Strength, Popeye Style

Once again it is Every Inchie Monday and I am back in the game. Today's theme is strength and I decided to make a strongman's arm. When I got it cut out I realized it wouldn't be complete without a Popeye style tattoo! So, here's to strength in all it's forms. To see many of those forms, go to Every Inchie Monday .

A Bit More of the Fishing Story

After I posted the story yesterday about going to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame I got a note from my cousin. He remembered going with his dad and another of my uncles to take the rod and reel as well as some other things that belonged to my grandpa to the Hall of Fame. However, it seems it was never returned to family members and it has been lost. I went rooting around because I knew I had a photo of the fish and I turned up not only a photo of my grandpa, Victor B. Halls and one fish, but also a newspaper clipping of him between both of his giant fish. The date was 1941 and the fish was caught in Canada. After he returned home there was a fish feed held for the whole town of Ellsworth, Wisconsin. Of course, the town wasn't, nor is it now, very large, but what a great celebration for my grandpa!

Fishy Vacation

Our summer has been an unusual one but we did manage to get a vacation in. Because of my mom we didn't want to go far so we were gifted by old family friends with the use of their beautiful cabin in northern Wisconsin. We lounged, read, fished off the dock and took a few day trips. One of our trips was to the ultra-touristy town of Hayward, not usually a stop I would choose but I wanted to go to the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. The draw was my grandfather's old fishing pole. Long before I was born he caught two record sized muskies and his fishing pole had been housed there. Unfortunately we didn't find it and my dad thought it had been returned to a family member. But!!!!! We found very kitchy and cool giant fiberglass fish, the largest being a musky that you could walk into and look out at the grounds from inside the mouth.

There were also displays of fishing boats, motors, ice fishing equipment, rods, reels and lures, lots of lures. I was most fascinated by these because the collections were huge and the shapes, sizes and colors appealed to the artist in me. What is the kitchiest vacation spot you have come across?

Sunset

This weeks theme for Every Inchie Monday is Sunset. I knew immediately what I wanted to do because I used to teach fourth grade and we always did a sunset art project. To create the sunset, I would have the kids tear tissue paper into strips and overlap the edges and glue them down onto a piece of construction paper. Then with a piece of black paper they would cut out a landscape and always include a tree and that would be glued down on top of the tissue paper strips. They were always really colorful and looked great on the wall. So, I used a similar idea but instead of the tissue paper I took markers and colored a piece of felt and then cut the landscape from black felt and glued them together.

Summer Sandwiches

I made these great sandwiches a few weeks ago. They were simple and tasty, perfect for a hot summer day. I got the idea from looking through a cookbook by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa but I made a few changes.

Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwiches

3-4 Roasted peppers

vinaigrette dressing

goat cheese

chopped red onion

basil leaves

party rye bread or baguette

Roast the peppers in a hot oven (500 degrees) for about 30-40 minutes. You can also use a jar of roasted peppers. Whip up your favorite vinaigrette or use a good bottled dressing like Newman's Own and marinate the peppers for a few hours. Spread the goat cheese on the bread, top with peppers, red onion and basil.

These were especially good with a nice glass of dry, fruity white wine like a sauvignon blanc or pinto grigio (my favorite wines) Enjoy!

Nest

This weeks Every Inchie Monday theme is nest. That feels like such a perfect word for me today because over the weekend I attended my 35th high school class reunion which meant I was social for about 72 hours straight. Although I've had a great deal of fun I am truly ready for some nesting. So here is my quiet little nest as well as a photo of the folks I had a lot of fun with this weekend!

Love and Rememberance

I haven't been here to write for awhile and it seems that Every Inchie Monday's theme of love is a good place to begin again. Here is my little heart that goes out to all of you.

As many of you know my mom has not been well and sadly she passed away peacefully on June 29th. It is a very sad time yet we know she no longer has to contend with her diminished body and mind. I wrote a funny memory about my mom which I would like to share with you.

As I've reflected on my mom's life these last few days what keeps appearing is how much fun my mom liked to have. She was such a good person to play jokes on that it happened a lot.

Quite a few years ago my dad's family would hold gatherings in Las Vegas. They came from many corners of the country to see each other, laugh, play cards, gamble and the women would shop for matching polyester pantsuits.

One time they stayed at a hotel with particularly nice towels and my mom slipped a few in her suitcase and brought them home. A few days after they arrived back home the phone rang. A man on the other end of the line identified himself as the manager of the hotel. He asked if they had stayed in a certain room and my mom said yes. He then said the television was missing in that room and he thought she had stolen it.

My mom yelled into the phone "I might have taken a few towels but I didn't steal your TV!"

At the other end of the phone my Great Uncle Bob roared with laughter!

I shared this at the funeral and although I wasn't planning on sharing anything this story came to me that morning and it was as if my mom was saying, "Go on, write it. I want to make them laugh one more time."