A Sheep in Sheep's Clothing

Tonight I was leaving the fair a little after 10 and noticed a sheep was being sheared. Greg had gone to shoot some other things, but I called him on the cell and said, "Hey, there's sheep shearing going on." He trotted right over. Why? Well, because neither of us know anything about sheep or shearing them. So, obviously, we needed to learn.




For the next hour to ninety minutes, we questioned this very nice lady, Carolyn, who was working to get the sheep ready for judging in the morning. Carolyn lives near Newton, so didn't have too far of a drive tonight, but it was after 11:30 when we left and she wasn't done cleaning up yet so I'm sure it was a late night for her.

Technically, the sheep belongs to her son, Aaron, but he's in college so mom is helping out. And it takes awhile to complete this process.

First is the shearing with a clipper that has 20 teeth, so you're less likely to cut the sheep. Professionals use ones that have 9 teeth and are flared, so they are quicker to use.




After shearing they "card" the sheep, which is somewhat like brushing out the hair that's left on it. The sheep really likes this. He was vocalizing his displeasure at the shearing, but when Carolyn and Larry, a neighbor farmer from Oklahoma who was helping out, were carding the sheep he was standing still and enjoying it.




After that, they did what's called "blocking," which meant they were doing a lot of hand trimming with these large scissors. The sheep's left side is where they stand when holding the sheep and the right side is what they consider the "show side" so they are paying very close attention to it.




This is a Dorset sheep, named for the place in England where they come from. This is a common domestic breed. When they are judged, they look for a variety of physical characteristics about the sheep.

And, lets just say that "all" the parts get sheared.




I was commenting that I knew some knitters who would love to have this wool. But, don't despair. I'm told this particular wool wouldn't be of any use because it's too short.




Last, he got his face groomed - sheared, carded and trimmed.




He was then covered, as were many of the other sheep already in the pens. While the irony that jumps to mind is that we're shearing their wool, and then giving them new "clothes," the reality is that it's just to keep them clean for the judging tomorrow. Because before the shearing, the sheep has to be bathed. And just like with a kid, you want it to last a little while.




In many of the livestock barns, people camp out to be with the animals. Some are more elaborate than others.

Spotted in Traffic

This begins a new, occasional, irregular series on the blog - things "Spotted in Traffic." Now, bear in mind, I live in a small city of 50,000 where "rush hour" means it takes about 12 minutes instead of 10 to go from one end of town to the other. And it's a very conservative red state. So, it's not going to be often I'll spot something in traffic worth sharing, but here's the first entry.

I was behind this driver on 11th street, waiting to turn onto K-61. It was all the more interesting because I'm slated to visit a school on Wednesday.

9-11

Tomorrow is the five year anniversary of 9/11 and the "remembrances" just won't stop. I use "remembrances" as a kind adjective because it often feels more like "celebrations" to me when I see FDNY shirts and hats as fashion statements. However, I'm sure those who have a personal connection with the tragedy do not feel it's a celebration at all. Regardless, I've had all I can take and we're not even to the day yet.

It was a horrible thing, but far more people have died in the wars we've started since then than died that day. Why don't we grieve for those civilians? Oh yeah, they're not Americans, so their lives don't matter. I keep forgetting that.

I don't dispute that 9-11 was a terrible thing and changed how we view the world, but lets move past it. Some of the widows are remarried and have children with their new husbands, which means they've been remarried for awhile now. In five years they have grieved, dated, married and had a baby. They've moved on. People should be allowed to move on. Please, let them move on. Let us all move on.

I saw a Colonel on CBS Sunday morning who was at the Pentagon and almost died that day. He was saying he is not going to any of the events tomorrow that he just wants to move forward. Surely he is speaking what many of us are thinking. Please, let us move on. We have plenty of reminders every time we try to fly anywhere and they want to take our toothpaste away from us.

My biggest beef with airport "security" is that it's reactionary and all happenstance. No one cared about my toothpaste until a terrorist decided that would be a good way to make a bomb on board. No one cared about my shoes until someone tried to use their shoe to take a weapon on board. Is this a smart, well thought out plan? No, it's completely reactionary and that means it's useless. Either check everyone for everything or don't bother. And put a little thought into what people might do, as opposed to just reacting to the last thing someone did.

It gives the impression that terrorists are far smarter than the people who are supposed to be protecting us from them. We have thousands of people who are supposed to be protecting us and they don't come up with these ideas like putting a weapon in a shoe heel?

We are fast approaching the same number of American soldiers killed in the Iraqi war as were killed on 9-11. And that's not counting soldiers of other nations and civilians. Does that make it "right," somehow? That 2600 plus men and women, many of them very young, who signed up to serve their country were shipped out in a doomed war? Is it somehow good that those deaths in the attacks have been doubled by our choice? And, it was a choice. A choice made by the government. And the government was a choice made by the people. Not a choice I ever supported, but a choice nonetheless.

Don't email me and tell me how it's not your fault because you didn't vote. If you didn't vote, you voted for the winner - whoever that was. So, you voted for Bush. You voted for war. You voted for death - death of soldiers, death of civilians, death of people in flooded New Orleans streets - death. This is what you created with your vote, whether you went to the voting booth to cast it or not. This is what you get when you vote for someone who has no compassion - sending other people's children to die in war, Katrina victims dying on their rooftops while the President is on vacation, and constant lies to justify it all - from "we didn't know people were at the Convention Center" to "there are weapons of mass destruction."

To Bush's credit, he never lied about being a compassionate person. You wanted him anyway. Please, remember, this is what you get when you put someone without compassion into office - lots of people dying - many of them 19 year olds who signed on for the military to do something good, believing they were invincible as most 19 year olds do. I've heard the word "victim" way too many times in the last five years while we've been busy creating another generation of potential terrorists who hate Americans.

Just Friday, the Senate intelligence committee, Republican controlled by the way, reported that there was never a connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. We're all acting like this is a big news flash when it was obvious that was the case from the get go. Bush wanted to go to war with Iraq and just did. He knew he couldn't get congress to agree to it on his personal vendetta agenda so he lied.

Why is it that lying about having sex with an intern where no one died is grounds for impeachment, but lying about weapons of mass destruction and killing thousands of people in the process is acceptable? I will take responsiblity for my votes - I voted for Clinton twice and I wish I could vote for him again. So, it's my fault that our president was getting head in the oval office. But, I wash my hands of the war and destruction the Bush administration has wrought on the world. I had no part of that. I don't hold anyone in congress responsible for voting to go to war, since they were lied to as well. But, those who blindly support the Bush administration's policies - they need to go.

Lets not be selective in who we remember that died as a result of 9-11. Lets not forget the first casualty in the Iraqi war - a woman and her child, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Blair Leaving

Experts say it won't be nearly a year before Tony Blair steps down. I cannot wait for this to happen. I'm betting he's trying to hold on until after the US elections, because when he leaves, Bush will have NO world support for his wars.

Americans seem to be slowly awakening from their deep oblivion, but anything that can hasten that is good in my book.

I've been enjoying seeing clips on the news of the British ditty sung to the tune of that little song we all sang as children. Only this time the words include "Bush and Blair, sitting in a tree, K-i-l-l-i-n-g." Isn't that the truth?

These allies will be split up when Blair doesn't have the power he has now. What a glorious day that will be.

Saturdays are for Fairs

Saturdays are for the Kansas State Fair in early September. But Saturdays are also for painting, which I did some of today. Finally. I've been ignoring the library, and today I got up there and did some work on it. There's still plenty to do but it has just been sitting there forever, with me doing nothing on it. But, I did get a little bit done in there today and hopefully I'll get more done tomorrow.

I'm doing a complicated painting technique in there - why, I'm not sure, since I'm going to put up shelves and cover it all up. But, there you go. Even I don't understand myself.

I had to stop and run out for more of the little bottles of metallic paint I'm sponging on in there. I think I overbought - at least I hope I don't need as much as I purchased. I'll take it back if I don't need it but with Hobby Lobby closed tomorrow my options were limited.

When I got home I was torn between working more in the studio and going back out to the fair. Guess which won out? That jar of pickles was not from my library.

What really prompted me to head out to the fair was using Greg's pass since he wasn't using it today, and seeing Ron Diamond, the hypnotist. His show is always funny. There was a guy in it tonight that I think did it last year too. Anyway, it was fun.

After the hypnotist I went over to domestic arts to look around. There were less than a half dozen entries in the Governor's cookie jar contest and considerably fewer canned goods. But I think the number of needlework entries has gone up. I could be wrong, but it seems like there's more of that.

The cooking things continue to decline and I hate to see that. There are a few contests sponsored by companies where there's actual money to be won and those seem to be generating a significant amount of entries.

I don't know what to think about our society. We obviously love to watch people cook, otherwise the Food Network wouldn't be on. But, apparently, few of us can actually cook. Maybe I've been approaching the tea all wrong. I should sell tickets for people to watch me cook instead of to eat the food.

But, there was lots of needlework from crochet to cross stitch to knitting. And, of course, the quilts.

As I was looking at knitting I wondered if Andrea had submitted anything and then I spotted it, complete with ribbon on it. Congratulations, Andrea!




They have a whole section just for people like me - a Christmas area. You gotta love it. There were some beautiful pieces. Leah should enter some of her cross stitch stuff. I am so honored to have some pieces she made for me, including some Christmas ornaments and an incredible stocking she did.

I really treasure those things that people make for me. I'm already thinking about how fun it will be unpack all the Christmas things and enjoy the memories of them. A month from now I'll be getting serious about getting going on that.

Tomorrow I'm not going to the fair. I hope I'm motivated enough to get more done in the library. Goodness knows there is plenty in my world to do. As always.

Where Has Patsy Been

This is a fun little toy. There are a few states I'm not sure if I've visited or not, so I left them off the map. I'll be able to update it soon as I'll be traveling to Washington and Oregon next month. At the moment it says I've been to 35 states. I think I've also been to West Virginia, but I'm just not sure. Obviously, I need to go. And to Wisconsin, which I think I would really love. Just hasn't worked out yet. One of these days...



create your own visited states map

Politicians, Pumpkins and Pillsbury

The Kansas State Fair opened in Hutchinson today. I went out for a couple of hours tonight, just to look around a bit. I enjoy the fair, and it's especially fun during an election year.

I ran into a ton of people I knew, including Robert and Marcella from Ellinwood. That was an unexpected treat. I was chatting with John Doll, who's running for congress, and who I wrote about on the blog previously, when I ran into them.

I went over to John's booth later, and got to meet his wife, who is just delightful.




Jan Pauls was working the democrat's booth. It was good to see her. I visited with her a little bit but there were a lot of people stopping by so I didn't want to monopolize her time.

I also visited with Sue Darby who was working the HCC booth. It was really good to talk with her.

I also stopped by the Governor's booth to see what her schedule is for the fair. I know she's going to be there tomorrow for a debate, but don't know if she will be sticking around much after that - hopefully so.

Of course, there was the usual assortment of fun stuff at the fair - including a giant pumpkin weighing 680.5 pounds.

I just love the fair where you see everything agricultural thing you can imagine. That's something I love about the Kansas State Fair - it still honors its roots. Those that do are few and far between now.

But, you can look at sorghum varieties, champion tomatoes and rye seed. It's all a bit of Americana and I love it all. Just in case you weren't able to visit tonight, I thought I'd share some pix so you can enjoy it nonetheless.



















There are also scarecrows of various sorts - some of them quite inventive. I'm not sure where the Pillsbury Doughboy fits in, but when you see a giant Pillsbury Doughboy you have to take his photo. It's a rule.













And, there's something new this year - a big cut out where they are tracking brown recluse spider bites of people who stop by the booth and talk about having been bitten. I'll have to tell Diana to go get her spot logged. My hope is to take some photos every time I'm out to see how his tag collection grows. This is the tally of just this one day, although they are putting the ones from the back of the body on the front of the model as well. What I've learned is that your legs are in great danger.

Praying in Restaurants

OK, I'm about to tick some people off - well, so, what's new - get your own blog and you can blather on about what an idiot I am. Or in this case, what a heathen.

Topic of the day - I'm sick of people praying aloud in restaurants.

I grew up in the south, where we went to church three times a week, said grace before meals, and feared God. I never, ever prayed aloud in a restaurant. Nor did I ever witness such a thing until the last few years. I'm officially sick of it. It's rude. Yes, that's right, rude.

The other day at Roy's these two twenty-something guys came in and sat down at a table with some other folks (not unusual, there) and proceeded to bow their heads and pray aloud so that everyone at that table, at our table next to them and at the table next to us felt they had to stop their conversation until they were finished. And, this man was relishing in having an audience because he went on for some time - longer than an elder deacon at dinner on the grounds in a southern Baptist Church.

I'm fed up with this "I'm holier than you are and I'm going to demonstrate it right now in front of God and everyone, so maybe you will get a clue and turn from your horrible ways" attitude. God will accept a silent thank you for the bounty before you. You need not engage the entire restaurant in what should be your private relationship with the Almighty.

If you want to demonstrate your Christian attitude, why not do it by not drawing attention to yourself and interrupting the conversation of everyone else in a room? Aren't Christians supposed to be kind to those around us?

I'm all about tolerance, and that includes for those who are fundamentalist Christians. But you are infringing on others rights when you pray aloud, overtaking an entire group's conversation in a restaurant.

You can pray silently, not making a spectacle of yourself - he's God, he'll hear you. There is no need to be as public as possible so everyone knows you're a Christian - or so you would have us believe, anyway. Frankly, I'm always suspicious of people who have to be so adamant about how they are religious or are not gay or are telling the truth or fill in the blank. It almost always means exactly the opposite.

So what am I going to do the next time this happens, as it inevitably will? Well, I want to say that I'm going to keep on talking while the public demonstration of what is to be private piety continues in my midst. In reality, out of reverence, I will no doubt stop my conversation yet again and then be annoyed at the whole situation all over again. It doesn't make me feel reverent.

Democrats Have the Advantage

The news is filled with stories about how the democrats have the advantage on pretty much every issue. The war in Iraq continues to lose popularity. The president's approval rating is low.

Well, hallelujah, finally, some sense...

But what I really want is for people to get the big picture - not just vote for a change because it's a change. Vote for the best person, not just someone different. Admittedly, at the moment we just have to vote for change - obviously. But in the long term, try to remember what a huge mess we're in and how we got here.

We got here by putting people into office who have no compassion and never pretended to have compassion. People who don't have compassion tell lies to send other people's children into war. People who don't have compassion do nothing to raise the minimum wage to help the ordinary guy put gas in his car. People who have no compassion let people die in the flooded streets. Remember that when you're voting. Vote for people who are compassionate so we can have a country that has compassion. If you want to vote for Christian candidates, let compassion be your guide. Isn't that the mark of a true Christian - how they treat people?

Stealing Trash

I went out tonight to take out some trash because tomorrow is trash day. I opened my dumpster to put something in and realized that someone has been going through my dumpster. That explains why there was trash around the it. It creeps me out.

This caused me to think all kinds of things - particularly why do I care - it's trash. Because it's creepy, that's why.

I suddenly know what celebrities mean when they talk about people going through their trash being a violation of their privacy. It's creepy.

Of course, I can't imagine why anyone would want to go through my trash. I'm not a celebrity. And I don't throw away anything interesting. However, they took about one whole bag full of trash with them. Creepy. Very creepy.

Lesbians and Goat Farming

Regular readers of this blog know one of my favorite things is bits of Overheard Conversation. Well, tonight was a freaking goldmine at dinner. This man, with three friends in the booth with him, was talking loud enough that everyone could have heard, but I really had the best seat in the house because my back was to him and he was talking in my direction.

Man: "Jamie has been the best of my girlfriends and wives."
Friend: "Which one is she?"
Man: "She's the lesbian."

---------

Man: "The kids are a little confused."
Friend: "Why?"
Man: "Well, Daddy and Mommy aren't living together but there's this other woman there."
Other Friend: "Who's that?"
Man: "That's her lover."
Other Friend: "I thought you were still living there."
Man: "Yeah, I lived there for about a month after we broke up. But it was... awkward... I could hear them and she was never like that with me."

---------

Man: "I want to get married again. You know what I miss?"
Friend: "Sex?"
Man: "No... well... kinda... but I didn't have a lot of that to begin with. I miss coming home to my wife and kids. I want to get married again."

---------

Through more self control than I thought I possessed I was able to not jump up and say, "well, duh, she was a lesbian - of course she didn't want to have sex with you." I actually couldn't imagine too many straight women wanting to have sex with this guy, but I'm guessing the attraction for a lesbian would be somewhat less. However, apparently she was attracted enough to him to have three children. So, what do I know?

Ah, but there was more wisdom to come... true wisdom... southern wisdom...

---------

Smart Friend - who has been silent up until now: "You know what I think you ought to do?"
Man: "No. What?"
Smart Friend: "I think you oughta move to the south."
Man: "Why's that?"
Smart Friend: "Maybe it'll put some sense into you.
Man: "What do you mean?"
Smart Friend: "In the south, when a man decides he's going to have a goat farm, he either has some goats or some land."
Man: "Goats?"
Smart Friend: "You got no woman and no home, much less a marriage and family life. Only yankees come up with these stupid ideas about goat-farming without having goats or land."

Fun Weekend

This weekend Greg's girlfriend, Mia, came to visit so we were all hanging out. It was nice to have people around over the weekend. I was cleaning things around the house and just piddling around and it's nice to have people around when you're doing that.

I've done so much laundry it's amazing. But, all those tablecloths and napkins from the tea had to be washed, not to mention all the dishcloths and towels I mess up when I cook.

I bought a new chair for my home office and Greg put it together for me, which was nice. I think I'll take the old one up to the studio. Tonight I bought another one for the office - I'm way overdue for one there - something ugly happened to that one in one of the many office moves. It's $100 off of a $149 chair, so it's a good deal.

Jesse called yesterday afternoon and wanted to know if we wanted to get something to eat. Mia had to leave to get back to Joplin, but Greg and I went out with Jesse to Applebees last night. It was good to see him. I always enjoy Jesse. He's a real thinker and that's always interesting.

All in all it was a productive weekend, but also a fun one. Sometimes when it's a holiday weekend what I really need is for the rest of the world to stop and not bring anything new into my world. That was certainly the case this time.

I've been working on clearing out some things in my home office. I'm not sure how it gets so incredibly piled, but it does. I'm about to give in and accept that I just need to put shelves up on every available wall surface. It's the only way I can seem to effectively organize anything.

I told Teresa years ago that I needed a house that was full of shelves and tables, because everything I like to do requires table space, and misc. stuff that needs to be stores. It seems that was prophetic.

Oh... I have another photo I wanted to share with you of Greg at Diana's store the other day. I love this - you can see Diana in the mirror.

the divineMAGgees

I'm not a huge music person, but when I find something I like, I really like it. At the moment it's the divineMAGgees singing "Trouble." http://www.divinemaggees.com/ - and it's pronounced the divine maggies. Hear the tune at http://www.myspace.com/divinemaggees. It's worth a listen.

Some of the lyrics:
I gotta get out of here
I can't take it anymore
I'm gonna leave it all behind
I don't want this trouble

I think we've all felt that way at some time in our lives. Maybe more than one time.

Altrusan of the Year and more

I have been so behind on blogging that I haven't gotten a chance to say congratulations to Shanna, who was named Altrusan of the Year on Aug. 22. Shanna is someone I've known for a long time - we both worked at Hutchinson Community College at the same time years ago. She's also on my board of directors.

Shanna is one of the reasons I stay in Altrusa. There are some wonderful ladies in that group and she is one of them. She does a ton of stuff behind the scenes for Altrusa and for many other groups.

Debbie had also arranged for January Jackson to perform for us that evening. She has a beautiful voice and was very generous to share her talent with us. She had performed for the Volunteer Center's annual dinner.
Debbie's beautiful sunflowers that we used for the decorations really perked up the room. I'm always amazed at what bright colors can do for a room. It's amazing the transformation that occurs.

Debbie did the presentation that night and did a great job. We had six nominees for Altrusan of the Year and any one of them was deserving.




Before heading out to Altrusa that night, I went to Skaets to see Steve. He stopped through Wichita on his way back to Iowa to see some baseball. He drove up to Hutch to visit with Greg a bit. I couldn't eat dinner with them but I wanted to see him. Of course, Ace Jackalope was in attendance.

On the way I was witness to an accident at Third and Severance, the same intersection where I was hit by a drunk driver a year or two ago. I know a number of people who have had accidents there, so it's obviously a dangerous intersection. I was stopped at the light, just like when I was hit, the first car in line. Thank goodness, I'm a person who always stops far behind the line because the car that was hit came to rest inches from my front bumper. If I were one of those people who pulled halfway through the intersection when I stopped I would have been involved in it. I was so thankful to avoid it.

I gave my card to both the drivers in case they needed testimony but I haven't heard from them. I don't know where the woman came from that hit this guy, but he was completely in the right. He was going through the intersection and she banged into him. Not sure if she ran a red light or turned into him. But, of course, we've all done stupid things in the car. I was just thankful to avoid the accident.

Becky!

Saturday Greg and I went to Roy's for Barbecue. I think I could eat Roy's every day.

I told him I wanted to stop by Diana's store on the way home, just to see how things looked now that they were all set up. Diana moved The Dancing Grouse to 125 N. Main this past week and I went in to help some on Tuesday, but she had her reopening on Wednesday and I hadn't had a chance to see it since she was all set up. This is great space and the street scape has been finished in this block, which is a bonus.




When we popped into Diana's, I was surprised to see Becky there. It was great to see her. She moved to St. Louis last year and I've really missed her.

She and Rob had decided about four o'clock Friday afternoon to come to Hutch for the weekend. So, it was just a bonus that I happened to pop in while she was there.

To top it off, Teresa was in, so I got to see her too. She had brought in freshly made scones. Oh my gosh, they were amazing.

Greg snapped some pix of all of us together. L-R is Diana, Becky, me and Teresa.




It was so neat to see everyone. Nancy came in just as Greg and I were getting ready to leave so I got to visit with her just briefly. I also saw Austin and Amy for just a couple of minutes.

I was showing Becky, Diana and Teresa the cutest little lipstick holder I'd gotten at Target the night before in the dollar section. It's metallic pink and looks like a tiny little purse. Greg was making fun of how excited women get about such things. But, hey, I recommend you get to your local Target and pick one up as soon as possible.

Coming up

One of the things I've been doing recently - besides digging out from the tea - is preparing for the next month. I've got a lot of things on the agenda for September - some fun and some work.

Although it hasn't been announced officially yet, I'm going to be part of the Reno County Leadership class this fall. This is the first time they've done a fall one and it is better for my schedule. We have an overnight retreat so I'm making plans for that.

I'm also teaching a journalling class later this month. Although that's largely straightforward, it does require some preparation. I'm wondering what, exactly, I want to do for the class. It's hard to know what to focus on, but obviously I have to do some planning for it.

Also, Greg and I are going on a trip to Seattle and Portland next month so I need to plan for that a bit too. We haven't traveled together for awhile and I'm really looking forward to going. It will be interesting to see if we still travel well together. Neither of us has been to that area of the country, so it will be good. With just some preliminary reading I know I'm going to want more time there.

I've been working on getting ahead on my podcasts and cookbook reviews. I've got the Route 66 Minute ready through October. I'd like to get a few Art of Gracious Living podcasts recorded too. Just like when I was in radio, I don't like the production part of it. Sitting down and recording them is a breeze. But, then the post production has to happen - music added, converted to mp3, etc. - I just don't care for all that. But, it has to be done. I want to get a couple of reviews for Kansas Country Living written, too.

The State Fair starts on Friday and runs for 10 days. I haven't committed yet, but I will probably help work out there a bit. Other than that, we will just be out there a lot enjoying the fair.

And the last weekend of the fair is the Arlington tea. I enjoy that tea so very much. It will be so nice to have tea instead of creating tea.

Catching Up

I have been so occupied that I've not been blogging much lately. However, on my list of things to do this weekend is get caught up a bit. We'll see if I manage.

But in the interest of getting started on that...

A couple of nights ago Greg and I went out to the Dutch Kitchen. It seems whenever we travel that direction we are blessed with an interesting sunset and Friday night was no different.





Dinner at the Dutch Kitchen was good, and they're famous for their pie. We both had some pecan pie to top off the meal. I realized after the tea that I never even sampled any of the tea goodies, other than while I was cooking.

I'm still cleaning up from the tea - there are a dozen tablecloths to wash and tons of napkins, not to mention re-integrating all my dishes back into my stash. I'm amazed at how women will just wipe their lipstick onto a cloth napkin. I used almost a whole bottle of stain remover on the napkins. I've had them soaking all day in a borax wash, so hopefully tonight I'll be able to finish them. I wonder what has happened to our society that we think this is appropriate behavior.

Art of Gracious Living Podcast #37

I recently visited the Cathedral of the Plains at Victoria, Kansas. The Art of Gracious Living Podcast this week is about how we all need sacred spaces in our lives. You can listen using the player below.

What is a sacred space varies from one person to another but we must have those safe havens to turn to in times of need. They restore us and help us find our way in the world once again.

I encourage you to find your own sacred spaces.



Art of Gracious Living RSS feed

Art of Gracious Living Webpage

Archaic Mail

I bought an airline ticket today, using a travel voucher I got last year as a result of the hell trip home from Puerto Rico. I haven't used a travel voucher in awhile and never on this particular airline. There were some surprises.

First, I couldn't just use the voucher online. I could make the reservation and hold it on the website, but then I had to call to make payment arrangements.

Second, after all that was done, the final step is for me to MAIL the travel voucher. It seemed so archaic to be physically mailing someone a piece of paper when I can choose my flights and seats online, and even pay online with a credit card. But I can't pay with their own internally generated payment system. Very odd.

Oh well, it's fixed up and ready to go. It was just a moment of oddness when they told me to mail it to them. I mail many things because I still write letters, but I just never think of business involving the mail anymore. Interesting how our viewpoints change.

Creative Sisterhood

Tonight my Creative Sisterhood group gathered at Virginia's cabin to celebrate our third anniversary. Technically, it will be Sunday - September 3 - but tonight was the night we chose to gather. It was a wonderful evening.

We had the windows open and the bugs were singing and we had a fabulous meal. We did a potluck and it was incredible.

Virginia grilled chicken breasts and squash, Teresa made a Vietnamese noodle salad that was amazing, as well as a fresh peach pie. Diana brought corn casserole and I took green beans with fresh basil and also baked potatoes. Julie made rice and Martha brought some great bread. We coordinated a little bit so we ended up with a nice mix. It was a very tasty meal.

It has cooled off her a bit in the last few days and tonight was perfectly lovely. As we were finishing up it started lightning and now we're expecting rain. I'll be so happy to get some rain. I continue to water my plants but they just couldn't make it through the horrific heat. Things are looking puny.

This morning was the United Way kick off breakfast and it went really well.It's always good to see people and visit a bit.

I had scheduled breakfast with Peggy afterwards and visited with her while she had breakfast since I'd already eaten. We didn't get done with our planning so we're going to get together again in the morning.

I also looked at a garden for the Tenth Annual Hutchinson Garden Tour set for June 24, 2007. This is the second one I have lined up now so it's shaping up.

Well, I am headed upstairs shortly. I got up at 5 this morning and have been going pretty much constantly since then so it's time for a little rest. I am so glad it's a holiday weekend. I need a little time to think.

I've got a lot on my mind these days.

Water, Water, Water

I'm watching yet another program about global warming and how it's going to cause a dramatic rise in sea level, while at the same time dramatically diminishing the fresh water supply. That, of course, will mean a lack of food.

We have known about this for a very long time. We remain unwilling to give up our gas guzzling vehicles, to not water our lawns or even to use compact flourescent blubs on a large scale. We continue to forge ahead as if there is no problem. We give a lot of lip service to "our children and grandchildren" but we don't change our ways.

I have officially given up trying to affect this, on anything other than a personal level. I'm just thankful I did not bring any children into the world. And I certainly do not intend to.

Ultimately, the Earth will survive in some fashion, and life will survive in some fashion, it simply may not be human life. So be it.

Digging Out Life

It has been another full day. Once I get through this week I'm going to take a day or two to gather my thoughts. I have some personal projects I need to work on. Thank goodness it's a holiday weekend coming up. Even though I might not get a lot done, at least others will stop for a day and that means more new things won't come into my world. That is a huge bonus at this point.

However, I did take time at lunch today to go to Diana's store and help her a bit. She has moved the Dancing Grouse to 125 N. Main, right across the street from my office. I went in and helped put jewelry into the counter and move some things around. Things look really good for having just moved everything in yesterday. Apparently, numerous people have helped, including Debbie and Teresa. I wish I could inspire people to help me with projects. Others seem to have some magic I don't possess. It was good to get to help out.

Tonight was a gathering for the NewComer's group. I hadn't seen Peggy in quite a while, so it was good to connect with her. I'm really optimistic about the NewComer's group this time around - we've got more people involved and that's good.

Well, I need to find a bit more energy to do a few more things in the house before I go up to bed. I'm trying to get things a little bit more normal in my world. When I do a tea I use a lot of my own things and it takes a while to get everything washed and put away afterwards. This time I have all the new table cloths to wash too, so it will really take some time.

I don't have anything time specific until 2 tomorrow afternoon so I think I will spend the morning working on digging out my life a bit.

A 10 Year Plan

Tonight was Chicks and it was a great evening. Almost everyone was able to come and that was great. One of the topics was a suggestion to set a goal for 10 years in the future and think about what you need to do today for your health in order to be able to enjoy your life ten years from now.

That theme was one that everyone kept coming back to. When it was my turn I said that I didn't expect to be alive in 10 years so I couldn't imagine planning for it. Everyone was obviously shocked by my statement, so I had to explain further. I don't expect to be alive in the morning, much less a decade from now. For me, that is the ultimate presumption - that we will continue living. It's why I'm so adamant about living fully every day - it may be my last.

I'm all for tempting fate, but I'm not brave enough to tempt it so much to be planning for the future. Plus, why would I want to limit myself with plans.

My life is so different now than it was 10 years ago. If I'd had a "plan" that I made up a decade ago that I was still following, I wouldn't live in this house, I wouldn't be debt free, I wouldn't have been to Egypt, I wouldn't have been with my last two lovers, I wouldn't have watched a meteor shower in Honduras, I wouldn't have the career I have now, and I wouldn't have the friends I have now. Why? Because none of those things were possibilities for me 10 years ago - my life was very different than it is now.

On the other hand, one has to always consider what one is missing by not having a plan. I don't know. I firmly believe in thinking about what you want and then leaving that up to the universe to create, but to actually plan what you want - to have a goal to be doing x-y-z in 10 years - I can't imagine how you could ever do that.

Mental Health Association Victorian Tea

Yesterday was our annual Victorian Tea for the MHA in Reno County (Mental Health Association). Grace Episcopal Church let us hold it in their facility and it was just perfect! I'm so thankful for their generosity.

I do all the cooking for it, other than the scones, which Nancy Murry makes for us every time. I just ate a leftover one and it was delicious. I hope all the things I made were good. I realized last night that I never sampled anything, other than as I was cooking.

Something new this time was trifle in individual punch cups. The church has snack trays and punch cups we could use, so that worked out great.




I had a volunteer who agreed to make table cloths for us, and I used fresh flowers on the tables. The theme was Lavendar and Lace. I also used some of the linens I've collected over the years. For some reason I seem to think it's my purpose in life to preserve such things. But, I just cannot imagine wanting to let go of embroidery or crochet work that had been done by my loved ones.

Some of the people who were there are friends, and some are people who come everytime. We also have new people everytime. Some of my regulars were occupied with the United Way workday on Saturday and couldn't come. I was really sorry to learn that was scheduled on the same day as our tea, but it's just the way it worked out. It was a nice group overall.




Teresa brought her granddaughters. That's Kylie sitting all prim and proper having tea with her grandma, and Kenzie is telling grandma a secret.

I really enjoy planning tea, and thinking through all the details, but it is a lot of work. I cannot imagine doing this for a living. It's great for a once a year fundraiser, and at the moment I'm all excited about doing it again. But I'll be happy to just think about it for a bit, and go to other people's teas.

In fact, I'm going to one in Arlington next month. This is one of my very favorite teas. They didn't have it last year and I really missed it. I generally attend the St. John's tea in November, but they're not having theirs this year. I am turning www.mhatea.com into a website for fundraiser teas in Kansas. Frankly, they're much nicer than the typical tea you get in a tea room - and no wonder - there's no way anyone could make money paying for all the labor that volunteers donate for us to put on tea.

Three of my board members, as well as Nancy, helped pour tea yesterday. We had multiple comments that the tea was hot, which they liked. And people loved it that their cups were always full. That's one of my big deals - keeping people's cups full.

Susan came, along with her friend Kathleen, who I met when we all went to tea in Hiawatha. I wish I could find other fundraiser teas to go to. Maybe as www.mhatea.com grows I'll learn about more.




I asked "Scarlett," who has attended our teas, as well as the St. John one, before, to regale us with some tales. She most graciously agreed to do so. I think the ladies all enjoyed her stories.

I think people are eager to have a reason to dress up a little bit and do something out of the ordinary. I'm always struck by how much people are enjoying just talking with each other. I think it's because we don't do it very much anymore. I almost hate to talk because I interrupt their conversation. But, people like to have a little program of some sort.

All in all I think everyone had a good time. Now I just have to get everything reorganized and then I can start thinking about another one.



















Because it is summer I was able to use some things from my garden for the tea, including some fresh herbs.

The Menu from the
Lavendar and Lace Tea
August 26, 2006

Cucumber Sandwich
Egg Salad with fresh royal pepper
Tuna Salad on Seven Grain Bread
Bacon - Basil Tomato Bites
Prosciutto and Rosemary on Carrot Chips
Calla Lily with Herb Filling

Traditional Scones and Clotted Cream
Pumpkin Bread

Butter Cake with Cherry Topping
English Berry Trifle
Chocolate Heaven
Lemon Tart
Sugar Cookie
Raisin Walnut Fudge Cookie
Frosted Petite Grapes