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

  

 

 

Go Bears!! And it is the Hodgepodge

 

 

Hello Friends,

That is me. I loved the Chicago Bears. Yep, I know I am a born and bread Wisconsin girl. And now you know a deep dark secret about this Wisconsin girl, she did not cheer for the Green Bay Packers.

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. ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?  On a scale of 1-10 how much of a fan are you? (10 is never miss a game and 1 is I'm just here for the snacks). Who's your team? If you're playing along today, but live outside the US feel free to sub your feelings about futbol for the more American sport of football. 

 

Once upon a time...  I was a big football fan. I was a 10!! Take note of the above photo.

Things changed in the NFL and with the changes my excitement left me. I was seeing more politics on the field than football.

 

 2. What's something you currently have a game plan for managing? 

 

 My husband and I have some upcoming travel plans. It is time to get the planning in motion.

 

 3. Do you like chicken wings? I do like chicken wings.  Hot, mild, or some other flavor? I am more of a mild kind of gal with all foods.  What's a must have food for you on a tailgate menu? We tailgate at Milwaukee Brewer baseball games. Oh it is so fun to tailgate at Miller Park... yep I still call it Miller Park. We have brats.. the good old Wisconsin way.  I know tailgating isn't as big of a thing outside the US of A as it is inside the US of A, but you can also answer the question this way-what's a must have food for you at a sporting event viewing party? 

 

 

Me at Miller Park in 2016.. when it was still called Miller Park. The last time I  was at a game was in 2019. We had a fun, fun tailgate party and  the stadium was renamed, American Family Field. 

 

4. Teams typically have strict playbooks they follow. What is one unwritten rule or piece of advice in your 'life playbook' you think everyone should know? 

 

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church....a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.”
― Charles Swindoll 

 

 

 5. This is the week we remember and mourn all that was lost and changed on September 11, 2001. I always include a spot for bloggers to share anything they'd like to share about 9/11. Share as much or as little as you like. 

 

 

 

The Red Bandanna

Book by Tom Rinaldi

 

 One Sunday morning before church, when Welles Crowther was a young boy, his father gave him a red handkerchief for his back pocket. Welles kept it with him that day, and just about every day to come; it became a fixture and his signature.

A standout athlete growing up in Upper Nyack, NY, Welles was also a volunteer at the local fire department, along with his father. He cherished the necessity and the camaraderie, the meaning of the role. Fresh from college, he took a Wall Street job on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, but the dream of becoming a firefighter with the FDNY remained.

When the Twin Towers fell, Welles’s parents had no idea what happened to him. In the unbearable days that followed, they came to accept that he would never come home. But the mystery of his final hours persisted. Eight months after the attacks, however, Welles’s mother read a news account from several survivors, badly hurt on the 78th floor of the South Tower, who said they and others had been led to safety by a stranger, carrying a woman on his back, down nearly twenty flights of stairs.  After leading them down, the young man turned around.  “I’m going back up,” was all he said.

The survivors didn’t know his name, but despite the smoke and panic, one of them remembered a single detail clearly: the man was wearing a red bandanna.

Tom Rinaldi’s The Red Bandanna is about a fearless choice, about a crucible of terror and the indomitable spirit to answer it. Examining one decision in the gravest situation, it celebrates the difference one life can make.

 

 

 6.Insert your own random thought here. 

 

Our morning glories are making me smile each and every day. 

Here is a smile for you. 

 

 

This and That

 

Hello Friends,

A bit of this and that today to catch up a bit from the month of August.

Fresh salads for dinner have been what is on the menu a many a night. It is great to go out and pick your meal in the backyard, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes.

 

Finding white sweet corn at the farmers market. We usually only find the bi color sweet corn. Another favorite is all yellow sweet corn. 

Do you have a favorite sweet corn? 

 

Speaking of sweet corn.. how do you like to eat yours? Butter and salt?

 

Dark was setting in early this particular evening. I decided to light the candles for dinner. I started to smell something burning. My candles were just close enough to burn the flowers in the bouquet I made. OPE!

 

We met our boys for fish fry at a place along the Chippewa River. We had to wait for our table, we enjoyed the setting sun and river as we waited.

 

 

Wisconsin Cotton Year Two

 

 My friend L gifted me cotton seed last year. I wrote a post about it 2025 Cotton in case you want to read the birth of Wisconsin cotton. 

Well that cotton grew, but did not form its pods until late in the year. I brought the plant inside for the winter. Two cotton bolls were harvested. 

The plant wintered well, so this spring I potted on the plant into a larger pot.

Thanks to our hot and humid summer. I am going to have a bumper crop of Wisconsin cotton this year. 

 

Cotton flowers... as the flower matured it changed color.

 

 

Cotton pods are forming. 

 

 

More cotton pods.

 

 

Before the pod, came the flower. The flower started out yellow/white. 

 

 

 

Year two of the cotton plant.

 

The below photos are from the start of the cotton plant in 2025. 

 

 

 

A Morning Glory Hodgepodge

 

It never fails, the last week of August the morning glories will start to bloom.

 

Happy September Friends and now 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 wanted to do this summer that you never got around to doing? 

 

My husband and I wanted to go on a canoe trip on the Red Cedar River.  We have our route planned out for the day trip, including the place we plan to eat after.

 It will have to wait until next year.

 

 

 2. Were you the student who sat in the front row or hid in the back of the class? If you could go back and take one high school class again just for fun, which would it be? 

 

We had assigned seats in my school district growing up. I never had a choice. Although I did get moved a few times after the teacher found out they had placed me by a friend and we would not stop talking. Hee Hee!

I loved Biology, sign me up. 

 

 3. What characteristics do you think are essential in a good teacher (this can be applied to anyone who teaches, not just classroom teachers)? 

 

A teacher who can understand that we are not all cut from the same cookie cutter.

Boys will be boys. As a mom to boys, boys learn differently than girls. And that is the same with girls. If a teacher can TRULY understand that.. High Fives!

 

  4.  September 2nd is National Grits Day. Have you ever eaten grits? Are you a fan? If so how do you like yours? Would people describe you as 'having grit'? 

  

I have not eaten grits. But I just clipped a recipe out calling for them. The question is will I make the recipe. 

 

 5. What's something you're never too old or too young to enjoy? 

 

Lake Superior

 

This past weekend we were with several people who had never visited Lake Superior. They were in awe. She is mighty and beautiful.

 

 

 

  6. Insert your own random thought here. 

 

Happy Morning Glory Day to You! 

 

In a Homemade Happy Life

 

Stuffed Squash

Hello Friends,

Not sure I want to heat up the kitchen, we currently are at 90 degrees as I write this on the last day of August. I am ready for a cold north wind and the comfort foods that autumn brings.  

Taco Soup

 

Nachos

 

I open the door to the oven - warmed kitchen and smell my childhood ... a happy homemade happy life!

 

Wishing you a beautiful September. 

Can you believe I just wrote September?