Book Review-The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis

I really enjoyed reading the new Beverly Lewis book The Fiddler. She did a wonderful job of blending two people from different backgrounds that were each at a crossroads in their life. Both are very hard working, goal oriented people that do not want to let their families down but at the same time feel smothered by what they are expected to do. I appreciate that Ms Lewis does not have them take the easy way out which would be to throw in the towel and do what they want when they want it. Instead she has them think it through, get counsel from various different people and then follow through with some previous obligations.
It is always refreshing to see an author show their characters with some depth, morals and values. I like when I read a book and the character remembers something that they had been taught but may not have been living to the fullest. This book shows with Amelia that she had not been living a life where she was being true to herself and honest with her family. She had forgotten the simple pleasures of some of the things that she had learned with her Grandmother, including talking to God and having a relationship with him. It all shows that Michael is very family oriented, has a strong faith but still has to make some hard decisions. It shows that tough decisions can be made with putting others first and waiting on the right timing. I think we forget that as we live in a very instant, give it to me now world that is pretty "self-centered".
It was refreshing to be reminded that although we all walk our own road in life we all go through similar trials, its how we deal with those trials that makes the journey good or bad.
I would highly recommend reading this book. I want to thank Bethany House for sending out a copy to me free of charge. All that they ask of me is to post a review, good or bad. I would also like to thank Ms. Lewis for writing another good book that I have had the privilege to read.

Spooner Advocate Column- June 28, 2012

Hello there neighbors. Wow are you as busy as I feel I am? Seems there is always something to do or to go check out. This was one of those weekends where there was plenty to choose from!
This was the last weekend of the Wi Quilt Shop Hop, if you went around the state looking at the different stores were you surprised how different they all were? How about the great folks that worked at them? Talk about some really wonderful people! Also talk about goodies to drool over! Wow! I was really good and really just focused on getting the blocks that the stores offered and looking at the different projects that everyone had to offer. Don't worry I took notes on what I want and who had it! LOL Two of my favorite new stores are Heartlight Quilt Shop in Ladysmith- You can get hold of Kathleen at www.heartlighthouse.com and Bolts of Fun Quilt Shop in Thorp- you can get ahold of Sandy at www.boltsoffun.com. Yes they are alittle ways away. However they are both worth the drive! Sandy has the cutest dog! Kathleen has amazing old quilts all over her porches!

A big thank you goes out to all the folks that helped put the Sawyer County Breakfast together. Wow they really did a great job getting all of us through the food lines! I was amazed how many people showed up as it was raining- however that did not dampen anyone's spirits! We met some new people at the breakfast, even someone who reads my column, hi Phyllis! Such a small world we live in! It saddens me that the dairy breakfasts are now over for the year- it does make me start dreaming about next year tho! I don't know why the food taste so much better when someone else cooks it or when you eat it outside! I look forward to seeing you all again next year! Remember to thank the farmers for all their hard work when you see them!

Speaking of things that are held only once a year I hope you have your projects ready for the Washburn County Fair! The fair is right around the corner July 26-29, 2012 at the Washburn Fair Grounds in Spooner. You can get all the  entry forms on the computer at  www.washburncountyfair.com, the registration deadline is July 13. If you are going to be submitting entries for the Sawyer County Fair, the fair runs August 16-19, 2012 in Hayward. The registration deadline is August 3, 2012 and all the info and forms can be found at www.sawyercountyfair.org. We are big supporters of local fairs and have been entering projects in them for 10 years now- its not just for the young kids you know! Hope this is the year you take  the big step and enter something, you will have fun doing it  and you might even win a ribbon! See you at the fair!

A big thank you goes out to the Shuman Cattle Company in Hayward. They had us all out for a pasture walk on Sat and about 70+ people showed up! They have some beautiful animals, very calm for animals that size! Tweed and his family did a great job at making us feel welcome, showing us around the farm, letting us see how they still use horses to move the cattle and letting us ask questions! They served a delicious lunch for all that attended as well! Great job guys! Thanks for hosting a pasture walk! If you missed this pasture walk there are others scheduled, if you need an Agricultural Newsletter give Kevin or Otto a call at the Ag Station- 715-635-3506.

Do you have information to share with your neighbors?  Please give me a call 715-766-2221 or drop me an e-mail twogiirlsandagarden@hotmail.com
Have a wonderful week!

Going to Try- It Again... Ducks!

Good morning there friend, I wish we had time to sit down and have a cup of tea and catch-up with what is going on in your neck of the woods. However, today is one of those days I really have to be productive and get a bunch of things done! Do you ave those days where you are a little overwhelmed and you have not even gotten out of bed? Well that is how I have been feeling lately so today I really need to get some strawberry Rhubarb jam done, some onion jam, some sewing ( for work) and I really want to do some FUN sewing- I have some projects I want to start and some I should have done already! Never enough time to get things done! What are you working on? Are you sewing anything fun? How about canning things- any yummy recipes you want to pass on? Let me know.

So if you have read the log for awhile I try to do something on Try-It Tuesday. I got the idea from Jo over at Jo's Country Junction. So today I am going to share my new thing we are trying... again. Ducks!!! We had some runner ducks last year and they ran away- we lived by open water and well ducks like water! Lets just say I was heart broken!

So I found a lady  on Craigslist that was moving and she had a pair of Muscovies and they had 4 babies. So we went and got them a week ago.....

This is Daddy Duckie- he came with his mate and four babies.

The one duckling by mom should be white (?) as he has no markings. Maybe a beige- I am not sure if yellow means white feathers for ducks as it does for chickens.

The babies love their daddy! I am so surprised that he is so into them following him around.

Mama duckie! We still have not named her! She is a good protective mom.

On Sunday we figured they would know home being they had been in the barn for almost a week so we put some pallets together and took them outside for some fresh air.

Taking a nap and yawning! LOL This yellow guy has a blueish colored bill!

Daddy is on babysitting duty! They are all sleeping by his tail! LOL

Do you think the second one is comfortable? He is laying on his side and had his head propped up on his dad! =)

Here they are this morning. Having some outside time. I need to make a fenced in area for them to run around in. That way they can be pasture fed but safe from all the other animals- wild and domestic!

Here are the babies. The Two have blueish bills! The good thing is mama is starting to lay again so I am hoping for another batch before fall! I also hope Rebel- the chicken hatches out some babies as she is sitting on a nest with 13 eggs! Keep praying for babies! 

 Hope you enjoyed seeing some of what we are doing here at the farm. Now on to some of the other tasks on my list! Have a great day. Come back soon.

Sawyer County Dairy Breakfast - June 23,2012

Good morning friends- It is a bright and sunny day here in the north country! The sun is shining,  can here the grass growing after last nights rain, the birds are singing and flying around, maybe feeding little ones. Oh course the geese are happy, they have headed out to the pasture to have some breakfast- talking amongst themselves all the way! What is going on in your neck of the woods? I sure am praying for those folks in CO with the fires and Duluth, MN with the flooding. I know even here in our state of WI we have certain areas that have not had rain, or have had very little. We have been very blessed to have had rain, at times a lot of it. Everything has really been growing, the crops are looking great.

Mikhaila and I went to the Sawyer County Dairy Breakfast yesterday and wow what a turnout! We did have to stand in line- that is because one 15 year old wanted to sleep in! LOL The food was wonderful as usual - and we were very impressed with the fair grounds as we had not been there before. Thanks so much to all the hard workers and all the people that donated money, time or anything else. You all did a wonderful job and we appreciate you!

This is Kevin from the Ag Station. Need to know what bug is killing something in your garden?  Would you like to be a Master Gardener? He is the one you talk too.

One of the cut signs that they had up.

A very cool sign when you enter the building. The trees and things are actually wood cut outs so it has dimension to it!

This is Otto from the Ag Station. If you need help with animals or a grazing plan- he s the one that will help you! Mikhaila has the same cow shirt and she almost wore it that morning! LOL

Some of the line. There was probably 1,000 people that went through!

Volunteers hard at work!

This was a very cool cooker- the top went around as the pancakes cooked on it! Very cool! Never seen one of these before!

Mikhaila thinks we need one of these squirters! LOL Really?? How many pancakes do I need to make at one time?

Royalty was there as well!

Springbrook Organic Dairy was there with their awesome milk. Wow they now have their drinkable yogurt! Way to go!

Yes we had ice cream and strawberries on our pancakes and free cones as well!

Mikhaila loves her naked neck chicken!! This one was pretty fancy!

Wanted to take this little one home!

What a cutie! What is dairy month without the cows??

These are Mule footed Hogs! They are on the endangered list. They are awesome and I want one! Wilbur needs a girlfriend!

Strawberries anyone

Yes these are tulips and they are carved! Amazing or what??? He had all kinds of toys and things he had carved out of wood.

These should be in my yard! They are the cutest thing!!! Whoever planted them did an awesome job!!

Yup there are cow ones too on the picnic tables!

These were hung from the rafters in the building. Mikhaila wants a bunch of these to hang in her room! Yes she is a cow freak!

These signs are just too cute! Can you tell we had a rainy Saturday?

Once again thanks to all the hard working folks! You did a fabulous job! We look forward to seeing all of you at next years Dairy Breakfasts! Please remember to thank a Farmer for all they do!

Spooner Advocate Column- June 21,2012

Hello there neighbors. I hope this finds each of you doing good. How are your gardens growing?

I would love to hear from you folks out. I have ran into some lovely people that have been reading the column- thank you! I would love to hear from you folks out there that know of news and events that will be coming up. Being I have no news from really local... I am going to highlight other events that you might want to put on your calendar to attend.

Being June is dairy month I hope you went to the wonderful breakfast at the Spooner Fair grounds. We went and I have to say they did a wonderful job putting it all together!! The food was fabulous that's for sure! If you are looking to go to another dairy breakfast- hey we go to at least two a year, then you  may want to go to the Sawyer County Dairy Breakfast this weekend. The breakfast will be held June 23rd, 6:30-11 am at the Sawyer County Fairgrounds, cost $6 for adults, $4 ages 3-12, under 3 are free. They will have live entertainment- Larry and the Drifters, farm animals, farm equipment, antique tractor display, antique farm machine display, pedal tractor display, local power sports display. Sounds like it will be fun and of course the food will be awesome! If you have questions contact Jim Henchel-715-462-4608 Thanks to all the dairy farmers out there- you make Wisconsin a great state!

Wisconsin State Fair is right around the corner! Doesn't it seem that summer is going quickly? Wisconsin State Fair is August 2-12. All the information ccan be found on thir website www.wistatefair.com The Brewers  have $13  Fair Fridays at Miller Park, you get  a Terrace Reserved ticket to any Friday Brewers game during the 2012 season and one general admission ticket to the Wi State Fair. For tickets you can call 414-902-4000 or go to www.brewers.com/statefair. What a great way to support the the Breweres and the State Fair!

Are you into Daylilies? Are you looking for a certain color, size or ust want to make sure it will survive the winter in WI? THeen maybe you need to make a trip over to Spirit Lake Daylilies. They are having  their open house on Saturday 28 from 8:00am- 5:00 pm. Kris will have refrshments as well as door prizes. Kris has over 270 cultivars to choose from, you can call to order as she does do mail order or come to the open house and the daylilies will be dug up right there for you! Spirit Lake Daylilies is located at 22163 Spirit Lake Road E, Frederic, 715-689-2333. She also has a blog www.spiritlakedaylilies.blogspot.com. I have to say I look forward to going to th opn house and am hoping to get a couple beauties to put in the yard.

If you would like me to know something  going on n the community give me a call 715-766-2221 or drop me an e-mail twogirlsandagarden@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you! Have an awesome week!

Yes...A farm with kittens....

When they were smaller, they are bigger now. This was their first visit out in the bg world. Mikhaila had them all out and read to them of course! Mom had to come out and see where they were.

Peony the mama. She is all Mikhaila's cat!

The male geese think they are the protectors of the kittens! Gino is in the back and the main one here who goes after folks is Angelo.Yes he has an angel wing, h is the dominant guy!

You talkin' ta me?

Mama and her babies outside for the day - this last week. They are getting so big and are fuzzy!

Their eyes are still all so blue!

Poor stripped one can't even get up! They sleep in such a pile

.

Must be hard to sleep while trying to hold your head up!

Amazing the one can breathe with his face buried in all that fur!

his is angel - she is named that as she had to have a guardian angel. Mikhaila found her over in the barn, right in the way of the path , where we walk and lead the animals in and out of the barn- lucky she was making some noise or she would have been stepped on! All the others (4) were born under the deck- she is tiny. Mikhaila warmed her up with a sock filled with beans and put in the microwave and then I got home and curled up with her in my shirt

Ok what is a farm without kittens right. And before someone goes off about fixing the cat, we are going too. Peony is a wonderful part of my daughter and my life and we want her around for a long time- minus kittens for everyone of those years! However kittens are here, they are "barn" kittens that are well loved on and well looked after as you can see. We will find homes for those we can otherwise they will get fixed and live their life on the farm. I just had to share as I think they are so precious!

From the sewing room..

Hello there friends! How are you doing today in your neck of the woods? It is raining here again today- at least we are not in a drought as some part of the country are. I figured while I am waiting for dinner too cook  I am going to post somethings I have going on in the sewing room. Lately I sure have not been able to sew like  want to, or knit either- or anything else really fun. Seems all I ever get around to doing is working- so what I did was pull out some fabric that I bought as a kit, I wanted to see what it all will look like together.

This is the the little kit that I bought at Thimbles Quilt shop awhile back. Its been sitting in a bag and waiting to be created into something beautiful. The pattern that came with it is for a braided table runner. Of course I did not take a picture of that... it will be a surprise later on.

This is the back and of course it is mingled with the other colorful patterns for the braided front.

Sorry about the pictures- they rally do not show the rich colors.

I really like the raspberry looking little flowers.

For some reason I really was drawn to the sample of this table runner. Its not usually the colors I am drawn too but I am glad I am getting out of my "normal". I am getting excited to get my iron hot and get cutting!

The other thing that I did was a gift for my Foster Mom... I wanted to do a little project that I could use my felting needle and loose wool. So I grabbed a silk scarf and some dyed curls from my friend Shelley's Lincoln sheep. You can go to her store here Shelley's, she really has fabulous stuff! Whatever you are looking for she either has or can get it for you. I really have been fighting to not get some more Noro Yarn!! I really want the book that Noro has put out too, a ton of beautiful things to knit!!! Anyway this is how it turned out.

Its a scarf to wear or it can be used on a dresser too.

A close up of the colors! I love the colors and the texture of the wool and silk.

Here is another close-up.

So that is what is going on here. What have you been working on? Are you doing the 1st ever Wi Quilt Shop Hop? Let me know what is on your sticks or the sewing table. Have a great Saturday!