Life as a Theme
See a theme? Movies I Really Like: Breakfast Club – high school kids from all different social strata on detention. They find out they have more in common than they thought. Took a little conversation to make that realization happen. Little Big Man – Jack Crabb is 100 years old. He tells his story: captured…
Dream Board
My friend sent me a card with this quote from Carol Shields on it: Go for long walks indulge in hot baths question your assumptions be kind to yourself live for the moment loosen up scream curse the world count your blessings just let go let be. I have it on my dream board. …
Comfort Zones
I have a cat that sits in the bathtub. Stutzbearcat likes the bathtub. Can’t find him? He’s in the tub. No water – just chillin’ out in the bathtub. That’s his comfort zone. When he was a baby, he’d come into the bathroom and my husband, the bathtub guy,would rub him. Now Stutz waits for…
Friday Odds and Ends
World Nutella Day was yesterday. I first had Nutella in Athens Greece – went to a place that made crepes. That’s it – just crepes. Nutella is a combination of chocolate and hazelnut – put in a spread. You’ve got to try it. You can find it by the peanut butter in the grocery store.…
How Local Were You Today?
What a great day! Made a lot of business calls early in the day. Set up appointments, left messages, moved my business forward. Worked on the grant for the Old Stone House (Historical Society). Wrote an article for the Hampton Today Who Knew Newspaper. Planned a tweet up in Mason City with Daniel Cline.…
Mason City Tweet Up
Twitter is a social media program I utilize each day. I meet lots of great people and enjoy conversations. There are a couple of people in Northern Iowa that I talk to (and listen to). @danielcline, @dixiebrown, @bizownersonline – just to name a few. Dan Cline and I have met before – and we…
What I’ve Learned About Social Media
What I’ve Learned About Social Media Determine what Web 2.0 means. Let’s back up – Web 1.0 was basically providing information for your reader. Bump that up and what do you have? Having a conversation with your reader! Do you do that? Does your blog and/or website make the reader feel he/she has input? Or…
Towns End Winery
Local Winery – FINALLY! Vern and Judy Harper are the owners of Towns End Winery in Hampton. There is some discussion about the name. Vern says it is Townsend Winery and Judy says it is Towns End. Townsend is a family name. And the actually winery in Hansell is on the towns end. Some day…
Why Watkins?
Watkins in the Neighborhood! Tell us a little about yourself. My name is Denise Passehl. I have lived on a farm near Latimer since 1982 with my husband Gordon. I have a son Brandon who is 32 years old. I have twin grandchildren that will be 3 years old in March. Along with my 3…
Think Local
If we are to survive as a small community, we have to think local. I recently got picked up by the Des Moines Register to be on their business blog widget. It’s a great honor and I am proud to participate. So it got me to thinking, what is it I do that people…