Something to Chew On!

 

Hello Friends,

Something that I recently read I wanted to share with you.

Most of life is learning and growing, falling and getting back up, forgiving and forgetting, accepting and going on.

There are no hopeless situations, only people have grown hopeless about them. What appears as an unsolvable problem to us is actually a rather exhilarating challenge. 

People who inspire others are those who see invisible bridges at the end of the dead - end streets.

♥ 

Carla

 

The Tale of Two Brothers

 The Tale of Two Brothers

 August 1st our two son's moved into a two bedroom apartment together. Our National Guard son is heading back to college August 24th. He will have online courses Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He travels to campus on Tuesday and Thursday for in class learning.

 Our 2020 Graduate son is currently working full time. He is looking at starting his generals at Chippewa Valley Tech College in the Spring semester of 2021.

 Here is a peek at the apartment.

 

 

I gave the boys an outdoor plant and put some solar lights in it. They love having a patio. We loved that the apartment was on the first level and we could use the patio door to move in.

 

 

We found a fun shower curtain. 

We put in the shelving for them. They each have a shelf and baskets for their toiletries. The bathroom is small,  by adding the shelving it will work out well for them.

 

 

The kitchen is spacious, with lots of counter space. 

We are very pleased with the new apartment for the boys. 

It has a washer and dryer in the apartment. Their very own washer and dryer. Yay!

It also has a dishwasher and microwave.

 

 

I created this little corner for them in the kitchen. Tomatoes, onions and garlic from mom's garden.

They both like to cook. 

 They are doing well and are happy with their place.

 

And with the move, that means that my husband and I are in an empty nest. 

I have gotten use to Sam being off and on his own. 

Having my little guy head out the door, well to be honest, my heart broke for a few days. I am so excited for the boys to venture out into the world and want to make it a better place.

At the same time, it is the big. ugly. world. and in 2020 it seems even more ugly.

I am thankful for friends and family that cheered me on the first few weeks of the empty nest.

I am getting use to the empty house. I am not use to the echo that is in their old room, with all the furniture gone. We are going to re do their bedroom into a guest room. I already have paint colors picked out and the way I want to decorate it, so that has been something to get my mind off the echo. Ha!

A dear friend gave me some positives to ponder...

♥ They still want to live together as friends, not only as brothers.

Good job on fostering that relationship, mama!

 ♥ They are responsible enough to live ALONE!

Good job teaching those  "real life" skills, mama!

 ♥ They can afford to live on their own. 

Good job teaching those budgeting skills, mama!

 ♥ You survived and thrived, adapted and learned these past 18 years as their parent and you will continue to do so in God's grace. 

YOU'VE GOT THIS!

Cut Flower Tips and Tricks ~ Meet Me in the Garden

Assembling a bouquet of flowers from your own garden gives great pleasure. We get to appreciate the plants in a new way as we put together a unique bouquet.

 

 Meet Me in the Garden 

This July I helped with the Meet Me in the Garden workshop that the North Country Master Gardener Volunteers put on each summer. I presented a Cut Flower Tips and Tricks workshop.

 

 I shared tips for heading out to the garden to harvest flowers to create your own lovely bouquets.

Having clean buckets, tools and vases are key to helping a fresh cut flower bouquet with vase life.

When heading outside to cut your flowers, bring a bucket filled with water with you. Placing your flowers in water as soon as you cut them helps with vase life.

Try to cut in the cool of the day.. morning or evening.

 After Care ~ Bouquet Care Tips

Keep bouquets filled with water

Place flowers away from direct sunlight

Cut fresh stems when changing the water

I used the following book as a resource to put my presentation together ..

Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden 

the book is full of fabulous advice and lovely photography.

I enjoyed the event and I am getting more comfortable presenting in front of others.

 

Magic

 Magic happened at the TePaske house during the month of August.

We found two monarch caterpillars and watched an amazing magic show unfold.

My sister gifted our boys a Butterfly Garden from Insect Lore click here to visit Insect Lore

many years ago. We raised monarch butterflies in the past. It had been awhile. Feeling nostalgic for little boys (mine are growing up so fast).

I got the Butterfly Garden out of storage and the hunt for monarch caterpillars started. We found two and the boys were so excited. I just loved this, at age 17 and 15 still fascinated with the magic of butterflies. The following photos will be the magic show.

 The first butterfly and about 20 minutes later the second.

 ♥

 Carla

New Experiences

As we head into year 2017

 New Hopes

New Dreams

New Challenges

New Experiences

New Projects

 

Lego City, Brickmania, Minneapolis, Minnesota

 January 16, 2017 was one of my first New Experiences.

I attended an Active Shooter Class / Exercise.

Barron County Sheriff's Department teaches the class.

I was nervous going into the class, a new experience for sure. We were taught what it is like to have a shooter in a building, or a room full of people and what to do.

The training consisted of studying  recent shootings and learning from them. We reviewed Orlando and Virginia Tech.

What can you do if you are in that situation, how can you help your friends and how can you reach a safe zone. We went over how going on lockdown, is not the safest thing to do. Getting out is the best plan, if you are able. If you are not able, try to fight back. One of the things I learned that really stuck with me, was to use stuff as a weapon.  Throw a laptop, phone, stapler, anything to give your family time to run. 

The last exercise that we did was a shooter in the building. Some one had an air gun, with soft bullets. With this exercise the shooter really shoots the soft bullets, the sound of gun fire is all around. It was difficult to figure what direction the sound was coming from. It defiantly gave a real feeling and scared me.

The goal is to get out with your friends and family. 

I am happy to report, our team made it out. Our floor made it out as well, with only one person shot in the leg. The 3rd floor had three shot, one in the arm and two in the leg. (not really wounded, just the sting of the soft bullet) The Sheriff's Department was proud of us for passing. That is what they would like to see, no casualties, get people out to safety. The most dangerous thing to do is try to hide and freeze. Running and throwing things is the best thing. Another tip, I learned was to knock down tables, chairs, and pull fire alarms as you run. It will disorientate the shooter.

I am thankful for have taken the class. I pray that I never am in such a situation. If I am, I feel like I would be able to help get people to safety.

I appreciated our Sheriff's Department care in helping us understand the reality of what is out in this world, and how we can help prepare ourselves.

With that...let us not think about tonight's news...instead...

Happy Thoughts

 ♥ Helping celebrate a 92 year old's birthday!! Irene is still active and in great health. She always make me smile with her humor. And you would never know she is 92!

 ♥ Snail Mail .... receiving  a surprise letter from a blog friend.

♥ The Full Moon!

 ♥ Feeding the birds and having wild bunnies visit under the bird feeder.

♥ Watching my boys anticipation grow and grow for the fun weekend they enjoyed.

 

On The Road Friday ~ Journey to Space ~ Science Museum of Minnesota

 It is Friday, time to take a trip.

Today, we are heading to Space. 

Grab your space suit, your space food and let us go "to infinity and beyond!" 

 

 Genuine Space Food

This was a fun exhibit. I was amazed at all the choices of food.

We also learned that on the International Space Station all the Nations share foods. No need to travel to Russia to try Russian food, just head to the International Space Station. 

 With this exhibit you got to try working in space, wearing a space glove. It was a challenge.

 Look real close at this photo, do you see I am floating.

We are taking the controls of the International Space Station. 

 We have to keep the air clean and moving. We are using the sun to charge our batteries. Keeping fans going and lights on or off. This was so much fun, and I am happy to report we made it. We did not kill everyone.

Working a robot arm to do repairs on the International Space Station.

 A quick trip to Mars and back.

 We loved this guy. He was so much fun. He did experiments with liquid nitrogen.

 Exploring other fun areas of the museum.

 Playing a round of Mini Golf  in the Big Back Yard.

Back to Earth!

Well, that was an adventure.

Thank you for coming along with me today, on an out of gravity experience.

Have a great weekend.

Carla

 

On the Road Friday ~ River Falls Public Library to the NASA Exhibit

Hello, today is Friday. The day we take a trip.

Today we are heading to River Falls, Wisconsin to visit the library.

Click here to check out the River Falls Library 

Astronaut Atticus

This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

Neil Armstrong

 

Astronaut Carla

Astronaut Sam

 After looking at the food, we have decided not to become astronauts.

 We all know the story about Laika the Cosmonaut Dog of the Soviet Union. 

Did you know about the other animals that went up to space?

 Our world at night. 

We enjoyed our time visiting the NASA Exhibit. We learned several things we did not know about space and the race to space with the Soviet Union.

NASA Exhibit: Voyages of Discovery

Have a great weekend.

 

July is National Ice Cream Month

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day, which this year will be celebrated on July 20.

He recognized ice cream as a fun and nutritious food that is enjoyed by a full 90 percent of the nation's population. In the proclamation, President Reagan called for all people of the U.S. to observe these events with "appropriate ceremonies and activities."

People in this country do eat a lot of ice cream ~ the U.S.  ice cream industry generated total revenues of $10 billion in 2010, with take-home ice cream sales representing the largest section of the market, generating revenues of $6.8 billion or nearly 68 percent of the market's overall value.

About 9 percent of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers is used to produce ice cream.

Source: www.idfa.org.

Are you going to have ice cream this weekend?  

What is your favorite ice cream?

 

 Have a great weekend!

Keep a smile on your face!

Have you ever had to stay on the high road?

How about in front of your kids?

It is hard. I had to do this with both my boys at my side.

 A true lesson learned in life.

How do you stay on the high road?

What are some ways you have taught your kids or others to stay on the high road?

 

On the Road Friday - Living Thanksgiving

Hello, we are on the road today.

Today, we are going to visit Thanksgiving.

Last week our family attended a Living Thanksgiving presentation. It was an all day event. We went to four different stations and learned different things about the Pilgrims and the Indians. We also all ate together, a big potluck meal, just like the first Thanksgiving.

 Items that were used during that period of time.

 Mary, she was great. She taught us about the chores we would have. Lots and lots of hard work.

We got to dye fabric and make candles.

 Natural dye.

Blueberries, pineneedles, coffee and  onion skins to name a few.

 Tools of the day.

This was a hands on event. The boys each got to take a turn using the tools.

 This one was a favorite.

 Using the two man saw took concentration and strength.

 The actors and actresses were amazing.

They were great with the children and loved to teach.

We all went home learning something we did not know about the Pilgrims and the Indians.

It was a great event.

 Wearing clothes of the day. 

The actors also spoke from that time. It was so much fun.

What do love about Thanksgiving?

 Do you know an interesting fact about Thanksgiving you would like to share?

And the winner of our Studio206 giveaway is... Pat from Gypsy Heart

Thank you to all for entering.

 

Have a great weekend!