On The Road Friday ~ A Castle in Dunn County Wisconsin

 

Hello Friends, last Sunday we took an adventure to find the castle that is dedicated to rural letter carriers of Dunn County, Wisconsin.

 We found the castle. We drove up, up and up a curvy one lane road. It was a very windy day and you can see in the photo above I captured a leaf blowing in the wind.

 My grandma Martha was a rural mail carrier in Price County, Wisconsin. I would ride with her on her route when I was a little girl. She was friends with most of the people she delivered mail to on her route. I enjoyed riding along with my grandma Martha on her route, she delivered mail for 40 years, in all kinds of Wisconsin weather.

 I loved the fact that back in 1938 people thought it important to honor rural mail carriers.

A few fun facts about the castle.

The castle is the only tribute to rural mail carriers in the country.

It is on the registry of haunted sights in Wisconsin. 

 

 The castle was well kept, no graffiti or other noticeable vandalizing. 

Perhaps the ghosts spook those who would want to do harm to the castle.  

 We have much more of Wisconsin to discover.. stay tuned. 

 

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. 

Happy Valentine's Day Week

 

My mom made me this Valentine several years ago, it is one of my favorite Valentine's. 

Hello Friends,

Happy Valentine's Day to You!

I was gifted my grandma's autographs book. I absolutely love it. 

Today I will share some of the quotes in it from her friends. They may just be what you need to create your Valentine this year. 

The quotes are from my Grandma Vida's Autograph book ~ 1945 - 1946  

 

Yours till table legs wear sox 

Roses are red, Violets are blue, but none of the flowers are sweeter then you

When you grow up and have twin's don't come over to my house for safety pins

Girls like tulips in the park, but boys like two lips in the dark

The higher the mountain the cooler the breeze, the younger the couple the tighter the squeeze

Have a great week friends.

♥  

Carla 

 

We Care!

 

Hello Friends,

The above photo is how one of our Christmas greetings came in the mailbox to the friend we mailed it to. That friend mailed me the We Care package to show how they received our Christmas greeting and asked if I minded sending another letter .. since she was only able to read half.

And so I printed another letter and sent her a photo of our family too. I also included a little note to share with her that we received a Christmas greeting sliced open as well, but it was just simply stapled smack in the center of the card to keep it together in our mailbox.

As I write this.. I know I have a friend reading this saying, "Carla, you and your adventures with the USPS." And it is true, I had mail addressed to Wisconsin go all the way to Thailand and back to the address to Wisconsin. 

The funny thing is.. my dear grandma was a Rural Mail Carrier for 40 years. I went with her many a time on her route. So I guess the adventures of the USPS.. is in my blood.

Any good USPS stories on your end?

 

Happy Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentine's Day

 Happy Valentine's Day my friends.

My grandma shared with me her Autograph book many years ago.

I enjoyed reading the messages. The messages are from 1945.

My grandma had a green hardcover, My Autograph Book.  

The inside cover has the following message..

As the years roll on in the march of time,

 Each little thought and each little line 

That is written now, in these years the best,

Shall be a part of my treasure chest.

So before you write, I think you ought

To give your prose or poem a thought.

Make it happy - make it gay!

In later years of you I'll say,

"Here are my friends-I know them well, 

Who have written here-in my memory dwell."

I am going to share a few of the messages. Some are the perfect messages to share with your Valentine this weekend.

 ♥

♥ Yours Till Table Legs Wear Socks ♥ 

They already were text messaging in 1945.. 

U.R.

2 sweet

2 be

4 gotten

 ♥

 ♥ Girls like tulips in the park    But boys like two lips in the dark ♥

 

Yours till the sink sinks.

♥ 

The higher the mountain the cooler the breeze. The younger the couple the tighter they squeeze. 

Happy Valentine's Day

 ♥

Carla 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

 I gifted the above embroidery kit to sew to my grandma the Christmas before she passed away.

The next Christmas, my grandma went to the emergency room on Christmas.

We did not get to celebrate with her that season, she ended up staying at the hospital and later moved to palliative care. She was moved to Dove Hospice and passed away in late January.

I had forgot about the embroidery kit we had gifted her. While cleaning her apartment, there was the embroidery project, all finished, sitting in her closet. 

It was such a gift to find. A true treasure.

We placed it in a shadow box style frame and added twinkle lights.

It is one of my favorite decorations to bring out each year.

Merry Christmas

 

 

 

A Gift from Grandma

My grandma passed away in January 2014. She fell ill on Christmas night and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. From that night, she slowly faded away. 

We spent time with her at the hospital and during her hospice care.

While we all met to clean her apartment, I found this ...

I gave this embroidery kit to my grandma the Christmas of 2012. To find it finished setting on top of her embroidery basket while cleaning her apartment made my breath catch. What a special last gift from my grandma.

 My husband helped me frame it in a barn board shadow box.

I placed twinkle lights around it.

 "Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every

taste bud, making you wish it would last forever."

Richelle E. Goodrich

Snow Cave

Chill February brings the day, 

when hearts and flowers we give away.

Tasha Tudor

This past week my boys spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa. They built an amazing Snow Cave! My mom used the skid steer to pile a big, big pile of snow up for them. The boys dug and dug and dug. They said they worked on it for about eight hours.

My dad put a light in the cave for the evening hours. It light up like a space ship. I did not get a photo of it at night, my mom did. She did share it with me. It was so cool. 

And now for the tour of the snow cave!

 I am peeking in to the entrance.

 Inside the cave. The boys thought of everything. Several windows, shelving and two side rooms.

This cave was a perfect place to play house war. 

The boys explained the game to me they created and this was the base. 

 It was very warm inside the cave. My dad brought in a few chairs for the boys.

 And he brought in a light for the evening hours. The boys said it was so cool!

 A few more windows.

 Landscaping the entrance.

 A window made of ice.

The Snow Cave  from the outside.

Do you have any memories of making snow caves or forts?

♫ Ring, Ring, Ring ♫

♫ Ring, Ring, Ring ♫

My parents still have a rotary phone. It looks like the one above, but in a pea green color.

It is down in the basement. 

My boys saw the rotary phone and asked grandma "What is that, Grandma?"

Oh my, did my mom get a chuckle. 

The boys got so excited to use it. They each called me twice.

♫♪ Ring, Ring, Ring  ♫♪

"Hello" I said.

"Hi Mom, we are calling on grandma's phone in the basement. It is so cool mom!"

"We are going to hang up now, so we can call you again!"

♫♪Ring, Ring, Ring♫♪

And we did the following conversation from above again and again.

I loved every minute of it and so did my mom.

How come wrong numbers are never busy?

Something Old, Something Treasured

 My Grandma passed away this January.

In October I was able to spend the weekend with my sister and go through a box my Mom made up for us of things my Grandma had saved that we made.

My Grandpa and I were very close. He was my very best friend growing up. 

We named our first born son, Samuel, after him. 

I was thankful he was a part of my boys lives as long as he was, my Grandpa passed away in 2005. Sam was five years old when he passed and Atticus was three.

My sister and I had a fun day together. We of course laughed at our fun art work and sayings we came up with as little girls.

The best part was when I shared this with my boys. "Mom, did you really make this?" 

Happy Wednesday!

On the Road Friday ~ Xcel Energy

This summer my parents farm fields became a site of change, continued progress in America and entertainment. A new Xcel power line is in the process of going up and the old power line taken down. Our boys spent a few weeks with grandma and grandpa on the farm and also got to see some of the huge electric poles go up.

I am sharing a few photos my husband took on our personal tour given to us by our boys.

Sam driving us in Grandma's golf cart. Heading out to the fields. 

The big white marshmallows you see in the back ground are wrapped round bales of hay to feed the cows.

 

Heading out to the power line.

 

The silver poles are replaced by the new large brown poles. They are steel poles and huge. 

The power line runs along my parents farm fields.

 

Atticus and Grandpa got to see a large brown pole go into place. Atticus said "It was really cool, but kind of scary as the the crane took it way up high in the air, it swayed back and forth."

The silver poles are only half on one side of the top area. One section of the line is already taken down.

This area is a homemade bridge in a swampy area heading to the river.

The power line crosses the river.

 

 Each new pole has an I.D.

I talked to my mom the other day. She said things are busy as ever as they continue to work on the line. It has made the summer full of entertainment and creating some challenges with making hay. My mom also said that Xcel Energy has been very kind and polite regarding working on the hay fields.

Thank you for coming along today.
And a big Thank You to Xcel Energy for keeping the lights on!

Have a great weekend.
Carla

I'll Fly Away

Over the 4th of July weekend we Celebrated the Life of my grandma.

My sister had the idea of doing a balloon relase at the end our our ceremony.

It was a beautiful time.

 We are walking out to the field to release our balloons. Each family member got one to release.

 Getting ready to release.

 I'll Fly Away

I'll fly away old glory

I'll fly away

When I die hallelujah by and by 

I'll fly away

Some glad morning when this life is over,

I'll fly away

To a home on God's celestial shore,

I'll fly away

When the shadows of this life have gone,

I'll fly away

Like a bird from prison bars has flown

I'll fly away

Just a few more wary days and then,

I'll fly away

To a land where joys will never end,

I'll fly away

 I love how my Aunt Sharon is waving good bye in this photo.

 To every follower of the Lord,

there comes a time when they'll hear God say,

"Welcome Home!"

The sound of those two words at journey's end is something

every traveler longs to hear.

It means you're in a place 

where you are fully embraced,

appreciated, and enjoyed.

Most of all, it means

you're in the presence

of those who'll love you forever.

Roy Lessin

Surprise!

Hello,

Many of you know, my grandma died in January.

Our family helped with the cleaning of her apartment.

This was not much fun. It bought back a lot of memories and made me feel so sad inside. Yet, God had a surprise for me.

I gave her this pattern as a gift for her birthday in late August.

As we cleaned her sewing area, there is was on top, all done and waiting for me to see. My grandma loved to embroider. She was very talented at it.

It was a special surprise.

"Of course, countless numbers of things can be bought in stores, but somehow, store bought presents do not always convey the warmth we hope will accompany the gifts. When people take the time and care to make the presents they give, they put into the gifts not only the materials needed, but also a part of themselves."

Tasha Tudor

 

Share your life with me....

 About a year after Jeremy and I got married we found a journal called; Grandma, Tell Me Your Memories...

We gave it to my Grandma Martha for Christmas. 

Each day is a question. Some of the questions are easy. Name your brothers and sisters and their years of birth.

Some are a little more tricky to answer. What was the naughtiest or meanest thing you remember doing in school?

Some make you so happy you have down in a journal to read and read again. Do you have a good piece of advice for me?

I helped her complete the book. Her hands were crippled and writing had become difficult for her.  It was a special time for us.

Jeremy and I enjoyed the book so much we wanted to purchase one for his grandma and my grandparents. We could not find them. So we made our own. 

Using a pretty journal we hand wrote the questions for our grandparents to answer.

 

I was so happy to have my grandparents journals. During my time visiting my grandma in the hospital and hospice, I read to her. I read to her from her journal and my grandpas.

I was not able to do this with out crying at times. I know she enjoyed me reading about her life and grandpas. She smiled and laughed.

One of my favorites from my grandpa.

Tell about a school bully.

No one I could not handle ~ was his answer. 

One of my favorites from my grandma.

Tell about your first kiss.

I was 15 and Uncle Felix, Grandpa Sam and I were kidding around.

I stuck my tongue out at Felix. He chased me, caught me and kissed me.

I remember some fun times with Felix.

Do you have a special way to preserve your memories?

Saying Goodbye

Hello Friends,

Thank you for your prayers and support the past few weeks.

My grandma passed away on Wednesday, January 22, 2014.

No more pain, we are so thankful for that. Her internal organs were not working correctly and she was in a lot of pain. Our family is thankful for the medical staff at the hospital and at hospice, the Dove House. I am thankful for the last visits I was able to share with her. She still had her humor and always said "I Love You". ♥

The photo above is my grandpa and my grandma, Sam and Vida.

I love the curls in their hair.

My grandma had a very unique eye color, hazel. Several of the nurses would tell her what beautiful eyes she had.

The hardest part for me was helping clean out her apartment last week.

So many memories. 

I was best friends with my grandpa. Our oldest son, Sam, is named after him.  ♥

It has been hard, because it is like my grandpa died all over again too.

Thank you again for the prayers and support!

xx oo

Carla

 ♥

On the Road Friday ~ Down a Valley

Hello Friends,

Today I am going to share with you about a trip we are taking right now.

Christmas night, my grandma was rushed to Marshfield Hospital. 

At this time we are waiting to see what is going on.

My family did not get to celebrate Christmas together. That is kind of strange. You know how you find a perfect, fun gift to give a loved one, and you can not wait to give it to them. 

Now it sits waiting all wrapped pretty. And the feelings are not exactly the same.

Our boys are doing well. Yes, they are sad for great grandma and for not celebrating our family Christmas. 

The good stuff that comes out of all this, is the bond you make with family. We all have come together to help each other. Our family is spread out. We take turns helping at the hospital. We encourage each other and work together with decisions.

We have made several trips to Marshfield to visit my grandma at the BIG hospital. 

Both of our boys read out loud to great grandma, she loves that!

I will keep you posted as we walk down this valley as a family.

Do you have any ideas to help pass hospital visits?

Reading out loud as been fun for us so far.

The boys read Weird Animal Facts and showed great grandma the pictures. That was fun for her.

Thank you for your prayers.

Have a good weekend.

And stay warm! Wisconsin is getting hit by another cold blast!

Blueberry Picking

So what do you think of our nice pail of blueberries? 

It was my idea. During Father's Day weekend I found a beautiful blueberry patch not far my parents farm. During the 4th of July weekend I planned to take the boys berry picking.

Wild Blueberry Pancakes...I was trying to convince them of all the fun by talking to their stomachs.

We get to the patch. It is hot! We had spent the day rafting down the river to stay cool. I now pulled the boys from the water to go berry picking. "Remember, wild blueberry pancakes."

We start to look at my patch and notice tramped down grass. "Mom, I think someone else or something else beat you to the patch!" "Well, lets just start picking what is left, you never know, they may have forgotten a bush."

The sun is beating down on us. Yes, it is hot. I am hot. The boys are really hot. "Mom, I think we are done."

"No, we just got started." I say.

We head over to another part of the patch. "Ouch!" I look down and ants are climbing my leg and biting me.

"Mom! We are getting attacked by ants! We are leaving you. Grandma will make us just good old regular blueberry pancakes."

I stay! Determined to get a nice pile of Wild Blueberries.

Soon I hear "HONK, HONK!"

 Now our boys are very patient. We are blessed with this. But they had it!

"WE ARE GETTING EATEN ALIVE BY DEERFLIES MOM! AND SAM HAS A WOODTICK STUCK!! COME ON, MOM!"

So, I leave my patch. Find the boys hotter then hot. I pull the tick off Sam and we head back to Grandma and Grandpa's. They jump in the river to get cool. Then go tell Grandma, what mom made them do for a few Wild Blueberries.

We did have Wild Blueberry pancakes the next morning. Of course, the boys had a story to share. How they fought deerflies, biting ants and woodticks for wild blueberries.

Looking at Grandma's Treasures

After my Grandpa Sam passed away, my Grandma decided to move to an assisted living apartment complex. We helped her pack and also had a chance to look at some of her treasures. Old letters, photo books, year books and love letters. I found this one...I read it aloud...my Grandma blushed and laughed so hard. I could see her going back to the day she received this note. It was a fun day, even though we missed Grandpa.

Girls like tulips in the park - But boys like two lips in the dark

Do you have a treasure box filled with fun letters, photos and other goodies?

80 years

Happy 80th Birthday Grandma

My Grandma Vida celebrated her 80th Birthday in August. We had a family party for her during Labor Day weekend. She had eight birthday bags, filled with 10 presents to open. Each bag was a theme, breakfast items, snacks, cleaning supplies, crafts.... she had her great grandkids to help her open. They loved it just as much as Grandma.

  My mom, my grandma's daughter, made the cupcakes. She made poppy seed, chocolate, coconut and yellow. The color of candle let you know what kind. We shaped them into a big 80!

 Family