Bloomingdale Road East or Bloomingdale Road?

For any who were expecting to see The Hodgepodge today, Joyce, The Hodgepodge creator, had to be out of town, but will be back with the Hodgepodge again next week.  I know I'm not alone in appreciating the dedication and work she goes to each week to give us something to write about. Thank you, Joyce.

Last week, Mr. C. and I went to the SW part of Wisconsin to settle some family business. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but we were taking care of a cousin's estate. It looks like everything we can do is now done, but it doesn't mean that we won't be visiting that area again. And even though I consider myself a pretty good navigator, I  managed to get us going around in circles because of the winding roads with ambiguous names (and just possibly because I'm not as good a navigator as I'd thought). I hadn't realized that Bloomingdale Road East was actually a different road than Bloomingdale Road. How can that be. And not only that, but when there's an intersection (crossroads) on a main highway, I would expect that a turn to the east would be the same road name (just a different direction) as a turn to the west. But no. That would make it just too easy.

Summertime arrived in NW Wisconsin almost overnight. We tend to do that, often going from a cold and wet spring to warm and wonderful summer, although I have come to expect more out of May than we got this year. This year it has lost its position as 'favorite month,' being replaced by June, which has been just lovely so far. And it's green. Very green.

 Smooth transfer of power
Hauling ethanol (probably)
near Sparta, WI

What you are reading is the result of what one does when one has nothing to say. I noticed when I logged into Blogger this morning, that I have written over 2200 blog posts, the majority of which were published, but some of which were not, to spare us both embarrassment. Twenty-two hundred! That's from January or February of 2010. It's hard to believe that I've had SO MUCH of nothing to say.

Because Wisconsinites tend to cram everything fun into the summer months (with good reason), I will most likely continue to post only on Hodgepodge Wednesdays, and some weekends. Most of the family fun events occur in the summertime, naturally, and I keep remarkably busy tending to the kitties, porch sitting, reading, picture taking, garden mulching and watering, and walk taking.  It's a tough life. As a friend once said when asked what she does all day, 'I don't know, but it takes me all day to do it. '

I had thought that these farmers were planting potatoes,

but when I zoom in, I see that they are planting 

plant starters. Tobacco? Cabbage? I'm not sure.

I just realized that every paragraph I've written today sounds like a beginning paragraph. I think I need a nap. I'm not complaining that the Tommy & Smokey gym opens at 4:30 AM, (after all, the birds are up and singing!) with wild galloping, chasing, crashing through our bedroom. I know. I could close the door. I've heard that somewhere before.

Chillin' in the screen room
Tommy and Smokey
Getting recharged for their next gym session


***

Check out my natural, handcrafted vegan soap!
Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE

 

'Red Clover Tea'

Natural Vegan Soap
No harsh chemicals
No animal products
Gentle to your skin
Great lather and delicious fragrance


New! Photo Greeting Cards

Photo Greeting Card Sets
Wisconsin Amish (pictured above)
Wisconsin Barns
Wisconsin Farm Animals
North Yorkshire
England Favorites
Sacred Spaces England

My photos, professionally printed.



...and more! Check out all my handcrafted vegan soaps

and photo greeting cards
at
 
HomemadeSoapNSuch


and at


Our ETSY Shop

Join me on Instagram: @cranberrymorning

Until next time,

Photo Greeting Cards - The SUCH Has Arrived!! - And Anglophile Friday

When I opened my Etsy shop, HomemadeSoapnSuch, in 2012, there were several possibilities of what the 'such' would be to accompany my natural, handcrafted vegan soaps. I made many different trial products such as massage balm, lotions, etc. but none of them was exactly what I wanted.

Then it occurred to me that it didn't have to be a bath and body product, and there was no reason that I couldn't include what I really wanted to include, which was photography. Once I got on Instagram, it was evident to me that people are crazy about barns. Living in Wisconsin all of my life thus far, barns are simply part of the landscape. But I have taken a lot of photos of barns simply because I know that although there are as many if not more dairy cows in the state now, most of the small dairy farms are no longer operating. And once the barns are no longer heated by those beautiful bovine creatures, the foundations begin to crumble and soon the barns are falling down.

I decided to make a collection of photo greeting cards with Wisconsin Barns pictured on them. I wanted a card of exceptional quality, so I settled for nothing less. 

www.homemadesoapnsuch.etsy.com

It's pretty hard to stop with just Wisconsin Barns, so I decided to also create a set of four photo greeting cards with Wisconsin Farm Animals, pictured above. Of course I have more than four photos of farm animals, but these are really my favorites.

Each note card is professionally printed on premium matte heavy card stock and has a blank interior, comes with an envelope (always handy) and is enclosed in a cello sleeve, then all four in the set are wrapped with a cigar band label (pictured above). The back of each card has a mini photo of the photo on the front.

Besides Barron County, where I have lived most of my life (except for the year that I was riding motorcycle and shooting alligators in the Beni River in Bolivia), my favorite part of Wisconsin is the Driftless Area, southwestern Wisconsin. There is a huge Amish community there, and we happen to be friends with some of them. Although we also have an Amish community in our neighborhood in Barron County, Vernon County is where the larger community is and where the photos for my photo greeting cards were taken. So that's another set, as you can see: Wisconsin Amish.

www.homemadesoapnsuch.etsy.com

AND NOW we move to England (not literally):

In 2003 I traveled to England for the very first time, with my brave daughter who rented a car and took me touring the country for twelve fantastic days, from Bath to the Cotswolds, to North Yorkshire, to Cambridge, and back to London.  Personally, I think it's nearly impossible to visit England once, and I certainly wasn't going to attempt it. So I have ended up with thousands of photos from various trips to that enchanting land, but I created three sets of photo greeting cards with an England theme.

North Yorkshire:  Pictured above is the photo greeting card set from some of my favorite photos of Yorkshire. (I know I use the word 'favorite' too much, but really I can't think of anything else). It is a magical place, and although some people seem to think that sheep aren't extraordinary, Scottish Blackface sheep most definitely are, and I managed to get a few photos of those beautiful creatures (my favorite is included in the North Yorkshire set).

England Favorites:  Pictured above is the set of four, which includes the fabulous York Minster, a scene from the charming village of Kettlewell in North Yorkshire, High Street in Oxford, and St. Paul's at Night (London). 

Last, and definitely not least, the Sacred Spaces England set (pictured above): This was the most difficult of all to narrow down to just four. But included are two that I took in Canterbury Cathedral (to include the apse and the Becket Flame), York Minster, and the dark and beautiful Ely Cathedral.

All of these photo greeting card sets are now listed and described in full detail in my Etsy Shop.

www.homemadesoapnsuch.etsy.com

Of course, I still sell natural handcrafted vegan soaps too, don't forget. :-)

So be sure to check out my new photo greeting cards. I am thrilled with the finished product and I hope  you'll like them too.

***

Check out my natural, handcrafted vegan soap too!
Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE
 

Amazing Men's Soap,
'Country Gentleman'

Perfect for Father's Day - coming soon!

Natural Vegan Soap


...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at
 
HomemadeSoapNSuch


and at


Our ETSY Shop

Join me on Instagram: @cranberrymorning

Amish School, Goats, Holsteins, and Good Fences

Looking particularly cute

I decided to take the longcut home from Chetek the other day because I wanted to see if there was a chance the goats were back at the Amish cemetery. Two years ago there were goats. Last year there were none. I had missed visiting the goats. (It gets lonely at times up here in the Northwoods.)

The other kids in the cemetery, keeping the grass short.

They were all very excited to see me, and were very vocal.
I love that cute little goat sound.

One of them finally realized he could go around the end

of that fence and come visit me.
(Check out that fella on the left.)

 Soon they were all there, but I didn't get a second photo of the group.

Kicking and swishing to keep the nasty flies away

School's out for the summer.

On the way to town

By the way, the car in front of me actually passed this buggy as he was approaching the crest of the hill. There is no way the driver of the car could have seen if there was an oncoming vehicle. I guess he was in a real hurry.

***

 Check out my handcrafted, vegan soaps
Buy any 5 or more, Get 1 FREE

'Thyme & Lavender'

...and more! Check out all my handcrafted soaps at

HomemadeSoapNSuch

and at

Our ETSY Shop


***

Hopefully,  this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties: Treasure Box Tuesday and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Adorned From Above  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Junkin' Joe and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Saturday's Critters