Tall Tales from Kansas

that big shell that looks like a cotswold sheep

Can I just say that the re-arranging of the found treasures tray was completely therapeutic on Wednesday. I recalled in great detail picking up some of those tiny shells when sister and I were in Monterey on the "Grand Tour of California" in 2015. 

The sea glass came from Glass Beach near Ft. Bragg and the abalone shell is from the tide pools at MacKerricher state park. I think that is all correct.  In my mind it is accurate. What I do not recall is where I got that big shell that looks like a Cotswold sheep. I like it v.v.v.v. much despite the fact that I can not for the life of me remember where we met. Maybe I knew subconsciously I was going to England in 2024 when I got it? 

I love stones with lines running through them. And yes, I am one of the many who can't resist picking up a heart shaped shell, rock, or pottery shard worn smooth. 

Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. The turkey was moist, the "make ahead mashed potatoes" gets an A++, the gluten free stuffing with sausage is worthy of a repeat, stories of days gone by were told. Nothing got broken and everyone got home safely. 

This morning after the dishwasher was unloaded, the crumbs vacuumed from under the dining room table, and all the glassware put away, I decided it was the perfect day to make pumpkin bread. 

It did not get over-baked, the crumb was extremely moist and tender, and yes raisins and toasted walnuts were added. Sugar was sprinkled on top for added crunch, and it slid right out of the pan - no fuss no muss. I only had 3 eggs and read somewhere that I could substitute 1/4 cup of buttermilk for an egg. It worked out great. 

Will you look at the great leaf/acorn banner my sister in law Ann made for me. I hung it up straight away with the Halloween banner which is still up because it kind of seems Thanksgiving-ish too? I love them together. 

The day after Thanksgiving is made for sitting and staring. These flowers had my attention all day.

I roasted a butternut squash and we watched His Gal Friday while we ate dinner tonight. It's an old black and white, zany, madcap movie from 1940 that we wanted to like better than we did. Good acting, but with so much talking there was never a minute to catch your breath. 

And just like that, the books are closed on another hosting of Thanksgiving Dinner. Maybe we will put up the Christmas tree tomorrow? Maybe we will go to Bizarre Bazaar? Perhaps a trip to the Pendleton's Country Market holiday open house? So many options when the pull of a chair in front of the fireplace is very strong. Especially since they are calling for snow tomorrow morning. As sister and I like to say, "the only reason to make plans is to break them". 

a pleasantly idle task to focus on

Happy Day before Thanksgiving. I hope you are all in your extra-chill mental space - house clean, table set, cooking started, maybe you are getting ready to do a test run on a holiday cocktail just to be sure you remember how to make it? The best thing about working part time is having more time to do all the things that we feel we should do IF we are hosting the big day. The comfort in all of this is that we are part of a very large membership who also feel this vague sense of unease. We discussed it while in Chicago recently. It made me feel better to know that I am in such excellent company. Remember the days when we laughed in the face of worry about all the "things" that go along with the holiday? And if we didn't quite laugh in the face of it, maybe we just did not (in advance) fret over the menu and all that business quite to the extent that we do now? 

As of 3:37pm CST, the "make ahead mashed potatoes" are done. Baked, scooped, beaten, butter and cream added. Ready to be re-heated tomorrow. All the glassware has been washed, same for the china and silverware. Napkins have been ironed, dishes laid out for appetizers. I have also enjoyed coffee and eggnog in front of the fireplace. Frequent breaks between all activities are important. 

Doing a new recipe for gluten free cornbread stuffing with sausage this year. Fingers crossed. Cornbread has been baked, cooled, cut into cubes, toasted in the oven, sausage/herbs/stock/onion/celery sautéed. Chris is making the "regular" bread stuffing. There have been 4 visits to the store in the last 2 days. Plus the last minute run to the liquor store for vodka and Bailey's Irish cream. 

Now it is time for meditation, cosmo sipping, re-arranging of the shells, rocks, driftwood, sea glass that I have collected over the years and keep on a tray for just this purpose. Settling of the mind by giving it a pleasantly idle task of focus on. 

I just told someone I am going to be my very best self tomorrow when all the company is here. Sometimes if I say that out loud it makes it easier to do? Is that a thing? Onward ho friends! 

the best of local farmers and makers

Since I did not make it to the farmers market today, the last one of the regular season, I present highlights from the last year. Some of my favorite moments from trips to the market. The people, the flowers, the produce, the vibe. The total experience. 

I wimped out today knowing some of my favorite vendors would not be there because of the cold temperatures. This has been another great year at the market, for all the reasons you see in the photos. There always seems to be something I wasn't expecting, a moment of connection, inspiration for creative endeavors, and of course the best of local farmers and makers. 

The holiday market is December 14th at the Douglas County Fairgrounds. Always a good time, with lots of opportunities to get some  holiday shopping done. If you are into that sort of thing. 

do we assume the best or do we assume the worst

Most of you know the percentage of non-fiction I read tends to be pretty low. Tonight though, I am going to tell you about Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. Let me start by telling you the reviews are mixed on this book. I picked it up on the recommendation of my librarian friend Annette.

The basic premise is that we are not at all good at attempting to make sense of people we don't know and in particular whether or not they are telling the truth. He cites multiple cases of individuals who have been wrongly judged - some with devastating consequences. There are examples of people who have done terrible things that got away with it for years because it was impossible to believe they could do those things. There are also people who have done absolutely nothing wrong that are judged to be in the wrong and suffer because their actions are misinterpreted. Do we assume the best of people or do we assume the worst? 

Bottom line: tread carefully and check assumptions when entering into conversations with strangers, especially when the consequences of misunderstanding can have serious ramifications. I found this to be compelling reading though I did keep in mind some of the good points made by reviewers.  

If you have read this, please chime in with your thoughts in the comments. 

each season comes and goes

Tonight it's just a few shots of my favorite streets for leaf peeping in Lawrence. Taken a week or so ago, before my trip to Chicago. Today we still have a few tree's holding on to their leaves, but not like this day, which was a beauty. 

I love tromping through the leaves. It's a uniquely wonderful sound. 

This fall has been one of the best in memory in terms of color. Truth be told, I am always so entranced with the fall, that unless it is a really poor year, they all seem pretty good.

Just today I finally pulled the geraniums and ivy out of the pots on my front porch and swept it off. The pumpkins got re-arranged and a fall-ish door mat was put out in preparation for Thanksgiving. I hate that the front porch sitting days have come to an end for the year, but that is the beauty of living in Kansas. Each season comes and goes, but will roll around again next year. 

Who has started their preparations for Thanksgiving? What vegetable dish can you not live without on the big day? Curious minds want to know. Especially if it can be prepared (at least partially) the night before. 

my new friend Donald, a native Chicagoan

Yikes! Time really does fly by when you are having fun. Sometimes even when you are not having fun. But when you are on a quick, last minute, getaway trip with your friends from college... well it moves in double time. I clocked it. 

Oh Chicago you are a great city, with lovely neighborhoods, colorful trees, and friendly people. Most especially my new friend Donald (a native Chicagoan) who was staffing some kind of information booth in the lobby of The Chicago Athletic Association. We shook hands, exchanged names, and he talked pizza with us. Gosh there are good people in the world. 

We walked all over the Lincoln Park area, admiring the homes, the pots, the pumpkins, the window boxes... 

Everywhere you looked there was something interesting to see. 

The food was OUTSTANDING! From Nookies, to Galit, to John's Food & Wine, to the rooftop of the Hotel Lincoln, Cindy's at the top of the Chicago Athletic Association, Summer House (OMG try the truffle fries), LaFornette, and of course we sampled Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. Yes, I realize it sounds like we were there for a week... 

We toured the Frederick C. Robie house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, popped in and out of shops on Armitage and Halstead, walked through downtown, witnessed a protest, and gave the one-finger salute to a certain hotel whose name rhymes with bump. 

We were able to navigate from the airport using the train (hurrah!) and I also learned how to use Uber while I was there.  Yes, in addition to being the last person on the planet to get Netflix, I had not previously used Uber and needed to get indoctrinated while in the company of my experienced friends. We lit candles in St. Michaels church in Old Town - because shouldn't you always do that if you can?  We discussed thoroughly all the things... played cards, drank good wine, and are now back to our respective homes. Feeling very lucky for the circumstances that threw us together 46 years ago.  

so I did

Today it's more nature. Tree's, sky, leaves. At the very end of this walk, a red-shouldered hawk swooped down and landed on the railroad crossing sign at the exact second I passed by. It was glorious. What an amazing creature. I haven't had one get this close to me before, and just hang out. I swear he was watching me. It may have been a sign. One of those that you should interpret to mean whatever you need it to mean. So I did. 

as soon as the walking commences

As each one of these glorious fall days slips by on the calendar, I do my best to take hold of it. Wanting to put it deep in the internal file cabinet, to pull out and remember this winter. We are having a much longer than normal fall. No snow yet, no deep freezes yet. When I am lying in bed, on the days I don't go to work, it's a battle between the coziness of the bed and the pull of the out of doors. 

As soon as the walking (and looking) commences, I am GLAD to be out.

I collected leaves this week, some from the yard, some from walks. I always love looking back at previous journals where I have done this.

Do you put stuff in your journal I might need to know about? 

butternut squash to roast for the Thanksgiving salad perhaps

These wee lambs at the Farmers market on Saturday were over-the-top cute. Seriously, a whole flock of them should go into my pygmy forest knitted tree collection. Ideas are good. The more the better. Reflection before action is called for though. 

All the fall produce was out in abundance. Apple bread pudding anyone? Apples chopped up with oatmeal, topped with yogurt and apple butter for breakfast?

Yes to radishes for salads. 

My friend Thuy from Liquid Garden made sure I had all the information about where to get protein balls and cold pressed juice during the winter months ahead when there will be no farmers market. 

A butternut squash to roast for the Thanksgiving salad perhaps? 

These looked perfect for BLT's but Chris has a plan for meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and succotash for supper tonight. 

The usual brown butter, apple cider, muffins were swapped out for cake this year. Extra pieces were purchased to go into the freezer. The buttery, cinnamon, apple, deliciousness will be most welcome in February. 

Admiring the knitting of others is a treat, and of course made me realize it was time to get some new dryer balls. 

Another good week at the market. Since I will be out of town next week it may be the last of the season. There is one the Saturday before thanksgiving though, and if all the stars line up I may get there.   

If any of you locals plan to attend the holiday market it's on Saturday December 14th this year. It's being held at the Douglas County Fairgrounds Pavilion (1930 Harper St.). Under cover but out of doors so dress warmly. 

I hope I see you there!

a bit of swapping out as things got underway

In the name of letting my creative spirit flourish, as I tell myself to "steady on", here is the first effort at a log cabin block. Once I got started it was a whole lot easier than I thought it was going to be. I might have put a strip in a place not originally intended, but it does not diminish the satisfaction even one tiny bit. 

This was the original layout, but once I started things changed. 

I have never done foundation paper piecing before. It makes things quite precise. Sometimes a little order and precision is just what is called for.

This was the plan for block #2. There was a bit of swapping out as things got underway.

Here are the 2 blocks side by side. There are many strips left and lots of ideas floating around. If I would have thought about it earlier, I would have used some strips and made a "Quilters for Kamala" block. It has a nice ring to it. Someone probably already did it. 

Is it just me or does the ginkgo and the sky and the lake and the grass feel like the same color palette as the log cabin? 

I have no wisdom about it

A really great recent hike out at Clinton lake up to Saunders point. Gosh it was pretty. The vistas, the curves, the colors, the sky. It was exceptional if somewhat short. Some days call for a shorter walk though, so it's good to have one in your pocket when needed. Lots of walks will be needed in the coming days, weeks, and years. 

None of the plants or animals that were encountered seemed a bit concerned about the election. I must learn from the trees. Something is happening in our country. Something that scares me. I have no wisdom about it right now. 

...it's been great!

To mitigate my anxiety about the upcoming election, I have recently bought 2 new fall candles because they were  "on sale" - apple cider and pumpkin spice. Aroma therapy is important. It's foolhardy to buy candles without smelling them ahead of time, but these are from candlefolk and I love their grapefruit + fig so much that I fell for the advertising. Hook, line, and sinker. 

Pie has been eaten. Pie is a cure for anything that ails you, both physical and emotional. Cherry for me, chocolate/peanut butter for Marti, Nancy and Jennifer both got coconut cream even though they recognized they should probably select different flavors - the mouth wants what the mouth wants. Don't argue with the desire of the moment by interjecting logic. 

Marti turns 101 this month! We have taken to telling each other when we part company "if this is the last time we see each other it's been GREAT!" Because, why not? It could be the last time any of us see each other. I may start using this as my standard good-bye. Only for the people who it would be appropriate for, the ones I cherish, not every Tom, Dick, and Harry. 

Back to the therapy part of this post - Do we need special pajamas for the holidays? Probably not. Will I need a set of hot pink Bagheera pajamas from Printfresh THIS year? Maybe. It's a "sorta, kinda, but not really" holiday print and while sitting on my porch this morning glancing at the news, if felt right to get them. See paragraph #2 ie.. not interjecting logic when anxiety and desire are at play. 

My last strategy for alleviating anxiety this week was weeding out my expired spices. It is something I have absolute control over and gives me a great sense of satisfaction/accomplishment. 

This was only phase I. The oldest one in the cabinet expired in 2015. Sister tells me they are "still fine" - that is the Angie in her. Brother and I are in agreement that if you are going to take the time to make something you should use fresh spices. 

Of all my strategies for reducing stress/worry, I must say the spice clean out was the most effective, and the cheapest.  

we should stick to spring and fall

During our days down at Big Cedar Lodge in the Ozarks, there was lots of time for walking outside. If there is anything more glorious than walking out in nature at the peak of a season, I don't know what it is. When it's a bit chilly for the morning walk, that is all the better. 

Dottie wondered out loud at one point, what it would be like to be down here in the middle of winter, in the snow. My answer was that it would likely be really great, we could have lots of fires, read books, eat soup, and look out at the beauty of nature... except that this is the part of the country that gets hit with lots of ICE in the winter. Once, many moons ago, Sister and I drove down for Christmas with mom and dad. Our drive coincided with what the papers called "The Storm of the Century". Worse drive of my life. Then the power went out after we got there and we had to move to a hotel that had a generator to keep Dad warm enough. Oh it was frightful. I still remember the slipping and sliding on the hills 25+ years later. Sister if you are reading this please provide your memories. I don't think I am exaggerating. 

I told Dottie I thought we should stick to Spring and Fall. Unless of course we can get the package where we are picked up in a monster 4 wheel drive vehicle, driven to our cabin, that has been fully stocked with what we need for cooking, and upon the conclusion of our trip are once again chauffeured home in the monster vehicle. 

if we could go somewhere and play with kittens

All the leaves in the parking lot swirled and blew overnight and ended up creating a lovely carpet at the Moon on the Meadow booth at the farmers market today. It was spectacular. The best part was listening to a man who was examining them and calling out the names of the trees they came from.

As I listened there was plenty of time to examine all the items on display. Starting with the flowers and ending up with that amazing purple-ish bok choy. Ooh it made me want asian stir fry with some white rice topped with sesame seeds and green onions on the side. 

How about a squash primer complete with names today? 

I ran into my turkey trot friends while I was looking at the squash. They are the ones who go to their daughter's in Chicago every year and participate in the Turkey Trot 5K. 

The produce was plentiful this morning. It won't be for long. The numbers of vendors are dwindling, threat of rain, end of season fatigue (is that a thing), plus it's still kind of dark at 7:30 am when the market opens. Lordy next week it will be even darker. I better bring a flashlight. 

 

Warning!!! Cute overload below. Seriously. Can you even stand it? These 2 sisters were lined up for juice from Thuy of Juice Garden. I wanted to throw all my stuff on the ground, get on my knees and hug them. Then see if we could go somewhere and play with kittens and talk about anything they wanted to talk about. Oh those smiles.

I settled for some juice and then moved on to get a basket of apples followed by a piece of pumpkin spice cake. 

Another perfectly perfect market morning. 

P.S. public service announcement - 1900 Barker's (most excellent bakery here in Lawrence) special bread of the month is cranberry almond. OHHHH does it ever make good toast. If you are in town you might want to swing by and grab a loaf. 

I finally made friends with that red color

A round up of this week's "must-do's" included voting. Really a privilege not a chore. Polls were busy. Lawrence is reporting higher than average number of early voters. I think that is happening everywhere. 

Toner cartridges were changed. Finally. The messages that my toner is "dangerously low" have been going on for months. Why do I take so long to do this when it is not all that difficult? Rhetorical question since it is clearly human nature. 

The next group of fabrics for Block Study #2 have arrived for the Block Studies Collective class. I am beyond excited by the palette. Anxious to see how this will all work out in the log cabin block. Fabrics have been washed, I am ready to roll. Thank goodness for good videos, clear instructions, and opportunity for questions. At first glance I am not gonna lie, the log cabin looks complicated. 

I snuck in one more hourglass block yesterday. To reinforce my learning. 

From left to right they are #1, #2, and #3. I like looking at them. I may connect them or they may just stay up on boards until they whisper to me what should be done with them. I was not sure about the inclusion of red in this color palette. But I finally made friends with it and especially like the way it works with the rusts and pinks. 

Onward and upward. Look out log cabin, I am coming for you.