Amherst County Fair
July 19, 2015
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| First Annual animal costume competition. Here is a girl with her cow dressed up like Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion. It was my favorite of course. :) |
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
July - Goin' to the County Fair
June, July, August - Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer
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| Walk Wisconsin |
On June 6th, along with over a thousand others, we participated in Walk
Wisconsin. (Don't you love our shirts?)
Walking along with us were mother-in-law Joyce and our
brother-in-law Mike.
We chose to do the quarter marathon or 6.5 miles.
It couldn't have been a more perfect day for a long walk.
Parts of the walk were on the Green Circle Trail and along
the river.
There were volunteers with water and snacks set up along the route as well as port-a-potties. Very well organized. Looking forward to doing it again!
The Annual Garden Parade on July 11th was beautiful and inspiring. We visited three of the gardens out of the dozen on the tour. I can't wait to learn all about the local plants and how to grow them.
Downtown "Crazy Days"
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| Wilson and Zia |
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| good to the last drop! |
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| Joy, Clara and Mike |
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| Rootbeer Floats! |
It was so much fun taking the kids to this annual event in downtown Stevens Point on July 17th.
At noon, from the top of Bill's Pizza, ping pong balls start dropping to the street below.
All the kids scramble for them to win the prize written on the balls. The local merchants
all participate and it brings us into the stores for small treasures. There are sidewalk sales and kids wearing newspaper hats, eating ice-cream cones and popcorn.
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| Waiting for the ping pong ball drop! |
June - Strawberry Fields Forever
In June we went to a strawberry farm about 30 minutes up the highway to pick our very own fresh berries. The fields really do go on and on forever. A tractor with a flat bed trailer took us far out into the fields and dropped us off with our berry baskets and fellow pickers.
We each had our own row of berries to work. On our hands and knees we began picking, choosing the ripe ones and leaving the rest behind. The rows were very clean and the farmer had even put straw down so we weren't kneeling in the mud. No mosquitoes and no humidity; a perfect day for picking strawberries.
You quickly realize that this is hard work!!!!
Each basket holds about ten pounds of berries.
One of the rewards is that you can eat while you work!
We picked for about two hours. Whew!
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| 30 pounds of strawberries! |
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| Some of the berries were made into brunch! |
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| So cute! Makes me want a tractor :) |
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| The cleaning and prepping |
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| Most of the berries were prepped and then frozen, some were made into pies! |
Catching Up
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| spring in our front yard |
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| The Kirsch men; Michael, Matthew, Jonathon and Maceo |
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| Susan, Maceo, Zia |
April visit to Arizona
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| Sharon and Mary |
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| Jo E and Jo V |
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| Sharon, Susan and Jo V |
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Susan, Jo E, Jo V, Sharon and Mary Girl's Night Out
There is nothing in the world like being with your
sister girlfriends |
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| Looking out on eight acres of woods. Our personal rain forest. Adding the screened room onto the deck gave us a room we lived in all spring and summer. |
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| Bene enjoying the screened deck |
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| Our view |
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| Pontoon cruise on Lake Minoqua |
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| Susan and Corinna WAOPS Spring Meeting in Minoqua |
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Spring Visitors
This morning I took the walk we do most days; three miles to the creek and back.
We go past the old church and I usually stop to peek inside through the locked door and say hello to God. I sometimes have a request or a thank you and then head back for home.
This afternoon I was expecting my mother-in-law and when I opened the front door, there was a beautiful butterfly sitting on my welcome mat flapping her wings, brilliant in orange and brown. I greeted her and she flew around me and then landed on my chest. Just then Joy came around the corner carrying a bouquet of lily of the valley from her garden. What a heavenly aroma! Delightful gifts right at my front door!!
Recently we added a screened room to our deck and my oh my what a difference it makes!
It's like a new room in our house. It's 13x10, has a floor and completely enclosed to keep the mosquitoes away. We love sitting there listening to the birds and feeling the breezes. The view out back is now a million shades of green, dotted with bright red cardinals and the bluest blue jays.
Joy and I went to the hanging basket sale in the grocery parking lot last week. Oh what fun! hundreds of baskets to choose from. I came home with lavender geranium, purple petunias, pink double impatiens, coleus, and a yellow one called million bells. Three of the baskets are hanging on our screened deck.
Jonathon, Mike and I volunteered for set up for the Cultural Festival last Friday. It brought back memories of BTS and all the years of set up! We all went to the Festival on Saturday and so did another 12,000 people or so!! We ate Jamaican food, bought baskets from Ghana and Kenya and origami from Japan. We saw German dancers, Flamenco dancers and Native American dance. We ate German potato cakes and sweet scones from Czechoslovakia.
On Mother's Day we had a lovely brunch at the Wooden Chair and then walked over to the Clay Corner and got their schedule for painting and pottery classes! It's on our list! Mom especially wants to paint on canvas. Next stop; Geppetto's Workshop where we all became kids again looking at the toys, books, games, and puzzles. I had the strongest urge to buy a stuffed animal for myself. :)
Jonathon and his brothers are refurbishing the pontoon boat to get it ready for the summer.
We are looking forward to many boating adventures all around the area.
Flowers and trees are budding and the woods are coming alive again after a monochromatic winter we are officially in technicolor!!! Kinda like the scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy's house lands in OZ and she opens the door to COLOR!! Wha-la!!
There are two new baby girls in town and another baby on the way! Baby showers are such fun!
Recently we had a lovely visit from our friends who live in Middleton who were in nearby Iola for an Arbor Day run. They drove over for lunch and we sat and had a nice long "catch up" and a walk down to the river. These are dear friends from Back To School in AZ, who moved to Wisconsin 5 years ago.
Right after Easter we had a whirlwind visit to Arizona! I tried to pack in a visit with at least 40 people in 5 days, which of course is IMPOSSIBLE! But we did see many friends and of course family and it was just what my heart needed. We had dinners, and lunches and brunches and shopping with the girls and even a girls night out!!! It was PURE JOY to be back in Arizona. We celebrated the sun! the flowers! the color! the light! the warmth!!! and most importantly the people so dear that we miss so much. I feel renewed and energized and when we came back to Wisconsin the weather here was warm and lovely and it was the beginning of Spring!!
Tonight we are going to Aunt Anne's for a grill out! It is a gorgeous, sunny day, but rain and thunderstorms are predicted for the next four days! We'll see what develops. The forecasts change every hour or so. It's fascinating to live where there is actual WEATHER!! LOL!!!
We go past the old church and I usually stop to peek inside through the locked door and say hello to God. I sometimes have a request or a thank you and then head back for home.
This afternoon I was expecting my mother-in-law and when I opened the front door, there was a beautiful butterfly sitting on my welcome mat flapping her wings, brilliant in orange and brown. I greeted her and she flew around me and then landed on my chest. Just then Joy came around the corner carrying a bouquet of lily of the valley from her garden. What a heavenly aroma! Delightful gifts right at my front door!!
Recently we added a screened room to our deck and my oh my what a difference it makes!
It's like a new room in our house. It's 13x10, has a floor and completely enclosed to keep the mosquitoes away. We love sitting there listening to the birds and feeling the breezes. The view out back is now a million shades of green, dotted with bright red cardinals and the bluest blue jays.
Joy and I went to the hanging basket sale in the grocery parking lot last week. Oh what fun! hundreds of baskets to choose from. I came home with lavender geranium, purple petunias, pink double impatiens, coleus, and a yellow one called million bells. Three of the baskets are hanging on our screened deck.
Jonathon, Mike and I volunteered for set up for the Cultural Festival last Friday. It brought back memories of BTS and all the years of set up! We all went to the Festival on Saturday and so did another 12,000 people or so!! We ate Jamaican food, bought baskets from Ghana and Kenya and origami from Japan. We saw German dancers, Flamenco dancers and Native American dance. We ate German potato cakes and sweet scones from Czechoslovakia.
On Mother's Day we had a lovely brunch at the Wooden Chair and then walked over to the Clay Corner and got their schedule for painting and pottery classes! It's on our list! Mom especially wants to paint on canvas. Next stop; Geppetto's Workshop where we all became kids again looking at the toys, books, games, and puzzles. I had the strongest urge to buy a stuffed animal for myself. :)
Jonathon and his brothers are refurbishing the pontoon boat to get it ready for the summer.
We are looking forward to many boating adventures all around the area.
Flowers and trees are budding and the woods are coming alive again after a monochromatic winter we are officially in technicolor!!! Kinda like the scene in the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy's house lands in OZ and she opens the door to COLOR!! Wha-la!!
There are two new baby girls in town and another baby on the way! Baby showers are such fun!
Recently we had a lovely visit from our friends who live in Middleton who were in nearby Iola for an Arbor Day run. They drove over for lunch and we sat and had a nice long "catch up" and a walk down to the river. These are dear friends from Back To School in AZ, who moved to Wisconsin 5 years ago.
Right after Easter we had a whirlwind visit to Arizona! I tried to pack in a visit with at least 40 people in 5 days, which of course is IMPOSSIBLE! But we did see many friends and of course family and it was just what my heart needed. We had dinners, and lunches and brunches and shopping with the girls and even a girls night out!!! It was PURE JOY to be back in Arizona. We celebrated the sun! the flowers! the color! the light! the warmth!!! and most importantly the people so dear that we miss so much. I feel renewed and energized and when we came back to Wisconsin the weather here was warm and lovely and it was the beginning of Spring!!
Tonight we are going to Aunt Anne's for a grill out! It is a gorgeous, sunny day, but rain and thunderstorms are predicted for the next four days! We'll see what develops. The forecasts change every hour or so. It's fascinating to live where there is actual WEATHER!! LOL!!!
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Happy Easter
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| daffodills from Joy |
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. - Hal Borland
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| Zia and Grandma Ann |
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| Our niece Zia |
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| Uncle Michael |
- David Hockney
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| Uncle Jonathon, Pappa and Zia |
I am going to try to pay attention to the spring.
I am going to look around at all the flowers, and look up at the hectic trees.
I am going to close my eyes and listen.
- Anne Lamott
Monday, March 30, 2015
Creativity Takes Courage
I just read the most beautiful book called "Swan Thieves" by Elizabeth Kostova. I highly recommend it. The writing is gorgeous and it draws you into a world of art and painting, artists and relationships, mental illness and love.
After I finished reading I went to several websites to look at famous paintings, some of which inspired the book. When was the last time you walked through a museum? Spent some time taking in the magic of art? I know I'm overdue!
This led to looking up quotes on art. I know that for me, when I sit down to write or sketch I have doubts about my abilities which often lead to self judgement and anxiety about even putting the pen or brush to paper. I've read that it is very common to stifle our creativity with fears and doubts, judgements and comparisons.
We must remember that creative expression in itself is enough! It need not be perfect. It's a beautiful way to channel something inside that wants to come out, whether it be writing, drawing, painting, gardening, building, cooking, dancing and so on.
Here are some quotes that are wonderful reminders. Little messages of encouragement to simply let go and express yourself!
“Every artist was first an amateur” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Creativity takes courage” Henri Matisse
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” Thomas Merton
“When I say artist I mean the one who is building things … some with a brush – some with a shovel – some choose a pen.” ~Jackson Pollock
“The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art.” ~Junot Diaz
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
- Camille Pissarro
After I finished reading I went to several websites to look at famous paintings, some of which inspired the book. When was the last time you walked through a museum? Spent some time taking in the magic of art? I know I'm overdue!
This led to looking up quotes on art. I know that for me, when I sit down to write or sketch I have doubts about my abilities which often lead to self judgement and anxiety about even putting the pen or brush to paper. I've read that it is very common to stifle our creativity with fears and doubts, judgements and comparisons.
We must remember that creative expression in itself is enough! It need not be perfect. It's a beautiful way to channel something inside that wants to come out, whether it be writing, drawing, painting, gardening, building, cooking, dancing and so on.
Here are some quotes that are wonderful reminders. Little messages of encouragement to simply let go and express yourself!
“Every artist was first an amateur” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Creativity takes courage” Henri Matisse
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” Thomas Merton
“When I say artist I mean the one who is building things … some with a brush – some with a shovel – some choose a pen.” ~Jackson Pollock
“The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art.” ~Junot Diaz
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
“To draw, you must close your eyes and sing” ~Pablo Picasso
Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art.” ~Neil Gaiman
“Personality is everything in art and poetry.” ~Goethe
“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder.” ~E.B. White
“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing. ”- Camille Pissarro
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