Aryn Henning Nichols

The Winter 2021-22 Inspire(d) talks about the various meanings of wrapping up – a year, in comfort, and as you handle transitions. You’ll find inspiration for indoor and outdoor winter activities, community builders, awesome change-makers, and reminders that rest is productive. 

Wrapping Up! Northeast Iowa Women in Wrestling • Winter Bird Feeding Menu • Community Builders: Amanda Goodenough • Brooke Pfeffer • Marty & Teri Richards • Mental Health – Rest is Productive / Handling Transitions • Sum of Your Biz: Good Dog Center • Flowchart: Should I Stay (Inside) or Should I Go (Outside)? • Paper Gift Bows & More!

Read the whole thing online here!

A note from Aryn:

Wrapping up.

This phrase holds several meanings for me.

Before I (and my cousins) headed off for college, my now-late Grandma Betty would give each of us a blanket that she had carefully crocheted. This way, we could wrap up in something that reminded us of home anytime we wanted, snuggling in a little cocoon of comfort and kindness. My blanket is on the cover of this Inspire(d), and I like to think I put the same love into our magazine that my Grandma put into her afghans.

Wrapping up can also mean finishing out a project, a season, a year. As we enter the winter season, and get ready to wrap up 2021, I think it’s important to remember, “rest is productive,” and a vital part of life. Mental health writer Olivia Lynn Schnur helps us tap into this time of rest and transition in her piece on page 36 (with an introduction/infographic by me on page 33).

We also have three great Community Builders this winter – Amanda Goodenough from La Crosse, Wisconsin (with excellent recommendations on How to be a Better Ally); Brooke Pfeffer from Lanesboro, Minnesota; and Marty and Teri Richards from Richland Center, Wisconsin. We are always so inspired by the people who work to make their communities a better place, year after year, and we are happy there is truly an endless list of these folks. So we’ll keep ‘em coming (and let us know if you’d like to nominate a Community Builder in your area)!

We are inspired by the young change-makers of the world as well. And boy – or I should say – girl, do we have some great ones featured in Kristine Kopperud’s story about Northeast Iowa women in wrestling (pg 40). These young women (and coaches) have worked hard over the years to get more girls on the mats, and it’s working. Girls’ wrestling has grown from 36 girls on Iowa teams in 2014 to 660 in 2021!

In Renee Brincks’s story about Kiva Iowa, the new Cedar Rapids-based local lending opportunity (pg 60), we learn how we can help entrepreneurial change-makers create new businesses in Iowa, and in this issue’s Sum of Your Business, Benji Nichols caught up with Carmen Hurley of The Good Dog Center in Decorah to see how she’s made her business work for more than two decades!

We’ve also got Craig and Mary Thompson sharing their talents and expertise with a Winter Bird Feeding story (pg 52), and great inspiration throughout the whole issue for indoor and outdoor activities to (happily) get you through winter.

Finally, there’s one more meaning of wrapping up for me: Gifts! When I was younger, my mom taught me to make the homemade gift bow we’re doing for this issue’s Paper Project (pg 31). It is a favorite of mine – a version of it actually debuted our Paper Projects back in 2011 (wow!), but as a flower. The bows make perfect present toppers for the holidays, birthdays, or any gift-day, and always amazed friends at parties – “Whoa, you MADE that?!” (In all honesty, it’s really very easy – but you don’t have to tell anyone that!)

To wrap up this letter (what, too much?!), thank you, dear readers, for your support and kindness throughout this year. Here’s to a 2022 filled with forward momentum, positive stories, and lots of love, gratitude, and inspiration.

Happy Holidays, New Year, and Winter, friends!

Looking forward,

Aryn Henning Nichols

P.S. Check out the awesome PJs my mom gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago in the pic above! Hello, cozy winter!

Hello, dear Inspire(d) friends,

We’ve been having some tough-but-necessary conversations around our house lately – talk of Juneteenth, racism, Black Lives Matter, and the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, talk about COVID-19 and what it means for our immediate and future lives, talk of business and money, and what we have to do to stay afloat – talk about the general (and understandable) unrest in the world right now.

To be clear, we here at Inspire(d) believe in everything that’s so concisely spelled out on those awesome signs going up in neighborhoods all around us: Black lives matter. No human is illegal. Love is love. Women’s rights are human rights. Science is real. Water is life. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

It’s on us to keep these conversations going. We can and need to do better, and it starts with talking, listening, reading, learning.

Know better; do better.

Ultimately, when we finish these tough conversations, I always try to come back to hope. With Roxie, I compared it to cleaning her room. She loves to reorganize her closet, where she’s made a home for her dolls. Everything comes out of the closet, dumped on the floor. The mess looks much worse than when she started, but then she’s able to carefully put things back in a way that makes more sense. In a way that’s better. And that’s what I hope we can do with this country – this is our chance to rebuild, reorganize, and make this country – this world – a better, more positive, and inclusive place.

Know better; do better.

Along the way, we need to remember there are good people all over doing the work, and we should read/tell/share their stories far-and-wide. That brings us to what WE’RE doing right now – to stay afloat, to do our part, and to better the world: We’re working on the next Inspire(d) Magazine!

Due to COVID-19, we had to adjust our 2020 production schedule. This next magazine will be a Summer/Fall Inspire(d), on stands July, August, September, and October. The following magazine will be a Holiday/Winter Inspire(d), on stands November, December, January, and February. We hope to be back to our normal quarterly schedule in 2021.

Please bear with us as we do our best to get this heartfelt magazine out into the world safely and effectively. We can’t wait to brighten your lives with the positive news of the Driftless world right now.

Want to make sure you get one? We’re doing a BOGO – Buy One/Give One – sale on membership (this is how you get Inspire(d) sent to you in the mail!)! Head over to our Inspire(d) Membership page to sign up. It’s $28 for you and a friend/loved one. We’ll make sure you and they get Inspire(d) in the mail for a year!

Thank you for believing in us and supporting positive news. We’re going to get through this stronger and better than before.

Looking forward,
Aryn

P.S. We got a new canine member of our family this spring – her name is Athena! She’s a bernedoodle, and the photo above is just two days after we got her in late April (she’s MUCH bigger already)! <3

Whew, these are some crazy times we’re living through with this COVID-19 pandemic. When we told Roxie there was no school for four weeks, she just laughed in her bed in disbelief. Not that it’s at all funny – but it does feel pretty surreal. We are strategizing ways to keep getting positive news to you all (have you seen Benji’s Instagram videos yet?!?) and ways to keep supporting the amazing local businesses in our region.

Benji and I also want to make the best of this time with Roxie, while also trying not to freak her (or ourselves) out too much.

It’s been a little trial and error so far, but we’ve made it through four days of staying at home, all together! And so have you! Hooray! Back-pats all around!

We have found a few things that have made it easier for everyone. I know a lot of people are sharing schedules, but for me, lists work better. I get a little stressed if I fall off schedule – the family checklist allows me the flexibility I need, while still granting the satisfaction of a job (or jobs) done!

We thought we’d share our list in case it sparks some inspiration in your house! Be well, our friends! <3

(Just click the image below for a pdf you can print at home!)

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30 Minutes (at least) of exercise daily – this can be inside or outside!

Outside time every day, no matter the weather
I went on a walk in the rain today, and it was refreshing!

Creative or nature of science project
So far, we made a leprechaun trap, planted some seeds, and made a wind sock!

Read
Roxie and I are currently reading the Harry Potter series! Good thing Benji got three of the books and movies from the library!

Dad and Mom work time
Even though we normally work from home, doing so with our kid at home is hard. Plus things are so tumultuous with the world right now, it can be hard to focus. Setting aside specific work times for each parent at home is really important.

Learn something new
On Tuesday of this week, I asked Roxie to write a list of things she wanted to learn about. I said it could be anything – it could even be what she might think inappropriate – and we would see about learning more. Her list included “mustangs from the old times, candles, rubber bands, the Mona Lisa,” and more. And today Benji taught her about feeding and making sourdough!

Declutter one thing or space
It can be just one drawer. Baby steps, people. For me, today, it was our magazine and mail stack.

Clean one thing or space
Again, baby steps. Don’t feel like you have to deep clean the whole house! I cleaned one bathroom today. But nothing makes me feel more sane than clean spaces.

Games or Puzzles
We are playing Five Crowns daily. Today we also did a puzzle. There have been many rounds of “Herd Your Horses” this week too (a 1980s game we bought secondhand at the Depot).

Support your neighbors, community, or world in some way
Buy gift certificates from local businesses. Make a donation to the food pantry. Offer to make a grocery run for an elderly or at-risk neighbor. Put a positive message out into the world via social media or through a cheerful sign in your window. We’re all in this together!

Other fun ideas
From writing letters to FaceTiming friends or relatives to cooking something for the freezer – there are lots of great ways to occupy your time during this period of social distancing.

We’re thinking of you and sending lots of love your way!

XOXO – Aryn