Episode #2 Tuscobia Trail

 

Hello Friends, it is time for 52 Weeks ~ Episode #2. My husband and I are trying to do a date each week. I plan to make a photo book of our 52 week adventures. For episode #2 we went for a hike at Tuscobia Trail in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. The above photo was my favorite of our adventure. We hiked 2 miles. 

 This 74-mile trail on a former rail corridor is one of the longest rail trails in the state, running from Park Falls to the Wild Rivers State Trail just north of Rice Lake. The trail passes through part of the Flambeau River State Forest and the rugged wilderness of Wisconsin's Blue Hills. The trail connects seven small communities in Barron, Washburn, Sawyer and Price counties, each providing year-round accommodations and services.

The weather was nice winter weather... 20 degrees ABOVE zero. 

We heard an owl on our hike. 

The sound of the water trickling was very peaceful.

We stopped by for our favorite pizza on the way home. 

 ♥

Crazy for Cabbage and it is the Hodgepodge

 

I am proud of my cabbage patch!

 

 

Happy Wednesday Friends,

It is time for the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. I live in the south so we're pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live. Does the kind of weather you're having today affect your mood in some way? 

 We have sunshine, I am very thankful for that. We are currently at 0 degrees, we have a mighty wind chill of NEGATIVE 10! It is 11:30 AM as I write this post on January 27th, sitting at my desk in my cozy office space in Northern Wisconsin. 

I am very thankful for the sunshine. Even if it is cold out, if the sun is shining big and bright it makes a difference for me. 

2.  Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?   

 I love cabbage. 

I enjoy growing cabbage.

I will eat a raw cabbage salad with my homegrown cabbage. It is so sweet and crunchy.

We enjoy making fresh coleslaw.

Last year we made sauerkraut for the first time, it turned out delicious.

Yep, I will be growing cabbage again this garden season. 

 

 

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children's childhood? What's a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own? 

I did receive a baby cabbage patch doll for Christmas from my grandparents. My grandma and mom made clothes for my baby cabbage patch doll.  I still have the doll and clothes.

Strawberry Shortcake and My Pretty Pony are two toy trends I remember. I have a few  Strawberry Shortcake dolls and My Pretty Pony.

 

 4. Something you've spent a lot of time doing lately? 

 

Organizing my seed bin. I went through the seeds I have left over from years past. I went through the seed that I saved from plants in our garden. I made a list of what I needed to order from my favorite seed company. 

 

 5. Somehow it's the last week of January...sum up your month in just three sentences. 

 

Winter walks along the river.

Enjoying new recipes, that warmed our tummy. 

Cozy evenings by the fireplace.  

 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 I pick out two different plants each year to grow. This year I am going to grow a new pepper, Candy Cane. I have not tried growing pumpkins for several years. I picked a pie pumpkin, Small Sugar. 

The photo above has two of my different plants to grow for me from last year, baby's breath and bachelor buttons.  

 

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.

 

 

 ♥ a warm home ... we woke to NEGATIVE 31 degrees on Saturday morning

 ♥ people who care ... we had a frozen car battery ... having those around us who are willing to help

 ♥ warm clothing ... thermals, jackets, hats, mittens, scarves

♥ the cozy feeling of the fireplace warming the room 

 ♥ getting cozy with good reads and a hot drink

 ♥ pets to snuggle you on cold winter days

 

 

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

♥ 

Carla

 

Back to 2016 and Back to 2026 Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends, it is Wednesday and that means it is time for the Hodgepodge. We are going back to 2016 for this weeks Hodgepodge. A memory for me in 2016, it was my first year as a flower vendor at the Bruce Farmers' Market. I had my first meeting in January of 2016 with the Bruce Farmers' Market team. They were a special group of people, very welcoming and helpful as I started my first year setting up my flower shop at the market.

 

Joyce asks the questions. 

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, playing in the snow, or a snowy walk...which winter activity do you choose? Have you done any of these activities so far this winter? 

We enjoy going skiing, snowshoeing and snowy walks.  

A snow walk, we have done several of those. We enjoyed this sunset last week as we walked along the river.  

 2. Everyone is posting pictures from ten years ago on their social media sites so let's jump on the bandwagon too. Share one photo and one thought to go with said photo from the year 2016. And maybe everyone isn't doing this, but many are and we're going to be part of the fun. 

As I mentioned above, 2016 was my first year as a vendor at the Bruce Farmers' Market. Here is my car all loaded with flowers and more to set up my flower shop at the market.  

My set up at the Farmer's Market.

 

 

 3. What's a trend you hope disappears in this new year? 

 I am out of the loop. I do not know of any trends. Hee Hee!

I am not active on social media sites, just my blog and reading my favorite blogs.  So I actually did not even know the posting of the 2016 photos was a thing until I signed up to do the Hodgepodge. 

 4. 'They' say there's a day for everything and January 21st proves it. National Granola Bar Day. Do you like granola bars? How about just regular granola? Do you like bars of other kinds? 

 I do like granola bars. I also like regular granola. 

My husband and I like Nature's Bakery Fig Bars.

 5.  A frozen lake, a trickling stream, a raging river, or a deep well...which one describes something about your life right now? Elaborate as much or as little as you like. 

A trickling stream... my husband and I are going to be starting up a project we set aside in November to celebrate the holidays. We got a start this past weekend. We are going to take it slow and steady. We are moving our office to a different part of our home, it requires a bit of reorganization that is the easy part. The hard part is it also requires some electrical work. 

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My husband designed two new racks for us. I love acorns, so he did an oak tree and acorns. We decided this is also a great key rack. And that brings me to ask you, where do you keep your keys? On a hook? On a table? 

I have been guilty of leaving the keys in my jacket pocket. And when our kids would go to use the car and the keys were not on the key rack, my husband would yell "Check mom's jacket pockets."  

  

Christmas Rewind 2025

 

 

A Christmas Rewind Post

  Irvine Park Christmas Village

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

One balmy December evening my husband and I, oh and the copper dog too, we ventured to Irvine Park Christmas Village.

It is so fun to walk. This evening was warm and so many families were out and about. It was great fun to sing along with the Christmas music playing along the displays and with the other people walking along too. 

 

 

 

There is an area that has rock formations. The water continues to drip and slowly freezes along the rock formations creating a unique display of natures beauty.

 

 

Me and the copper dog.

 

 

I always love how they decorate this area.

 

 

And now for a little Christmas rewind at my parents.

My sister helps my mom put up her Christmas Village each year.

This year we arrived two days before my sister and her husband.

If you look below, I played a little trick on my sister. She had the wolves in the woods. I moved them to the farmyard. And can you believe she noticed RIGHT AWAY!!

"Who was messing with my Christmas Village."

Yes, the family shenanigans began.  

 

 

My mom's new ornament for 2026.

 

 

 Season's Greetings

It is the little things in life that mean the most.

 ♥

Carla

 

52 Weeks

 2025 I declared to my husband that I wanted to do something fun/different once a month. Explore a new trail, state park, lake, river, town or city. We started out strong January, February, March and April. When May arrived so did some major changes for me and those changes continued to come at me month after month. With all the changes and major decisions needed, the plan for a once a month outing was tossed right out with the bath water.

October of 2025, Joyce of the Hodgepodge posted Day Datin' . After reading the post I thought, 2026 we are going to try to do this. One date, once a week, doing something fun together. It does not have to be something major, it can be simple.

I plan to document them here on the blog, just as Joyce is doing. She is my inspiration for  Day Datin'. And by the way, when I mentioned it to my husband, he was all in. He knew my disappointment that we did not get very far with our once a month outing last year, so why not make it even more challenging and do 52. (Just Kidding) 

 

We got Episode #1 in the bank, this adventure took place the evening of December 31st 2025.

 

We headed out to tour the Christmas Light Display at Prairie Farm Park, in Prairie Farm, Wisconsin.

 

 

 

The path along the Hay River.

 

 

Not only were the Christmas lights on display, the moon was just about full this evening as well.

 

 

We tap our maple trees to cook down sap to maple syrup. We loved this little sugar shack display. There had been a big storm two nights before, so the little Christmas tree on the shack has fallen over.

 

Here we are with the copper dog. He will probably be with for most of our adventures.

I have two more day dates on the calendar.

Stay tuned as we count down to 52ish dates.  

 ♥

Carla 

It is a Winter Wonderland Hodgepodge

 

Superior Falls ~ the border of Wisconsin and Michigan

 

Hello 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 kind of winter person are you-snow lover, fireplace snuggler, winter adventurer, or indoor hibernator? Elaborate. 

Winter Adventurer, that is me. I am an outdoor person. I need to get outside. If I could wave a magic wand my ideal winter temperature for an outdoor adventure would be 25 degrees, no wind and some sunshine. The wind really is the issue. Even on a cold, cold, cold day, if we do not have wind, it will feel nice.  I also have found that if you wear the proper clothes, no problem with the winter weather. We just purchased some new thermals and they are so cozy, making our winter hikes more enjoyable. 

 2. The Pantone color of the year is cloud dancer, described as a gentle, billowy off white shade. The color symbolizes 'peace, clarity, quiet reflection, renewal, and a soft reset'. Of the terms just listed which do you need most in your life this winter? 

Renewal ... we will be resuming a project we started in October and took a break from during the holidays.

3. Every cloud has a silver lining, on cloud nine, head in the clouds, storm clouds gathering, or cloud of suspicion...which 'cloud' idiom do you most relate to currently? Explain. 

 Silver lining ... we had a lot of closed doors in 2025. I am looking at the silver lining for the reason behind those closed doors. 

4. coconut, cauliflower, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, onions, ranch dressing...of the white foods listed, which would be the hardest for you to give up? Do you like all or any of the foods on the list? 

I like coconut, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, onions. It would be very hard for me to give up onions. I cook a lot with onions. We grow our own. Last year we just about made the year without needing to go to the supermarket for onions. Our harvest is holding so far for this winter season. 

5. Thomas Wentworth Higginson is credited with this quote-

"How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year." 

Agree or disagree? Tell us why. 

I agree. Back in 2012 I had a very difficult year. There was a person in my life that was so toxic that I eventually had to walk away from that person.  After all the pain, the lesson remained and I can now say the entire situation made me a stronger person. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

And now let us welcome the new year, full of things that have never been.

Rainar Maria Rilka

 

 

 

Crafting and Making and Designing

 Hello Friends, it is a crafting, making and designing post.

I wanted to make some garlands for our home for the holiday. I wanted something simple and old fashioned. I decided on paper-chains and dried oranges. 

The fragrance of the oranges drying in the oven adds to the fragrances of the holiday season.

I had some old sheet music I purchased at a library sale. I used the old sheet music to create my paper-chain and snowflake.  

 

A few weeks back I mentioned my husband designed and made a new coat rack for us. He asked me what I would like for a design. I asked for oak trees, leaves and acorns.

 

Have you been up to any crafting, making or designing?

 

First Day Hike 2026

 

 

Happy New Year

2026 

It is a tradition for several years now that we go on a first day hike.

 The two of us and the little copper dog.  

 

 

It was cold. It was 10 degrees. 

We were dressed warm and planned to go on a hike close to home. 

We went to our local snowshoe and cross country ski trail system, Rockman's Woods.

We hiked a two mile loop.

 

 

We had received a beautiful snow the day before, the snow was still on the trees making for a winter wonderland.

 

 

I love the pop of red from the snowshoe sign marking the path.

 

 

My husband made us this delicious breakfast before we headed out on our first day hike.

 ♥

Carla 

Looking back at 2025 and it is 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! 

 

Another goal of mine for 2026... take more photos! 

And just for fun, I placed this Lego guy in my pot of succulents. My boys already placed the big black plastic spider in my plants. In fact they have them placed all around the house. They know mom is scared of spiders and like to tease me even when they are not visiting. 

 ♥

Let us get on with the Hodgepodge... 

 

1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2025? 

Challenging

Emotional

Shift

 

2. I ask this question every January, and I always get comments about how we shouldn't be banning words. This is fun and games so just play along : ) 

Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse, or just general uselessness (go here to read about how the words are chosen). Here's the list for 2026- 

67 • demure • cooked • massive • incentivize • full stop • perfect • gift/gifted  • my bad • reach out 

Which one (if any) do you use most often? Which one of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word you think should have made the list? 

  I use the following ... cooked * perfect * gift/gifted * 

My son Sam's girlfriend uses ... my bad ... it makes me chuckle when she says it. She also got me into saying 67 as a joke, and so far it has only been funny and not annoying. She warned me to get ready for 78... she is trying to keep me up to speed. Hee Hee!

I have gotten tired of..  full stop in news commentary/interviews. 

I usually answer what word I think should have made the list with the.. F-bomb.

I do think it is OVERUSED.

 

3. What are your nightly rituals? Is that different from your 'ideal' nightly ritual? If so what's your ideal?  

 

 I wash my face each night, put on moisturizer, brush my teeth and floss too.

I have PT I do each evening before bed to help with my TOS. 

 

 4. January 6th is/was National Bean Day. Do you like beans? Which one is your favorite? Last thing you ate made with beans? 

 

Yes, I like beans. My favorite are baby butter beans.

 We recently had Nacho's with black beans. 

 

 5. Are you easily embarrassed? Elaborate. 

I am not. I usually end up making fun of myself when I goof up. 

 

  6. Insert your own random thought here. 

After the fun of the Christmas cards arriving in the mail, I get excited to head out to the mailbox and find the seed catalogs.

Is it too early to think spring? 

Hee Hee 

 

Hello 2026

 

Hello 2026

 

You do not fail when you fall short.

You fail when you never aim at all.

 

 ♥ begin each day with gratitude

 ♥ move your body everyday

 ♥ check digital boundaries

 ♥ invest in relationships

 ♥ give generously