Hi Friends!

My name is Sheila.

I was born in Brainerd, Minnesota, and after a couple of small moves after I was married, I wound up right back here - in fact, on the same property I grew up on. If you know me and my love of traditions and making memories, this is perfect and does my heart good.

I am a HUGE book dork, love to hang out with friends and family, bike ride, Volunteer, create events ( Annual Inflatables Event, Holiday Cheer, Wine and Words, The Gatsby Event, CLUE, Stride and Seek) - really anything fun and creative. Knowing that about myself, I have no idea why I was surprised when my bucket list item of trying my hand at making a sourdough loaf of bread brought me here.

The opportunity to put my creative skills to work in ways that fed my soul? Yes please. I was all in. I mean, reading about sourdough, researching sourdough, talking with people with generations of experience who know sourdough, following (stalking) groups on social media, learning learning learning... seriously - obsess much?

A few loaves ( ok.. maybe more than a few) of me adding things to bread to see if it worked led to requests for the bread...led to my researching Cottage Bakeries, getting my license, creating a name, and here we are.

I love that our community has amazing Cottage Bakeries. At first I was concerned that my doing this would take away from what others were doing, and I did not want to do that. Then a friend told me something that hit home: it's not taking a piece of the pie - it's making a bigger pie. I love that. If I can help people learn more about the benefits of sourdough, purchasing local, and how great our community is to have these offerings? I'm all in.

In a world where we are learning more and more the value of community, supporting small businesses, watching what we put in our bodies, really thinking about the foods that sit in a store for weeks compared to purchasing something that was made local and fresh -

That's something to think about.

I love my community. I love making bread for my friends. I love knowing their favorites. This journey has brought conversations back. I have met and reconnected with neighbors. I have people pop up in my yard that I had not seen in years. And I have found a joy in baking that I had no idea was there. Creating something that is wholly mine... to do as much or as little as I can on any given week... it fits.

I am a (mostly) lifelong resident of this community. I live with my husband Al, and three rescue dogs: Burger, Teddy, and the Foster-Fail Bandit (truly named because he stole my husband's heart). I am blessed to live two houses away from my son Brad, his fiancée Brittany, the amazing kids - Keira, Ole, Jameson, and our Granddaughter, Kylie.

Thank you for supporting not only this fun hobby gone wild for me, but for anytime you stop by one of the local farm markets or farm stands in our community. Be sure to check them out - so many great people in our community making things to be enjoyed.

I hope to see you soon!

~Sheila

Fun Facts (I love Fun Facts)
I have been to Honduras 8 times, working with kids who live(d) on the street

In 2018, I biked across Iowa (Ragbrai) in 7 days with some great friends

I was in Hawaii for my 50th Birthday. We called it Hawaii 5-0