Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Summer Highlights - Concerts, Lunch with Friends, and a Birthday Celebration

Well, September 22 was the first day of fall, so summer is officially over. 😢 I love summer, so I always hate to see it end.  I like fall too, but in Wisconsin the fall season is pretty short, so I always get depressed when fall arrives because I know the long, cold winter lies ahead.  

The past few weeks I have been showing the highlights of my summer for my weekly travel posts.  Week One I shared "Hiking in the Driftless Region",  Week Two I wrote about "Celebrating the 4th, Going to the Beach, and Playing on the Porch",  Week Three we were "Exploring Pepin, Wisconsin and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum",  and Week Four we went to "The Northern Wisconsin State Fair."

This is my fifth and final post of my summer highlights and I will share a hodgepodge of activities.  First up a Christian concert called "Onefest" where I got to see Danny Gokey!

Danny Gokey Concert


For those of you who may not know who Danny Gokey is, he is a Christian singer who was a third place finalist in the eighth season of "American Idol".  I absolutely love him as a performer but I really respect him for being a truth-speaker and not your typical celebrity who says whatever is popular with the culture at the moment.  It was a thrill to be able to see him in person.  I got right into the pit to take this picture:


Lunch & Shopping at Stockholm with a Friend


I always try to get together with every girlfriend I have at least once during the summer (Don't worry, I don't have that many girlfriends, so it isn't that difficult).  On this day, I got together with my friend Ann who I had not seen since last winter.  We went to a cute little town called "Stockholm" which is only about  37 minutes from my house.  The building above is called "Stockholm Pie and General Store".  They are famous for their pies.  We enjoyed a nice lunch here then we went shopping at some of their cute shops.

I love the big red doors of this shop.  All the shops are located in historic homes and buildings, it makes shopping so much more interesting for me because checking out the architecture is just as fun as checking out the merchandise.  That is my friend Ann in the photo below.


They had an old wood stove inside this shop, isn't she a beauty?


This store sold all things Swedish.  Yes, Stockholm was founded by Swedish immigrants in 1854 who named the town after their nation's capitol.


I just loved the quirkiness of this building!


The inside was a quirky as the outside, they had a throne for a photo opportunity...ya'll know I had to take advantage of that!


A Birthday Celebration at The Stone Barn


Some of you may remember THIS FASHION POST,  where I shared some pictures of this unique outside restaurant in the country.  I said then I would do a future travel post on it, and now's the time!

The Stone Barn is only about seven miles from my house, located in the beautiful rolling hills of Buffalo County.  It used to really be a barn, but now only the brick foundation walls remain which they made into a restaurant.

This is how the front entrance of the restaurant looks like.  You go through the door on the right, and place your order at the counter inside.


This is the inside of the restaurant where you order your food and the pizza is made.


The pizza is made in stone ovens....my favorite way to make a pizza!


The restaurant portion is entirely outside, you can eat under the trellis like we did, or out on picnic tables in the open fields.


We chose a table right next to a beautiful stone fountain.


Some pictures of my husband and I with the birthday boy.



The restaurant grows all their own spices and vegetables for their pizzas.  Their herb garden is right in the middle of the outside dining area...isn't that cool?


Just look at all this yummy basil!


The restaurant was super crowded, which really surprised us as it is literally in the middle of nowhere!  I have no idea how most people even find this place.  There is no Internet service, so GPS is helpless, and there are no road signs directing you there.  But somehow everyone finds it because it is super popular.  We had to wait a very long time for our food, but that was ok as the environment was so pleasing.


While waiting for our food, I walked over to the other side of the brick wall to take some pictures.


I peeked through the window to capture this shot.  You can also get a better idea of the herb garden and trellis in this photo.


Then I walked up the hill a bit to capture this view of the one side of the dining area.


And here is the other side, families like to dine on this side because then their kids can play games in the grass while they wait for their food.


And this is a view of the back end of the outdoor dining area.


Well I can't forget to show you a picture of their pizza.  You can only order one size, and this is it.  We ended up getting two pizzas because I like what we call "Chick Pizzas"...white sauce, or just olive oil with lots of veggies.  Hubby and son like traditional pizzas with lots of meat.  Needless to say, we had leftovers for days!


After we ate we decided to explore the grounds a bit.  The barn on the left is used for weddings or other private events, the building on the right is a cute little gift shop.



You can buy feed at the gift shop to feed the goats.  They were very anxious and ready to be fed when we arrived.



The Stone Barn is such a great place to take families or guests who live in cities.  Eating in a beautiful outdoor place is a real treat for city people.  They don't get to see views like this!


My hubby was so shocked at how tall their corn was that he had me take a picture so ya'll could get some perspective.  He is 5'10 so that corn is pretty tall!


It was a wonderful, beautiful evening to celebrate the 30th birthday of our son!


And finally, one of my biggest thrills o the summer, attending 

                     A "Let Us Worship" Event

The past eighteen months everyone has had different feelings and thoughts about what was going on in the world.  I'm going to try to speak in code here so I'm going to avoid words that start with "C".  Sides have been taken, and I don't see one side giving in to another.  We have all dug our heels in and are staying put it seems.  I've been very disappointed by many politicians, celebrities, and Christian leaders the past eighteen months, but I've also had my hero's...one of them being Sean Feucht.  

If you don't know who Sean Feucht is, there are thousands of YouTube videos of his "Let Us Worship" events.  I would highly suggest watching a few as they are very powerful.

When "C" and the subsequent lockdowns happened, Sean missed attending his home church and felt led by God to go into America's Cities and take church outdoors to the hurting people.  His movement is called "Let Us Worship" and is a protest of sorts to church lockdowns.  His catch phrase is "The Church has Left Building".  At his events, people mostly sing and praise God.  Sean's signature song that is sung at every "Let Us Worship" event is "Raise a Hallelujah".  I think the lyrics of this song really sum up his ministry:

I raise a hallelujah, in the presence of my enemies
I raise a hallelujah, louder than the unbelief
I raise a hallelujah, my weapon is a melody
I raise a hallelujah, heaven comes to fight for me
I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm
Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar
Up from the ashes, hope will arise

Death is defeated, the King is alive!

Even though praising God "in the middle of the storm" is what is mostly done at these events, they also pray for the sick, and people are saved, delivered from bondages, and baptized.  

Ever since I saw the very first "Let Us Worship" event on TV, I LONGED to be able to attend one.  I never thought it would be possible for me as the nearest city is two hours away and frankly, we don't go into cities too much anyway because they are too dangerous.  But to my surprise, I opened Facebook one day and saw that Sean would be in Marshfield, Wisconsin which is a small town not far from me.  I was so excited!  I could finally attend a "Let Us Worship" event.  It turned out that Sean was supposed to be in Phoenix that day, but they cancelled on him, so he came to Marshfield instead!  Yes!  Lucky Me!  So many people were thrilled that Sean came Wisconsin.  We had over 2000 people in attendance, from all over the state!  

And in honor of us cheeseheads, Sean even wore a Green Bay Packer hat to the event.  

I was so grateful that God answered my prayer to be a part of the "Let Us Worship" movement.  Everyone that attended was so moved, and many souls were saved and lives were rescued.  The best part is that on the drive home, we all saw the most beautiful sunset and sky that we have seen in years.  On Sean's Facebook post the next day, everyone talked about the beautiful sunset they saw driving home and shared pictures of it (sorry, I didn't take any pictures, but I'm sure you can see some of them on FB).  It was as if God was giving us all one more blessing at the end of an already beautiful day.

Well that's it.  Summer is officially over!  I ended our summer with a bang with a vacation out west.  I will start that new travel series next week Wednesday.  Until then, 

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!


32 comments:

  1. With you honey in this battle, such strange times we are living in. God give us the strength we need. Julie

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    1. That is good to hear Julie! It's been mind-blowing to me how gullible so many people are right now. They don't question anything, and accept everything they see on tv, then they get angry at other people who use their own critical thinking skills. It definitely is a battle.

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    2. I don't get it either. Can't trust anything anymore, sadly! I'm at the point in my life where I feel like I can only trust my intuition.

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    3. Yes, a lot of people's intuitions aren't sitting right with them right now! Always trust your gut when something doesn't feel right.

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  2. What a wonderful timeline of events Amy.
    That is so interesting how the restaurant is so busy without signs and GPS. Obviously their marketing team is doing something right, LOL. What a gorgeous place.
    XOOX
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. It's been a fun summer. Yes, that is interesting that they are so busy.

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  3. That Stone Barn sounds amazing; I bet they have the best pizzas using all those fresh ingredients.

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    1. It is amazing, I can't wait to take my daughter there.

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  4. It sounds like you had a wonderful summer with such great activities! Danny Gokey was my favorite that season, how nice that you got to see him live!
    And that restaurant sounds like an incredible place. One of a kind really, I can see why it's so popular, even though it's in the middle of nowhere!
    I'm not familiar with Sean Feucht but it sounds like a great event you got to attend, and a beautiful sunset to end that day with!

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    1. I stopped watching American Idol when some of my favs kept getting voting out, so I never saw that season. I started to feel people were voting for other reasons other than the most talented, and I couldn't stomach watching it anymore. I wish I would have watched the season Danny Gokey was on now! I suppose I could find it. Yes, the restaurant is incredible! I wish I would have gone more often and taken guests to it before now. Sean Feucht is awesome!

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  5. I love concerts, amazing photos ❤

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  6. So much fun here! I remember seeing Danny Gokey on that season, and he was quite good. Love how that pizza looks!

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    1. It was a fun summer. I wish I would have watched that season of American Idol, and the pizza was delicious!

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  7. It's nice you've been able to get out and enjoy time with family and friends after you were all in lockdown so much last year! :) That pizza looks amazing and I can see why you went to the effort to find the restaurant despite it being tricky - such a good spot for a family meal! :)

    Hope your week is going well and you have a nice weekend ahead of you :)

    Away From The Blue

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    1. Thanks Mica, it was nice to have most of the concerts and festivals going again this year. The pizza was delicious!

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  8. Great September you've had ♥
    Enjoy October !
    Nice pics.

    Ann
    https://roomsofinspiration.blogspot.com/

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  9. Great post!! Thanks for sharing all those wonderful pictures!! You asked where do I find the time to decorate...I managed to do it while I was working full time night shift as a Staff Rn on a Rehab Unit in a hospital. I am now retired for 2 years and I do like having more time to play around more and be a bit more creative in decorating....Next question you asked is where do I store it all...Our attic is floored and all the inside decorations are stored in the attic. We also rent a storage shed where all the outside decorations are stored....Thanks so much for stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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    1. Thank you. And thanks for answering all my questions. I appreciate that.

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  10. Oh, isn't lunch and shopping with a friend one of life's little treasures, Amy! How I missed those lovely afternoons ... and how grateful I am to embrace them yet again.

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  11. Enjoyed seeing your pics, looked like you all had some fun times. Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 35. Pinned!

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  12. Thanks for sharing some great moments this summer. Oh, stone ovens are the best for pizza! Sounds as if you went to some organic and whimsical places. May your October be full of blessings. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. All the best to your adventures and more.

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  13. Looks like you had a wonderful summer. Hope your fall is just as good.

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    1. We sure did! We didn't let "C" stop us from our living our best life.

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  14. A belated Happy Birthday to your son. A very wonderful way to celebrate the special day. The herb garden is a great idea. I probably would have spent way too much time there.

    Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful post on Wandering Camera!
    -Soma

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    1. Thank you! We did spend a very long evening there! So relaxing and beautiful!

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  15. Such a charming place to visit, yummy pizza, pretty fountain and a barn with animals, a lovely place for all to visit!

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