Newsletter - January, February, March 2004

Hello!

   www.thesoaplady.com is new and improved! We now have online ordering capability. While you may continue to order soap from me by phone, FAX or mail, you are now able to place an order directly online with Mastercard or VISA. Our web site has a bold new look, featuring photographs of my products and gift collections, with all of my hints and customer feedback for you to browse at your convenience. Check it out!

   I have been participating in a 2-year leadership course through the UW Madison for the past year. The Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program was founded in 1983 with a view to promote leadership in small communities throughout our state. The plan is to teach us to be leaders who show initiative, listen intently, understand the breadth of perspective on controversial issues, assume responsibility and exercise sound decision-making.

   I was nominated to the program by a past participant who felt that I would benefit from the positive experience. While I felt a bit silly about something called a "leadership program" at first, Gloria was so persistent in her urging me that I finally mailed in my application on the very last day of qualification, December 1, 2001.

   Notification of my acceptance into the program after a personal interview arrived by mail in February of 2002. I began my leadership training in March of 2002 with my first of 11 seminars. Each seminar takes place over the course of four days to two weeks. Eight of the seminars are held in various communities throughout the state of Wisconsin, and three of them are held outside the state.

   I have traveled to parts of my state I had not previously visited, and learned so much about myself and how I think. To date this experience has been one of the most enriching and satisfying of my life. Seminar topics have included education, health care, natural resources, community growth, family issues, technology, civil rights, state and federal government. I have met many interesting new people and have formed lasting friendships with fellow classmates, of whom there are 27 total.

   We traveled to Washington D.C. for our national seminar in March of 2003. We spent one week there, learning about the federal government and how it all works. Along with my classmates I attended Senate hearings, met with my local representative in his Washington D.C. office and heard lectures from government staff members about their daily responsibilities.

   Washington D.C. is a fast moving city, with lots of places to see and things to do. The coordinators of the program encourage us to explore and learn new things. I tasted new foods, visited historic landmarks, toured several government buildings and experienced the subway. The focus of the week was Foreign Policy Process, Energy Policy, World Petroleum Supply. We learned so much about conservation and what we as individuals can do to help.

   In September we flew to Atlanta, Georgia, where we spent time on campus at Georgia State University. Atlanta is a beautiful city with very warm, helpful people. Everywhere we walked, on our way to new locations for lectures, there were friendly citizens most willing to help us find our way.

   The focus of the seminar was to explore race in the United States through the lens the African American experience. We toured Spelman College, Morehouse College and King Chapel. We visited the Martin Luther King Center and attended service at the new Ebeneezer Baptist Church. The service was beautiful, with energetic singing and warm interaction between members and guests. We later shared lunch with members of the congregation in their fellowship hall. Delicious regional favorites like barbecued chicken, collard greens and peach cobbler were prepared for us by men and women from the church. I tasted 'sweet tea' for the first time in my life.

   Later in the week we boarded a bus to Alabama, where we stopped in Tuskegee to see Moton Field, the home of the only WWII award-winning all black air corps. We spent the night at the Tuskegee University Campus, and toured Carver Museum and the Booker T. Washington Home. Then on to Montgomery where we toured the Rosa Park Museum, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Holt Street Baptist Church. In Birmingham we visited the Civil Rights Institute and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. We met so many wonderful people willing to share their personal life experiences during the Civil Rights Movement with us. My first trip to the southern portion of my country was an enlightening and thought provoking experience. The cities we visited were filled with history, beautiful architecture, warm, friendly people, and, through the eyes of a farm wife, striking vegetation. I just had to take pictures of the Spanish Moss! There were flowers everywhere, and trees the likes of which do not grow where I live. We truly live in a beautiful country!

   For more about the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program visit their web site at www.uwex.edu/ces/wrlp. You can check out the current group, of which I am a member, meet my classmates, and read all about our seminars, where we have been and what we have been learning. There are photographs of us each of us, as well as photos taken during each of the seminars.

   Particularly because I never attended college, having met and married Jim at age 18, I have thoroughly enjoyed my opportunity to learn in a safe, adult setting. I would encourage you to check out the possibility of experiencing one of these programs in your own state!

   This past September 1, 2003, Jim and I hosted an informal barbecue with just a few friends and family to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. He was my Prince Charming when I met him, back in 1972, at the young age of 17, and he is still today.

   Whenever someone gives me fresh flowers, I enjoy them for up to two weeks by cutting the stems under cold running water before placing them in a vase. To make them last longest, dissolve an aspirin in the cold vase water. When the flowers begin to wilt, I remove the petals from fragrant roses and carnations, then scatter them loosely in a pretty bowl to dry. I then add the petals to a crock I have just for this purpose. I have saved all the petals from flowers given to me for 30 years and use them in an everlasting wet potpourri. Check out my website for the recipe! This potpourri will keep moths at bay or freshen closets and musty rooms with a pleasant scent.



		Something New! Quarterly Newsletter January, February, March 2004 Recipes, hints, ideas, new books, whatever... Anadama Bread 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 2 cups boiling water 2 T shortening 2 yeast cakes / OR 1/2 cup black molasses 2 T granular yeast 3 teaspoons salt 5 to 6 cups white flour Combine cornmeal, shortening, molasses and salt. Pour over the mixture 2 cups boiling water, stirring well till shortening is melted. Cool to luke warm. Crumble yeast cakes into luke warm mixture. Stir until softened and well-blended. Add 5 to 6 cups white flour, one cup at a time, to make a stiff dough. Knead lightly. Place in greased bowl, cover with clean cloth and set in a warm place to rise till doubled in bulk. Turn out of bowl and knead again. Divide in two and place in greased loaf pans to rise again till double in bulk. Bake 45 minutes at 375}. Makes 2 loaves. —from the kitchen of Michelle Zahn January 2004 Hello! www.thesoaplady.com is new and improved! We now have online ordering capability. While you may continue to order soap from me by phone, FAX or mail, you are now able to place an order directly online with Mastercard or VISA. Our web site has a bold new look, featuring photographs of my products and gift collections, with all of my hints and customer feedback for you to browse at your convenience. Check it out! I have been participating in a 2-year leadership course through the UW Madison for the past year. The Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program was founded in 1983 with a view to promote leadership in small communities throughout our state. The plan is to teach us to be leaders who show initiative, listen intently, understand the breadth of perspective on controversial issues, assume responsibility and exercise sound decision-making. I was nominated to the program by a past participant who felt that I would benefit from the positive experience. While I felt a bit silly about something called a "leadership program" at first, Gloria was so persistent in her urging me that I finally mailed in my application on the very last day of qualification, December 1, 2001. Notification of my acceptance into the program after a personal interview arrived by mail in February of 2002. I began my leadership training in March of 2002 with my first of 11 seminars. Each seminar takes place over the course of four days to two weeks. Eight of the seminars are held in various communities throughout the state of Wisconsin, and three of them are held outside the state. I have traveled to parts of my state I had not previously visited, and learned so much about myself and how I think. To date this experience has been one of the most enriching and satisfying of my life. Seminar topics have included education, health care, natural resources, community growth, family issues, technology, civil rights, state and federal government. I have met many interesting new people and have formed lasting friendships with fellow classmates, of whom there are 27 total. We traveled to Washington D.C. for our national seminar in March of 2003. We spent one week there, learning about the federal government and how it all works. Along with my classmates I attended Senate hearings, met with my local representative in his Washington D.C. office and heard lectures from government staff members about their daily responsibilities. Washington D.C. is a fast moving city, with lots of places to see and things to do. The coordinators of the program encourage us to explore and learn new things. I tasted new foods, visited historic landmarks, toured several government buildings and experienced the subway. The focus of the week was Foreign Policy Process, Energy Policy, World Petroleum Supply. We learned so much about conservation and what we as individuals can do to help. In September we flew to Atlanta, Georgia, where we spent time on campus at Georgia State University. Atlanta is a beautiful city with very warm, helpful people. Everywhere we walked, on our way to new locations for lectures, there were friendly citizens most willing to help us find our way. The focus of the seminar was to explore race in the United States through the lens the African American experience. We toured Spelman College, Morehouse College and King Chapel. We visited the Martin Luther King Center and attended service at the new Ebeneezer Baptist Church. The service was beautiful, with energetic singing and warm interaction between members and guests. We later shared lunch with members of the congregation in their fellowship hall. Delicious regional favorites like barbecued chicken, collard greens and peach cobbler were prepared for us by men and women from the church. I tasted 'sweet tea' for the first time in my life. Later in the week we boarded a bus to Alabama, where we stopped in Tuskegee to see Moton Field, the home of the only WWII award-winning all black air corps. We spent the night at the Tuskegee University Campus, and toured Carver Museum and the Booker T. Washington Home. Then on to Montgomery where we toured the Rosa Park Museum, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Holt Street Baptist Church. In Birmingham we visited the Civil Rights Institute and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. We met so many wonderful people willing to share their personal life experiences during the Civil Rights Movement with us. My first trip to the southern portion of my country was an enlightening and thought provoking experience. The cities we visited were filled with history, beautiful architecture, warm, friendly people, and, through the eyes of a farm wife, striking vegetation. I just had to take pictures of the Spanish Moss! There were flowers everywhere, and trees the likes of which do not grow where I live. We truly live in a beautiful country! For more about the Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program visit their web site at www.uwex.edu/ces/wrlp. You can check out the current group, of which I am a member, meet my classmates, and read all about our seminars, where we have been and what we have been learning. There are photographs of us each of us, as well as photos taken during each of the seminars. Particularly because I never attended college, having met and married Jim at age 18, I have thoroughly enjoyed my opportunity to learn in a safe, adult setting. I would encourage you to check out the possibility of experiencing one of these programs in your own state! This past September 1, 2003, Jim and I hosted an informal barbecue with just a few friends and family to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. He was my Prince Charming when I met him, back in 1972, at the young age of 17, and he is still today. Whenever someone gives me fresh flowers, I enjoy them for up to two weeks by cutting the stems under cold running water before placing them in a vase. To make them last longest, dissolve an aspirin in the cold vase water. When the flowers begin to wilt, I remove the petals from fragrant roses and carnations, then scatter them loosely in a pretty bowl to dry. I then add the petals to a crock I have just for this purpose. I have saved all the petals from flowers given to me for 30 years and use them in an everlasting wet potpourri. Check out my website for the recipe! This potpourri will keep moths at bay or freshen closets and musty rooms with a pleasant scent. Sign up to receive my quarterly Newsletter —