Tall Tales from Kansas

carefully stored in an old dish from Mama Fina

On the very last day of 2022, as I looked through photos from the past year, I selected these as some of the great moments.

There was also Marco Polo'ing done with Peggy and Annette - dear friends since our days together at Marymount. We had a wonderful, hair-brained, hastily planned, 36 hour trip to Omaha in November and have been communicating using MP since then. So much better than texting. It's an ongoing conversation that can dangle and get picked up anytime one of us feels like it. Delightful.

Sister and I started talking about a lace curtain, which led to talk of Sweden and Norway, which resulted in getting out our Stockholm travel journals and doing video "flip through's" to send each other. Why don't I paint more? I loved every single thing I did in that journal. I will have to post that video here on the blog. Sometime.

I pulled out my "binding supplies" that are carefully stored in an old dish that I think Dottie told me belonged to our grandmother - Mama Fina. I don't think she kept sewing stuff in it, but she might have. I sat in the sun in the dining room and hand stitched some binding. I also dearly love that strawberry pin cushion that Pam Garrison made me more than a few years back.  

Looking back, that's what you do on the last day of the year right? Let memories filter through without any one getting stuck. We also played Clue and drank champagne. Chris and I have determined that Mr. Green is a serial killer and must be stopped. 

Happy last day of 2022 to all of you. I hope you are toasting in the new year in whatever way best pleases you. As for me, I am going to go and wash my face and put on my pajamas right this second. I will be raising my glass to all of you in complete and total comfort. That is what pleases me more than anything. 

to be conjured up in a dream that unfolds in its own time

In addition to the loafing discussed yesterday, I have been occupying myself with conjuring up ideas. When the mind is restful there is so much conceptualizing that can occur without the schedules and deadlines and all of that other baggage that is actually planning. Planning without the troublesome need to actually DO anything = dreaming.  

I have been on the hunt for Kantha cloth because the look of it makes me happy. When sister and I went to Lummi island some years ago, the cute little cottage that we stayed at had a lovely swatch of Kantha cloth on my bed. 

Then, when I took a class at KC Maker Studio a few months ago there was a woman (who it turns out was the owner of the joint) wearing a jacket made out of Kantha cloth and I wanted to steal it off her back. Instead I inquired after the pattern. Unfortunately they were out of the fabric at the time and while I did see a few sources on line... this is something I actually want to be able see before I buy it. 

When I saw they had gotten more in this week I dashed over and bought a few pieces in order to be sure I get the patterns and colors I want in just the right spots on the jacket.  Ha ha ha ha! Did I actually say that? In my defense, remember this is all a dream.

Can you imagine wearing a jacket made out of these colors? In the first photo above, there is a red and green piece that at this exact moment is living on our bed. It has a hipster Christmas vibe to it. I am hoping there is a bit of the yellow with the birds on it below left over for a pillow. 

Here is the pattern that may or may not be used to make the jacket. Loose and swingy, just my style. 

Every single scrap of fabric not used in the jacket will be saved for some other project yet to be conjured up in a dream that unfolds in its own time. 

time enough for that after the beginning of the new year

Having this week between Christmas and New Year's mostly at home (as in not working), is foreign and quite pleasant. I have never had a job where business was closed during this week. Sitting around and enjoying the decorations and music feels luxurious. But also there is a part of me thinking "shouldn't I be getting ready for something?" I continue to enjoy looking at the pictures Dottie sent.  One below from Christmas 1979. I am impressed with Angie's placement of greenery over the mantle. We never talked much about our shared love of decorating for the holidays. Just another one of those things you don't think about until it's too late. 

Chris and I pulled the Clue game out of the basement and figured out how to play it with 2 people.  This after trying to play CaseFile on Christmas Day and finding myself thoroughly confused. Sometimes it makes sense not to muck up a classic with too many gimmicks. Says the great-aunt anyway.  As of 12/29 at 3pm we are nose to nose with our skills of reasoning and deduction. 

Today I poured the last bit of eggnog into a glass and toasted the month of December.  With the coffee chaser to make the whole experience last just as long as possible.  Sip sip slurp.

I have been reading short stories, finishing up a hat and some fingerless gloves, moving along slowly on my needlepoint, going to bed early, sleeping in until 7:30, staring at the tree, wondering what everyone else is doing, hoping NOT to see anyone start getting virtuous or productive yet. There will be time enough for that AFTER the beginning of the New Year. Right now I am leaning deep into some serious loafing and am finding it has its merits. 

 

an interesting perspective of what someone in these circumstances might experience

My latest literary finish is the story of a young boy who is the only survivor of a plane crash in which his brother and parents also die. The format of Dear Edward takes the reader back and forth between moments in the airport, on the plane, and his life post crash. 

It was an interesting perspective of what someone in these circumstances might experience. Overall, a good listen. I found myself wanting to run an errand to catch up on what was happening with Edward. Getting to "know" some of the other passengers on the plane and their life experiences made the story richer as well. 

Recommended. 

wondering what could be wrapped up under the tree

Happy Christmas Eve from Lawrence Kansas where there has been lots of puttering today. Walking to and fro, looking at this, thinking about that, moving an ornament from one location to another on the tree, nibbling on a peanut butter cookie,  Marco Polo'ing friends and family, refilling the bird feeder for my feathered friends.

Dottie started us out early in the day by sending a photo of Mary Ann by the Christmas tree in 1972.  This led to more photos of Christmas' past. It's nice to have a family historian who can take us down that winding path to the Christmas celebrations of our past. So many details I can't really remember, other details very sharp in my mind - like exactly where the tree was located in our house in Spain and how mom had laid out our presents from Santa, and just what it all looked like when Dottie and I snuck out of bed very very early in the morning to peek. Colored lights from the tree and filtered light from the patio coming in. It was pure magic for a kid. 

I hope you are all safe and warm, not stuck in an airport somewhere, but rather sitting around with those you love talking about days gone by, maybe wondering what could be wrapped up under the tree in that one particular package that you have been shaking. Sweet dreams to all. 

the bunnies from Stockholm had to have hats

Happy Winter Solstice to all from Tall Tales Headquarters where we are preparing for the deep freeze that is approaching, along with snow, gusty winds, and all other manner of fearsomeness. It puts me in mind of the Druids in days of old, celebrating the yule around a roaring bonfire, telling stories and sipping on sweet ale. Ok they may have been doing more than sipping. But isn't it interesting how the Winter Solstice and the celebration of it came long before Christianity. 

I am not working tomorrow, thus am not overly concerned about the approaching snow, instead I am focusing on this photo that came up today in my pictures from December 21, 2013. Garrett and Gavin were almost 4 at the time. Nine years later they are taller than their mother. I do not understand the algorithm that puts up photos randomly for me to see, or that strings together little movies of photos from the past and presents them for my viewing pleasure. I like them. I think of it as an old time picture album that falls down off the shelf and says "hey remember this!"

In other business, cards are waiting to be written and addressed. 

Maybe tomorrow in between making some peanut butter cookies this will happen? I went to the grocery store today for dates and I swear they were pumping baking aromas out through the ventilation system. It smelled insanely good. Like you were sitting at a table in a big kitchen somewhere and all your favorite Aunts from Louisiana and Texas were baking for the holidays. I am going to make these in honor of mom who sometimes called because she really NEEDED some peanut butter cookies. 

For some reason, while sitting on the couch last night, it came to me that the bunnies from Stockholm had to have hats to keep their ears warm before the temperatures plummet. I will sleep better tonight knowing this has been taken care of. 

it wouldn't be right if I didn't make at least one mistake piecing parts together

Today was the day I got down to business on the improvisational tree project.  I have been wanting to try these trees for years. The first quilt I saw was a red and white one and then last year there was the one Maureen did using her hand dyed fabrics. So fabulous. 

Today I stopped trying to think about how to do it and looked it up and found this wonderful pdf instruction sheet on Amy Smart's blog. I am fairly certain her's was the first one I saw, but who can say. 

I stuck with the plan of trying to use up napkin scraps with this darker background. 

Gosh it's fun. And easy. Ok, I did have to do a little bit of ripping out. It wouldn't be right if I didn't make at least one mistake piecing parts together. 

At 6:23pm on Saturday night I have completed 6 little trees. I will need a few more to make a pillow for the couch. 

Not sure yet if there will be strips between the individual trees or not. Good fun!

the answer will surely reveal itself to me

When I went to the Yarn Barn recently to get some needles for a project (how can I not have a size 3, 16 inch circular?), I spotted a hat made from this yarn and decided while I was there, I needed one too.  Then, with that done, I cast on fingerless mitts because shouldn't I have a matching pair?

The debate over the need for a faux fur Pom Pom for the hat is being waged internally while I work on the mitts. A faux fur Pom Pom is so cute. I will keep you apprised.

After seeing an improv tree quilt done by Maureen Hardy Schmidt last Christmas (link below if you want to see for yourself), I have had the idea to do one. I am calculating the number of trees I will need for a pillow for the couch - made from these napkin scraps.  Sew them together? Cut triangles? Make trees? 

Or should I piece the scraps together in strips of color for the background and make triangle trees out of dark colors? A combination of both? The answer will surely reveal itself to me in my dreams soon. Just thinking about it is fun though. 

Helpful links: mhardyschmidt instagram

yada yada yada

Today, totally ensnared by an instagram post showing an eggnog flat white, I headed to Decade coffee shop. I selected the community table because of the very lovely Christmas tree sitting in the middle of it. A perfect accompaniment to the sipping and photographing of my beverage. 

Most of you know I am an eggnog fan and a coffee fan. So this drink seemed made for me. I love Decade coffee shop, it's understated, has great tables and chairs, plays good tunes, and gets a thumbs up for it's great all around vibe.  Oh, and most importantly - really good coffee. This drink met all my expectations. Smooth, creamy, spicy, sweet but not too sweet, a perfect treat at 8:30 on a Wednesday morning. In December. 

I totally planned to come home after this reinforcing start to my day and embark upon the creation of an improv tree pillow of some sort. Instead, I got sucked into taking all the fall items off my inspiration board and pinning up all this stuff instead. 

I do love this board, looking at it, thinking about what's on it, picking stuff to add to it, making stuff based on ideas I get from the content displayed. Yada, yada, yada. 

the end

helpful links: Decade Coffee - Lawrence Kansas in case you want to make a field trip. I think the eggnog flat white is on the menu through the month of December. 

 

the light crispness on the edges and the melding of all the flavors with the warming

I am enamored with my bundle of greenery from the farmers market. It's just the thing to go in all my flower vases right now. 

The Drake's fruitcake is just as satisfying from a gustatory perspective. 

Tell me you are going to try it toasted for breakfast with more fresh fruit on the side so I can stop harping on how delicious it is. Oh the light crispness on the edges, the gooeyness of the fruit, and the melding of all the flavors with the warming... sigh. 

a little bit of Christmas'ing

It has been fun to do a little bit of "Christmas'ing" this past week. By that I mean getting together with a few friends to celebrate the season. It seems like it's been awhile since there was much of that. 

The Quails went to dinner down at Union Station which was dressed in all its finery. The atmosphere was warm and festive, the conversation was easy and nice, we laughed a lot, the food was wonderful, and a friendly passerby snapped this photo for us in front of the very pretty trees. Starting your meal with a small cocktail is recommended. The old fashioned was excellent.

The prairie makers came to Tall Tales Headquarters last week for a visit where there was guaranteed seating, comfortable chairs in front of a fireplace, free parking, and a nice selection of Christmas music playing overhead. It was fun to have people over when the house is decorated. It was also an opportunity for me to stretch my gluten free baking muscles.  

If you need a gluten free breakfast treat let me recommend the King Arthur flour muffin mix - which I turned into a cranberry orange coffee cake with the addition of dried cranberries, orange zest, toasted pecans - and on the top a sprinkle of more pecans and sugar in the raw. I also whipped up a glaze for the top but it really wasn't needed. It had a wonderful moist crumb that tasted exactly like a regular coffee cake. 

In the event that the coffee cake was a flop, I also made some energy bites that were advertised to taste just like snickers. Which they did not, they were better. More like a breakfast treat and NOT a candy bar. Recipe below. 

In the comments there was mention of things not turning out quite like they should, but for me the recipe was spot on. I followed it exactly and had no trouble at all.  I elected for the drizzle of chocolate instead of the dip. I also added a little bit of sea salt. Because I like sweet salty combo. I will make these again for sure - they will be a perfect workday breakfast accompaniment to the morning coffee at my desk.

Why I did not get any photos of the makers I do not know. Unforgivable, and it means I will have to have them over again soon. 

Helpful links: The Minimalist Baker - energy bites

the air was crisp the mood was festive

Here are my treasures from the Holiday Farmers Market that was today in Lawrence. 

Any day that I can get a nice big bunch of locally grown lettuce mix I'm happy.  Add the fruitcake, the greenery, hand painted eggs, and a new zip pouch for my purse and I consider it a red letter day. Whatever that means. I think it's an exceptionally good day. 

Let me start with this woman who paints chickens, guineas, ducks, etc on eggs as ornaments. I saw them and fell in love, and so now the 3 below live on my tree. 

If you were looking for a wreath, this was the place to get one.  All sorts of them could be had. 

I love that this guy picked out one that was almost as big as he was. 

There was an abundance of cute kids, in cute hats, some making crafts, some with their parents.

My favorite Lebanese chef gets the award for "best wearing of a stocking cap". Achieving this level of nonchalance is an art, and not everyone can carry it off like he does. 

These two were making merry with their Christmas light necklaces.

I got a nice bundle of greenery and filled big and little vases with it and spread them all around the house.

Last year, my tastebuds finally awakened to the deliciousness that is fruitcake. One of Drake's famous fruitcakes - a local legend - came home with me. Wonderful toasted with coffee in the morning, or as is with Irish cream after dinner. 

There were "gourdaments", garlands, fresh produce, and succulents in cute pots.

There were candies, cakes, breads, cookies, and jars filled with jams and jellies and pickled things. 

It was the perfect morning for the holiday market, the air was crisp, the mood was festive. A good time was had by all. 

holiday windows part 1

It seemed only right to show a daytime view of the festive decor to be found on Massachusetts Street this month, in downtown Lawrence. There is something for everyone, and I only did the west side of the street on this trip. 

Coming soon, the shops on the East side of the street.   

placed in strategic locations for maximum enjoyment

Just a few things that were done around here this weekend. None of them life-changing, none of them character-building, all extremely enjoyable. 

The mitten garland was hung from the mantle, things made/collected/gifted over the years were placed in strategic locations for maximum enjoyment, the pygmy forest and wee elves marched up the stairs from the basement and demanded their rightful place, felt garlands went over the table. 

While I was hanging it, I admired the poinsettia and the most interesting patterns in it's leaves. Christmas CD's were organized so I don't have to root through a messy pile every time I am looking for just the right one, and I bought supplies for baking. This may not sound like much to you, but it was a full 2 days work for me. 

what else the day may have yet to reveal to you

If Lawrence is on your destination list in December ... for a coffee, a lunch, a special present, or all of the above, plan your trip to coincide with dusk.

The Christmas lights are on and it makes Massachusetts Street just a little more magical. 

You never know who you might see.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized that I caught Santa pushing a baby carriage as he crossed the street on the corner of 9th and Mass. 

The regular street lights are pretty special too.

Looking in all the store windows with the lights reflected in them is so pretty. Really you don't have to buy a thing, the experience of the lights is all for free. Don't tell the downtown merchants association I said that, but it is so true.                                

I took all these photos around 5:40pm on Thursday night. It would have been better if I had been 10 minutes earlier to catch a bit of that purple blue dusk sky in the background. You take what you get though. 

If you are an early riser, and can get yourself to Mass street by around 7:10 am, the lights are really pretty then too.  With the added bonus that you are likely going to be the only person down there. Except for tomorrow! Tomorrow is the old fashioned Christmas parade that I think starts at 11 am. Unfortunately the wind is blowing like crazy tonight and the high tomorrow is only going to be 30 but feel like 20 and I don't think I am going to be able to go down and stand for even one hour. 

But I digressed for a second. If you are a morning person, do get downtown while the lights are on this month, take a stroll and look in some windows then get yourself to La Prima Taza which opens at 7:30 am on Saturdays, and have yourself a hot Indonesian latte (I like mine with half the usual sweetness) and think about all the wonderful things you have seen already and what else the day may have yet to reveal to you. 

Happy Friday, Happy December, Happy Holiday lights to all of you. 

a compelling story written with compassion

I just finished American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. It has been on my list for a few years, but I could not bring myself to listen to it during the pandemic. It's a novel about a woman from Acapulco and her son who are one day ripped out of the routine of their Mexican middle-class life into the world of migrants fleeing for their lives. Lydia, the main character, is married to a journalist and he and her entire family of sixteen are murdered after he writes a story about a leader of one of the drug cartels. Lydia and her son Luca manage to escape, and must flee the country to survive. 

When this book first came out there was controversy over the author, who identifies as white, writing this story. I simply read it for what it was. A fictional story that puts faces on this treacherous journey undertaken by so many. It was hard to read because I kept thinking every minute that something terrible was going to happen to the main characters.  

It was read by Yareli Arizmendi, she gave voice in a most familiar way to the terms and endearments my mom and her sisters and brothers used with us and especially when they were all together.  The story is filled with details and descriptions that make you feel like you are right there on the journey. 

Highly recommended. In retrospect, I do not understand how some could have found fault on the part of the writer because she was not Mexican.  This is a compelling story written with compassion, a story we should not look away from, no matter who it is written by.