Stores and Food That I Love in Kalona, Iowa

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My Grandmother grew up in Wellman, Iowa which is not far from Kalona, Iowa. I have relatives in Kalona, Iowa. My Grandmother was in the Pleasantview Nursing Home in Kalona, Iowa until she passed away. My family and I would always shop in the stores in Kalona and i still enjoy shopping in the stores in Kalona. Kalona is an Amish and Mennonite community. I love watching the Amish buggies go down the road.

 Kalona Antique Company

I always enjoy going to the Kalona Antique Company which is an old church that has been converted into an antique store. I have made numerous small purchases there over the years. In my younger days it was old metal toy cars, marbles and other objects that enticed me.  I purchased a few old oil lamps in my later years. They have a hug assortment of fine items for sale.

Hardware Stores in Kalona

Yotty’s Ace discount hardware store is my favorite hardware store of all time. They have the old hard to find items. I purchased a nice heavy gauge aluminum scoop shovel with a metal and wood handle made like the ones from years ago. I like the old wood floor in their store. I have purchased oil lamp parts, dehumidifier, paint brushes and fire king bake ware and much more. I like the fact that is family run multi generation business. They are very nice, knowledgeable, and accommodating to all of your needs.

I always stop at Gambles hardware to get my garden seeds. I purchased a nice homelite gas operated hedge trimmer that worked perfectly for years. I also purchased a pellet gun there years ago. I love shopping at hardware stores. Gambles hardware stores carry a wide array of products.

 Kalona Coffee House

The Kalona Coffee House can take care of all of your coffee needs. They make stunning lattes and cappuccinos. They have wide array of cold coffee drinks. A nice place to meet and gather with your friends and enjoy an awesome coffee drink. Try one of there muffins for a wonderful snack. Pleasant and awesome atmosphere with the amazing fresh coffee smell.

Tuscan Moon Grill

I love to eat my evening meal at the Tuscan Moon Grill on Fifth in Kalona. I purchased their lamb dinner several times. The lamb came with a large baked potato and grilled vegetables. The lamb was cooked to perfection. I also purchased a glass of white wine and it had a nice delicate flavor. The owner of Tuscan Moon visited with us at our table and he was from Italy originally. I like a restaurant where the owner or chef visits with you directly as you know they take great pride in their restaurant and their customers.

Kalona Creamery

I love the Kalona Creamery. I love their fresh cheese curds and other cheese.They have old fashioned candy bar brands from my childhood days. I have purchased a sky bar, milk duds, etc. They sell canned pork and chicken which is amazingly delicious. You can watch them make the cheese curds.

Stringtown Grocery Store

Stringtown Grocery Store is an Amish convenience store. I have purchased their homemade breads, pies and more. The Amish are excellent bakers. I love their fresh carrots, potatoes, apples, cherries,and so much more. They have all kinds of spices and seeds for sale. They have a wide variety of candy. They have all of the baking ingredients available for sale for all of your baking needs. They have nail clippers, harmonicas and much more for sale. A wonderful and welcoming and very clean store.

Plan a day trip to Kalona

Kalona is a wonderful town to spend your day shopping with your friends or family. You will have plenty of things to do to keep you pleasantly occupied all day long.

 

What Does It Mean To Welcome Someone ?

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When you welcome someone that has just entered the room you make them feel appreciated and warm and comfortable in the room. If you have not seen the person in along time you may hug them or say it is so wonderful to have you back again.

if you do not feel welcomed in a crowd or in a meeting you feel uncomfortable and on edge. If people stare at you or talk about you in the meeting you want to leave the meeting ASAP. Reach out to others and always remember to treat them nicely and kindly. If you see someone making unfavorable remarks about someone stop them from doing so if at all possible. Think before you speak because the spoken word is like a sped arrow shot in the dark that you will never get back again.

 

We welcome friends back home from a long trip or a soldier that has come back home from active duty. We love and miss our friends and family members dearly that have left for a long period of time and we rejoice when they are back with us once again. We hope to have a lifetime of wonderful and happy times and someone to travel through the world of life with. Friends and family that love us and we love them back make the world of life. Love is what life is all about. If no one loved you or cared about you what would be the purpose of life.

Sometimes when one does a favor for someone they say your welcome. Welcome means that you care and wanted to help make someones day be a little brighter. God will welcome us to heaven someday. God is kind and considerate, compassionate, gracious, forgiving, and loving and he always welcomes his children back home with open arms.

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My Cat Won’t Eat That

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Cats like certain brands and flavors of foods just like we do. Your cat may be allergic to something in the cat food. Depending on where your cat food is manufactured it might have a contaminant in it that may make your cat very ill or even kill your cat if he kept eating it. Observe your cats behavior when you present him with a new brand or flavor of cat food. If he gets sick eating it throw it away and never try to make your cat eat it.

If your cat is purging up his cat food it is probably the new cat food that is at fault. Sometimes if your cat has bad teeth or gulps his food down he will purge his meal. I try to stick to well known brands of cat foods for all of my feline friends.

Some of my cats like certain kinds of cat snacks better than others. Some of my cats are poultry lovers and others are fish lovers. Certain shapes of cat food or snacks are easier for your cat to swallow than other shapes. I prefer the smaller cat snacks for my cats as they can swallow them up easily with no difficulty.

My cats love canned tuna in water as well as their canned cat food. I give my cats dry cat food that is made in the USA. I also give my cats dental treats to help them keep their pearly whites. My cats like to eat some dried catnip now and then. Make sure the catnip has not been sprayed with chemicals as this could be toxic to your cat.

 

If your cats keeps on purging and you have not given him anything different to eat take him to your VET ASAP as he could have a very serious illness that could KILL him.

Remember we cannot eat certain foods ourselves so why would our feline friends  be any different. Give your cat what he likes and wants to eat in moderation as you do not want an obese feline friend.

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Forgiveness Is Necessary

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What does forgiveness mean ? It means that you let go and move on and you don’t hold resentments against the person. Remember to take any responsibility for your part in what you may have done to the person in question.

If you don’t forgive someone it will hurt you much more than it will ever hurt them. They will not lay awake at night thinking about it. Never go to sleep angry or holding a grudge against someone. Let it be water over the bridge and move on swiftly and quickly.

Forgiveness means to grant someone mercy, leniency, clemency and more. Free your debtor of his debts to you. To truly forgive someone you have to let go of all of your resentments toward them. Set the person completely free for any wrong doing that you think they committed against you.

God forgave you for your sins so you should forgive others for their sins against you. Forgiveness is not always easy. We must remember that we all fall very short from being the perfect human being. Hard as we try to be good to people we still fall short. We should strive to be a better and more forgiving person each and everyday of our lives.

When you forgive a person forgive them with your whole heart. Forgiveness does not mean condoning, forgetting, or excusing the offenses.  Do not harbor resentments toward others as this will eat you up inside and devour you like a wolf devours its prey.

You will feel like you have been set free as a caged bird when you forgive someone. Some people harbor a grudge against someone for years to the point that they cannot really remember what started all of it to begin with. Forgiveness is a wonderful and beautiful gift from God and remember to pass it on to others. Let people sing as the caged bird does when it is set free to spread it wings and fly.

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Visiting My Relatives In Germany

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My friend and I went to see my relatives in Germany. We arrived in Amsterdam, Holland on time. On the plane ride over I visited with a woman originally from Germany that now lives in Singapore and has a wine business. I drove a rental car on the autobahn to  Oldenburg, Germany and we stayed in the Hotel Sprenz. She called my relatives and they picked us up and we drove for one hour to their house. We were treated like royalty at my relatives house in Selverde, Germany. She had a large lunch prepared for us to eat which included the following : Pork Roast, potatoes and gravy, cauliflower, green beans and onions, tea and cream, carbonated water, fancy deserts and homemade pudding with currant sauce. We had a nice long visit with them and we discussed what we would like to see.

In the afternoon we went to the farm where my Great Grandfather had lived until he came to America. My Great Grandfather left Germany because work was scarce. The farm has 3 50 acre plots for a total of 150 acres or 60 hectors. The man where my Great Grandfather had lived showed us the farm land and told us his Mother’s maiden name was Weers. My relatives daughter took us on a tour of Selverde, Germany in the afternoon. We had a large dinner with my relatives in the evening and everything was excellent and cooked to perfection.

We went to the family cemetery the tombstones were destroyed in World War 2. A large rock was engraved with the name Weers Family on it to replace the lost tombstones. The church by the cemetery is a Lutheran church built in 1885. The church has written documentation of the people buried in the family cemetery. The church is brick and all original. It was nice to walk in a Church that my Great Grandfather had worshiped in.

My Great Grandfather’s house was destroyed in the war in 1945. There is a wonderful brick house there now that was built in 1950. My relatives house is a brick house on a cold a sac along with about seven other brick homes. My relatives are employed in the following occupations : hair dresser, secretary, construction worker, and farmer. My relatives are very nice and outgoing and very pleasant. They have a Lenz tractor that is over 51 years old. We saw several beautiful horses. The farm land is now used for hay to sell to farmers for their cattle.

We went back to our hotel in Oldenburg. Our rental car did not start in the morning but the owners got it up and running for us ASAP. She gave us a wonderful sack lunch to take with us when we left.

I loved visiting with my relatives from Germany and seeing the land and the area where my Great Grandfather had lived. My relatives and I write to each other at Christmas. I can see why my Great Grandfather loved living in Selverde, Germany. Everything was so clean and well kept in Germany.

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Hardships and Life

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Do not be judgmental of people. You have no idea whatsoever of the battle scars and hardships they have gone through in their life. It might seem like a small thing to you but for them it has changed their outlook on life completely. We all have some battle scars that we carry with us everyday.

The baggage that we carry with us affects our relationships with other people directly and indirectly. We may put up a suit of armor when we meet someone for the first time. We may think the other person has one up on us and we must be on guard at all times for self preservation.

Being made fun of or picked on stays with you. You wonder will it happen to me again soon. If you cannot treat a person as you want to be treated stay away from that person and let them live their life in peace and harmony. Teasing is sometimes a form of bullying if it goes on too long.

If you do not like how someone dresses they may not like how you dress either. We have the right to choose our own attire as we see fit. We tend to wear clothes that we feel comfortable in and warm in. Some of us want the latest and trendiest fashions while the rest of us don’t really care about fashion trends. Fashions come and go.

You have no idea what a persons home life is like or what their job is like. Some of us get the ideal job in life while others get a job that they can barely make ends meet. If your mate has a horrible job they will not feel like cooking, doing chores and other household repairs. Let them rest and relax for awhile and talk over your day with each other. treat yourselves to a night out on the town once in awhile.

Always remember you have no clue whatsoever as to what a person has had to endure or go through in their lifetime. Some people can bounce back from adversity and other will carry the load on their back forever. Be kind, caring and considerate of other peoples feelings and remember only God can judge someone.

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Isle Of Man

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My friend and I boarded a small plane in England and it took appropriately one hour to get to our port. We boarded the Ferry to Heysham which then took us to the Isle of Man.

The Isle of man is one of the British Isles located in the Irish Sea near the N.W. coast of England. Douglas is there capital. The pop. of the Isle of man is 83,314. It is self governing with British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. The symbol for the Isle of Man is legs running which means you always land on your feet.

Food on the Isle of Man

We arrived in the evening at our Inn and the Chef prepared a wonderful meal for us. We had scallops cooked to perfection along with green beans and potatoes and a small chefs salad. On our first evening we saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky. There are many nice Pubs and restaurants to eat at on the Isle of Man.

We shopped in the local stores and enjoyed the scenery. We packed up all of the items that we had purchased and took them to the post office to be mailed back to the USA. We took a ride on the narrow gauge steam  railway that runs from Douglas to Castletown, Port St. Mary and Port Erin.

Racing on the Isle of Man

The Isle of man is famous for racing cars and motor bikes. They close off 27 miles of HWY for the races. The motor bikes can reach speeds of up to 180 miles per hour.

Manx Cats on the Isle of Man

We were eating at our Inn and I asked about the Manx cats because they originated on the Isle of Man. Our waitress said there were two left on the Isle of Man now and they were located at the local pet shelter. She called a taxi driver for us. He picked us up and we raced down the road to get there since they would close very soon. He was a very nice Irish taxi driver. We arrived at the pet shelter in just the nick of time. The woman at the shelter told me the fawn colored male Manx cat would sell for 200 pounds and the gray stripped male would sell for 45 Us dollars and a top show cat could sell for 4500 Us dollars. I looked a the two cats and took pictures of them and then we rode back to our Inn.

 

The Manx cat originated on the Isle of man. It has a naturally occurring gene that shortens its tail. When the Vikings came years ago they had Norwegian Forest cats with them on their ships and some of them left the ship and commingled with the native cats which were short haired cats. The Manx cat was one of the original show cats of the CFA in 1906. Manx cats are both long haired and short haired. They are excellent hunters.

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Stormy Weather In Life

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Some days of your life will be stormy and threatening as the weather is. Will you seek shelter from the storms of life or get sucked up in its vortex.

When you are feeling like your life is whirling out of control faster and faster seek help. Talk to friends about your problems as they may have the perfect solution to get you out of the vortex that you are in. Ask God for guidance in your life often. If necessary talk to a counselor as they have dealt with many different problems and situations in their career.

Never stay out in the storm too long for you may be swept away in its torrents. Seek a hobby, go on a trip to get away for awhile, change your career or whatever it takes to get you out of lives storms. Remember things will never get better until you ask for and embrace help for yourself.

 

Get a game plan for your life. Think where do I want to be ten years from now. What is the fastest possible way I can improve my life. Pray to God for guidance with your life. Ask God what can I do to serve you and others and help my self get out of this vortex that keeps pulling me in.

God wants all of his children to be happy and productive in life. There are all kinds of ways to be productive in life. Reach out to others and help them each and everyday. Volunteer , visit with people, and get a job that helps other people. Be one of Gods wonderful stewards.

Always reach for the stars in life as you rise up to be the person that God wants you to be. Life is short do not ponder. The storms will pass over you if you let them. Do not dwell on past storms in your life for clear skies are ahead for you with God by your side.

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Peter My Pet Cat

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My cat Peter was one of Lizzie’s three kittens.  He is a gorgeous black and white long haired cat and he is part Siamese, Himalayan, Maine Coon and domestic short hair. His Fathers name was Onyx and he was a pure black cat. Onyx lived to be 15 years old.

Peter was born in an outdoor cat building that had a heated water bowl and heated cat beds. He would disappear the minute I would open the door of the cat building. He is still very shy yet. He does watch me when I clean out the litter boxes. He will come out for certain canned cat foods and cat treats.

I adopted a cat by the name of Addi from Wisconsin. She is part Silver Tabby. Peter found Addi irresistible and she had five kittens with Peter. They had Mr. Gray, Sherlock, Hilford, and Leo and Cleo that were adopted and they live the good life in their new home.

Peter helped Addi care for her kittens, He would play with them and they would snuggle up with him. Two of my neutered Toms Russ and Lorenzo would babysit the kittens. Addi would not let the female cats in the house near her kittens at all.

Peter and Addi are still very close. Peter and Addi are both fixed as I do not want anymore kittens. I have 11 cats in the other house and 3 cats in my house. Mr. Gray is friendly and Hilford and Sherlock take after their Father Peter as they are shy and reserved.

Peter will watch me on top of his cat tree to see when I might be coming over with cat treats or canned food for him and his family to eat. Sometimes I will see Peter come out of a large heated cat bed followed by Hilford, Sherlock and Mr. Gray and Addi or Nicole his sister. Since she is Peters sister she is accepted as part of their cat family. Conrad Peters brother is one of my house cats in my house.

 

Peter is gorgeous and he has a wonderful and excellent family that love and care for each other deeply. Purrs to you and yours.

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Home and Family

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We love the comfort of our home. We feel safe and loved when we are at home with our family around us. After we come home from a trip the comforts of home await us. Home is our happy place where we can relax and unwind after a hard days work.

Home awaits the return of the young soldier who has gone to war. His parents, wife and kids welcome him home with open arms and hugs and kisses. He feels safe and loved once again in the comfort of his home and family. He can go to sleep in his favorite recliner or watch the game on TV. Friends come over and they have a cook out and share their corner of the World with each other.

The college student is happy to return home on Holidays to get together with family and friends. He enjoys eating his Mothers home cooked meals once again. He goes to sleep in his old familiar room and bed. All of his old toys and possessions are exactly as he left them in his room. We love home where everything is familiar and welcoming.

We always want to return home because of all the memories that our home has for us. We remember family gatherings with our Grandparents. We always loved Grandma’s homemade pies, cookies, jello, cakes and much more. Grandpa would always have fresh wintergreen mints for me to eat that I loved. Grandma would always have a red jello with cut bananas in it ready for us to enjoy every Sunday of the week.

We come home to die when we are old. We feel comfort in our hometown and our family church. We want to buried in our hometown cemetery. We want the minister of our family church to take care of our funeral service once we have passed away. We want our family and friends at our funeral service. When we have let our earthly home we will live in our heavenly home with God and his Angels. Home is always their for us.

 

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