Outdoor Wednesday/Or Beautiful Lake Pepin, Birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder

Welcome to Outdoor Wednesday! Our lovely hostess is Susan @ http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ please visit her for more great Outdoor Photos and stories.

Pepin, Wisconsin is the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder and the inspiration for her first book Little House in the Big Woods. When I was a little girl, my Mom read us the whole series of Laura Ingalls Wilder books. Maybe because it was the first one she read to us , or maybe because we lived in Wisconsin ,Little House in the Big Woods is the one I remember the most. The picture above was taken by my hubby or I last summer on one of our little daytime jaunts. Lake Pepin was named after the Pepin brothers who were French traders and the first to settle this area.

On a beautiful summer day you will see scenes like this. Pepin was popular with wealthy Chicago socialites and Mark Twain was a frequent visitor. Lake Pepin is part of the mighty Mississippi and was once a steamboat boom town.

But Pepin's biggest claim to fame is the fact that Laura Ingalls Wilder was born here. Above is a reconstructed log cabin you can visit. The cabin sits in the original spot where Charles Ingalls built his.

In September, Pepin is home to Laura Ingall Wilder Days. If you go, you will see scenes like this.

And little girls competing for the Laura title. Some come with their families from all over the country.

And one is picked the lucky look'alike.

You might take in some tasty outdoor cooking.

How about a fiddle contest.

And at the end of the day, you can see beautiful scenes like this. The beauty of the sunset overlooking beautiful Lake Pepin. If you want more info, check out http://www.pepinwisconsin.com/

I hope you enjoyed our little jaunt. Cindy

Blue Monday/ or Blue Birdies/ Blue Dresses

It's time for another Blue Monday! Our hostess is Smiling Sally http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ be sure to visit her lovely blog for more Blue Monday posts.

This cute pic was taken last year at my daughter's ice show. The theme for our show was Under the Sea and pictured with my daughter (wearing the blue dress) are some of the little girls that she coached. I love the darling little blue dresses these little girls are wearing and how excited they are to be performing in the ice show. You can see the one little girl holding her nose, because during their number they pretended to be going under water.

I found these cute little birds in the nest several years ago and I never tire of them. Right now they are sitting on a vintage sewing machine that my hubby made a new top for.

This box was a gift several years ago and again I still love it! Right now, it's sitting on top of our Ar moire in the living room. Thanks again for stopping and sharing my oh so Blue Monday.

Tablescape Thursday/ A BABY SHOWER FOR MY SIS!

Thank-you to Susan @ http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for being our hostess. Visit her blog for more beautiful and creative tablescapes. On Saturday, I held a baby shower for my sister. Susie is eight months pregnant with a baby girl! Susie, my only sister, is number 7 child in our family which includes 6 brothers. I'm the oldest child of this large family. We had a beautiful sunny day and a lot of lovely guests .

My new punch bowl purchase at Goodwill for $6.00. I made a frothy green punch.

I used pink and green with my creamy white pitcher for a centerpiece. There is the cute little candy dish Gloria sent me! I was so busy, I forgot to take pic's of the food, but there was plenty.

I loved the cake and so did my Sister.

Susie and I. I was 15 when she was born and quite brother weary by then.

Some of my sister's gal pals who came to celebrate!

My Mother in Law, the quilt lady made her this darling baby quilt. There were so many cute baby girl clothes that she will need to change her daughter's outfit 3 times a day just so she can wear them even once. Thanks for stopping, Cindy

Blue Monday/ Blue Quilt

Please visit Smiling Sally@ http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ for more Blue Monday posts.

This is the wall quilt my Mother-in-law made for me. It's mostly blue but also has my other favorite color yellow. My Mother-in-law is quite the accomplished quilter and has made hundreds of them for many lucky recipients. She is a very kind and generous lady! Now go visit some other Blue Monday posts. Cindy

Gloria's Gifts arrived and I'm just so Happy to Be!!

When I arrived home today there was a package hanging on my mailbox. Could it be? Sure enough Gloria's gifts had arrived. Awhile back I had entered her give- away and I won!! Me, who never wins a thing. Now look at this cute little cabbage Easter bunny dish. I just love it! It goes perfect with my decor.

Tucked inside was this beautiful card from Gloria. See the G for Gloria? Just lovely.

I was so excited about the pot holder and dish towel. I had been debating whether to buy new ones for Easter. These are perfect.

This little cookbook is full of the cutest recipes I have ever seen.

Gorgeous gift tags.

Darling little reminders to hang on the fridge.

And some Cadbury Easter eggs which look so cute in my new dish. My hubby and I went right to work on these. Thank-you so much Gloria! If you haven't been to her blog you need to. http://wwwhappytobe.blogspot.com/ She is just the nicest lady with such a great sense of humor. I am having a baby shower for my little sister on Saturday so I will be using a lot of these cute little things. I have to get cleaning and baking but I will get back to everyone just as soon as possible. Cindy

Tablescape Thursday/ or Guess who's coming to dinner?

Welcome to another Tablescape Thursday. Susan is our hostess and you can follow this link http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ to her amazing blog and for more wonderful tablescapes. While visiting Galena, Illinois last weekend my Hubby and I were able to view a very historical tablescape.

Let's knock on the door and go inside. (Click to enlarge)

Maybe some of these distinguished gentlemen will join us.

The table is set for an intimate affair.

If you look closely, you will see the G monogrammed on the china. This was President Grant's personal family china.

A closer view.

This plate comes from their White House days. President and Mrs. Bush were the last to use these.

Our hostess is Mrs. Grant. She was a popular first lady.

A closer look at some of the silver. All pieces are original. Now would the gentlemen like an after dinner cigar? President Grant loved his cigars and thousands have been sent to him from all over the world. Hope you enjoyed this historical tablescape.

Outdoor Wednesday/or Beautiful Historic Galena, ILL

Welcome to another Outdoor Wednesday. Today, we are traveling to historic Galena, Illinois.

Outdoor Wednesday is sponsored by Susan, @ http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ Be sure to stop by and check out the other Outdoor Wednesday posts.

Last week-end, we got our first real taste of spring. My hubby and I decided to take a little getaway to one of our favorite towns, Galena, Ill. Galena is about a 2.5 hour drive for us and is located in the North West corner of Illinois, just a short jaunt from the Wisconsin and Iowa borders. 90% of Galena is on the historic register and President and Mrs. Grants home is also here. Galena is full of historic, beautifully restored brick buildings, some beautiful mansions, fabulous shopping and of course Grant's home. All this packed into a charming little town of about 4000. We had our first real taste of spring last week-end with temps in the upper fifties and today it's nearly 70 degrees.

Even the bagpiper wore his kilt.

We took in a lot of window shopping.

And checked out a lot of fun stores.

The trolley was up and running.

We took a tour of President Grant's home.

The town's people built this home for Grant and his wife after the war for 2,500 dollars. The state of Illinois was deeded this from the Grant family and the city of Galena.

The beautiful Belvediere Mansion. We toured this on a previous visit.

The downtown was a hopping. This is a favorite jaunt for many Chicagoans.

A view from downtown. The town is quite hilly.

Some more window shopping.

Wonderful historic shops filled with all kinds of lovelies.

We stayed here in this lovely brick building, that is similar to a B&B.

A view of the courtyard leading to the hot tub. On Thursday I hope to have a very special tablescape to share. Thanks for stopping, Cindy