Apple time!

As I write, the wonderful smell of home made apple sauce is wafting through the house. It is definitely apple time in Wisconsin!

My daughter, son-in-law, husband and I recently toured the Lapacek apple orchard near Poynette, Wisconsin. I snapped this pix on the right of the three of them at the highest point in the orchard while on their "scavenger hunt tour"!

The orchard is a delight from the apple trees in full fruit to the pick-your-own raspberries to the wonderful craft shop. There are great activities for adults and children alike, and you can even meet friendly animals, such as Mac 'n Tosh, the emus pictured below.

But the most fun was meeting Kim and her mother-in-law, absolutely splendid folks! You can see me with my daughter and Kim below, too. You can tell us from the emus, can't you? ;) Kim actually is an Etsy seller as well with fantastic quilts and many other items. Please check her out at http://KimsCraftyApple.etsy.com/

Kim was also kind enough to put some of my apple scrubbies in her shop, so if you are in Columbia County in Wisconsin, you can see them at the orchard. Whispering Orchards here in Sheboygan County also offers my apple scrubbies, so there's opportunities to purchase them there besides my Etsy Shop.

Reunion; Sweet Reunion

How swiftly 50 years pass! Last Saturday evening we were fortunate to spend time with more than one hundred of my former classmates for our 5oth high school reunion!

It was a perfect celebration, from the tastefully done table decorations to a wonderful meal and exquisitely planned party. My heartfelt thanks to the organizers of the event, especially my dear friend, Kathy Diehl High, whose superb organizational skills enabled her not only to find every single one of our graduates, but with the help of her sister, produced an updated "yearbook" with delightful autobiographies. They cleverly used the design of our first yearbook (on the left) to produce this memorable new addition (on the right). Incidentally, "WAMAGO" stands for West Allis Maroon and Gold.

Our graduates came from all over the US and it was such fun to catch up on their lives. We all have had great joys and tragedies in our lives; some have remained in West Allis and some have been world travelers; all have made wonderful contributions to their families and their world. One of our members even took pictures of as many of us as he could so he could send digital copies to our former exchange student in Germany!

It was a great honor to see so many of them again. I am so proud to have been a member of the graduating class of 1960 and I wish each of them the best in their golden years. They deserve it!

Presenting: PatchFirst

Who of us can resist weddings, especially the gorgeous white bridal dresses and accessories? The Etsy Blogger of the Month makes exceptionally lovely jewelry that she sells at: http://patchfirstshop.etsy.com This stunning necklace is just one example. She even has a wedding planning blog at http://patchfirstshop.blogspot.com And for those of you into vintage, she can also be seen at http://patchfirstvintage.etsy.com In addition this multi-talented lady has a supply shop at http://patchfirstsupply.etsy.com I am absolutely in love with her origami flowers made from post it notes...of all things! Please take a moment to visit her shops and her blog. You'll be glad you did!!

Back To School

Back to school time was always special in our home, so it is easy to write this post for the Etsy Bloggers Team Carnival with that theme.

My mother taught school and she always made this time fun for me and my sister. Because I was a teacher as well, it was always an exciting time, and now my younger daughter is a third generation educator! To us, the year begins in late August or early September instead of January!

The most precious moment for me at this time of year was taking my older daughter to school for the first time. She was the only child in the class who did not cry, and I was the only mother that did!!

The alphabet note cards are available for sale in my Etsy shop, and would be a perfect set for any teacher!

Garden Glory

Saturday, amid the raindrops we had a spectacular experience at the Christopher (of Pampered Chef fame) farm and gardens, just north of Sheboygan, WI, along Lake Michigan. More than 50 acres of the 400 plus farm are devoted to gardens, including a Japanese garden, koi ponds, a fishing pond, par two golf hole, a long arbor of grape vines, and its own railroad complete with crossing, tunnel and station! Plants are largely those that flourish in our area and this lovely property is beautiful in every season. Generally it is not open to the public, but the Christophers invited the public for this special garden walk day. What a treat!

Presenting: sykin

From the shadows of the Twilight saga, to the beautiful shores of the Pacific Northwest, Missey of the Etsy Bloggers Team has you covered. For the photo to the left and many more spectacular shots, please visit http://nwwonders.etsy.com Those of us who have visited these incredible shores can certainly relate to the views she has captured for us and those who have not may catch a glimpse of its beauty.
And for those of you Twilight fans, there's an entire shop devoted to it at http://sykin.etsy.com What a variety of talents Missey has!!

Italy comes to Kohler

It's always been a dream of mine to visit Italy, but it came to us instead! The Italian Experience was celebrated last weekend less than a mile away from us. Italian flags graced the parking lot, sand sculptures had an Italian theme, there were gondola rides on the lake, Ferraris to view, and, of course, many Italian foods to sample. What fun!