Read the Winter 2017-18 Inspire(d) Online!

Here’s what’s happening in the Winter 2017-2018 Inspire(d):

Learn to be Koselig This Winter! Stay cozy tips • Norwegian Best Cake recipe • local author interviews • Driftless outdoor fun • Justin Trails • EARL mass transit • & more!

Read the whole thing online here!

A note from Aryn:

My goal with this Inspire(d) is that you feel like you’re sitting down for a cup of coffee with a good friend.

There’s fun conversation, tasty food, and warm fuzzy feelings. In other words, it’s totally koselig.

We said that phrase a lot over the last month here at Inspire(d) HQ. “Oh, there’s a fire in the wood stove! Koselig!” “Smell that cake baking? It’s so koselig!” “Yes, you should light another candle. It will make it even more koselig!”

Koselig (“koos-uh-lee”) is a Norwegian word that loosely translates to cozy. It’s a bit more than that, though, and Sara Friedl Putnam explains it for us, with help from the folks at Vesterheim Museum (they’ve got a koselig exhibit this winter!). Basically, cultivating a koselig lifestyle means seizing any moment that gives you a warm fuzzy feeling – even if you’re heading outside! The koselig fun begins on page 14, and it for sure doesn’t end there. We’ve got an infographic (pg. 23) filled with ideas for getting koselig, so you THRIVE this winter (instead of just survive). We also test drove a recipe for what Norwegian’s call the World’s Best Cake (verden’s beste kake). It was fun to bake…and eat (pg. 26)!

Speaking of cake, make sure to put CAKE BREAK at Vesterheim on your calendar: 3:30 every Wednesday from December-mid April. Yep.

Oh, and again, speaking of cake (yes!), the recipe for that chocolate cake on the cover can be found right here. It’s our go-to birthday cake.

All right. Moving on from cake (fine). Next up: Books! More specifically, local books. We caught up with three folks entrenched in that scene for some fun Q&As: Wisconsin author Kathleen Ernst; Decorah’s own Keith Lesmeister; and Steve Semken, founder of Iowa-based Ice Cube Press. The interviews start on page 32 – check them out, then consider checking out their books for great winter reading.

Next, grab a glue stick because it’s time to make a smiling sun bookmark (pg. 47) to brighten these dark winter days (tutorial here!).

As mentioned, koselig doesn’t mean you just stay inside…you’ve got to get out for fresh air, exercise, and fun, too! Remember: There’s no bad weather, just bad gear! We put together a list of outdoor activities to get you motivated and out the door (pg. 48).

Our Sum of Your Business follows that thought. Justin Trails Resort near Sparta, Wisconsin, loves winter fun. They’ve got snowshoeing, cross country skiing, a sweet snow tube hill, and even rentals for skijoring! Donna Justin took time out of her busy schedule to share some of what she’s learned in the three decades she and her husband have run Justin Trails Resort (pg. 51).

Are bad roads/ your iced up car windows / snowed in driveway keeping you from getting out? Well, you’re in luck! Kristine Jepsen learns – and teaches us – how to ride EARL Public Transit here in Northeast Iowa. Spoiler alert: It’s super easy, and they take you right where you want to go (pg. 56).

We also chatted with recycling guru Terry Buenzow over at Winneshiek County Recycling to get the 411 on what’s recyclable, what’s not, and what we should do with those broken twinkly lights and holiday extras (pg. 64).

And finally, we’ve got yet another great probituary interview – Barb Welgos – to wrap things up (promise that’s not a holiday pun).

Read the whole thing online here!

Keep it koselig this winter, friends. It’s time to thrive! Here’s to an amazing 2018. Let’s do this.

Looking forward,