It's Friday, Friends!

Good morning! I'm making at attempt today to organize my photos into five categories so I can join Amy's Five on Friday. Above is a collage representing several things I've been doing lately, and I'll try to explain them.

1. In the upper right is the Westby, WI water tower. We've been spending a lot of time in Westby lately. It's a three-hour drive from our home to Westby in the SW part of the state, and of course a beautiful drive, especially this time of year. The area has a huge Amish community, hence the photos of the barn, the farmer, and my Amish doll. As some of you may remember, we're cleaning out a cousin's house and settling his estate. Putting it kindly, let's just say that he was a 'collector.' So far, I'd say we've made a dent. Lots to do. Lots to do. Lots to still do.

 2.  The cousin I'm talking about was born in 1948, but his father was born in 1894 and fought in WWI. Above is the marker at his grave site in a small cemetery north of Westby.

3. Sidie Hollow. The photo above was taken a couple days ago in Sidie Hollow west of Viroqua. If you were to look at a map of the region, there are many, many areas named 'hollow,' and the landscape is beautiful. The winding roads and all the hills/valleys remind me of the Yorkshire Dales, in that you don't get anywhere in a hurry, and that it's probably the prettiest part of our state (Wisconsin). Sidie Hollow is a lovely picnic and camping area and I hope to return there some day with a picnic in tow.

4. There's a Star of David window on the little old, abandoned Methodist church in Hillsdale, just a few miles down the road from our place. At first, it might seem a bit odd to have a Star of David, well-recognized as a symbol if Judaism, in a Christian church. I make an attempt to explain that connection in my blog post coming up on Sunday. 

5. Rearranging my mantel. My friend Deb came over the other day and helped me rearrange the top of the bookshelves where I have a few things I like (yes, I've pared it down a bit). The photos below are of groupings I have on the mantel next to our wood-burning stove.  Old post box fronts and old history books make the first group, and my little sheep with the black face finally made its way to the mantel. I'm hoping to rearrange more often than I have done in the past. It's easy for me to place something somewhere and forget about it. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it?) but it could be more interesting around here if I paid more attention to having fewer objects placed more strategically.

I just noticed that Tuppence is placed more strategically in a large block of sunlight coming in through the east window. It's supposed to be 91 degrees today, so I better get the windows closed and keep the indoors cool.

Linking to Amy's Five on Friday and Debbie's Friday Foto Friend 


P.S. For those who are curious about the doll, I bought that little doll from an Amish woman who had a little stand in the driveway of their farm in Lancaster County, PA - about 20 years ago. She came with a face - and long eyelashes! :-)

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