we are in a traffic jam and we are on the way to a special wedding.

Why on the joy list?

 ♥ we made it

 

 

My garden is doing so well this season.

And you know the answer to this one, why on my joy list?

 ♥ she loves her garden

 

 

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

 ♥

Carla