A Yellow Flower Filled 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. Do your goals and dreams energize or exhaust you? Elaborate. 

My husband and I can feel both. We are currently working on a goal right now. It is feeling a bit exhausting because of several hiccups we have experienced along the way. 

 2. July 23rd is national lemon day. Are you a fan of this flavor? What's a favorite dish or beverage you enjoy that calls for lemons? 

 I love lemon. I love a good lemon bar, lemon bread, lemon pie and I even tried lemon ice cream and loved that. 

 

 

 Lemon Poppy Seed Cake ... yes please!!

 

 3. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade"...is this something you're pretty good at managing? Have you had to do this recently? If so tell us about it. 

Yes, I am pretty good at making lemonade out of lemons in life. 

Yes, we had to do this just last week. We had our beach day planned on Lake Superior. The smoke from the fires came rolling in. We made the best of the day.   

 

 4. Something you love that is lemon yellow in color? 

Flowers!! Flowers!! Flowers!! 

 

 5. How would you describe your attention to detail? 

 

I do notice things. I usually will point out the detail I am seeing to my husband. 

 

  6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

 I must have flowers, always, and always.

Claude Monet 

 

Going Back

 

Hiking at Colfax Day Date #22

Hello Friends,

Well, I just am not going to keep up with sharing my 52 day dates with you. I do not want to feel stressed about it. I will share the real fun ones. Ha!  We are doing something fun each week. It might just be a movie night, it is something I am documenting for my photo book I plan to make for Jeremy. I take a photo of each of our dates. 

Our current Day Date story is here 

 

Going back to Day Date #22  we went to Colfax. We went hiking. It was a beautiful day.

We ate at the Blind Tiger.

It was a fun place sharing the history of the speakeasy.

 A "blind tiger" is slang for an illegal establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, commonly known as a speakeasy. The term originated in the 19th-century United States from venues that charged admission to see a "blind tiger" as a front, but actually provided customers with an illegal drink to evade liquor laws.

 

 Several of our day dates are going for walks.  

 

On the one trail we like to hike we see these three deer often.

Can you spy the turtle?

We always love this view as it changes with the seasons.

A baby turtle.

We should have put something down in the photo to show how small it was, but let me tell you this was a wee little turtle.

 We went thrifting for one of our day dates #19. This was Dell's Architectural Antiques and it was very unique. 

Day Date #23 we watched the "new" Sabrina with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinner. 

Day Date #25 we had another movie night. We watched the "old" Sabrina.

We both decided we like the "new" Sabrina over the "old". 

 

Walking, cooking together, movie nights and some adventures too. That is just some of our Day Dates. We celebrated day date #29 last week Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 

On to #30!! We are doing it. We can make it to #52!!

 

 ♥

Carla

 

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

 

Hello Friends,

Our 52 dates continue... our kayaking beach day was our # 29.  

It was a good plan. We were going to kayak to the Siskiwit Bay and enjoy the beach.

 

 It was a good plan until the smoke from the Minnesota Boundary Water fires and the Canadian fires began to roll in. 

 

 

Our kayaking and beach day was cut short. 

We planned to try a new place to eat, The Corny Fish Shed. We drove on over to Cornucopia to eat. The meal was very good. Several people were there with the same plans we had as the smoke continued to roll in.

 

Once again on our adventures we came across some sayings and a duck. 

 

The Duck

LIVE FREE OR DIE

AN OWIE TO ONE IS AN OWIE TO ALL

 

 

We enjoyed fish tacos, made with Lake Superior Whitefish.

Guac and Chips.

 Praying for all in the firestorm. The evacuations of the those in the Minnesota Boundary Waters of those canoeing and camping, once again show the love and support we have for each other.

Praying for rain.

Praying for those who have lost so much in this firestorm.

 ♥

Carla 

It is a Tropical Heat Wave and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Hello Friends,

We are in a tropical heat wave here in Wisconsin. It is time to get on the water. I will be doing just that this week and I cannot wait.

Before I do, we will join the Hodgepodge.

Joyce asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join the fun! 

 

 1. "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." Sam Keen

Do you feel less guilty relaxing in July than you do in January? Elaborate. 

 

We will be kayaking this week on the shores of Lake Superior. 

Relaxing outside in July is easier to do in Wisconsin, so yes, I do like to relax in July, especially on the water. But, sitting by a cozy fire on a cold January day with a good book, can be just as relaxing. I do not feel guilty about either... Hee Hee.  

 

 

2. What's a telltale sign you're upset? 

 

I cannot think. I just huff. 

 

3. July 16th is National AI Day. What are your general thoughts and/or experiences with AI? Have you purposely used it? Does it excite you, scare you, or worry you? What do you see as a benefit? How about something relating to AI you see as a negative?   

 

I appreciate the help if I ask it for help. I have asked AI to help me with a few things. I think it can be helpful as long as we have common sense regarding it.

Data Centers are making me nervous, that is a big negative for me regarding AI.

 

  4. You're invited to a summer pot luck and are asked to bring an appetizer, salad/side, or dessert. Which category do you go for and what are you bringing? 

 

I would bring coleslaw, made from our very own fresh garden cabbage, carrots and onions.

 

  5. It wouldn't be summer without___________________. 

 

 

Butterflies and Flowers

Sunsets

Campfires

S'mores 

 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

 Last week I shared that my optometrist recommended some drops for my dry eye. They did not work. Boo Boo! I am trying some new drops today. I do hope they will do the trick.

 

Conversation

 

A dead sturgeon on the shores of the Chippewa River. Yes, it is a huge dead fish!

 

It is hard to believe fish this size are in our rivers and lakes here in Wisconsin, but they are. I am not sure how this sturgeon died. We just came across it on a hike along the river.

That brings me to our conversation.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote, "Do not be so opened minded that your brains fall out."

What do you think he meant by this?"

 

 

 

 

Rewind to June

 

 

 

Hello Friends we are going to rewind to June. We will enjoy rhubarb pie, flowers and an army of ants. Here we go!

 

A slice of rhubarb pie with homemade whip cream.

 

Ernie and I were heading out the backdoor for our morning walk to be greeted by an army of ants. Nope, not spilled coffee grounds. Ants, lots of ants on the move. Thankfully not into my house. 

 

Grapes!! Our grapes are doing so well. After two failed seasons, I am really excited to see our grapes doing well. Keep going grapes!! 

 

 

I will make grape jelly, if they ripen. Keep going grapes, you can do it!!

 

 

Another poppy blooming. 

 

 

My netting worked. I saved the strawberries from the birds.

 

 

Roses!! 

 

Slow down, don't move too fast try to make the moment last.

Happy Summer 

 

Happy Blueberry Day and it is the Hodgepodge

 

The above photo is a pitcher of refreshing blueberry/lemon verbena infused water.

YUM!

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 something you enjoy now that your younger self would never have appreciated? 

 Coffee

When I was younger I did not like coffee. Today I appreciate the different roasts, coffee beans and the ways to make coffee. My favorite way to enjoy coffee is making a cup of pour over coffee.  My second is french press. My third is camp coffee.

 

 2. What was peaceful about today? 

Watering my potted plants. 

 

 3. It's National Blueberry Day (July 8). Will you celebrate?  You can have one of the following right now-a slice of blueberry pie, a warm blueberry muffin, or a stack of blueberry pancakes...which do you choose?

 Wisconsin blueberries come into season late July. We usually go to a pick your own farm to pick fresh blueberries to freeze to enjoy during the winter. 

 

I do make a delicious blueberry muffin. And now I am hungry for just that.

 This or that-blueberries or raspberries? raspberries 

blueberries or strawberries? blueberries

 

 4. Do you need a break? From what? 

I currently am doing alright, because we have been receiving rain once a week. Otherwise I would answer, "I need a break from watering the garden."

 

  

5. What has surprised you most about getting older? 

The trouble I am having with my eyes. My eyesight is one thing. And now I have dry eye. It got very bad this spring. I recently saw my optometrist, she recommended some drops I will start this week.  

 6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My summer display is filling out nicely.  

 

Let Freedom Ring

 

 

Happy Birthday, USA!

♪♫♪ From The Mountains, To The Prairies, To The Oceans, White With Foam ♪♫♪

God Bless America

 

Eternal Vigilance Is The Price of Liberty.

Thomas U.P. Charlton

 

  And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea. 

 ♥

Carla 

Happy Birthday America and it is the Hodgepodge

 

Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue!

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. What do you love most about your country? 

I live in the USA.  I love the spirit American's have to go help. No matter the situation, you will find everyday American's go help.

An example:

Steve Svendsen is a local pastor. He was stuck in Haiti when the country collapsed in 2024. He was rescued by regular citizens. Below is a snip-it of  an article written by Ruth Erickson a local journalist. 

 

The Rev. Steven Svendsen, a local pastor who spent Feb. 26-March 10 teaching at the Haiti Bible Institute in Haiti, only to find no way out of the country when hoping to depart a week ago due to an uprising of gang violence, arrived back on American soil on Sunday.

"Thanks for all the praying and encouragement, friends," Svendsen posted about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. "Thank you Mercury One and Congressman Cory Mills for a heroic rescue. I'm back in the USA. I have been in three countries today. There is no place like home. We have it really good here."

 

2. Your favorite patriotic song? 

The Star-Spangled Banner 

 

 3. Red, white, or blue? Stars or stripes? Something you own besides a US flag with some combination of those colors or decorations as part of its design? 

I am a big fan of blue. I have a lot of blue decorations. Our home has blue trim. 

My husband and I have T-shirts for the big 250th birthday that are red, white and blue. And has stars. 

 

 

 4. What's one thing you want more of this summer: fun, rest, adventure, connection, quiet, or confidence? Elaborate. 

 

We are planning on having more adventures.  

We will have our annual family gathering in August, we spend several days together at the farm. We have the opportunity to have fun, rest, find adventure, connect with each other after not seeing each other for a long while. 

 

5. What was your ultimate, go-to summer activity when you were a kid? Do you still do any version of that today? If you answered yes, does participating in this activity as an adult make you feel like a kid?  

 

I loved swimming. We would head to the lake and go swimming weekly, sometimes daily. If we did not make it to the lake, we would go down to the river to swim.

I no longer swim as much as I use to do. Mostly, because I have to travel. When I was a kid, the river was in the backyard.

 6. Insert your own random thought here.