Living in a small town

    I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, married, raised kids then moved to a small town in Wisconsin.  Life is good, but very different.  People move at a slower pace...a good thing most of the time.  Everyone knows everyone and their whole family....ususally a good thing. There is a sense of belonging to your town.....but, over time people take for granted all they have and need to go visit a big city where they are a little fish in a big pond to appreciate what they have back home.  I belong to the local downtown business group and we put together events in the town, not just to attract shoppers and tourists but for the families who live here. Just last Saturday we had the 3rd annual easter Bunny Parade, a huge hit with the kids. Yet, the turnout could have been much better if more businesses had joined in and the school had helped spread the word.

My next pet project for during the summer is kids rock painting classes. This is a great rainy day project for kids and a great way to let them express themselves. I always like to see their faces when from that little rock they found, out comes a bunny or turtle or for the boys a snake!

We have alot of cabin and campers in the area and this is a great project for them too. Have the kids collect rocks, ( I tell them a perfect bunny rock is shaped like a baked potato) a few bottles of inexpensive acrylic paint and 2 sizes of brushes and they are off. I always draw on the areas in chalk so they are just covered up by the paint!  I really enjoy watching as these kids paint. They are fearless, unlike the adults I teach the very same class to.

But, for right now I am painting like crazy by day and crocheting all evening to have the shop full to overflowing for Moose Fest coming up May 1 & 2 , right here in downtown Montello. What a huge boost this could give our town in a time when we badly need it after the flood of 2008 and closing of our one and only boat launch downtown in 2009. So off I go now to paint and get ready.