Kind people - we are blessed.

This week has been full of challenges and blessings. Several staffing changes at work and a tremendously busy time for our programming has created a lot of extra stress and hours at the office. Just the nature of our work allows us to interface with the public a lot - some of the people are amazing and others are very insistent and demanding.

Lately, I am reminded that there are kind people in the world. I am surrounded by many of them - simply some pretty fantastic men and women who care a great deal about others. Today, a long-time resident of Lebo sent me one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received. Sara and I have connections through K-State and we recently saw each other during a meeting on the campus. At the conclusion of business, I shared that a Saturday program would require me to miss the third and final auction associated with my grandparent's estate. My husband would go as my representative with a list of things I really wanted to remember my grandparents.

Today, a package arrived at the office with a note from Sara. Her two daughters and son went to the auction and bought a lot of my Grandmother's jewelry. They had sent off several pieces to be made into a necklace for me. It is simply lovely. I was overwhelmed to think of the kindness of the gesture. It is a creative and elegant way of paying tribute to my Grandmother. I am blessed by kind people.

We have the most generous friends and neighbors around us showing kindness through small and large gestures... the sharing of plants, tools on loan, book recommendations, and thoughtful gifts. I have a visual for the number of thoughtful people in our lives in my kitchen, spare bedroom and garage. Brace yourself.

About two months ago, my husband put out a note at his school that we were low on egg cartons and if anyone had any they could share, we would appreciate it. The result was simply amazing.

My kitchen.

My garage.

My spare bedroom.

The bottom line is that you can get what you need when you simply ask. You can have more than you ever want when you surround yourself with great friends. I am blessed.

My grandparent's estate auction - round one

Saturday, April 3 was the first of three Saturdays devoted to my grandparent's estate auction. Avid auction goers, farmers, and collectors, the amount of stuff is overwhelming and impressive. I certainly understand my desire to accumulate - especially interesting old stuff. It must be genetic! Anything with a bit of rust or worn/well loved patina is looked at with affection. Things in multiples (collections) have so much power in form and function.

My dad has been working really hard to prepare for the auctions. His first task was to sort through the farm equipment and all of the years of stuff that made the farm go. Anyone who has lived on a farm operated by depression-era people knows that you keep everything - just in case! My grandfather kept bolts, nuts, screws, and many tools and pieces and parts. The wagons were loaded with boxes, old coffee cans, galvanized buckets, refrigerator drawers - anything that could hold items was filled to the brim with bits and pieces of the farm. I loved the texture and intrigue of all of the rusted bits.

We had beautiful weather, though the farm was a muddy mess from serious rains in the days leading up to the sale. Luckily, we had warning to wear old shoes. The kids loved roaming through the mud in their mud boots!

The old trucks, tractors and equipment were really interesting. We waited with anticipation to see if all the tractors would start...only one needed a jump. Thank goodness for good friends who are excellent mechanics.

We watched as the two old grain trucks that Jeremy drove when he helped with wheat harvest sold. Now, we hope we can get one with the floorboards still in tack, better brakes and a bed that operates consistently and doesn't get locked in the up or down position. The adventures of helping my dad!

I was most surprised to see all of the tires, rims and wheels as part of the auction. Hubcaps were another popular items. Grandpa saved everything. We had several scrap metal dealers attend and they bought up some of the metal parts that did not make any sense to me. My brother said they make 25% as a finders fee for the metal. When I was little, I wanted to own a junk yard and I think that is why I was so intrigued by their work.


We got such a kick out of the old license plate from Osage County, my home. It is secured to the truck with bailing wire on one side. This just speaks to how we do things - make do, figure it out, bailing wire can fix a lot.

The old barn has a pretty good lean. The weathered barn wood and great doors inside are pretty amazing. There was stuff literally everywhere on the place - inside the barn, in the Quonset, in piles. Piles of abandoned parts, a huge old church bus, eight bale feeder rings set on their sides, worn out bikes, and some really awesome, amazing junk.

It was a good day. Tired, sun burnt, emotional hangover...ready to go again in two weeks.

Feeling nostalgic and crafty

A few weeks ago, I found this gorgeous book in Acme Gift in Aggieville. After spending a great afternoon catching up with a friend from Nebraska at Bluestem Bistro, I ran through Acme on my way to meeting Jeremy for an evening work activity.

The Pattern Sourcebook just jumped off the shelf at me. Not too long before I had been working on a scrapbooking project and began to muse about the paper patterns and how combinations of solids and patterns began to help a project take shape. This book is essentially a collection of mostly fabric patterns, but also some patterns from china and dinnerware. The examples span the decades and the book even includes items from my favorite decades - the 30's and 40's.

This beautiful sourcebook made me think about an old family photo album we have at the house. It was a gift from my third cousin who has identified a few of the family members, but most are anonymous and most stare seriously at the camera. There are a few gems in this album - like the photo of two grandmotherly looking women with a little boy standing between with his tongue sticking out! There is also a family picture that looks as if the photographer took the photo too early and everyone seems to not be ready, except the baby. I am trying to find the best way to reproduce the photos - any ideas?

My favorite things about the album is the inside cover. The fabric pattern is pretty amazing and I have no idea if it is original. The best part is that the fabric has folds that are pockets - very ingenious!

I also love the detail on the pages that hold the photos. There is a whole exhibit at The Beach Museum of Art on the K-State campus that features Gail Gregg's work. The exhibit is cast off scrapbooks and photo albums the artist has collected from flea markets, estate sales, etc. artfully arranged.

The exhibit and my own review of my family scrapbook this morning sparked some feelings of nostalgia. My grandparent's estate sale is quickly approaching and will take three weekends in April. Avid collectors and my grandpa a frequent auction goer, there promises to be so many interesting finds and plenty of junk. I am on the look out for two main things that belonged to my grandma - one a gift from me to her when I was in college and purchased a framed photograph called "Grandma's Quilt" from a local artist. The other is a glassware chicken on a nest. I always loved those chickens and loved that the nests had candy at Easter! I will also be on the look out for boxes of photographs. It is always a heartbreaker to see old family photos go for pennies at auctions.

The outside of the family album is worth mentioning, too. The cover has a nature scene with a bugling moose. The back is a green velvet fabric. The clasp is an intricate gold fastener. What a unique package! I am thinking very hard about how to use scanned images of the photos for a project and how to display this treasure more prominently in our home. Your ideas for incorporating the family photos and album pages into a project and your good wishes for happy bidding at our family's auction are welcomed.

Something else I love

Where Women Create highlights "inspiring work spaces of creative women." I am just a little bit in love with their regular bits of beautiful artwork by women with a motivational theme delivered weekly via e-mail. The most recent by Lisa Kaus has me a little deeper in love.

Check out her website with beautiful pieces of art - some incorporating found objects, all elegant and inspirational. I think her work speaks to my love of items that have been loved and repurposed...a little nod to junky and a whole lot of elegance. How can that juxtaposition work? She makes it work beautifully.

If you are wondering about the bread experiment...it worked out very well. The knock-off pot held up to the heat and a beautiful rustic loaf of bread emerged. It was just as tasty and easy as promised. The crust is crunchy and flaky and the inside is soft and chewy.

My husband was skeptical of the whole process - even more so when he found the laptop open to the blog showing the four year old making the bread.

Next weekend, we make homemade whole wheat spaghetti.

Catching up on...cooking

Schedules have prevented me from trying new recipes, new kitchen gadgets, and just having time to make something that varies from the usual menu of meals. This weekend was a flurry of kitchen experiments.

Experiment 1: KitchenAid pasta press
Over the winter break, Jeremy and I caught up on DVR and watched an episode of Martha Stewart Living where she demonstrated (and gave away!) this little wonder. It is the latest KitchenAid attachment and makes spaghetti, large and small macaroni, bucatini, rigatoni, and fusilli. We found it on Williams Sonoma and Jer ordered it for our anniversary gift. It was back ordered for three months and arrived during my busiest travel time. This weekend, my dad and oldest niece visited and we tried out the fusilli with a homemade tomato sauce - delicious fresh pasta.

Experiment 2: Oatmeal cookies
Ok, so this is nothing new for me, but apparently, my husband has never eaten an oatmeal cookie. He said that they always sounded gross and they did not have oatmeal in Western Kansas. I think we converted him with this recipe that is chewy (even after sitting on a plate for some time) and crunchy on the outside.

Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
raisins or nuts (optional)

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, cream together white sugar, butter, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda,and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. If you are using nuts or raisins, mix into dough, combining well. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.Makes approx. 36-60 cookies, depending on how large or small you make them.

Source: http://www.momswhothink.com/

Experiment #3: Ham and egg cups
Our chickens are producing so well that we have a lot of eggs on hand. While looking for a new breakfast idea, I found the ham and egg cup recipe on a blog

Ham & Egg Cups

Ingredients
12 slices of deli ham
12 eggs
grated cheese
seasoning
chopped basil

Directions
1. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
2. Line each cup with a slice of deli ham (I asked that they not be sliced too thin...and had rather hefty slices this time).
3. Break an egg gently into each ham cup. Season with salt and pepper...sprinkle with chopped basil (or chives or your herb of choice).
4. Bake at 350' F for about 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven...and top each egg with grated cheese (cheddar or Parmesan)...and bake for 5 minutes longer.
6. Remove from pan and serve immediately.

I used ramekins instead of muffin cups. The ramekins worked great! I also increased cooking time by 5 minutes and the yolks were much more firm than they seemed in the picture, but still good. The ham we used was also much more thinly sliced and the edges were a little crispy (ok, burnt black), but easily removed.

Source: http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/

Experiment #4: No knead bread
The website promises that it is so easy a four year old can make it. I am feeling the pressure because the author even posted pictures of her four year old son making the bread! We are at the second proofing stage when the dough is napping in a floured towel. The recipe seems very straight forward and we will see if my knock off Le Creuset pot holds up to the 450 degree oven.

Fresh baked bread in approximately two hours!

Source: http://steamykitchen.com/168-no-knead-bread-revisited.html

Homemade valentines

Just wanted to show off my Valentine's Day card designs. I was inspired by Impress, a rubber stamping and paper company in Washington. Check out their website for some great card ideas and pay special attention to how they use punches.

The paper is all Creative Memories, including the cute floral paper ribbon - my new scrapbooking, gift wrapping and card making obsession.

Catching up and feeling overwhelmed

Overwhelmed might be the word of the season. Too much to do and too little time. However, the lengthening days are a welcomed reprieve from the cold and darkness. It begins to seem like we have more time to work through the growing to do list.

Our local produce market, Eastside and Westside Markets in Manhattan, had these beautiful leather bracelets on their counter during a recent trip to pick up our favorite locally produced honey. Masie and my mom picked the bracelets with the four small flowers and Masie selected the bracelet with the purple flower for McKenzy. These were my belated Valentine's Day gifts. (Catching up...overwhelmed...you get the idea.)

One of Jeremy's co-workers knit this beautiful scarf out of alpaca fiber from Scout, Blue and Manny. It is really lovely and so very soft. She did a beautiful job with the stitches and I am so happy to have something complete.