G.........oing organic!

Just south of Plymouth, Wisconsin, is Springdale Farm where organic produce is grown, packaged and delivered to several hundred customers each week. A couple of dear friends and I were given a tour by Peter Seely, whose family owns and runs the farm. The barn is covered in solar panels which provide more than half of the power used in the operation, which includes battery powered tractors, carts, and even a solar weeder! Batteries are charged with the solar power. Wood boilers provide more power, especially in the cooler months. The solar weeder is particularly interesting. Peter built the weeder basing it on one he had seen in Europe. It has a solar panel on the top and allows two people to lie down ans they slowly move along the rows of produce, weeding as they go.
Almost all steps in the process are done by hand. The farm employs many workers and also gives folks the opportunity to volunteer and work for produce. We are taking advantage of the latter, and after trimming and washing eight crates of red onions and bagging a great deal of Swiss Chard, we went home with a box of farm fresh eggs and a great variety of extremely fresh vegetables. We'll be doing this bi-weekly until they close for the winter in mid-December.
I can honestly say, we have not eaten so well since the days I lived on a farm many years ago. What a wonderful place, and what a splendid opportunity!

T.........he "Frozen Tundra"....NOT!

We finally got to see Lambeau field, up close and personal! The other day we took one of the tours of this legendary football venue and we would highly recommend this for anyone visiting the Green Bay area, even for non-football or non-Packer fans, though we can't imagine that scenario! Tours are about an hour long, and give you a true sense of the history of this famous stadium. It's fun to sit in some of the very expensive luxury boxes (if only for a few minutes). Our favorite part was walking through the players' tunnel. As you approach the field, you hear the sounds of the crowd roaring! The shot of the field is from the south end zone, site of the historic "Ice Bowl" final touchdown and the first Lambeau Leap. We learned that underneath the field are pipes though which warm water and anti-freeze are piped when weather conditions would freeze the turf. So the "tundra" is never completely frozen. The final picture is of one of the signs that inspire fans as they enter to take their seats. This tour is a Packer Fan's dream!

O.........scar and Camille visit Title Town

They must have overheard us talking about a trip to Green Bay last night, because this morning they were in the car waiting! After a long distance shot of me with C and O, we were lucky enough to have MJ from the pro shop help set them up in a photoshoot. Thanks, MJ, that's a cute picture of you, too! They then accompanied us on a guided tour of Lambeau Field, legendary home of the Green Bay Packers. We'll post pictures of the tour tomorrow and you'll find out why is really isn't the "frozen tundra"!

T.........hey've done it again!

Perhaps it was viewing all the beautiful pink flowers in the gardens; at least that's the only reason I can think of that Camille and Oscar dramatically changed colors last night! They chose beautiful shades of pale and deep pink for their new look. Camille did keep the flower in her hair...or is it her hare...and Oscar still sports his classy bow tie. They're sure to be off on more adventures soon, so please stay tuned.

A.........KeepersJackpot

Today I'd like to show you a different etsy shop, AKeepersJackpot

She does splendid work in jewelry and even crochets with wire! I crochet, and I cannot imagine how hard it would be on one's hands to do it with such a medium! You can see my favorite piece of hers and get to her shop by clicking on this link:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13002114

C.........attends the American Players Theater

In the beautiful, southwestern rolling hills of Wisconsin near Spring Green, lies an amazing theater. At an outdoor venue, off in the woods, the American Players Theater, a stellar repertory group, presents classic plays during the summer months. Camille, my daughter, son-in-law, David and I had the great pleasure of seeing "Ah Wilderness!", the only comedy written by Eugene O'Neill, at the theater on the evening of July 11. We have been in a terrible rainy season here in Wisconsin and we were concerned that it would be rained out, but after a brief but severe thunderstorm, the skies cleared, and we walked up the long hill, through the deep woods to find our seats. Ushers passed out paper towels and the audience cheerfully wiped off the seats and settled in to a most delightful production. The talent of this troupe never ceases to astound me and this was certainly up to our expectations, and more! You can see Camille with my program and ticket, and overlooking the set before the play began. Perhaps she'll accompany us again next year!

O.........scar shows his souvenirs

Oscar was thrilled with the souvenirs we brought back from the Milwaukee Brewer game Sunday, July 6. We spent a great day with David's son and daughter-in-law at the ball park. It was a beautiful, warm day and we tail-gated...as most Wisconsin fans do...ahead of time in the parking lot. DIL made delicious hamburgers and we enjoyed them with great muchies. Fortunately, our seats were in the shade, and up high enough that we caught a great breeze as well as a wonderful view of the field. We were treated to a Brewer victory with lots of scoring and several exciting home runs! Oscar's souvenirs include a visor which will soon be worn on the golf course (probably not by Oscar) and a "Barrel Man" bobble head, long a symbol of the Brewers, which was given to all fans. He's as big as Oscar! So we even have tangible memories of a great game, great company, great food, and a perfect baseball day!

C.........elebrating the Fourth of July

We not only are fortunate to live in such a wonderful country, but to have two groups of friends invite us to celebrate the birth of that country with them each year.
At the first we have a lovely visit and a spectacular supper, and at the second we watch the fireworks from the fourth story balcony and enjoy more treats!

Because I am not known for my culinary exploits, I am graciously invited to make up the tableware and thought I'd share the process with you. Here you'll see the beginning, the middle and the end of the procedure. This year I decided to ad a patriotically wrapped tootsie roll to the cutlery and napkins. Of course, that gave me a great opportunity to sample the tootsie rolls. (One must be sure they are safe to eat, you know!)

The small basket in the finished picture is filled with tootsie rolls. The hostess for the second party seems to enjoy my pine needle baskets, so I filled one for her and the other guests.

Happy 4th to all!

S.........weet Summer

Most people who know me personally, would never come to me for recipes, but I just couldn't help sharing this one. I can't even give credit for its source as it was passed on to me by a friend, but it's worth repeating and retrying. The light, cool sweetness is perfect for a summer dessert. All it takes is a two containers of flavored light yogurt, a package of regular or sugar free jello of a similar flavor, an 8 ounce carton of Cool Whip Lite, and a premade light graham cracker crust. Here I chose raspberry flavored jello and yogurt, but any combination is good. Just dissolve the jello in 1/4 cup boiling water, mix in the yogurt and cool whip, pour into the crust and refrigerate at least four hours. We eat about one a week in the summer. Enjoy!