Curious George and It is the Hodgepodge

 

I was curious about what I could see from the street, I asked my husband to drive down so I could get a closer look.

 

 

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. Do you think you're driven more by curiosity or comfort? Explain. 

Curious I am, just like Curious George.

Last week we were on one of our 52ish adventures. As we drove along I could see a great Halloween display. I wanted to see more. My husband he goes along with my curious nature, even if it does not peak his curiosity, in which this display did not peak his curiosity. But he drove me down the side street so I could take photos and say

 "Oh My That is A LOT!"

 

 

 

2. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer? 

My Kitchen Aid ice cream maker. 

 

 3. Are you comfortable with silence? If you're home alone, do you like silence or do you need regular background noise? Do you seek out times and places to be silent? What's your favorite place to find silence/be silent? 

I do enjoy silence.

 When I am home alone I usually have classical or instrumental music playing in the background or I am listening to a podcast or book on audio.

I never, ever go on my walks with music or podcasts or anything in my ears. I love to listen to all the sounds around me. 

The silence before and after a fresh snow is magical and is one of my favorite times to go out for a walk in the woods. 

 

 4. Carpentry, electrical, plumbing, landscaping...which skill would you most like to possess and how would you put that skill to use today?

 Our son Sam is doing some work in his garage, he is insulating it, adding electrical outlets and more. I would love to be an electrician so I could help him out.  

  5. Do you lean more towards being too needy or too independent? Which do you find harder to deal with in others? 

I am more independent and can be too independent. I do not like to ask for help and usually feel like I can find a way to figure it all out. 

I do have a hard time with those who can be too needy, especially if added drama comes with.

  6.  Insert your own random thought here. 

I am addicted to this game. My friend L introduced it to me during a summer visit. I had to order the game for our family. My husband and I try to play a game each evening after dinner. 

Shut the Box 

 

This and That

 

Hello Friends,

 Today I am going to share a bit of This and That, here we go.

 

 

We had a wild windstorm Wednesday of this week. The leaves, branches, twigs and garbage were swirling in the wind making a big ol' mess.

 

 

Autumn sunlight and shadows on the walls are a favorite of mine.

The sunshine dancing on the walls. 

 

 

 

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

Note we did not have a little whirl of wind on Wednesday, it was a full windstorm.

 

 

 

 

A peek inside the greenhouse. The twinkle lights are programed to come on at 6pm now. There is the cotton plant. I stripped the leaves in hopes it will put all the energy into the bolls.

 

 

 

 And last but not least a fresh homemade apple pie, still warm and waiting for you to come on over for a slice and conversation.

 ♥

Carla

  

Do Not Forget to Roast the Pumpkin Seeds and it is the Hodgepodge

 

While you are carving your jack o lantern's do not forget to save some pumpkin seeds for roasting. 

Hello Friends,

It is Wednesday, that means it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

 Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. Let's embrace it shall we? What's something you recently forgot to do? Is your memory these days more like a sieve or an elephant? 

 I recently forgot to grab my drink when I left a meeting. Thankfully I did not get far, I reached down in my cup holder in my car and found nothing to grab to drink. I turned around. Thankfully, some of the ladies were still in the building.

 2. Share a trick/strategy you have to help you remember things you need to remember.

 I have to write post it notes all around these days to help me remember things. I also will add reminders on my phone. I am definitely not an elephant.  

3. What's your favorite fall vegetable to cook with? Do you prefer your fall veggies roasted, blended into a warm soup, or fresh in a crisp autumn salad? 

Carrots!!

I love roasted carrots, drizzled with honey or maple syrup.

 

  4. October 5th is/was National Do Something Nice Day. Did you? If so tell us about it. Or maybe someone did something nice for you, and if that's the case please share. 

I did not know it was Do Something Nice Day, but I did do something nice. I had a hot cup of tea ready for my husband when he came home from work and warm apple crisp for an after work snack.

  

5.  Nathaniel Hawthorne is credited with the quote "I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house."  

Do you tend to spend more time outside this time of year? 

Do you actively pause to soak in fleeting moments of beauty in your daily routine? Elaborate. 

 

I love the autumn sunshine. I love the shadows from the leaves and the trees. I love the glow of the colored leaves in the sun. It all is so beautiful.

I do not spend as much time outside in the autumn, because our days shorten real quick here in Wisconsin. It is getting dark at 6pm already. 

We walk every day, we soak in whatever the weather brings at us. And here in Wisconsin that can be all four seasons in one day!

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 Mornings crisp as carrot sticks, with trees the tone of chimney bricks.

Daniel Waters 

 

This and That

 

Hello Friends, 

A little of this and that to share with you today.

Salsa made with all our garden goodness.

What is your favorite chip to eat salsa with?

 

For the past few years I have been experimenting with a longer growing season. 

I give you autumn radish.

 

On our walk along the school path I noticed something twinkling at me in the sun. With  further investigating I found this pile of Pepsi cans.

 

On a more cheerful note, the autumn mushrooms are pushing their way up to say Hello.

October is the month

 When the smallest breeze 

Gives us a shower of autumn leaves. 

Bonfires and pumpkins

Leaves sailing down

October is red

And golden and brown.

Anonymous

 

Goodbye September and it is the Hodgepodge

 

On the hunt for that perfect pumpkin.

 

Hello Friends,

It is Wednesday and it is time for the Hodgepodge. 

Click here to join the fun! 

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

 

 1. When you think of autumn what sounds come to mind? 

 

 Rustling sounds of dried corn.

Saturday we spent the day with our youngest son, we got lost a few times, but we did manage to get out of the corn maze. 

 

 The autumn winds and rustling of leaves.

 

 2.  Is a trip to the mountains something you enjoy? What's your favorite mountain? 

 

 We do not have any real big mountains here in Wisconsin.

I have not explored many of the mountains in the USA.

Our favorite mountain here in Wisconsin is Rib Mountain State Park.

Click here for more information. 

 

The below photo is of our youngest son in February of this year on top of Rib Mountain on his way down on his snowboard.

 

 

3. What's something that once felt like a mountain, but is now just a molehill? 

We needed to tackle a job this past week. Move me into my new potting shed. Oh it felt like a mountain at first. So much stuff to move and sort and clean. 

 

Team Work!!!  We did it!!!

 

4. Let's play this or that-fall foods edition. Yes you have to choose. 

• pumpkin spice latte or chai latte  ~  chai latte
• apple cider or hot chocolate  ~ hot chocolate
• stew or chili ~ stew
• sweet potato casserole or green bean casserole ~ sweet potato casserole
• butternut squash soup or creamy mushroom soup ~ butternut squash soup
• cranberry sauce or gravy ~ cranberry sauce
•  
•  
•  5. Sum up your September in a sentence or two. 
•  
•  We enjoyed beautiful weather in September here in Wisconsin. 
•  
•  6. Insert your own random thought here. 
•  
• We had a fun apple day. 
• We played mini golf. 
• Mastered a corn maze.
• and 
• Picked Apples. 
•  
• 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   ♥
• Carla 

On the Shores of Lake Superior

 

 

On August 29, 2026 on the shores of Lake Superior two dear people got married. 

It was a simple wedding, with family and friends in attendance.  

 

Our son Samuel married his sweetheart of seven years, Caitlin.

They have persevered several military deployments during that seven years. They continued to grow stronger in friendship and love.

Here is our son Samuel and his beautiful wife Caitlin. 

 

 

 Thank you dear blog friends for praying for this new couple. Many of you have watched our boys grow up through reading my posts here at The River.

 I am excited to share this news with you today. 

A new chapter begins.  

 ♥

Carla

#38

 

 

 

Hello Friends,

We are still doing our weekly dates. #38 was a fun Saturday drive for us. We traveled one of Wisconsin's rustic roads. As we did we stopped at a few farm stands. 

 

 

 

We headed to one of our favorite state parks, Brunet State Park and enjoyed a hike along the Chippewa River.

 

 

Sights along the trail.

 

 

I love all the late summer green in this photo and a taste of autumn as well.

 

"But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer."

J.R.R. Tolkien

 

Happy Autumn to All and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends,

Happy Autumn to All and now it is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. Fall arrives this week in the northern hemisphere. Does it look/feel like fall where you live?What's something you love to do this time of year that makes you feel its officially fall? 

*If you're answering today from the southern hemisphere feel free to sub spring for the word fall. 

 

 The colors are just starting here in Wisconsin. The last week of September and the first weeks of October are the showstopper leaf peeping times.

I love to stop at roadside stands and pick out my favorite pumpkins to set out on the porch.

 

 

 2. What's a small daily task or chore that always seems to fall through the cracks when your schedule gets busy?

 

 Folding laundry, we will be picking through the clean laundry baskets and pulling items we need during that busy time. 

 

 3. What's something you're falling for lately? 

 

A warm cup of afternoon tea. It has been ice tea for the summer months, but we are cooling down and that hot afternoon tea hits the spot.

 

  4.  Pumpkin is a popular flavor this time of year.  Are you a fan? What's your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage?  

 

I do like pumpkin flavor, in pie, cookies, bars and cake. 

 I love pumpkin pie and pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting.  

 

 5.What's something you wish would never change? Explain. 

 

A good hair day. When you are rocking that good hair day, everything is in place and feeling just right.  

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Happy Autumn!! 

 

The Joy in the Journey

 

 

Within a tiny acorn, a mighty oak is waiting! Great things always start small, so embrace beginnings and take joy in the journey.

Pearl Sanborn 

 

 

If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present. 

Catherine Booth 

 

 

 

Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. 

Unknown

 

 All the above photos were taken during our daily walk along the river. 

 

♥ 

Carla

 

Choo - Choo and it is The Hodgepodge

 

Once upon a time we took my mom on a train for Mother's Day Brunch.

 Me and my mom.

Choo - Choo

Can you hear the train coming? 

No matter if you can or if you cannot, 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. How do you define beauty? 

 

Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.

St. Augustine

 

  2. Have you ever taken a trip by train? If so where did you go and what did you think of the experience? If not do you have any desire to do so? Where would you like to go? (You might find inspiration here-The Best Train Trips in The World)

 

Our family took a day trip on a train. We treated my mom to a Mother's Day Brunch on the train. It was a fun day. I am sharing some photos of the day below. 

 

Me and my husband... our first year of marriage.

 

 

 

My mom. All the mom's were given corsages as they boarded the train.

 

 

 

Enjoying our brunch as we choo choo along.

 

 

 

3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells...choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.

 
  Shell shocked by the current comments regarding September 11, 2001.

 

  4. Tacos, pistachios, oysters, clams, eggs...your favorite food on the list that comes in/with a shell? 

 

I do enjoy eggs. I have an egg everyday for breakfast. They never get old for me. Yum!

I also enjoy tacos, but I do not usually eat them with a shell. 

 

  5. Are birthdays a big deal in your house? Is your own birthday a big deal in some way? Elaborate. 

 

Oh yes, birthdays are a big deal. We are to be sure to gather for birthdays. It might not be on the day, but we will get together at some point to celebrate.

 My birthday is a big deal to me. My birthday is 12/12. With that 12 is my favorite number. And my 12/12/2012 birthday was VERY special. I felt very loved by family and friends on 12/12/12.

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

September, the month you get to enjoy all the hard work you put in during the garden season. We made salsa this weekend with some of our bounty.  

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 ♥ my friend Kitty inspired me to make a tomato tart

♥ harvesting herbs, peppers and tomato from the garden

 

 

♥ decorating for autumn

 ♥ pulling out my favorite decorations

 

 

♥ turning the air conditioner off

♥ opening the windows and letting the fresh autumn air in

 

 

 

♥ autumn evenings are coming in earlier and earlier 

 ♥ enjoying twinkle lights and candles to light the evening

 

 

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

 ♥

Carla