Freedom Rings 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! 

 

 
1. Tell us about one small blessing you have counted in the past week?

 Safe travel for family and friends during the holiday week.

 2. Bastille Day is celebrated on July 14th...have you ever been to France? Any desire to visit or re-visit, and if so what site or city would you most want to see? (pretend for a minute international travel isn't an issue) 

I have not been to France.

Yes, I would like to visit. I would enjoy visiting rural areas of France. I enjoy learning about agriculture in other areas. I would enjoy seeing French farms.

3. A food associated with France that you love? 

A classic French baguette.

 

4. Something you recently purchased where a coupon was involved? Do you regularly shop with coupons? 

 

One of our favorite markets, Woodman's, has coupons placed next to products. We recently purchased some frozen onion rings and a coupon was included. 

I do not cut coupons, but I will use them if available at the store. 

 

5. You have to give something away this week...what will it be? 

A flower bouquet.

 6. Insert your own random thought here.

One of my favorite historical fiction works about the French Revolution is  ~ A Tale of Two Cities ~ author Charles Dickens ~  I read it aloud to my boys. It is one of our favorites. 

I highly recommend it to celebrate Bastille Day and how important freedom is!

 

Autumn Getaway

The front porch of our sweet cabin.

 An Autumn Getaway to Lake Superior

for a boy and a girl

and a little canoe

staying in a sweet little cabin

sharing time outdoors

canoeing 

hiking 

evening campfires

revisiting goals and making new goals

talking about growing boys and a soon to be empty nest

this little getaway was perfect 

and 

just what we needed!

 

The below photos are of our sweet little cabin.

It was just perfect for the two of us. 

The kitchen was red. A red fridge, microwave, toaster and coffee maker. 

Soft lamps and candles making it cozy.

 We had a fantastic time canoeing, hiking, touring apple orchards, antiquing and enjoying campfires in the evening. It was just what we both needed. Sometimes you don't even realize you need a break from the day to day. Oh my, was this good for us as a couple. We had lots to talk about as our lives are changing as our boys are growing up and moving on. Sharing goals of where we want to be in the next five years. It was a fantastic getaway.

I will share photos of our hikes, canoeing and more.

Have a great weekend!

 ♥

Carla

 

On the Road Friday ~ Confluence of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, IL

Confluence of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers 

On our journey home from Fort Gordon, Georgia in late November 2018. We stopped at where two mighty rivers meet.

The mighty Mississippi and the Ohio come together at Cairo, Illinois.

 The Ohio River becomes a tributary of the Mississippi River directly south of Cairo, Illinois, a small city on the spit of land where the rivers converge.

  Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, and Western Kentucky

We crossed from Kentucky to Illinois. 

We decided to go ahead and cross the other bridge leaving Illinois and crossing into Missouri. The bridges are huge and it was fun to drive on both of them.We turned around and headed back into Illinois and headed North to Wisconsin.

 

 

 Lewis and Clark spent time at the Confluence.

The Great River Road

To learn more click on the link above.

Think Happy Thoughts ~ It is the Medley

It is Wednesday my friends and that means it is time for Wednesday Medley.

 Terri asks the questions.

We answer the questions.

Click here to join in the fun! 

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY

In the United States, National Croissant Day is observed each year on January 30th. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  

The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.

Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.

Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Stop by the bakery for a fresh, warm croissant or try making your own using this recipe: Croissants recipe.

1.  Well, I do love croissants when they are fresh, but day-old croissants need to be turned into a donut.  I happen to really like the croissants that have a donut-like glaze on them!  Sugar overload but so good.  So... do you like croissants? I do! What is your favorite way to eat them? With Chicken Salad or Egg Salad.

 2.  Speaking of food... How do you handle stress?

I like to clean. I usually start to vacuum. 

3.  Out of the negative emotions of greed, anger, jealousy, and hate, which one would you say affects you the most?

Jealousy 

4.  Out of the positive emotions of compassion, positivity, enthusiasm, and initiative, which one is your biggest strength?

Positivity

5.  What do you get every time you go grocery shopping, other than the staples such as bread, milk, butter, flour, sugar...

Crackers, cheese and olives!

And Ginger Ale!

When you run out of room in the refrigerator during the holiday's in Wisconsin.

  6.  Please tell us something random about your week so far.

 Wisconsin is just a wee bit Refreshing this week. As I write up this post we are at -20 and -30 windchill. With this cold the Sea Caves at the Apostle Islands may be open. Click on the link to read about our adventures in 2014 when we hiked out to the Sea Caves.

 

That is me and my boys in 2014 sitting in a frozen sea cave.

 

Spiders and Ghosts

Hello Friends,

Do you remember my post back in October sharing about the reputation Fort Jackson, South Carolina has with black widow spiders and recluse spiders. 

Click on the link below to catch up if needed.

Black Widow Spiders and Ghosts  

We stayed in a cabin at the Weston Lake Recreation Area.

I know this photo looks like I took it after one too many beers. I was not drunk. I think it was the amount of time in a vehicle that made me crooked. Fort Jackson, South Carolina is a long ways away from Northwest Wisconsin. Here is our sweet little cabin. I am happy to report I did not see a black widow or recluse spider during our stay here.

I do have a story about both spiders.

 Sam shared that one of his battle buddies was using the latrine and was bit by a recluse spider!

Sam and his battle buddies killed three recluse spiders and one black widow while training. The black widow was spotted by another battle buddy and the rest of the guys came over and all decided it best to squish it.  I will tell you after Sam shared all these lovely spider stories with me I was looking up, down, under and over for any sign of spiders.

Thankfully, I did not see any spiders. Just great big crickets. I figured that was a good sign, the spiders had not made it to my area of Fort Jackson if the crickets were still living. 

As for my report on Confederate ghosts. Not a one! I even went out for a a stroll at about 9:00pm and I did not see any sightings. Then again, maybe 9:00pm is not late enough for ghosts.

As we explored Weston Lake and went on a hike around the property I came across this sign.

Beware 

of 

Alligators

♥

Carla 

 

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

 

He is in that group of soldiers.

♥ An amazing trip to Fort Jackson, South Carolina to see our Sam!

 ♥ We rang our cow bell and waved American flags .. cheering all the trainees on after 10 weeks of Basic Training.

We enjoyed watching other families reunite with there loved ones. The best one was a brother and sister hid in the trunk of a car. I do not think the soldier thought they were going to make the trip to Fort Jackson. When the mom said to put his bags in the trunk, he got a BIG surprise. It was so fun watching others reunite as we waited for Sam. The soldiers were let out by Platoon, in 30 minuet waves. Sam was able to call ahead and let us know where to meet him. We met at the main PX.

 ♥ Fort Jackson, South Carolina .. Family Day 11/14/18 

We had the day to spend with Sam. 9 am to 8 pm .. we could not go off Base. Fort Jackson has several fun areas to explore. We went to a park, a museum and a library. We also went shopping at the PX. 

 ♥ Moving Day .. 11/15/18 Sam graduated. I will have a post up soon sharing graduation. He packed up his items from his barracks and off to Fort Gordon, Georgia. We were able to drive him to Fort Gordon, Georgia. 

We were blessed that Sam was granted a weekend pass, so we had more time together in Georgia after he checked in at Fort Gordon. 

♥ Thankful for safe travels, extra time with Sam and all the beauty of each state we traveled.

 ♥ The kindness of strangers. Again, we were far from home. Our Midwest accent gave that away in Augusta, Georgia.  The kindness of our fellow citizens. When watching or listening to the news you sometimes wonder.. but after traveling through 5 different states and meeting many people along the way.. at gas stations for fill ups .. restaurants.. grocery stores and more.. I am so blessed by the kindness of  our fellow citizens.

 

Black Widows and Ghosts

Hello Friends and right in the middle of October we might as well talk about Black Widow Spiders and Ghosts! How on earth did I get on this subject you may wonder .. well let me explain.

We are making our travel plans to head down for Sam's Basic Training Graduation in November. We will be staying in a cabin on Fort Jackson property, Weston Lake Recreation Area and Campground for three nights of our travel. I shared with Sam the exciting news of where we will be staying.

In the letter that we received from him Tuesday he shared the following ..

"The Drill Sergeants warned us about Black Widow Spiders and "Jakes" which is the Army nickname for snakes.  South Carolina has quite a lot of Black Widows apparently, so they warned us about sticking our hands in certain places that we could not see in properly" Really Spooky!"

Sam continues, "There are Rattle Snakes and Copperheads down here too, but Jackson is apparently known for it Black Widow population." 

I set Sam's letter down and  looked at my husband, he knows I am deadly afraid of spiders. That is why I live where it gets -40 degrees in the winter, we do not have such things as poisonous snakes and spiders. We have WINTER and it keeps them all away. 

"Black Widow Spiders! I am staying in a cabin! In the woods, with Black Widow Spiders!" .. that is me wide eyed saying the above to my husband.

The letter from sweet son continues ..

"Apparently, the woods of Fort Jackson are haunted by Civil War ghosts. The places we camped at last night is said to be a location of sightings and such. So, depending on where you camp.. you might see and hear some spooks. The Drill Sergeants also confirm the haunts."

I googled to see if all this silliness could be ..

Fort Jackson

More than one entity is said to haunt the site that trains over 50% of our army’s bravest. Many have seen a female soldier, identifiable by the distinctive hole in her helmet (and the hard-to-ignore detail that she’s a ghost), who occasionally appears in the latrine where she passed away. Others have reported hearing disembodied female voices accompanied by humming. Additionally, in the B Company 369^th AG Barracks, numerous soldiers have spotted a shadowy male figure who moves about from room to room as they sleep. Like anyone can get any sleep with a paranormal being looming above them.

Click here for Get Your Ghost On at 8 Columbia SC's Spookiest Haunts 

Hurricanes

Spiders

Snakes

Ghosts

Goodness ...

I will take this!

We are so excited for our trip South. We have not traveled to the Carolina's or Georgia. We are looking forward to our Southern Adventure in November, spiders, snakes, ghosts and all, here we come! 

 ♥

 Carla

 

 

Montana

 Big Sky Country

Central Montana

This land of sunny wheat fields, rolling mountains and big sky.

On our drive to one of our hikes a storm was rolling in. We stopped and captured the ever changing sky. Even photos can not capture the true beauty of the sky and land. I feel so small when I am out in this open country. I feel like I can truly touch the sky.

Montana

Have a great Monday!

 

On the Road Friday....Dog Days of Summer

I think we are all  on this trip together! We had a HOT week in Northwest Wisconsin this week. How about you?

 Ever wonder, what are the dog days of summer?

That is my dog, Molly...she is enjoying Wisconsin Point, Lake Superior.

Back to the dog days. According to "The Curious Team" at Cornell University's astronomy department, ancient Egyptians called Sirius - the brightest star in the sky - the dog star after their god Osirus.

The dog star rises and sets with the sun during certain times of the year(called conjunction) because this bright star was in the sky at the same time as the sun, ancient people argued it was responsible for the summer heat by adding its heat to the sun's heat.

They called the time frame from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction of the sun and dog star the "dog days of summer" because it coincidentally fell during the hottest time of the year.

Of course we know better! Right?!

Enjoying the dog days of summer with you.

Stay Cool my friends.

 

On the Road Friday

Today we are on the road to Washburn, Wisconsin.

A big Thank You to Pastor Vik for sharing this place with us and now I can share it with you all.

Chequamegon Book and Coffee Company

new books, used books, purchased books, ordered books, discounted books, rare books, antiquarian books

  coffee and tea while you look at books

2E. Bayfield St.

Washburn, Wisconsin 54891

  

 We walked in and the first words out of our boys "Wow, we are going to love this place!"

 

 Washburn, Wisconsin

On the South Shore of Lake Superior

 We love this place.

The boys found many books they wanted. They had a stack that the total came to about $220.00!

I smiled and told them, "We will have to narrow that down some."

So, they came home with... 

Calvin and Hobbes, a great find for  $4.00

A book about castels for $1.00

  

 The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, and all the sweet serenity of books.

Longfellow

 We had a cup of coffee and the boys had hot chocolate. 

Fantastic service and delicious coffee.

Thank you for coming with me to Washburn, Wisconsin.

Have a great weekend!