6012. Get donuts from Miriam’s bakery in Fredonia

I am a sucker for a good donut. When Mom and Ryan told me about the bakery in Fredonia that had great donuts, I had to check it out. 

Miriams's Bakery is an Amish Made bakery featuring breads, donuts, muffins, bars, cakes, pies cinnamon rolls, and more. There open Tuesday-Sunday 5-2. They do not take credit cards so make sure you have cash. 

I was heading down to my parents and they wanted me to stop and get hot ham for lunch from Miriam's. They said they have the best hot ham. I figured it was a good time to get some donuts.

Miriam's is not a large bakery by any means. It actually makes Simple Simon seem big. They have 2 glass cases and a couple of racks full of baked goods. 

The donuts looked homemade and amazing. Each one a little different so definitely not massed produced. You might say they were imperfect looking but I kind of liked that. I picked up a half dozen. Each donut was $1.50

So far I have not found anything to beat Munster Donuts but these rate right up there. The cake donut was not dense but nice and fluffy. They yeast donuts were light and airy. The icing was not too sweet. I loved the toasted coconut. 

Between Cedar Valley Cheese and Miriam's my trips home are going to start getting costly. I love the little local shops though. I have plans on checking out a couple more this year. 

If you haven't checked out Miriam's yet, go grab some donuts. You will thank me.

25 in 2025 -- See at least one live performance -- Little Women

 When I met Heather at The Lion King last month, she told me her kiddo got a part in the school play. Of course, I had to go to support him. The closer the play got though, the crazier life became. I was able to carve out a bit of time to run and see Little Women

Hortonville High School put on Little Women as their spring play. I've seen the movie. I've read the book. I even listened to a spin off called Little Vampire Women, which I actually enjoyed. Little Women is not my favorite book my any means but I'm not a fan of the classics to begin with. I at least knew the story so I wasn't totally unaware of what was happening or what was going to happen.

The students of Hortonville High School did a fabulous job performing Little Women. The entire cast and crew were amazing. I finally really understood the story. I may not have enjoyed it any more but I least can now talk intelligentially about it. Even though it was a high school production it could have been a professional production.

The kiddo also did a fabulous job in his role. Despite a minor set back at the beginning of the month, they were able to perform without any problems.. and did not get injured trying to run back on stage for curtain call. It was fun to watch them perform.

I also got to see my Lil's kiddo perform who also did wonderfully. We had to check the program to confirm our suspicions but we were right. 

I did bring back memories of my high school days of watching my friends and classmates perform in musicals and plays. Those were such fun times.

Maybe in the future, I will find another play or musical at one of the local high schools to go to just because I can.. maybe I should think about hanging out with the adult girl scouts again. They do this kind of thing all the time.

Again congratulations to all the performers of Little Women. 

Strolling the Streets of Oshkosh for Chocolate

 For the last couple of years, Heather and I have done Death by Chocolate but we were kind of over it. We decided to change things up this year and do the Chocolate Stroll in Oshkosh. They were a week apart so in theory we could have done both this year. 

The Chocolate Stroll in Oshkosh was $20/person and gave you 15 different treats along Main Street. You could pick up your ticket as early as 12:30 and as late as 2:00 from the Discover Oshkosh Office. I thought we had to get at at the Convention Center and the kind Legion people directed us back outside to the correct place. We literally walked past the Discover Oshkosh Office to get to the Convention Center. Oops.

We picked up our punch card and a bag to tote our treats home in. Then we started our journey in the snow. Yup it was a typical February Day.. at least it wasn't bitter cold and by the end the snow pretty much stopped. It just made for a sloppy walk.. good thing we wore boots.

We actually did the route backwards so we could eat at Caramel Crisp where we parked. This actually worked out well since there usually wasn't a crowd at each stop. 

This nice thing about the Chocolate Stroll was most treats were wrapped to go so we didn't have to try to consume 15 treats. There were some places we had to eat at but for the most part we could tote our treats with us. 

A couple of the stops offered hot chocolate which was great on a cold winter day. 

Fremorah, a cute little boutique, offered a chocolate fountain with various treats to dip in. I went with a strawberry because this my favorite way to eat a strawberry. 

Pivot Nutrition was one of the places that offered hot chocolate. It was located on the second floor so we had to navigate slippery, wet stairs. Surprisingly neither of us injured ourselves. But it was worth the climb to see the Friends themed beverage and an orange couch. Even though it is a healthy place, it was a fun place to visit.

By the time we got to Caramel Crisp we were done and didn't need any additional treats. They gave us chocolate covered popcorn. I so can't wait to try it. 

Overall, we said we would definitely come back down here again. It was a good time and cheaper than Appleton. I'm glad they change it from a hot chocolate walk to a chocolate stroll because that was a lot of hot chocolate the one time we did that. 

This is a very family friend event as well so check it out next year if you want some tasty chocolate treats at a great deal.

Book Talks 2025: Lynda Drews

 Even though my reading time has been drastically cut along with time to do fun library events, I still try to make time for them as I can. When I saw Kimberly Library was having an author talk and it was a scandalous subject, I decided I better rearrange my schedule. 

Lynda Drews was talking about her latest book, The Maid and the Socialite. It is set in Green Bay in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Being a local author and set in the area really made me want to check it out. 

The Maid and the Socialite: The Brave Women Behind Green Bay's Scandalous Manahan Trials is about two women who have been abused in various ways by Dr. Manahan. One is his maid and the other is second wife. In a time where women didn't even have the right to vote, let alone a voice against powerful men, these two went against the man who had lawyers and doctors in his pocket. 

Lynda Drews talked more about her research and how she decided to write the book versus the book itself. She lives in an old house in the Astor District of Green Bay where many of the wealthy elite used to live. She discovered that a Manahan lived in her house and decided to write about them as they were a prominent Green Bay family.  However through her research she discovered a very dark and sinister past that she had to uncover. 

I immediately put the book on my audio book TBR. I can't wait to hear the story. If I didn't have to get back to work, I would have bought a copy. 

Lynda also leads walking tours of the Astor District neighborhood talking about the book and the places featured in the book. They cost $18 and usually sell out fast. I am trying to find one that fits my schedule and I might go check it out.

If you like true crime books, I would check out The Maid and the Socialite.