What a week!

First, congratulations Sarah Jaeger on the huge turnout for your yoga open houses! Your intuition that this was needed in Belle Plaine was obviously right on target! If any of you readers missed these events, but are looking for a place to take yoga, check it out. The teachers are top notch, the owner is the best, and the paint work isn't too shabby, either.

I've spent my last two weeks 20-30 feet in the air, spiffing up paint, to help get St. John-Assumption Church ready for it's annual festival. If you're in the area and hungry around lunchtime on Sunday, it's classic hog roast! Just take 25 across the bridge and up the hill, then watch for the St. J's sign, just after the county 14 intersection.

If you want to compare barbecue, head to Jordan on Saturday (or Sunday) for the Jordan Art Festival, JordanArtFestival.com, which is held in conjunction with Pork in the Park. I'm not participating this year, but many friends of the Keystone gals are involved, like Cathy Isles, who owns Bridging the Universe, bridgingtheuniverse.com, a unique line of disease-specific greeting cards. You'll find Maureen Carlson, maureencarlson.com, involved both as story teller and polymer clay artist. Talk to her about her center, and it's healing arts focus. If you time it right on Saturday, and I'm sorry but I haven't yet heard what time this is, you can catch Cindy Heimerl on stage as story teller Ruby LeFey...she is sooo funny!

Weed the garden and scrape the peeling porch paint if you must this weekend, but don't forget to take time to stop and smell the...shredded pork!

Dawn-Marie, Artist in Wonderland at theartofthehome.blogspot.com